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Passport question


JRA

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My family and I are getting our first passports soon and I wanted to know how long is a passport good for ? They do seem to be a little costly but our agent 

says its in case something happens and we need to fly home . We plan on a cruise on Anthems of The Sea with 2 stops in the Bahamas.

 

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8 hours ago, JRA said:

My family and I are getting our first passports soon and I wanted to know how long is a passport good for ? They do seem to be a little costly but our agent 

says its in case something happens and we need to fly home . We plan on a cruise on Anthems of The Sea with 2 stops in the Bahamas.

 

Just a bit of advice.....allow PLENTY of time for processing or pay the extra fee for expedited processing. We are getting passports, my wife's is a renewal....no problem. Mine is a new one and they didn't like the birth certificate I sent them. They want the LONG FORM that Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics provides for a fee and 20 to 25 working days plus the time the State Dept. takes to process and send out. It looks like mine will take between 2 and 3 months, start to finish. Luckily our cruise isn't till Christmas but we will be doing some traveling before that so would like to have it for ID purposes. 

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26 minutes ago, MikeK said:

  Take it with you when you get off the ship.  It will not do you any good locked in your safe in the cabin.   Labadee and Coco Cay will be stops where you can leave it in the cabin.

So if you get hurt and it's in your safe no one working for the ship will go get it for you?  What will happen to all your cloths and things still in the room if you are in the hospital when the ship leaves.  I'm going to be traveling solo so I wouldn't have anyone to go get it for me.

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16 minutes ago, griswold81 said:

So if you get hurt and it's in your safe no one working for the ship will go get it for you?  What will happen to all your cloths and things still in the room if you are in the hospital when the ship leaves.  I'm going to be traveling solo so I wouldn't have anyone to go get it for me.

They will get it from your safe....that's your least concern.  If the ship knows you aren't coming back, they will get all your belongings packed up.

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Negative on taking passports off the ship.  In an extreme emergency, they can be retrieved by crew, as mentioned above.  Instead, you have a couple of options.  Take a photocopy of the main page with you, purchase a travel card when you order your passport (and take it as your ID off the ship), or just trust that your driver's license and SeaPass are sufficient.  The more you carry passports around off ship, the more likely you are to be pick-pocketed or forgetful.   And on excursions, there is the risk of water damage at the beach, etc.  State Department has the STEP program that allows you to register foreign travel, so US will know where you are in an emergency.  We have taken 14 cruises without incident except for the time I did take passports. On that occasion our small boat stalled in choppy seas, we and passports were soaked to the skin, and I felt stupid for almost ruining our documents.  They are needed to re-enter the US, which is why they stay in a locked stateroom safe.

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3 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:

Negative on taking passports off the ship.  In an extreme emergency, they can be retrieved by crew, as mentioned above.  Instead, you have a couple of options.  Take a photocopy of the main page with you, purchase a travel card when you order your passport (and take it as your ID off the ship), or just trust that your driver's license and SeaPass are sufficient.  The more you carry passports around off ship, the more likely you are to be pick-pocketed or forgetful.   And on excursions, there is the risk of water damage at the beach, etc.  State Department has the STEP program that allows you to register foreign travel, so US will know where you are in an emergency.  We have taken 14 cruises without incident except for the time I did take passports. On that occasion our small boat stalled in choppy seas, we and passports were soaked to the skin, and I felt stupid for almost ruining our documents.  They are needed to re-enter the US, which is why they stay in a locked stateroom safe.

I truly go back and forth with what to do!!!   I'm convinced one way and then read the other.  I am so worried about pickpockets in Barcelona I will probably take and carry a million photocopies.  Ugh..... Jane

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Barcelona is one place where you can be surrounded/distracted while the pickpockets work their magic.  However, you can wear lightweight cash/card/document holders around your neck and under your blouse/shirt.  AAA sells them with RFID protection.  Rick Steves recommends money belts.  Or use a purse that you can clutch around your waste with a crossing shoulder strip. 
Don't ever put anything important in a fanny pack or backpack.

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2 hours ago, ChessE4 said:

Negative on taking passports off the ship.  In an extreme emergency, they can be retrieved by crew, as mentioned above.  Instead, you have a couple of options.  Take a photocopy of the main page with you, purchase a travel card when you order your passport (and take it as your ID off the ship), or just trust that your driver's license and SeaPass are sufficient.  The more you carry passports around off ship, the more likely you are to be pick-pocketed or forgetful.   And on excursions, there is the risk of water damage at the beach, etc.  State Department has the STEP program that allows you to register foreign travel, so US will know where you are in an emergency.  We have taken 14 cruises without incident except for the time I did take passports. On that occasion our small boat stalled in choppy seas, we and passports were soaked to the skin, and I felt stupid for almost ruining our documents.  They are needed to re-enter the US, which is why they stay in a locked stateroom safe.

We bought the passport cards with our passports just because our state is not Real ID compliant and it doesnt look like that will ever happen (Oklahoma)....So the card makes airline travel and getting into a federal building possible.  I never thought about carrying it off the ship instead of the Passport.  Thanks for the suggestion!

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5 hours ago, whenismynextcruise said:

We always carry our passports off of a ship in any country (except for the private islands). no one will ever be able to convince us otherwise. 

I'm leaning that way myself for our upcoming cruise. 

I also think Passport Cards are a false economy...unless you are a resident of a Northern or Southern U.S. border town and make frequent crossing by land.  

It's no better than a Birth Certificate and Driver's License for 'normal' border crossings/cruises...but useless if you need to get back the to US in an emergency from a foreign land.

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5 hours ago, whenismynextcruise said:

We always carry our passports off of a ship in any country (except for the private islands). no one will ever be able to convince us otherwise. 

This is our plan. Besides being necessary in foreign travel, from what I am hearing and reading, if you are asked for your ID anywhere and you produce a passport, it is preferred over other forms of ID.  Like....if you have a passport, you have been checked out and vetted, a world traveler, and you are somebody.?

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it all boils down to risk management -- which risks concern you the most, and the probability of a particular risk materializing.  If being left behind is a big risk for you, then passports would ease that.  But if pickpockets,water damage, or lost purses are your major risk, then you will want your passports on the ship where they are safe.  Other ID and seapass are sufficient to get back on the ship.  If you do keep your passports, you need a plan B if you lose them, which gets back to having both a travel card and a passport plus photocopies and an extra photo.

How you carry any valuables is another concern, but likely you won't want valuables in a beach bag left on a boat or unattended.  There are waterproof document protectors for whatever you choose to take off the ship with you.

On the ship, I had a lost wallet with ID and cash returned to me via guest services, but I had a baseball cap left in the dining room totally disappear.  It's hard to predict what will happen....Bon voyage to all!

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On 6/9/2019 at 8:17 AM, whenismynextcruise said:

We always carry our passports off of a ship in any country (except for the private islands). no one will ever be able to convince us otherwise. 

same.  We've traveled enough over the years, even without cruising, that passports go with us. 

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