KDK Posted June 19, 2023 Report Share Posted June 19, 2023 I have a few questions about passports. 1) Does royal Caribbean keep your passport for the duration of the cruise in Europe? 2) if not, do you take your passport with you on your excursions in case of an emergency or do you leave them locked in your cruise cabin safe? People seem totally split on this and now I’m confused what to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montemy2419 Posted June 19, 2023 Report Share Posted June 19, 2023 We actually lock up our passport and other valuables in our suitcase that has a TSA lock built in. When we get off the ship we take cash, our drivers license, one credit card and a color photo copy of our passports in a ziploc bag. Not sure if that is all we need if we end up not making the ship but to us it's better than losing the real passport while in port. Cactus527 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted June 19, 2023 Report Share Posted June 19, 2023 50% will say take it with you, 50% will say leave it on the ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted June 19, 2023 Report Share Posted June 19, 2023 Leave your passports on the ship ! Mturk, ChessE4, Neesa and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveling Mike Posted June 19, 2023 Report Share Posted June 19, 2023 I have never taken my passport on an excursion with me. Also leave it in your Cabin Safe. I see where people said your suitcase, but you want it in your cabin safe. If anything happens when you are on shore and the ship leaves without you or has to help you on shore, they will go to your cabin looking for your passport and important documents. They will get them to you if they can find them. PPPJJ-GCVAB, Cactus527, WAAAYTOOO and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted June 19, 2023 Report Share Posted June 19, 2023 Leave in the safe. We had a couple who were nearly an hour late to the ship. Security retrieved their passports and an officer walked them down the pier and gave them to the port agent. Lucky for the couple, they pulled up in a taxi literally seconds after the handoff and they ran down the peer to get on the ship. The captain emphasized being on time the rest of the week on his daily announcement. PPPJJ-GCVAB, steverk, ChessE4 and 1 other 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda R Posted June 20, 2023 Report Share Posted June 20, 2023 3 hours ago, KDK said: I have a few questions about passports. 1) Does royal Caribbean keep your passport for the duration of the cruise in Europe? 2) if not, do you take your passport with you on your excursions in case of an emergency or do you leave them locked in your cruise cabin safe? People seem totally split on this and now I’m confused what to do. Leave your passport on ship in safe in your cabin. They say to bring photo ID and drivers license will do. But I made copy of our passports and carry those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley Posted June 20, 2023 Report Share Posted June 20, 2023 Another vote for leaving the passports in the safe though note: some ports you are supposed to carry your passport with you - the cruise compass for the next day's port information will include this if needed. I have photos of our passports on my phone and carry my driver's license for photo ID. (Second note: both the DB and I have expired licenses and ordinarily use those. No one at the dock has ever noted the license is expired, and if I lose the expired license I'm not concerned. ChessE4 and Pattycruise 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mturk Posted June 20, 2023 Report Share Posted June 20, 2023 We always leave the passports in the safe and bring a driver's license and a credit card. We keep photos of the passport on our phones. That being said, there was one time we needed to bring our passports and that was in Israel last year on our Holy Land Cruise. You actually go through customs when you get off the ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xaa Posted June 20, 2023 Report Share Posted June 20, 2023 I split the difference and bring the Passport Card with me as my photo ID. Shari and DragonsFly 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Ogre Posted June 20, 2023 Report Share Posted June 20, 2023 DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PASSPORT!!!! If something happens and you are stuck in port and you only have a copy, it is useless. If the ship leaves and they did not get your passport out of your locked safe then you are screwed. You will have to go to the US embassy in the country you are in and get an emergency passport so that you can get back to the states. You can not re-enter the USA with just a photo ID or a copy of your passport. TXcruzer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zacharius Posted June 20, 2023 Report Share Posted June 20, 2023 I think this is a case of (a) where you are, (b) what citizenship do you have, and (c) where is the next stop. Here's why: (a) where you are - does the country require non-citizens to carry their passport? Most of Europe is not the case here, but other places do. Also, "where are you" meaning "is it safe to carry your passport?" In Europe, not really an issue; in some other countries, it can be unsafe to carry valuables (including passports and electronics). (b) what is your citizenship - how easy is it to get a new passport? If you are a US citizen, while it is a bit of a pain in the ass, it's not too hard to find a US consulate/embassy to go to, especially in Europe. If you are, say, a Namibian citizen (like me, who is dual)...well, it's a bit trickier. We have like 6-7 embassies in all of Europe. If I lose my Namibian passport and don't have another to fall back on, it's a pain. (c) where is the next stop - if you are in Rome and the next stop is Marseilles, it's easy to hop on a train and get to Marseilles without a passport. If the next stop is, say, Greece, or Morocco, it's not so easy. That may sound overly complicated, so I will just say that in most cases I do NOT bring my passport off of the ship. Sometimes I do. No matter what, I carry a copy of the information page in addition to photo ID (driving license) and the other stuff in my wallet. ChessE4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NapTime Posted June 20, 2023 Report Share Posted June 20, 2023 I leave my passport in the safe on the ship, but I take a photo of it on my phone. I always have my passport card (I keep it in my wallet always with my DL) when I leave the ship. It was only $30 move when I renewed my passport. You can use it on land and sea crossings from Canada Mexico Caribbean and Bermuda just not air travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Ogre Posted June 20, 2023 Report Share Posted June 20, 2023 6 minutes ago, Fr8Train56 said: I leave my passport in the safe on the ship, but I take a photo of it on my phone. I always have my passport card (I keep it in my wallet always with my DL) when I leave the ship. It was only $30 move when I renewed my passport. You can use it on land and sea crossings from Canada Mexico Caribbean and Bermuda just not air travel. Exactly my point as above... if you are in Cozumel, The Bahamas, St Maarten and you miss the ship for whatever reason and you have to fly back to the US, the copy does you no good. And PLEASE get travel insurance or you will be paying out of pocket for everything to get you back home with no reimbursement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D Alt Posted June 20, 2023 Report Share Posted June 20, 2023 I usually take mine with me. Keep it secured on my person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseGus Posted June 21, 2023 Report Share Posted June 21, 2023 time for the US to step up with Biometric Passports, then you will "Never Leave Home Without It" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowen Posted June 21, 2023 Report Share Posted June 21, 2023 I always carry mine and my kid’s with me, my mom likes to leave hers on the ship in the safe. It’s whatever you are most comfortable with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobroo Posted June 21, 2023 Report Share Posted June 21, 2023 Yes, Royal does confiscate passports during embarkation on certain sailings. You really have no choice but to surrender it at that time. I have a lot of problems when this situation pops up. I understand it is an upcoming port that requires this ( is it Ephesus???) and Royal is just doing their job. But on the other hand....Fellas, it's 2023. Passports are no longer about the source document anymore, it's really all about the digital file. JimnKathy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zacharius Posted June 21, 2023 Report Share Posted June 21, 2023 13 hours ago, CruiseGus said: time for the US to step up with Biometric Passports, then you will "Never Leave Home Without It" Not quite sure what you mean, the US (like most countries) issue biometric passports these days. There are some African and Asian countries that don't, but most countries (including the US) do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike n Ky Posted June 21, 2023 Report Share Posted June 21, 2023 We leave our passports in the safe and take passport cards with us. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villageidiot Posted June 22, 2023 Report Share Posted June 22, 2023 15 hours ago, bobroo said: Yes, Royal does confiscate passports during embarkation on certain sailings. It's probably better than what we experienced entering Dubai in '73 or '74. When you flew in they took everyones passport and threw them in a large cardboard box. When you flew out everyone got to dig through a box until you found yours. We did this twice, always gave me a heart attack even as a teen. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavvy Posted June 22, 2023 Report Share Posted June 22, 2023 I think you also have to weigh in the hassle if you loose your passport on shore against keeping it in a locked safe. You are probably more likely to loose it than to run into an issue where you fail to make it bs k on the ship. Both will give you major hassles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseGus Posted June 22, 2023 Report Share Posted June 22, 2023 On 6/21/2023 at 8:57 AM, Zacharius said: Not quite sure what you mean, the US (like most countries) issue biometric passports these days. There are some African and Asian countries that don't, but most countries (including the US) do. If it was truly a "Biometric" Passport you would not need the physical copy to return to the USA. That is what I mean, why do i need something "physical" if you can determine I am who I am through "Biometrics" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimnKathy Posted June 23, 2023 Report Share Posted June 23, 2023 On 6/21/2023 at 8:50 AM, bobroo said: Passports are no longer about the source document anymore, it's really all about the digital file. It's really surprising that the State Department doesn't issue an approved digital copy of our passports to be able to download to either our phones and/or Microsoft One Drive / Google Drive as a backup plan to handle these sorts of issues in this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vacationer Posted July 20, 2023 Report Share Posted July 20, 2023 When we took our cruise for our destinations, we were told once we showed it to RC we did not have to carry with us again and we could lock it up in our room safe, which we did. I recommend taking a photograph of it and keeping with your Iphone to show security when asked. Also, some countries will make you show a government issued photo ID in addition to your sea pass to reboard RC, so in that case you will need a driver's license plus your Sea Pass, which is preferable if usable since it's more easily replaced if lost. We did bring our driver's license with us along with the Sea Pass for those specific countries that were particular. I recommend listening carefully to the Cruise Director evening post-Show announcements, and you could also try asking Guest Services or the Shore Excursions desk. ChessE4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brdjnr Posted July 20, 2023 Report Share Posted July 20, 2023 out of curiosity, would an expired passport be of any use taking with and leaving current on ship in safe? IIRC I've read an expired one is considered ok for ID but not travel (or some similar contradictory something). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckruetze Posted July 20, 2023 Report Share Posted July 20, 2023 3 hours ago, brdjnr said: out of curiosity, would an expired passport be of any use taking with and leaving current on ship in safe? IIRC I've read an expired one is considered ok for ID but not travel (or some similar contradictory something). I wouldn't do it. An expired passport is no legal form of ID (at least in Germany). And if you try to show that, it could raise the question on why someone would use an none legal ID. So it could complicate things at some custom checks. Jolly Ogre 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimnKathy Posted July 20, 2023 Report Share Posted July 20, 2023 Speaking as a retired restauranteur, an expired passport and/or driver's license is not a legal form of ID in the U.S., full stop. You may get lucky and have a employee in a particular venue allow it on a one off basis, but to rely on it consistently is a big mistake. Happy Sailing! Jolly Ogre 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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