Thread: I got my passport!

I applied for a passport on Saturday, July 10 for one reason: to beat the $35 price increase on Tuesday, July 13. Never mind a cruise has not been booked yet; I knew I will need it in a few years, definitely less than 10. Best case scenario is May 2013. Because so many people were thinking the same thing, I expected to wait the maximum six weeks, which would have been August 21. But the wait was only 31 days (incluiding Sundays) and now I just need my birth certificate returned.

According to Wikipedia, passports have 32 pages. Mine has 28 so I wondered if there was a mistake on the site or they really did get smaller. Twenty of those pages are for visa stamps and notes. I also got a card for writing the passport number so if it is lost or stolen I can get a new one. Of course, if I can get the same advice from most people on what to do with it - Cruise Critic members can't agree on whether to keep it on the ship or not - I will not lose it.

Even though my first trip to Europe is more than two and a half years away, I welcome your ideas for what to do with the passport during a Mediterranean cruise. Also, just in case I do a Canada/New England or Alaska itinerary, which my mom wants to do, I want to know how important having a passport is for the Canadian part of the trip.

Congratulations, Andrea!

A passport is the best form of ID you can have!

You will need it to fly to and from a foreign country.

It will be needed at the time that you embark the ship. The cruise line must make sure you have the proper documentation not only for going to a foreign country, but for the return into the US if you are disembarking here. You will show the passport again to prove your citizenship when you go through immigration after you disembark the ship.

We have taken many cruises to Europe and have only needed to show the passport in port when we were converting money at a bank.

Some folks like to keep their passport with them when they are off the ship in case of emergency. It is not required that you have them on your person in most ports. The cruise line will advise you by way of announcements and printed info in your daily activity sheet what kind of ID you will need in any given port.

My passport only took 21 days and I applied on July 12, the last day to apply before the price hike.
I got my birth certificate 2 days later. I did not use the expedited service.

Originally Posted by Smart Traveler

Of course, if I can get the same advice from most people on what to do with it - Cruise Critic members can't agree on whether to keep it on the ship or not - I will not lose it.

First piece of advice, don't listen to what you read on the Dark Side! Most of those people are either not right most of the time or not right all the time!! And they love to be negative about everything.

In all the ports throughout the Mediterranean and the Baltics, we were only required to have our passport with us in two; in Russia and one other country in the Baltics but can't remember which one. We never had to take our passports with us during our 2 weeks in the Greek Islands cruises.

What I suggest with the passports is to make a couple of copies of the front page with all the identifying information. Keep your passport in the safe on the ship unless they tell you that you absolutely have to have it with you in port. Keep a copy of the passport with you in a separate location from the passport and keep a copy in the safe. Also, scan the passport and attach the file to an email to yourself. That way, should you ever find yourself in a situation where you don't have any copies and need one, all you have to do is get to a computer, open your email, and print a copy.

Other than that, don't worry about it, you'll be fine.

One thing I do recommend is a one of those flat wallets that men can wear around their waste under their pants or a woman can wear around her neck under her blouse that you can use to keep your passport. While we never had any problems, there are some cities in Europe where pickpocketing is a full-time sport. But like most things, if you take the normal precautions, be aware of your surroundings, and be smart about your belongings, you won't have any problems.

Pete

On all my trips to Europe whether land or cruise, I kept my passport on me in a money belt with an emergency credit card and some emergency cash. Just in case something unforeseen happened, I didnt want to be stuck somewhere in Europe and not be able to get back home.

I also make copies of my passport and put one in each of my suitcases, leave one at home, leave one at my work and Pete's suggestion of emailing it to yourself is great. Just make sure you have a web-based email account (that you can access your email from any computer) if you plan to use that as another backup copy method.