Passports Required to Enter the United States

COMING SOON! PASSPORTS REQUIRED TO ENTER THE UNITED STATES

The U.S. Government is proposing provisions to the Intelligence Reform Bill, passed last December, which requires that the current Western Hemisphere passport exemptions be phased out. That means new passport rules for all U.S. citizens and other travelers coming to and leaving the United States will be put in place. The proposed rules will be phased in as follows:

December 31, 2005 – Passports required for all air and sea travel to and from the Caribbean, Bermuda, and Central and South America.

December 31, 2006 – Passports required for all air and sea travel to and from Canada and Mexico. December 31, 2007 – Passports or other accepted travel documents required for land border crossings to and from Canada or Mexico.

The proposed rules for the different phase-in dates will be finalized over the coming months, but regardless of the timeframe, by January 1, 2008, all Americans departing and returning to the United States will be required to have a valid U.S. passport. This will undoubtedly cause a backlog in getting passports as these rules take effect. For information on obtaining or renewing a passport, visit the State Department’s Web site at http://www.travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html.

When talking to your clients:

• Reiterate that they should avoid the rush and the possibility of not being able to travel where they wish without a passport. • Remind clients booking 2006 travel to the Caribbean, Bermuda, and Central and South America will require a passport to re-enter the U.S. • Inform them that a passport can open the doors to travel they may not have considered before, such as cruising in Europe, Australia and Asia. (This also opens the door for a CLIA agent to recommend a new vacation option) • Remind them that passports are valid for ten years and if they are repeat cruisers or frequent travelers, the initial price of that passport ($97 for a new passport and $67 for a renewal) is amortized over time. If they take two vacations per year the cost of the passport per vacation is less than a frozen drink with an umbrella at the pool.

Non-U.S. Citizens Valid passports and visas (when needed) are required. For those residing in the U.S., the original copy of your Alien Registration Card (ARC or "Green card), or with respect to any country on the itinerary any other travel documentation required because of alien status.

Effective for all sailings ending on June 25, 2005 or later, guests citizens from the Visa Waiver Program countries of: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom seeking to enter the United States will be required to have in their possession a machine readable passport valid for the duration of the voyage. Machine readable passports issued between 10/26/05 and 10/25/06 will require a digital photograph printed on the data page. Machine readable passports issued on or after 10/26/06 will require an integrated chip with information from the data page (e-passport).

A machine readable passport is one having a alpha-numberic charterer code on the bottom of the picture page. Example: P<