Passports

[WHBC]

When taking shore excursions in northern European ports, do you have to keep your passport with you or can it be left safely onboard ship?

[Sandy]

The shore excursion description will tell you whether or not you need your passport. Chances are you won't need it. We did excursions in northern Europe and just had to take our boarding pass with us.

We always keep our passports on the ship, in the in-room safe if one is provided, or hidden somewhere. We've been on a couple of ships that actually collected our passports when we boarded, and gave them back to us the night before debarkation.

Sandy

[HeinBloed]

In the ports of Visby, Helsinki, Tallinn and Gdynia none checked our passports. St. Petersburg you must pass border authorities. Only on Saaremaa (Sadam terminal on a small Estonian island) we were checked but could be because this day the Estonian President came to open new fascilities. Could be for show only. In Europe you have Schengen agreement. Normally travelling from one Schengen country to the next is possible without checking the passport like from Germany to Finland. You must not compare it like in the US or Canada or China. It's very smooth in Europe and take seconds. None want your fingerprints or a picture of you. No Arrival/Departure Record Cards.

Have a nice trip!

Regards,
HeinBloed