I left the passport on board in the safe. I have only cruised Mexico and the western Caribbean, in other words, I am there to swim and to snorkel and having to care for an important gov't document would ruin the entire experience. Leave the passport in the durn safe and be free to snorkel, splash, swim, and just be relaxed.

If there is a medical emergency, my photocopy of the passport will allow the U.S. embassy or whoever to get me another passport. Trust me. Old people cruise. They know how to handle it. Life is too short to give up my snorkel while I keep paperwork strapped to my being.

I have done both ship excursions and independent excursion, depending on how far I plan to travel from the ship. Obviously, when I'm independent, there is little likelihood of missing the ship, except for a medical emergency, because I'm in control of when I get back to the dock. When I'm with a ship's excursions, trust me, if the ship sails without us, there are plenty of other older folk in the same situation. We will not be left in Guatemala forever. Our goverments will find a way to work it out. Don't stress so much!

A passport is too large and uncomfortable to always be "securely on your person." Maybe some day they will change it to a scannable credit card sized object with a magnetic stripe containing all that information. Then I will be happy to cart it around. But it's a freaking paperback book! There is no way for a small person to carry it comfortably. It is awkward and obvious in a neck pouch and will not be safe from armed robbery because it's so large it's clearly visible. When worn in a hip/leg pouch, it pokes into my thighs. It's a very poor design. They should have all of that information in a small card/chip if they really expect us to carry it everywhere. And it better be waterproof if they want it carried at the beach.