Does X take your passport?

[winediva]

If you are cruising to South America, Brazil requires US citizens to have a tourist visa. It costs about $100 and you will need to mail your passports and copies of all of your travel arrangements and reservations to your local Brazilian embassy office. Luckily, we have one here in Chicago, so I got to do the process in person. They held our passports and documents for 3 business days before we were ok'd for a visa. Once you get the visa, you have to travel within 90 days, so you can't apply too far in advance. Argentina and Chile did not require a visa, but there is a $100 entrance fee in Chile at immigration. Just an FYI for anyone heading to SA.

[kitty9]

Personally, I fail to see why I should ever have to hand over my passport to anyone else - a cruise line, a hotel, or whomever - to "hold" for me. It is a piece of essential identification used to identify the bearer as a citizen of the country of issue. I wouldn't hand over my social security card, drivers license, checkbook, cash, house keys, car title, credit card, AARP card, AAA card, or any other personal items or documents either.

 

Some have said that you should carry a copy of your passport on shore, but a copy of your passport is just as good as a copy of your driver's license, a photocopy of your cash, a copy of a credit card etc and if Murphy's law kicks in, would you rather find yourself left behind in port with copies or the real items?

 

 

You don't have a choice. If you don't hand it over, you don't board the ship or you don't get your hotel room.

 

As for your assertion that a copy of your passport is of no value, that's totally incorrect. If your passport should be lost or stolen while abroad, the US Embassy/Consulate will give you an emergency passport if you just show them that color copy. Heck, for that matter, the Embassy will give you an emergency passport if another US citizen, with a passport, vouches for you and your identity.