Leave Passports Back in the Stateroom

[soniam]

I keep a copy of my passport on my phone and in my cloud service and I have all of the passport information in an encrypted cloud-based security service. Unless necessary, the passport stays in the safe and I have access to the copy and/or information if I need to go to an embassy (assuming that would even help get it quicker). I'm not sure why I'd keep a photocopy of my passport in the safe instead of the passport itself.

The State Department says that a copy does help to expedite a replacement passport, I don’t know about getting out of the country though. It definitely doesn’t hurt,

 

[TinkAgainU]

Usually, I keep a copy of my Passport Book on my phone (and make sure a family member has a copy), and always carry the Passport card (leaving my original Passport Book in a safe if possible). Keeping in mind the Passport card is Not acceptable for flights or even in most countries, I still like that it is easily portable and I'm slightly less concerned about it being stolen. I'm obviously taking a huge risk that the USA would let me return in an emergency using just the Passport Card ... but presume it would have to be a Big emergency or I'd be able to get to my Passport Book. Either way, $30 additional to order one with the passport book renewal seems money well spent.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Even in Mexico a passport is required to be on your person if you are ever stopped at a checkpoint. A photocopy can sometimes be accepted by the agent but the requirement is the original. Just because you have never needed the passport doesn't mean you shouldn't have it on you. I am not a gambler.

 

[insureman]

On our Baltic cruise, we were required to take our passports with us at most ports. On one of our Med cruises, we were required to take our passports with us in Athens and then had to turn passports in to be held when we next went to Turkey, then picked them up after returning to the ship. Our next port was Mykonos, and I don't recall needing the passport when we got off there. Apparently, turning the passport in for our Turkey stop had to do with going to Turkey in between two stops in Greece - why, I can't say. Basically, our practice is to only take them when required. I remember having to turn in passports to be held at one port on another Med cruise, but I don't recall which one.



IMO, you're more likely to have your passport pickpocketed or otherwise stolen than miss the ship and not be able to retrieve it from the port agent. And definitely if we're staying in a foreign country, we never take the passports out of the safe until we're heading for the airport to go home.

We met a passenger on a Western Caribbean in Cozumel that this exact thing happened to. She had her family's passports taken out of her backpack while in one of those shops near the port. We take a photocopy and an image on our phones.

 

[MomOTwins]

We met a passenger on a Western Caribbean in Cozumel that this exact thing happened to. She had her family's passports taken out of her backpack while in one of those shops near the port. We take a photocopy and an image on our phones.

My mom had her purse snatched on vacation in france with our passports in it when we were kids. No way she could have avoided it—two guys on a motorbike drove near her, one grabbed the purse, and they took off on the bike. It was super complicated and time consuming getting it replaced. I never take my passport out of the stateroom safe on vacation. I just make sure I either book a DCL excursion so the ship won’t leave us behind if we run late or I stay walking distance from the port and head back at least 2 hours before all aboard.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Even in Mexico a passport is required to be on your person if you are ever stopped at a checkpoint.

Can you cite/link where you see this?

 

[Kennywood]

When we applied for our passports, we opted to also get the passport cards.
The passports stay on board and the passport cards stay in our wallets.

 

[revdon64]

I've heard that you should take a photocopy of your passport and leave the original in the safe, but I'm thinking that a pic on your phone would work just as well.

 

[pjacobi]

Imo it's too risky to take with you to most ports. It's too easy lost or stolen.

Learn to defeat pickpockets by carrying a passport in a money belt under your cloths. Have you ever lost your underwear? All it takes is a small amount of effort.


-Paul

 

[RedHead0186]

Funny, slightly related story. We did a St. Maarten tour on our Eastern Caribbean cruise this past September. We get on the bus and our guide is telling us we will be crossing to the French side of the island, and do we have our passports with us? Everyone kind of had this "uhhhhhhh" reaction-we were never told at any point that we would need our passports. The guide kind of laughed it off, but then made a similar comment a few minutes later.

Eventually, he told us he was kidding and that we didn't need passports to cross between the French and Dutch sides of the island. But way to make me panic for the first part of the tour (and he had a very dry sense of humor, so none of us could tell he was joking).

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Can you cite/link where you see this?

I am a frequent visitor to Cozumel. Six weeks a year. They have been setting up random checkpoints for a couple years now. Sometimes people get by with a photocopy or phone pic of their passport but not all. I always traveled with a photocopy but no more. I am just not a gambler. You can google what is proper for the country you are visiting.

 

[insureman]

Even in Mexico a passport is required to be on your person if you are ever stopped at a checkpoint. A photocopy can sometimes be accepted by the agent but the requirement is the original. Just because you have never needed the passport doesn't mean you shouldn't have it on you. I am not a gambler.

I don't recall DCL ever requiring us to bring our passports with us in a Mexican port.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

It isn't a ship requirement. It is a country requirement.

 

[Cheburashka]

Learn to defeat pickpockets by carrying a passport in a money belt under your cloths.

Kind of hard to do that while swimming. DCL mostly visits tropical ports. There is no need for passports on those little islands. Just be mindful of the time and don't miss the boat.

 

[happycamper47]

It isn't a ship requirement. It is a country requirement.

Except the requirements for cruise passengers are different in many cases. You are a "day" visitor for lack of a better term. You don't need to show your Passport when you get off the ship like you do when you enter a country at the border or in the airport.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Do what makes you comfortable. I'm not here to prove a point. At least read the requirements in each country you visit. Know that it will be very difficult should anything happen in port, off ship, without a passport on you. I'm talking car accident, health problems, miss the ship etc.

 

[tvguy]

Kind of hard to do that while swimming. DCL mostly visits tropical ports. There is no need for passports on those little islands. Just be mindful of the time and don't miss the boat.

Not a problem at all with a waterproof passport case.
https://www.amazon.com/Seattle-Spor...rproof+passport+holders&qid=1673044067&sr=8-4

 

[kiford]

Except the requirements for cruise passengers are different in many cases. You are a "day" visitor for lack of a better term. You don't need to show your Passport when you get off the ship like you do when you enter a country at the border or in the airport.

Depends on the country. We had to have passports when getting off the ship in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Russia, Germany, and Estonia (started in the UK prior to Brexit and Russia was a whole other deal). Med cruise Spain to Italy to France no passport required - all Schengen EU countries. Sometimes the requirements for cruise passengers are different than coming in via car/plane/train/bus and sometimes not, but there are also the added factors of the country your passport is from and where you are coming from/going to. There could also be additional factors such as whether or not you have to have a visa based on your passport country and where you are going and if it has to be arranged in advance. Very common for South America, which I haven't done, but my father has, and that adds a whole new dimension.