Why do they require my passport to travel within the EU for a cruise ship?

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Because it's easier for them to require passports than to create a special policy for EU citizens. I wouldn't be surprised if non-EU citizens are also asked to prove they're legally allowed to stay within the Schengen area, even though they don't have to check that for intra-EU journeys.

So the answer is: because the company is too lazy to have a reasonable policy.

Upvote:1

While traveling from a Schengen port to a Schengen port, without planned stops, you should not even need to show your passport of ID card. But when traveling on a sea, unforseen things can happen and your cruise ship might need to call in at a port which is outside the area where your ID is valid.

And there is the possibility of an emergency evacuation, which might land you in a country that does not accept EU ID cards.

But it can also be a case of 'we set the rules, we stick to it.' Without good reasoning.

Upvote:2

Look at it from the cruise line's point of view. There are two policies they could adopt:

  1. Accept all the credentials appropriate for every ports they visit and every country their passengers might hail from, which would entail researching the relevant laws, consulting with legal experts, training crew members in the rules, and dealing with complaints from customers who don't understand the final policy. And Heaven help them if a mechanical or logistical problem forces them to dock in a unplanned port and half the passengers don't have have the proper paperwork to go ashore.
  2. Require passports of everyone.

So (2) is the obvious choice.

And you can say they ought to make an exception for such a common case, an EU citizen traveling between EU ports -- and I am sure they have thought about doing so, but have decided against it.

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