On my recent European vacation I had pretty good success in getting stamps at most destinations...here's a quick recap of the stamping and formalities:

EWR-FRA: Stamped without asking @ FRA

FRA-LCY: Exit stamp at FRA and Arrival stamp @ LCY w/o asking

LGW-GIB: Stamped without asking (slightly surprised, I wasn't aware that GIB had its own immigration service until I got there...)...the GIB stamp is pretty cool looking as well

Gibraltar to Spain land crossing on foot: No stamp, just had to hold up the cover of my US passport and was waved through...the next day I was half-tempted to repeat the crossing to get a stamp but I felt weird about doing that for some reason

Spain to Gibraltar land crossing on foot: Same as GIB-Spain...no stamp but as I had a GIB stamp from the flight in, didn't bother me too much

GIB-LTN: Stamped without asking @ LTN, although we were forced to wait for 25 minutes as they didn't have anyone to process non-EU passengers when our flight arrived around 10:30 PM...

LHR-WAW: Stamped without asking @ WAW

WAW-IST: Exit Stamp @ WAW w/o asking, Visa purchased on arrival @ IST plus stamp without asking

IST-VIE: Exit stamp on visa @ IST, @ VIE I handed over passport, got it back without a stamp...even though the immigration officer didnt look like he was in a good mood I decided to ask for a stamp, and after giving me a slightly irritated look he obliged, although he put it right on top of one of my WAW stamps (grrr)

VIE-LHR: Exit stamp @ VIE and arrival stamp @ LHR without asking, although by this point I was fairly sure that UK immigration was getting irritated by my weird itinerary that had me passing through England a lot...got 5 minutes of questioning at LHR before I was allowed in for the third time on the trip...

STN-AMS: While in line at AMS, I saw that the officer was not stamping, so when it was my turn, I asked for one, and the officer raised his eyebrows and said: "Are you really sure you want a stamp?" I meekly replied "Yes, if it's not too much trouble". He stamped it, all the while shaking his head back and forth doubtfully like I had done something grieviously wrong...in retrospect, Im not sure getting a stamp at AMS was a good idea as I remembered seeing a thread here on FT about AMS stamps possibly being a red flag for extra attention on arrival in the US...with me being a college student, I figured I had just sealed my fate for extra searching when I returned home...

AMS-MAN: Exit stamp @ AMS and arrival stamp @ MAN without asking (thus rendering irrelevant my worries about AMS stamps...I was destined to get one anyway!)...fortunately my 4th and last entry into the UK on this trip went smoothly (after the minor hassle at LHR I figured I was really going to get it at MAN)

LHR-FRA-EWR: No stamp at FRA as it was a true transit stop on my return home to the US...once at EWR, immigration was hassleless, although at customs I got a bit of questioning from the agents there, but no search or hassling...

One thing I was disappointed with is how the EU stamps are all the same (except for the UK and GIB stamps)...its a bit bland, but not really something I can control I suppose!!!

Once, in February 1992, in Moscow. They only stamped the visa document, which was separate from the passport. Actually, they offered to stamp my passport for $20. Seriously.

Did you fork it over? I'm very much against corruption and bribery, but I'm pretty sure I would have ignored my principles for the chance to tell the following story:

"And this is my stamp from when I went to Moscow. The guy actually wanted a twenty to stamp it. Best Andrew Jackson I ever spent."

I know it's immature, but I wouldn't be able to resist. Keep in mind I'm also the guy who jealous of another friend's absolutely badass stamps and visas from Syria, Iraq and Jordan.

i'd be happy if they dont stamp my passport. last time I requested a thick passport, the request was simply
ignored with a polite response of "oops" so I'm stuck with a thin one.. and
I never have enough downtime to send in the passport for
more pages. I paper clip the pages to stop them from stamping
empty pages. now I have over 14 stamps per page and I avoid to get stamps
when possible.

I think it's fine to ask... but if you travel a lot it fills up your pages.... my brother has to order more

Nah, I didn't pay the man. It really rubbed me the wrong way.

I really want a Cuba stamp in my US passport.

I can understand Iraq, and Syria just about, but what is 'badass' about Jordan? Along with pre-current war Lebanon it is the most liberal, cosmopolitan and relaxed of the Muslim Middle East nations.

On a cruise this spring (I know we're suppose to stick to flying talk (planes), but I flew to Houston before boarding :) ), I left my passport at the desk & they had it stamped in each country - Honduras, Belize, & Mexico.

In Schengen area you'll never get a stamp, as there is usually no passport control. As a US-citizen i.e., you will basically get a stamp when entering one country of the schengen area and another when you leave it for good.

As for the "new" countries in the European Union, you will still need to pass a passport control, but they will never give you a stamp. Although if you ask friendly sometimes they will... In Palanga, Lithuania the custom guy asked "what for, you're still in Europe", I answered "it's just for me" and then that was no problem.

Switzerland is extremely hard. I asked about 10 times, 9 times no, 1 time yes... I guess they're not allowed to stamp EU passports. Same thing when I was reeintering EU after a flight from Switzerland to Rome. Absolutely no go in Rome (I have a German passport).

Other countries don't stamp EU passport although they're not EU-member. In Dubrovnik, Croatia, I always got a stamp when entering country, but always got refused one when leaving it, which is rather strange...

I haven't had any problems getting my passport stamped that I can recall.

Crossing from Maine into New Brunswick last September my wife and I presented our passports after the routine questions and asked if the officer would stamp them. She said "yeah, OK" and had to pull the stamp out of her backpocket and change the date using a letter opener. Coming back in a few days later I asked the US guy and he said he'd have to run inside but it would only take a second. We passed.

The oddest thing was on a recent trip to Mexico we presented a copy of our daughter's certified birth record with our passports and the Mexican immigration officer at MEX stamped the back of it. She has a passport on order but I thought that was pretty cool. I didn't have the gumption to ask the US officer in Houston on our return to do the same.

Habana Vacation
 

Me too, but hopefully a legal one. I meet and read about Europeans who vacation in Cuba all the time and love it. I live in a state 90 miles away and am forbidden to go. :td:

However, at one time Cuba would stamp a loose piece of paper stapled in your passport, which could accidentally fall out in Mexico or Cananda or the Bahamas or Jamaica as a US citizen continued their RTW travels before they got home. ;)

I read at other times they used to stamp with a dot the size of a period. Everyone knows what that meant, but no one could prove it. A little international ribbing from one customs department to another. Of course, if US agents saw it you can bet they will strip search you and your bags looking for cigars. :D

Passport stamp are fun - but sometimes, they can be a PITA. I'm glad to have my newer passport, without the Middle East stamps and the occasional US DHS junior sleuth asking me WHY I was in Egypt and etc. When confronted by someone who doesn't even know Egypt borders the Red Sea and that people go diving there, or that the likelihood a 60+ YO US veteran probably didn't go to attend some kind of AQ training camp... :p

I traveled through mostly Eastern Europe countries last summer. There was a passport check when crossing each border. Most of my train trips were overnighters. Worst part of it was the custom guys banging on your door at 2 am and bellowing out "PASSPORT CONTROL!!" Not a good way of catching a full night's sleep. (Going from Krakow to Budapest, you have to cross through Slovakia. Thus, there were two PASSPORT CONTROL!!!! during the night)

Could I ask which cruise line this was on??? On cruises, our usual method of getting stamps was simply to hunt for the local immigration office at each port and ask for a stamp there (most of the time they were very close to the port, if not in the port itself, thus it wasnt a huge time expense to get one)...we've done the Caribbean a lot (mainly the western/southern destinations), and the only place we haven't had success when we tried was in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica (kept getting bad directions from the locals and eventually gave up as we didnt want to kill off our entire stop there looking for a stamp)...your method sounds much easier though:)