Surrender Your Passport?

[ChevyCruiser]

I saw a discussion on the Celebrity board regarding passports. Some folks said they were asked to surrender their passport to the cruise line while cruising in the Mediterranian

 

Seems like a bad idea to ever surrender your passport to a common carrier or anyone else. Whose requirement is this and is there an alternative to letting my passport out of my hands?

[Krazy Kruizers]

We had a couple of ports in the Med and the Baltic where we had to turn over our passports. The port officials are the ones who sometimes actually check the passports.

 

We got our passports back in a couple of days.

 

I always have copes of our passports for when we leave the ship.

[chrisbd1]

On my Mediterranean cruise, Canadians had to leave their passports with the front desk. I believe the Canadians also had to do this when we were in the Caribbean, as well. I'm not sure why, though.

[ChevyCruiser]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Still doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Why not also hand them your credit cards and driver's license too? ;) Wonder how they would handle a refusal?

[LHT28]

It makes it easier for the port officials to inspect the passports (if they choose) before they clear the ship.

You could probably ask for yours back but then each port you would need to present you & it to the authorities before they would clear the ship for disembarkation and hold up the rest of the passengers.

The passports are kept in a safe secure place in the pursers office so no need to worry.

 

We usually have ours taken from us till the end of the cruise so I carry photo copies in case I need to prove citizenship etc until I can contact the ship for the real one.

[ECCruise]

It's no different than staying at hotels throughout Europe (and, in fact, in many areas of the world). Surrendered our passports dozens of times. At many hotels, no passport, no room.

[Toyz711]

we were on a greek cruise line, around the greek islands. all foreign passengers had to hand over the passports...to the purser's office. if you didn't, no one would be allowed off the ship until you came down and were cleared by the local port aurthorities (especially while in turkey). they kept the passport in a safe, filed nicely, we got a reciept for them.

while in turkey, the officials came aboard, when throught the file of passports, the ship was cleared and we were allowed off.

the other way to do this, was to have everyone stand in line for hours

(BTW, they already have your credit card numbers, when they swiped your card for your onboard account)

[paul929207]

The cruise lines collect passports to speed the clearing of the ships by immigration officials in the various ports. These officials check (and sometimes stamp) the passports without the need for all passengers to be present.

[6rugrats]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Still doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Why not also hand them your credit cards and driver's license too? ;) Wonder how they would handle a refusal?

 

This is not a big deal and you will have no choice. I imagine they could ask you to leave the ship.

[dforeigner]

You can always bring your old expired US Passport in case something happens and need to visit an US Embassy or Consular Office.

[KLLund]

I particularly remember that on a Baltic trip .. they asked for our passports when we boarded ..when we got to St. Petersberg they were handing them back as we left the ship and we were required to turn them in again when we got back on board.

 

I believe something similar happened in Alexandria .. but in Asia there were always instruction about whether you needed to take them assHore (Usually yes) or not.

[ChevyCruiser]

You can always bring your old expired US Passport in case something happens and need to visit an US Embassy or Consular Office.

 

That's a good idea.

 

It seems fundamentaly flawed for an official to scan and stamp a stack of passports without the owner being present - all for expediency's sake. And I don't like the idea of handing my passport over to a hotel.:mad:

 

I have to ask, if Murphy's law kicks in and you find yourself stranded in a foreign country, would you rather have your actual passport in hand or a photocopy.:confused: I can just imagine trying to board a plance to catch up with a ship with a photocopy of a passport.

[sail7seas]

We have had to surrender our Passports on ships several times and when checking into European Hotels. Sometimes they are held overnight and sometimes even longer. I agree I feel uncomfortable about it but you have no choice.

 

If you do not agree, cannot accept, that is what you must do, you could be asked to disembark the ship and not sail.

 

Same with a hotel..... you could be asked to leave.

 

I have never heard of any problem with any ship guest in regard to not having their passport in their possession at all times. I seem to recall we were given a 'receipt' by the ship and we carried that along with a photocopy of the info page of our passports ashore with us.

 

In the event you should be late returning to the ship, if the ship is holding your passport, they will turn it over to the Port Agent. All of us should ALWAYS bring with us the name and contact info of the ship's agent when we leave the ship. He is your 'friend in town'. He will be able to provide you with your passport if the ship sails without you.

 

HAL prints that info on the Port of Call sheet that is distributed for every port. Bring it with you.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

[cruisemom42]

There's a recent thread on the Mediterranean forum where a poster and her party missed the ship.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=791021

 

 

None of the party had passports with them, yet all managed to get to their ship's next port (in a different country, no less) with the help of the ship's agent.

 

I think most people have exaggerated fears of what will happen to them if they are minus their passport. I, for one, have been pickpocketed in a foreign country, and I was mighty glad that I didn't have my passport with me. A copy is all that I ever carry ashored unless visiting a country (like Russia) where it is mandatory.

[serendipity1499]

Hotels, Cruise Ships have been collecting passports for many years..I remember when first going to Europe in the 50's I had to surrender my passport to the Hotel...It was then taken to the local Police to have it stamped..

 

Pursers are required to hold passports in many countries in order to have the ship cleared by the local authorities..

 

Think about this if you were required to present yourself with your passport in each country it could take hours before the ship is cleared...It would cut into your time ashore..In the Amazon, the Purser held on to our Passports for an entire week..When the ship entered Brazil, Brazillian Immigrations came aboard & stamped our passports...When we left Brazil they stamped our Passports again..

[LHT28]

That's a good idea.

 

It seems fundamentaly flawed for an official to scan and stamp a stack of passports without the owner being present - all for expediency's sake. And I don't like the idea of handing my passport over to a hotel.:mad:

 

 

They do not go through the passports unless they want to single out some from the passenger list which is usually provided in advance to the authorities.

If you do not like the system then feel free to ask for your passport back after check-in .....let us know how it goes.:D

[serendipity1499]

There's a recent thread on the Mediterranean forum where a poster and her party missed the ship.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=791021

 

None of the party had passports with them, yet all managed to get to their ship's next port (in a different country, no less) with the help of the ship's agent.

 

I think most people have exaggerated fears of what will happen to them if they are minus their passport. I, for one, have been pickpocketed in a foreign country, and I was mighty glad that I didn't have my passport with me. A copy is all that I ever carry ashored unless visiting a country (like Russia) where it is mandatory.

 

Agree with you..Our passports are always left on board & we carry photocopies of them for I.D. purposes..

[cruzgryphon]

Couple of thoughts here:

The first time I surrendered my passport I was uneasy and then in talking to some of the cruise staff - I felt a lot better about it - the purser and security staff keep things well documented and secure.

One way to avoid having to leave your passport is to get dual citizenship in a "Shengen Alliance" (an alliance enabling citizens of those countries to move relatively freely across borders in Europe).

 

Looking at it from the cruise line perspective (and I'm not employed by, nor have any affiliation with the cruise lines other than being a passenger), imagine the additional complaints if things like boarding and tenders were delayed due to an individual not surrendering their passport..

Since neither Canada nor the US is a member - the local authorities need to verify no one coming into one of the countries is on any restricted lists etc. - we could always petition our governments to join Shengen..

 

Just a couple of thoughts.....

[EGG]

Just last month our ship had a port stop in Tangiers. We then had a day at sea and the next port was Corsica (France). We found a printed sheet on our beds before dinner on our sea day saying that the Corsica authorities requested all passports from everyone from a country that is not part of the EU. The collection of passports was done in an orderly fashion by deck. We got off the ship without our passports. The next day, after our visit, we were given times to pick up our passport by deck. Picking up our passports only took a few minutes and we each had a stamp from Corsicain our passports as a souvenier.

 

I though the passport request would hold us up getting off the ship but it did not. I am wondering if there was a crosscheck of who did not give in their passports. I would guess at least a few people did not comply even if it was because they did not read the handout. I am happy to say that this did not seem to delay our getting off the ship.

[G'ma]

I saw a discussion on the Celebrity board regarding passports. Some folks said they were asked to surrender their passport to the cruise line while cruising in the Mediterranian

 

Seems like a bad idea to ever surrender your passport to a common carrier or anyone else. Whose requirement is this and is there an alternative to letting my passport out of my hands?

 

Many countries require you to surrender your passport upon arrival. This is not unusual....many major hotels throughout Europe do this too.

 

It is a requirement of the COUNTRY you are entering....they have their own security requirements, just like we do. Before the ship will be cleared by local immigration/passport control, all passport information must be gathered and presented to authorities. I suppose they could do this on an individual basis...but then it would take hours to clear the ship.

 

YOu have no choice in this matter. Except, not to go, of course.

[JenEricTravelers]

Many countries require you to surrender your passport upon arrival. This is not unusual....many major hotels throughout Europe do this too.

 

I live in Germany and have traveled throughout EU and all our hotels have required a visual check and/or copy of our passports for their keeping, but never the passport itself. (this varies but is not a hard practice) We carry passports on us as its a requirement of being military and I dont trust hotel staff anymore than pickpockets.

 

Perhaps the OP needs to contact their local State Department for a better understanding of what happens when one has a copy v. the real thing during an emergency on land in a foreign country. Until you do it, it does seem unreasonable, but then there are many deferences we have to make when we're the foreigners for a change.

 

I'd also suggest a specific ID stating allergies, DOB, name, contact information for the cruise (in English) in case something happens and all pertinent info is in one place.

[Moeve]

No hotel with the exception of the ones in China (these are state regulated) get to keep a copy of my passport. They get to check it and verify I am who I say I am but copy it. You must be joking!!! I went as far a calling the cops in New Jeresey 2006 because a hotel manager insisted on a copy but would not give me a copy of his!! Hotels are not privey to this information and with these new bio metic passports it is wise to keep a very good eye on who gets what info.

 

Immigrations are ok since THAT is what passports are for. Although I have to admit I too had a vary feeling in the Caribbean when we were still required to hand over our passport (this is no longer the case) and leave them with the ship. It does however speed up immigrations dramtically if the Purser can stack the foreign passport in front of the Immigrations inspector and he can pick out at will with out having to wait for the person top pitch up.

[cassie55]

There's a recent thread on the Mediterranean forum where a poster and her party missed the ship.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=791021

 

 

None of the party had passports with them, yet all managed to get to their ship's next port (in a different country, no less) with the help of the ship's agent.

 

I think most people have exaggerated fears of what will happen to them if they are minus their passport.

 

But this was between Italy and Greece - both Schengen member countries (once you have cleared immigration into one of the member countries, you don't need a passport to travel to any of the others).

[cruisemom42]

But this was between Italy and Greece - both Schengen member countries (once you have cleared immigration into one of the member countries, you don't need a passport to travel to any of the others).

 

Good point, but I still think it illustrates that dire things are unlikely to happen in the event that you do not have your passport. Particularly if you have the name and contact info for the ship's agent and you have left your passport on the ship -- they can get it to you if needs be. I have also known that to happen.

[aaerobear]

In a few countries, they do, indeed, take a photo copy of your passport when you check-in at a hotel....no copy=no room. Complain all you want, it won't fly. In Saudi Arabia (not that many of you will be heading there anytime soon) they take the passport of airline crew members and do not return them till they are processing out of the country at the airport.

 

In Italy they take passports at all hotels and usually keep them overnight, this is required by Italian law. You would have no idea if they took a photocopy or not.