cancelled Cruise

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

You are not stranded in a foreign country if you have a copy of your passport!! A foolish 18 year old travelled with her HS class to Paris (yes it was me) and our teacher had to keep copies of our passports while we held onto the real thing, and she aslo had copies at the school next to the office fax machine in case. Along with the copy she kept we also attached a photo of ourselves...well lo and behold i lose my passport 2DAYS BEFORE WE LEFT to head to Amsterdam!>!>!> We took the picture and the copy and within a day i had a new passport!!! it cost my parents a lot of money haha but we had it!!! i was not stranded or anything......ohhhh and the best news is, that i never lost my original passport it was in the purse i had used 3 days before and forgotten i had actually brought on the trip (YIKES!?!)

 

[Capt_BJ]

In my experience you won't find the answer to this on a site about US imigration because the requirement is not of the US.

You don't say which itin' you are on so I'll speak generally....

In my experience most of the time the cruise line did not hold my passport. In one case they did and it was clearly explained that this was the requirement of a specific port we were visiting. I was told I could drop it off the nite b4 visiting that port and pick it up again after but they would prefer to hold it. Immigration of the country we were visiting wanted to see all the passports when they came on board - and that typically happened before pass' woke up!

Some countris want to see all passports for all non-US citizens.

Not a US rule and varies from country to country and may change daily!

 

[chasbos]

I find it no big deal to surrender our passports either. Could you imagine the turn around time of ships if everyone had to actually go through customs. Yes, we get our passports back and then those of us who are non US citizens have to wait in line to be crossed off a list and declare our goods.

I assume that this process is so simple because the majority of the paperwork is already done before hand.

I would also think that your passport is safer in Disney's hands than anywhere else. What are you going to do with them? It is highly discouraged to carry your passport with you when you travel and especially on some of these islands.

So you want to leave it locked up in your stateroom? What about theft from there?

I would also think that by keeping peoples passports that helps get people back on the ship - what an easy way to dissappear if you wanted! Have a cruise ship take you to an island, let you off with your passport, ID and money! You could never return!

So take copies - keep them with you and leave copies at home. I really do not think that Disney or any other cruise ship is in the business to black market everyones passport.

 

[Madjock]

I haven’t been on a cruise as yet but have a DCL one booked for next year and have to say that I don’t have a problem with my passport being kept. If the worst were to happen, such as getting stuck, and you have a copy of your passport and some other photographic ID such as a driving licence trust me you will not have too much trouble.

It seems to me you are basing your life round a lot of ‘what ifs’ and ‘worst case scenarios’ when really and truly life is just too short, as the saying goes “you die if you worry and you die if you don’t” so why not just enjoy!

 

[mott]

Sorry, I just could not resist adding this "what if"...

What if you did carry your passport with you onto a carribean island and then you got pickpocketed or your purse stolen. Then you would be stranded on that island and miss the boat (as you would probably have to have the passport to be allowed to reboard). And unless you had a copy in a separate location with you, you would have a very hard time getting a new one.

You might want to check with your country and ask what is needed at the consolate if you do get stranded w/o your passport. As mentioned above, if you have a copy, it makes it very easy for the consolate to verify who you are and re-issue you a document.

But I must also add, that if you are not comfortable with surrendering your passport, then you are wise to cancel your trip. Regardless of whose "rule" it is, it is what it is and you must choose what is best for you.

I am happy to hear that many of you will not let this stop you. I also hope the OP will take note that US citizens have stated that they have had to do the same when cruising in Europe.

 

[stampurheartout]

Susieh:

I feel sorry you canceled your cruise because you feel uneasy having the immigrations department keep your passport for cruise. Rules are rules, and unfortunately we follow them or we don't. If you or husband feel this is an un fare rule, you have the right to do what you did. However, you are going to miss out on a lot of fun.

When you are leaving the US to go into international waters, re-entry into the US is requiered, so if you are not a US citizen it's is required by the ship to present legal documentation to the port authorities for re-entry.

Remember this are difficult times we are living. Either we comply or we don't. It's everyones right. I surronder all my information, I don't have anything to hide.

 

[Amberle3]

I understand the reluctance to give up the passport - I had the same misgivings. But it's just part of what has to be done, and as a travel agent I have never heard of a cruise line losing anyone's passport. As far as identity theft is concerned, I'm far more worried about the disgruntled minimum wage clerk at the store double-swiping my credit card than I am about someone at Disney doing something nefarious with my passport.

The entire passport process went quite smoothly actually, I was very impressed. The only bad thing was that my US-citizen husband got to sleep in the last morning while I went to pick up my passport and clear immigration!

 

[Mortlives]

I don't have a problem letting Disney guard our passports while we're on vacation, either. When I'm at a hotel that doesn't have an inroom safe, I'll place it in a safe deposit box at the front desk, no problem. It's one less thing for me to worry about. I don't see this as any different, and if it expedites the paperwork, it's all to the good. Mind you, I will keep photocopies with us, because they are useful, if you need your passport replaced in a hurry.

 

[fridayfun]

I can understand not wanting to give up your passport. I am FAIRLY certain this is not a U.S. CBP requirement. If CBP (Customs and Border Protection - no longer U.S. Immigrations) wants to check passenger info, they will not go by a passport w/out a face/body to go with it in case of fraud. CBP will never take a foreign passport from you when traveling, if you are traveling legitimately unless you are being detained (ie behind bars!) as your passport belongs to the government from where it was issued. I had not heard about this before and am interested in the why myself (purely informational and I should know this for work) so I will see if I can get the why from someone who knows and see if there is a link for you if you are still interested, but it will not be until tomorrow. Sorry you felt you had to cancel your cruise, D

 

[Tahoe]

Traveling and seeing new places requires taking chances and having faith that it will all work out.

When we were in China in the 1980s, we surrendered our passports to the Chinese in order to be able to visit a restricted zone on the way to the Wolong Panda Preserve. Were we nervous? Of course! We could've disappered without a trace, and our passports (U.S., U.K., Japan) would've been worth a mint. However, we took the chance and as a result had a once-in-a-lifetime experience meeting locals who had never seen foreigners, eating the BEST local meals, and seeing pandas at the research center. The minute we left the restricted area, we had our passports back in our hands without a problem.

Make copies, take precautions, have worries if you must, but don't let it get in the way of an exciting vacation!

 

[graygables]

I know when we travelled in Europe (several years ago and before all the heightened security) that there were places on our different trips we were required to leave our passports (West Berlin, most notably). There were hotels and campgrounds where we had to leave them and could only get them when we checked out. The supposition was that the local authorities would have a look at them to see if anything was amiss without actually hauling us off to a room somewhere. I never thought anything of it.

I think, however, that Americans are not used to showing papers/having passports (we just whip out our license), so we don't have the same concerns as our international neighbors. I know when we moved back to the States, I was in awe that we didn't have to show our passports when crossing from S Carolina to Georgia!

I don't know it I'd cancel a cruise over it, just understand that it's the policy, probably for the convenience of the cruiser. Carry a copy with you, if you are stranded, take it to the consulate and they will be able to help you.

 

[pdarrah]

Although I believe that it is becoming less common, it used to be that ALL european hotels held your passport while you were staying there (at least for those of us from the USA). This wasn't optional - if you want to check in, hand over your passport. This was the case 25-30 years ago. I didn't travel to Europe for quite a while, so I don't know when this became less rigid. When I was in Germany about 15 years ago, our hotel required our passports. When I was in Germany about 8 years ago, my hotel required it - but I then traveled to Switzerland on that same trip and the hotel there did NOT require my passport. Friends who have traveled more recently have told me that "some" hotels still require this.

I think I would be more comfortable having my passport held on a ship - at least that makes it much more difficult for an employee to walk off with it.

pdarrah

 

[susieh]

I can understand not wanting to give up your passport. I am FAIRLY certain this is not a U.S. CBP requirement. If CBP (Customs and Border Protection - no longer U.S. Immigrations) wants to check passenger info, they will not go by a passport w/out a face/body to go with it in case of fraud. CBP will never take a foreign passport from you when traveling, if you are traveling legitimately unless you are being detained (ie behind bars!) as your passport belongs to the government from where it was issued. I had not heard about this before and am interested in the why myself (purely informational and I should know this for work) so I will see if I can get the why from someone who knows and see if there is a link for you if you are still interested, but it will not be until tomorrow. Sorry you felt you had to cancel your cruise, D

Thank-you for offering to try and find out 'why' - to know what the 'real' rules are would be very useful and interesting.

We have already cancelled the Disney cruise and rebooked it with Royal Caribbean who assured us on the phone and in writing that we dont have to hand over our passports but I'm still not 100% convinced we wont be asked to do so when we get there.

There are loads of opinions out there - everyone is entitled to their own view and I wouldn't want to try and persuade anyone to see it our way. I've just tried to explain why we feel as we do. Friends of ours (UK citizens with UK Passports) cruised with Princess in the Med this year and had to hand theirs over whereas we cruised (also in Europe and at a later date) with P&O (Princess's sister company - both companies are owned by Carnival) and we did not have to give ours up.

Maybe the London bombings and other terrorist events that now seem to happen every day have affected me more than I realised - all I do know is that I value my freedom, my fortune to have been born British and my consequent rights very much.

 

[tecdavidt]

If I was in your shoes I would check again with RCL to make sure they don't take your passports. My gut feeling is that you were given wrong information. If the ship is leaving from an US port you will surrender your passport. Even if you are a citizen of the US you embark the ship late in another port, you are treated like a foreign passenger. I know because it happened to us thanks to a blizzard.We had to catch up to the ship. We have cruised on DCL, Carnival, Celebrity(owned by RCL) and Princess lines--all foreign passengers surrendered their passports. They all had to get up early on debarkation day to immigration to get their passports back. Kathy

 

[Rob1559]

That's fine if you cancel over this issue. It frees up a cabin for others to sail.

 

[weirdguy]

I mentioned having to hand over our Passports to my Dad and boy is he not happy. I don't see the problem with it as I can make a copy and keep that copy on me so my passport is safe. If Disney looses it, which I have never heard of, they'll be paying for a quick replacement. I figure I'll let me Mom know what I've heard and she can prep my Dad, or the poor Disney staff will have to fight him for it
Anyway, I looked on the before mentioned site and it has on there that you have to present the passports, not that you have to surrender them. Oh well, just have to wait and see I guess.
Even though we live in the States we have special NATO passports due to hubby being in the Cdn military, serving in the States, we'll have to find out what is going on. Another Cdn from down here just got back, I'll ask my hubby to find out from him what happened with his Passport.

Thanks for the info though, atleast I won't be broadsided if this issue does come up.

 

[Skuba2]

We surrendered ours in France when we checked into a hotel and this was way before 9/11.

If you take into account how many passengers take a Disney cruise each week and how many out of that are foreign passengers, then you can probably be assured that you are not alone in having to hand over your passport. And, you can probably be assured that your passport is only one in many thousands that they handle each year. And, you can probably be assured that every care is taken with that passport since they probably can't let passengers off in Florida without accounting for every individual passport left in their care. And, I can only assume that with all the checks and balances in the system, that your passport is probably safer with Disney than locked in your safe in your stateroom. I credit you with being cautious, but I think there are other things in life and on the cruise that you can spend your time worrying about other than how the authorities are handling your documents.

I am sorry that you felt you had to cancel your cruise, but we all do the thing that we are most comfortable with and that is your comfort zone.

DG

 

[christinou]

I have had to leave my passport on all 3 of my cruise, I am not a US citizen the rest of my family is, and it really is not a big deal......

 

[Cruisin]

We have already cancelled the Disney cruise and rebooked it with Royal Caribbean who assured us on the phone and in writing that we dont have to hand over our passports but I'm still not 100% convinced we wont be asked to do so when we get there.

I agree that you might want to check this out again.

We have cruised with Royal Caribbean and have had to hand over over passports to them also.

 

[weirdguy]

I saw, on another thread, that some people are able to keep their Passports if they provide copies of the passports and a different picture id. So, maybe, if it's true, the people who really don't want to hand over their passports can get copies of their passports and hand in their drivers licence.
Could be an option. I think I would rather let Disney have my originals though and I could keep the copies, that way I don't have to worry about theft or lose.

Have a great day all,