Carnival sends out email requiring passport for sailing * 30 days prior to embarkation*

[mishellelozano]

How about Carnival sent a "need your passport" blast email and the sailing is exactly a month away (Carnival Conquest 9 day Panama Canal out of MIA). Basically, in a nutshell they are sailing that for this Panama Canal Cruise, 3 of the ports of call are outside of the Western Caribbean Travel Initiative (Costa Rica, Colombia, and Panama) and therefore you have to have a Passport. My beef is why did they not announce this at the time of reservation. They are making no kind of overtures to refund money either as a goodwill gesture. Has anyone heard of any kind of crap like this being pulled last minute?

[DallasGuy75219]

1 hour ago, mishellelozano said:

How about Carnival sent a "need your passport" blast email and the sailing is exactly a month away (Carnival Conquest 9 day Panama Canal out of MIA). Basically, in a nutshell they are sailing that for this Panama Canal Cruise, 3 of the ports of call are outside of the Western Caribbean Travel Initiative (Costa Rica, Colombia, and Panama) and therefore you have to have a Passport. My beef is why did they not announce this at the time of reservation. They are making no kind of overtures to refund money either as a goodwill gesture. Has anyone heard of any kind of crap like this being pulled last minute?

It's not a new rule or something Carnival just made up.  Costa Rica, Colombia, and Panama are in South America, not the Caribbean, so have required a passport for travel by sea for years.

 

Every cruiseline's contract of carriage (and website) says the passenger is responsible for researching and complying with the documentation requirements of the itinerary.  The 30-day reminder is  courtesy (i.e., if you don't know where your passport is, start looking for it now), not telling you it's time to apply for a passport, because you won't get it in time with today's processing times.

 

While it does list the WHTI exception for US citizens to cruise round-trip from the US with a birth certificate and photo ID, Carnival's website also says, "Please note that if the cruise visits Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama or Greenland, a passport (valid for six months after the cruise ends) is required."

 

So unless Carnival explicitly misinforned you about the documentation requirements, it doesn't owe you anything if you have to cancel within the penalty period because you can't or won't get a passport in time for the cruise.

[mishellelozano]

do you know when that disclaimer was posted on their website??

[mishellelozano]

I also think you forgot to add that this is a closed loop cruise. "A closed-loop cruise is a sailing that starts and ends in the same homeport. Most sailings from North America, except repositioning cruises or Panama Canal crossings, are closed-loop."

 

[DallasGuy75219]

7 minutes ago, mishellelozano said:

I also think you forgot to add that this is a closed loop cruise. "A closed-loop cruise is a sailing that starts and ends in the same homeport. Most sailings from North America, except repositioning cruises or Panama Canal crossings, are closed-loop."

It is not a closed loop cruise.  Per your own post, "Most sailings from North America, except repositioning cruises or Panama Canal crossings, are closed-loop."

[mishellelozano]

How is not? It is not a Panama Canal Crossing. Does not transverse the Canal. 

 

[DallasGuy75219]

10 minutes ago, mishellelozano said:

How is not? It is not a Panama Canal Crossing. Does not transverse the Canal. 

 

There are partial Panama Canal crossings and full.crossings, sometimes called partial and full transits.  In any event, it's not the fact you're crossing the Panama Canal that requires a passport but rather the countries you're porting in. 

 

And just about any full or partial transit is going to port in Panama, Columbia,  and/or Costa Rico and therefore require a passport. 

[klfrodo]

2 hours ago, mishellelozano said:

do you know when that disclaimer was posted on their website??

The disclaimer has been in the Contract of Carriage for 20 years at least.

When we began cruising with Carnival, the contract has always said that the need for proper documentation to travel is the passengers responsibility.

[sparks1093]

It has long been the practice in all travel markets that the traveler is ultimately responsible for meeting all documentation requirements. They did not need to send out the email, but they did as a courtesy and 30 days is enough time to obtain a passport, even if one has to pay extra to expedite. The definition of a closed loop cruise is actually "a cruise that departs from and returns to the same US port and sails entirely within the area covered by the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative". A cruise that leaves New York and goes to Europe and returns to New York is not closed loop because it goes outside of the area covered by the WHTI. Same as with the cruise you booked. The ports aren't within that area. I know that this isn't the answer that you want to hear, but it is what it is. 

 

And a quick look at the FAQ about documentation shows this: For cruises that begin and end in the same U.S port, the following WHTI-compliant documents are acceptable for cruise travel. Please note that if the cruise visits Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama or Greenland, a passport (valid for six months after the cruise ends) is required. (Emphasis in the original.)

[sanger727]

It's always the traveler's responsibility to know what documentation is required for each country visited. Don't forget that in many countries, you are also responsible for getting a visa.  This is completely on you and there is absolutely no reason for why they should refund you.

 

If you want to try and salvage this trip, your only option at this point is to appear in person at a passport center. 

Edited October 6, 2023 by sanger727

[pe4all]

Unfortunately the OP did not know what they officially needed.  Right now the passport offices are very behind - even with expedited passports.  As Sanger727 said - pretty much the only option is to immediately try to find a passport center to appear at in person - and even that is a hassle to get an appointment at.  My nephew had to fly to Burlington (VT) from NY because he couldn't get an appointment closer in the time period he needed before he left for an all inclusive in Mexico. (he is 19 and didn't realize his passport had expired and needed it in 3 days)

[Drazil65]

And a quick look at the FAQ about documentation shows this: For cruises that begin and end in the same U.S port, the following WHTI-compliant documents are acceptable for cruise travel. Please note that if the cruise visits Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama or Greenland, a passport (valid for six months after the cruise ends) is required. (Emphasis in the original.)

 

THIS^^^

 

Always amazes me (and is evidenced every hour on this forum ) that with people so involved in their phones, computer screens and any other device, will watch insignificant videos all day or go down a million rabbit holes about nonsense, but will not research anything that actually would be a benefit to them.  They would rather go forward with little or no knowledge then blame someone else for them not knowing.  Almost every question asked here can be answered on the CCL website, somewhere (and in this case a couple different places).  

 

Hopefully OP can get to a passport office in person asap and get something expedited within the time frame needed ($$$) or has travel insurance to possibly help with regaining some of the cost.  Otherwise it will be a costly lesson in natural consequences.  

Edited October 6, 2023 by Drazil65

[jsglow]

OP, understanding the travel requirements of your cruise is YOUR responsibility. And there is zero chance that Carnival mislead you in any way. The notice was a simple reminder.

 

There were famous stories from about 15-20 years ago when the brand new Splendor was set to circumnavigate South America on her way to Long Beach. See, on that epic cruise, Visas were required for certain South American ports. (Brazil?)  Anyway, despite numerous notifications, some folks (like 100+) showed up at the Port of Miami without them. They remained on the pier as the ship sailed away. RCCL was similarly transiting a new ship the exact same way that year. Exact same thing happened. Appropriately, no one got any form of compensation. 

[sparks1093]

1 hour ago, Drazil65 said:

And a quick look at the FAQ about documentation shows this: For cruises that begin and end in the same U.S port, the following WHTI-compliant documents are acceptable for cruise travel. Please note that if the cruise visits Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama or Greenland, a passport (valid for six months after the cruise ends) is required. (Emphasis in the original.)

 

THIS^^^

 

Always amazes me (and is evidenced every hour on this forum ) that with people so involved in their phones, computer screens and any other device, will watch insignificant videos all day or go down a million rabbit holes about nonsense, but will not research anything that actually would be a benefit to them.  They would rather go forward with little or no knowledge then blame someone else for them not knowing.  Almost every question asked here can be answered on the CCL website, somewhere (and in this case a couple different places).  

 

Hopefully OP can get to a passport office in person asap and get something expedited within the time frame needed ($$$) or has travel insurance to possibly help with regaining some of the cost.  Otherwise it will be a costly lesson in natural consequences.  

The only insurance that might help is Cancel For Any Reason. Lacking travel documents isn't a covered reason for most other policies.

[jsglow]

So just to dovetail on this. All other Caribbean ports are part of the WHTI to the best of my knowledge and so traveling with a Birth Certificate AND a valid Driver's License (on a closed-loop cruise) is permitted. If anyone knows an island where that isn't true kindly advise. It's possible next winter we'll need to do that once while our Passport renewals are processing.

(Yes, we do travel so often that there's not a big enough gap... thanks for asking. 😉)  

[sanger727]

10 minutes ago, jsglow said:

So just to dovetail on this. All other Caribbean ports are part of the WHTI to the best of my knowledge and so traveling with a Birth Certificate AND a valid Driver's License (on a closed-loop cruise) is permitted. If anyone knows an island where that isn't true kindly advise. It's possible next winter we'll need to do that once while our Passport renewals are processing.

(Yes, we do travel so often that there's not a big enough gap... thanks for asking. 😉)  

 

I know Cuba requires a passport, and there is one other island that frequently is mentioned that  requires a passport. I can't recall it off the top of my head.

[sparks1093]

12 minutes ago, jsglow said:

So just to dovetail on this. All other Caribbean ports are part of the WHTI to the best of my knowledge and so traveling with a Birth Certificate AND a valid Driver's License (on a closed-loop cruise) is permitted. If anyone knows an island where that isn't true kindly advise. It's possible next winter we'll need to do that once while our Passport renewals are processing.

(Yes, we do travel so often that there's not a big enough gap... thanks for asking. 😉)  

The only islands I'm aware of aren't part of a typical Carnival itinerary (Cuba and Martinique).

[BlerkOne]

Columbia is certainly South America and we don't know if the OP has a passport or not.

 

But it isn't Carnival's job to know who needs what travel documents. Requirements are fluid and vary with citizenship.

 

 

[jsglow]

Thanks guys. Neither is on the Conquest 14 night itinerary. By the way, Martinique is beautiful.

[BlerkOne]

A passport isn't required to buy a plane ticket to Europe, but they won't let you on the plane.

[PayneAS]

Oh, look who posted 3 mins ago about this. LOL

[firefly333]

11 hours ago, mishellelozano said:

How about Carnival sent a "need your passport" blast email and the sailing is exactly a month away (Carnival Conquest 9 day Panama Canal out of MIA). Basically, in a nutshell they are sailing that for this Panama Canal Cruise, 3 of the ports of call are outside of the Western Caribbean Travel Initiative (Costa Rica, Colombia, and Panama) and therefore you have to have a Passport. My beef is why did they not announce this at the time of reservation. They are making no kind of overtures to refund money either as a goodwill gesture. Has anyone heard of any kind of crap like this being pulled last minute?

I'm on the partial that stops in colon Panama,and costa rica and Columbia. Months ago I posted that google says a passport is required to enter Panama. Not a single poster didnt argue with me. I said royal also told us late. I googled where google says air, train or cruise entering panama a passport is required. Again people said that was murky or it's a round trip from Galveston. 

 

I wrote to carnival customer service and said I'd like to add a 2nd pax as this is a extra special sailing. ..crickets . Customer service didnt say yes or no.

 

Finally I read just yesterday there was a meeting to discuss this and john heald posted that a passport is required. It's not required for those who dont port in colon just do a partial sailing thru the waters possibly but if you are stopping at colon Panama google says clearly a passport is required. Those arguing with me now are all surprised and upset. It's not, like this wasn't discussed many time since we booked.

 

I said in fact in Columbia at the meeting place for my excursions for Columbia they made me go to my cabin to either get my passport or take a screen shot off the ship with us. This was royal true, and carnival posters just kept insisting carnival had their own rules. 

 

Oh surprise ...  john heald posted a passport is required.

 

Our final final due oct 13th. I'm on the Galveston 14 day journey cruise. I'll bet some cabins open up suddenly on this cruise sold out since last April. .... if anyone wants to go. When you assume google isnt clear when it even said entering on a cruise a passport required ... and that my april cruise to colon was just royal. I see my roll call suddenly upset. 

 

Well I posted multiple times and copied and pasted google saying required. Of course when I say required and 50 post I'm wrong, who are they going to believe? A simple google search .. I dont see what I quoted on my posts and to carnival customer service ..but 

 

Do You Need a Passport to Go to Panama?

Getting to Panama, unpacking, and spending your days by the beach feels relaxing. But do you need a passport to access this bliss? Yes! All U.S. citizens traveling to Panama must have passports that meet the following Panama entry requirements for U.S. citizens:

 

Costa Rica has always required a passport for cruise ship passengers. So does Colombia.

 

I could go on. Nothing says its not required. We visit all 3 ports. 

 

 

[firefly333]

I have little sympathy tbh. If google says entering Panama on a cruise a passport is required, and someone posted this information and they believed other posters about closed loop cruises not required .. and didnt bother to get it in writing from carnival after being told in writing a passport is required to cruise and enter Panama.. 

 

Sometimes that odd man out posting knows. Get it in writing if you think carnival is different than other cruiselines in Panama entry requirements. 

 

We skipped costa Rica when I went on radiance OTS in april .. so it's a new port to me. It also does say required. 

 

We also have had 10 or more threads if porting in colon Panama means we do a partial transit. I've steadfastly said it means no we do not. Oh guess who was right. When you think you know more than others ... sometimes you find yourself in trouble. A simple google search could have saved a lot of people all upset right now on my roll call. Not a pass card ... a passport only. 

 

I'm sure I'm going to be attacked for saying I posted this info months ago and wrote to carnival customer service. .. just left reading my roll call and those upset. I went thru this just last april. 

[Homosassa]

14 hours ago, mishellelozano said:

 My beef is why did they not announce this at the time of reservation. They are making no kind of overtures to refund money either as a goodwill gesture. Has anyone heard of any kind of crap like this being pulled last minute?

Have your checked your cruise confirmation documentation for information about your booking?

 

Any cruise reservation confirmation on any cruise line for any itinerary that required a passport  that I have booked over the last forty eight years always had the passport information in the confirmation.

Edited October 6, 2023 by Homosassa

[cheer25mom]

1. This is why I got a passport the first time I went out of the country.

 

2. This is why I THOROUGHLY  research any trip I before I book it.