TwinMom7

Thank you!!

Someone told me today that if you buy a drink package when you board the ship early in the day, you can't start using it until the ship sets sail. That you will be charged for every drink up until we set sail. Can anyone confirm that? I'm thinking if I pay for a 7 day package, I shouldn't have to wait till 8:30 at night (when we sail) to start using my Day 1 package.

Glad to hear this. We are sailing with Nick in June. Calabazza was full, and Gina recommended Nick. ;)

The Passcards have been talked and argued about by the government since shortly after 9/11. So five years have passed and except for a few preliminary articles on them nothing has been finalized and they are still working out the logistics of them. Many of the articles I have read about them state the most popular form for them at the current time is they will be more of a land crossing type card, not a passport will the full benefits that you would need for cruise and air travel. The government has been hashing this out for 5 years so with the way washington works I definitely wouldn't bet on these be available anytime soon. So if the price of the passports doubles as many sources are predicting then you will be out $800 for your family of four.

Only quoting exactly what was sent to me from Carnival 48 hours ago. I just did an online search for a projected price increase in the U.S. for passports and found nothing but a $12 surcharge.

The Passcards have been talked and argued about by the government since shortly after 9/11. So five years have passed and except for a few preliminary articles on them nothing has been finalized and they are still working out the logistics of them. Many of the articles I have read about them state the most popular form for them at the current time is they will be more of a land crossing type card, not a passport will the full benefits that you would need for cruise and air travel. The government has been hashing this out for 5 years so with the way washington works I definitely wouldn't bet on these be available anytime soon. So if the price of the passports doubles as many sources are predicting then you will be out $800 for your family of four.

I simply typed exactly what was Carnival sent to me 48 hours ago.

I have heard on these boards as well as an article in our local paper that the cost for a passport is going to go up "significantly" this March. So you might want to get one sooner rather than later.

Actually, the information I received from Carnival for our April '08 cruise is that the push back of the date that cruise passengers will need a passport is due to the fact that the government is planning to issue a smaller Pass Port type card and the cost will be significately less - approximately $50 per card.

I am waiting for that to be implemented before I spend $400 on passports for a family of 4.

This is the statement from Carnival in my documents:

The U.S. Government will require that all of our guests, including U.S. Citizens be in possession of a valid passport when traveling on any Carnival Cruise. This requirement will become effective no later than June 1, 2009. This effective date may be moved to an earlier date pending the U.S. Government's implementation of new identification cards (PASScards) that will provide a less expensive alternative form of documentation. For travel by air, the passport deadline will remain January 8, 2007.