Copies of passports

[Gilland18]

I've read lots of threads on the subject of carrying your passport all the time and the making of copies instead. My DSis just renewed their passports. Quoting her, "the paperwork that came with them reminds us to carry photocopies of the biographical page from your passport at all times when overseas." I hadn't realized that the US Department of State took an official stand on this.

 

[CamColt]

That is interesting. I never noticed that either but it is a good tip, I suppose. Thanks for sharing!

 

[M<3'sMickey]

We usually make copies of the passports and keep them in the safe on the ship, god forbid something happens to it while we're on an excursion. We also keep copies at home so that way, should something crazy happen, one of our family members can run to our house and send us the copies.

 

[amberwc]

You can also use the little copies for Mexico travel when driving (idk about flying), FYI.

 

[OKW Lover]

If you carry a smart phone you might want to just take a picture of that page.

 

[landheim]

So what do people usually do...take all passports with you when on excursions or leave them in the shape and take a copy with you when in port? I worry about having them lost/stolen.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

So what do people usually do...take all passports with you when on excursions or leave them in the shape and take a copy with you when in port? I worry about having them lost/stolen.

Most ports do not require cruise ship passengers to have their passports with them while ashore. Some do. Generally most cruise lines recommend keeping passports in your safe onboard, unless required to have it ashore.

To get off the ship, you need your KTTW card (each person must bring theirs). To reboard the ship, you need the KTTW card and (for those 18 and over) a government-issued photo ID. You may use a driver's license, or passport, or state ID card for this.

There are people who say "I'm not going into any foreign country without my passport". That's fine. It's a personal call whether you bring yours ashore (when not required) or not.

 

[bumbershoot]

So what do people usually do...take all passports with you when on excursions or leave them in the shape and take a copy with you when in port? I worry about having them lost/stolen.

I take the passports with us except for on Castaway and Coco Cays.

 

[landheim]

Thanks, I'll have to think about this one...

 

[hanscarlet]

I always leave ours locked in the stateroom safe but probably a good tip to travel with copies

 

[NC DCL fans]

I tried photocopies and photos of the passports, but they were really hard to read. In case it helps anyone else, scanning works like a charm. I ended up scanning the biographical page from our passports, attached the image to an email sent it to myself, then opened that email on my phone and saved the images to my phone's photo gallery. Now we have high def images in my phone, which we take ashore anyway.

 

[Imahikergirl]

I've only ever taken my passport off the ship once, and that was to get a Bahamas stamp at the port. I carry my NEXUS card and DH carries his Passport Card normally.

 

[ciahanna]

We took ours with us when we exited the ship, but had copies in our stateroom just in case a passport got lost. We also left a copy of them with my parents at home. I think we also had copies of our birth certificates and marriage license in our stateroom too. Probably overkill, but it was already in with our paperwork so we brought it just in case.

 

[kiford]

I doubt that the copy or picture is legal for travel, but it probably makes it easier to replace as they have additional information other than just you showing a birth certificate or claiming you are who you are. Plus it may occasionally make it easier to use as ID for other purposes such as in a bar to prove age.