I called Carnival this afternoon and PVP said that if you have the passport "proof of application" you can use that instead of your BC (don't have that because I sent it in with the application over 3 months before the cruise). I had heard this before, but know that you can get different responses depending on whom you talk to. I had him email me the passage he was quoting from. He said the rule wouldn't change (I expressed concern about trying to board the ship with the application proof and being denied because I didn't have a BC) because it was the government who made the rule, not the cruise line. I asked if I would be able to get off the ship in St. Thomas, knowing I would have to go through customs, and he said yes. He said the quoted passage was from Carnival's websit, FAQs, but I couldn't find it. That's why he emailed me. Here's the passage (see the last paragraph):
U.S. Citizens with Pending Passport Applications Allowed Temporary Travel Flexibility
(From http://www.travel.state.gov/) The U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security announced June 8, 2007 that U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who have applied for but not yet received passports can nevertheless temporarily enter and depart from the United States by air with a government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport through September 30, 2007. The federal government is making this accommodation for air travel due to longer than expected processing times for passport applications in the face of record-breaking demand.
For cruise purposes, this pertains to guests who have applied for a passport and no longer are in possession of their birth certificates but do have “Proof of Application” for a passport. This does not pertain to cruises in Europe where a passport has always been mandatory.
I'm still a little leary of relying on this. I would go out and get another copy of BC, but I would need to pay about $60 (can't get it in person - too far away).
Passport Clarification Needed..
in Ask a Cruise Question
Posted
I called Carnival this afternoon and PVP said that if you have the passport "proof of application" you can use that instead of your BC (don't have that because I sent it in with the application over 3 months before the cruise). I had heard this before, but know that you can get different responses depending on whom you talk to. I had him email me the passage he was quoting from. He said the rule wouldn't change (I expressed concern about trying to board the ship with the application proof and being denied because I didn't have a BC) because it was the government who made the rule, not the cruise line. I asked if I would be able to get off the ship in St. Thomas, knowing I would have to go through customs, and he said yes. He said the quoted passage was from Carnival's websit, FAQs, but I couldn't find it. That's why he emailed me. Here's the passage (see the last paragraph):
U.S. Citizens with Pending Passport Applications Allowed Temporary Travel Flexibility
(From http://www.travel.state.gov/) The U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security announced June 8, 2007 that U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who have applied for but not yet received passports can nevertheless temporarily enter and depart from the United States by air with a government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport through September 30, 2007. The federal government is making this accommodation for air travel due to longer than expected processing times for passport applications in the face of record-breaking demand.
For cruise purposes, this pertains to guests who have applied for a passport and no longer are in possession of their birth certificates but do have “Proof of Application” for a passport. This does not pertain to cruises in Europe where a passport has always been mandatory.
I'm still a little leary of relying on this. I would go out and get another copy of BC, but I would need to pay about $60 (can't get it in person - too far away).
Just thought I would pass this on.