sea cards

Noun

sea card (plural sea cards)

1. A mariner's card, or compass.
   • And is it to be denied, that several Islands and distant Parts of the World, which could never be come at by Land, were Peopled by the Posterity of Noah, long before the Sea-card or Compass was discover'd?1723, Geoffrey Keating, The General History of Ireland, page 46
2. A map of the ocean.
   • You have answered the question Philomathes directly: here might we make an end to the use of the sea Card, were it not that I remember you propounded unto me a question heretofore concerning the degrees of Latitude: whether it were not better for the Mariners use, if they were great then they be...1620, William Bourne, A Regiment for the Sea, page 93
3. An ID card that identifies someone as eligible to work as crew aboard ship.
   • Goodrich, on of eleven crew members who became clergy members, spoke about the sea cards the students carried , the South American blueprints he keeps in his home.1997, Michigan History Magazine - Volume 81, page 37
4. An ID card issued by a cruise ship line to passengers, often tied to a credit card, which passengers use to board the ship after excursions, to enter their rooms, and usually to pay for items while on the ship.
   • They stopped the first waiter and placed their order for the tropical concoction of the day using their Sailing/Sea card for payment.2011, Sylvia A. Witmore, Madness at Midnight, page 62