Just a piece of Advice for women that have been previously married

[emt6121]

Just a piece of advice if you have been married more then one time. My husband & I are leaving on our first cruise on February 7th to the Bahamas. I had called Carnival multiple times inquiring about proper id (we did not get our passports) since I have been married more then i time. I was told 3 different things by Carnival representitives so I finally ask to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor stated that she could only "advise" me on the proper id that the US Dept of Immigrations & Homeland Security require but since every instance is unique, she could not give me a correct answer. She gave me the number for Immigrations and after being on hold for 15 minutes, the employee could only tell me what the Western Hemisphere Itinerary says. So, I wasted 20 minutes...My concern was being denied boarding for not having proper id so..I had to pay $207 to get my passport expedited. My piece of advice is to get your passport from the start!!!

[Sandy]

Good advice, emt. Although passports have gotten pricey, they're the best, and sometimes the only, proof of U.S. citizenship accepted. And they're good for 10 years for adults, so the initial cost isn't that high when pro-rated over 10 years.

I'm sorry you had to go through what you went through. They should have recommended a passport from the get-go, even if you were never married or once married. Although an original birth certificate and photo ID are still accepted under some cruise conditions, it can be risky even if it's good enough to allow you to board. If you're at a port in another country and have to fly home for some reason, you're going to have major problems if you don't have a passport with you.

Thanks for giving us the benefit of your frustrating experience.

[wooddon]

This is very good advise. We do not know why anyone would travel without a passport!!! We have always had a passport since we were born. My wife this is her only ID as she does not drive, so it's a must for photo ID every where, even in Canada. Why is it that people refuse to sign up for a passport? The price for these is nothning compare to piece of mind.