Reminder: EDL & GEC ARE NOT VALID for International Travel

[geaux_aces]

Did you really go to Facebook and blame John Heald for not warning you about needing proper identification to get on the ship? I'm hoping someone just stole your story from here and wrote to him about it.

 

How in the world is anyone else to blame but the people who didn't follow the MANY warnings Carnival gives via email, cruise contract, and FAQs on their website about proper identification?

[myfuzzy]

We live in NY and have the EDL for cruising documents. When they first came out and disembarked into Florida, both Ft Lauderdale and Miami, the port CBP, did not recognize them, only as a drivers license and "demanded" ( I kid you not) a birth certificate to go with it. At first I did carry the BC as a back up because of the limited circulation of them and a lot of the agents were not versed on them. I gently reminded them that they were indeed a valid stand alone document and that BC's were not a needed addition. So when I got home, I printed out the section on their website with the explanation of it. It seems now they are well aware of them and have not had an issue since. HOWEVER, once upon embarkation, the person checking us in for our cruise could not get my husbands ID number to be accepted....20 minutes and 5 agents later, I finally pointed out if they were using the non drivers ID section...they were trying to put it into the drivers section......

[floodcasso2]

Why don't people just get passports?! It's a pretty painless process overall. They last for a decade! I don't understand.

[Keys2Heaven]

Did you really go to Facebook and blame John Heald for not warning you about needing proper identification to get on the ship? I'm hoping someone just stole your story from here and wrote to him about it.

 

How in the world is anyone else to blame but the people who didn't follow the MANY warnings Carnival gives via email, cruise contract, and FAQs on their website about proper identification?

 

I just saw this as well. They come here and don't want to be flamed or judged but they have no issue blaming JH?????

[TylerRose]

Did you really go to Facebook and blame John Heald for not warning you about needing proper identification to get on the ship? I'm hoping someone just stole your story from here and wrote to him about it.

 

How in the world is anyone else to blame but the people who didn't follow the MANY warnings Carnival gives via email, cruise contract, and FAQs on their website about proper identification?

 

After your prompting, I visited Mr. Heald's FB page. No, I did not write to him. I was not alone on "the side" of that check in area. And NO, I have not asked anything of Carnival...

I rushed out & left our passports home & I am relieved we eventually obtained documents & were able to board.

 

For those questioning luggage carry-on: at passenger/luggage drop off at Port Canaveral you must show travel ID. It was not until that moment I realized I did not have our passports. (The airport only required our drivers license.)

 

As for the other member of our group with his drivers license & global entry... he insists he followed on-line requirements & that it is an EDL.

The discussion on FB is quite heated... so I know he was not alone in requirement confusion or finding inconsistency. I do not know who Fay is... or what she may or may not feel entitled to- but I understand her frustration!

 

Once again- I offered this posting only for others to learn from our mishap!

[Jobeth66]

After your prompting, I visited Mr. Heald's FB page. No, I did not write to him. I was not alone on "the side" of that check in area. And NO, I have not asked anything of Carnival...

I rushed out & left our passports home & I am relieved we eventually obtained documents & were able to board.

 

For those questioning luggage carry-on: at passenger/luggage drop off at Port Canaveral you must show travel ID. It was not until that moment I realized I did not have our passports. (The airport only required our drivers license.)

 

As for the other member of our group with his drivers license & global entry... he insists he followed on-line requirements & that it is an EDL.

The discussion on FB is quite heated... so I know he was not alone in requirement confusion or finding inconsistency. I do not know who Fay is... or what she may or may not feel entitled to- but I understand her frustration!

 

Once again- I offered this posting only for others to learn from our mishap!

 

Global Entry is most DEFINITELY acceptable ID for cruises. If Carnival refused to take it, shame on them.

[Swampbabe]

After your prompting, I visited Mr. Heald's FB page. No, I did not write to him. I was not alone on "the side" of that check in area. And NO, I have not asked anything of Carnival...

I rushed out & left our passports home & I am relieved we eventually obtained documents & were able to board.

 

For those questioning luggage carry-on: at passenger/luggage drop off at Port Canaveral you must show travel ID. It was not until that moment I realized I did not have our passports. (The airport only required our drivers license.)

 

As for the other member of our group with his drivers license & global entry... he insists he followed on-line requirements & that it is an EDL.

The discussion on FB is quite heated... so I know he was not alone in requirement confusion or finding inconsistency. I do not know who Fay is... or what she may or may not feel entitled to- but I understand her frustration!

 

Once again- I offered this posting only for others to learn from our mishap!

Florida drivers' licenses are NOT EDLs, they are real ID compliant.

Signed,

A Florida resident with a real ID compliant license.

[thinfool]

Global Entry is most DEFINITELY acceptable ID for cruises. If Carnival refused to take it, shame on them.

 

A GE card by itself is not valid for identification. It needs to be accompanied by a govt issued photo id (drivers licence, etc)

 

This is what Carnival requires: If a picture I.D. is not affixed to the WHTI-compliant document, a picture I.D. is required (a valid, unexpired government-issued photo I.D. for all guests 16 years of age or older).

Edited January 24, 2018 by thinfool

[asalligo]

This is a constant nightmare for me when cruising with a group because I organize the cruise and have a severe cruise addiction. I know that if you forget or lose your acceptable ID, I am going to want to leave you at the port and someone is going to think I am a bad bad man for doing that. This makes me the bad man who asks to see your passport and birth certificate every time we get back in the car until you just give in and hand it to me. Now the nightmare is I lose your passport.

 

I also tell everyone to bring Passport, ID and birth certificate. You would be surprised how many people have not realized that their passport has expired.

[Jobeth66]

A GE card by itself is not valid for identification. It needs to be accompanied by a govt issued photo id (drivers licence, etc)

 

This is what Carnival requires: If a picture I.D. is not affixed to the WHTI-compliant document, a picture I.D. is required (a valid, unexpired government-issued photo I.D. for all guests 16 years of age or older).

 

How is a GE card NOT a 'Government issued photo id'? Mine most definitely has my photo on it, and it's certainly government-issued.

[Jobeth66]

This is a constant nightmare for me when cruising with a group because I organize the cruise and have a severe cruise addiction. I know that if you forget or lose your acceptable ID, I am going to want to leave you at the port and someone is going to think I am a bad bad man for doing that. This makes me the bad man who asks to see your passport and birth certificate every time we get back in the car until you just give in and hand it to me. Now the nightmare is I lose your passport.

 

I also tell everyone to bring Passport, ID and birth certificate. You would be surprised how many people have not realized that their passport has expired.

 

My husband wouldn't want to travel with you. He wouldn't bring his birth certificate in any event - he has ONE copy and it nearly took an act of Congress to get it. It stays in the safe. He travels with his passport book and passport card. (He was born overseas in a country where we no longer have a consular presence. His birth certificate does not go anywhere after it was lost once by the military and it took us over a year to finally obtain another copy because both of his parents are deceased and we had limited information on his grandparents and their places of birth - both non-US citizens.)

[Keys2Heaven]

The only thing I've learned in this post is A) DON'T LEAVE YOUR PASSPORT AT HOME and B) GET A PASSPORT!

 

Seems to be far too much confusion for the cruise line to know which forms of ID are acceptable.

 

Our check-in process takes 5 minutes tops with passports.

[klfrodo]

A GE card by itself is not valid for identification. It needs to be accompanied by a govt issued photo id (drivers licence, etc)

 

This is what Carnival requires: If a picture I.D. is not affixed to the WHTI-compliant document, a picture I.D. is required (a valid, unexpired government-issued photo I.D. for all guests 16 years of age or older).

A Global Entry Card has a photo on it.

[Jobeth66]

The only thing I've learned in this post is A) DON'T LEAVE YOUR PASSPORT AT HOME and B) GET A PASSPORT!

 

Seems to be far too much confusion for the cruise line to know which forms of ID are acceptable.

 

Our check-in process takes 5 minutes tops with passports.

 

Agreed. I don't understand the reluctance of so many people to get passports. They're good for 10 years, they're proof of ID and citizenship, they're easy to obtain, and relatively inexpensive against the price of a cruise if you amortize over the 10 years they're valid. I always have a current passport, as does my husband and our children (who are all now adults). Never know when you want to leave the country for a great travel deal.

 

We all have passport books and passport cards - I can drive to Canada if the whim strikes and not worry about it. My passport card is always in my wallet. And I would never travel to any foreign country without my passport book. Am I likely to need it? No. But if I do, it's easy security to know that I can fly home without a hassle, because if I HAVE to fly home from a cruise port, it's going to be for a very bad reason when the last thing I want to do is deal with the consulate to try to get me there.

[Computer Nerd]

After your prompting, I visited Mr. Heald's FB page. No, I did not write to him. I was not alone on "the side" of that check in area. And NO, I have not asked anything of Carnival...

I rushed out & left our passports home & I am relieved we eventually obtained documents & were able to board.

 

For those questioning luggage carry-on: at passenger/luggage drop off at Port Canaveral you must show travel ID. It was not until that moment I realized I did not have our passports. (The airport only required our drivers license.)

 

As for the other member of our group with his drivers license & global entry... he insists he followed on-line requirements & that it is an EDL.

The discussion on FB is quite heated... so I know he was not alone in requirement confusion or finding inconsistency. I do not know who Fay is... or what she may or may not feel entitled to- but I understand her frustration!

 

Once again- I offered this posting only for others to learn from our mishap!

 

Just for future reference, you can wear the same shirt, pants, dress, underwear, and socks for a week if needed but you won't need to worry about it if you forget your passport and cc (or cash). Those 2 things are the only thing you ever really need to worry about when taking a cruise......the rest can easily be overcome during the cruise. So if you find yourself rushing again, rush to touch your passport and payment method and don't worry about anything else.

[sparks1093]

Agreed. I don't understand the reluctance of so many people to get passports. They're good for 10 years, they're proof of ID and citizenship, they're easy to obtain, and relatively inexpensive against the price of a cruise if you amortize over the 10 years they're valid. I always have a current passport, as does my husband and our children (who are all now adults). Never know when you want to leave the country for a great travel deal.

 

We all have passport books and passport cards - I can drive to Canada if the whim strikes and not worry about it. My passport card is always in my wallet. And I would never travel to any foreign country without my passport book. Am I likely to need it? No. But if I do, it's easy security to know that I can fly home without a hassle, because if I HAVE to fly home from a cruise port, it's going to be for a very bad reason when the last thing I want to do is deal with the consulate to try to get me there.

 

I live 8 miles from the Canadian border and never got the whim to cross it. Now that I have an EDL we have gone to Montreal a couple of times, but our lives would be just as full if we never went. When we started cruising passports for the 7 of us would have set us back around $850 for a 4 day cruise that didn't cost a whole lot more than that, so we analyzed the risk and determined that since we didn't need them we would wait until that time came that we needed them for the type of travel we were going to do, which finally happened in 2015. Everyone's travel needs are different and if they only travel that someone can realistically do is a closed loop cruise every year or two then buying a passport isn't necessary (and whether it's advisable or not depends on their individual risk factors).

 

But none of this matters because the OP has passports and forgot them. They then needed to rely on a backup form of documentation which they were able to get. Their confusion was in thinking that they had something that they didn't have because the terms being used weren't clearly understood.

[gambit57]

Why don't people just get passports?! It's a pretty painless process overall. They last for a decade! I don't understand.

 

It costs a lot. Especially if you have a family and don't travel much.

 

On the other hand, I didn't travel internationally for quite some time but still kept my passport current. Why? Because it's accepted in lieu of a social security card. It's a lot easier to get replacements for documents now, but back then, it was a major pain. Keeping my passport valid was a heck of a lot easier than trying to replace my birth certificate in order to then get my SS card. Plus, since it was already lost once, it can be lost again. I much prefer showing my passport as proof of citizenship than a SS card and have my number be vulnerable unnecessarily. I finally ordered a replacement SS card but I really should get around to ordering a replacement BC since the processes are a lot easier now.

[not-enough-cruising]

I took time to write this post on CC to warn others- based on OUR experience. There were many seated beside us with similar issues holding up their boarding- and if my posting helps even one person... it served its purpose.

 

But I wish I had not bothered and could remove my posts! It is not worth the condemnation. :mad:

 

 

 

Sorry OP but I honestly don’t see any condemnation in any of these responses. Perhaps a correction of details but not condemnation.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[gtonda]

After your prompting, I visited Mr. Heald's FB page. No, I did not write to him. I was not alone on "the side" of that check in area. And NO, I have not asked anything of Carnival...

I rushed out & left our passports home & I am relieved we eventually obtained documents & were able to board.

 

For those questioning luggage carry-on: at passenger/luggage drop off at Port Canaveral you must show travel ID. It was not until that moment I realized I did not have our passports. (The airport only required our drivers license.)

 

As for the other member of our group with his drivers license & global entry... he insists he followed on-line requirements & that it is an EDL.

The discussion on FB is quite heated... so I know he was not alone in requirement confusion or finding inconsistency. I do not know who Fay is... or what she may or may not feel entitled to- but I understand her frustration!

 

Once again- I offered this posting only for others to learn from our mishap!

 

So you're saying that the post on John Heald's page (pasted below) is not from you? That only leaves 3 possibilities. First one, someone had the exact same problem almost verbatim as you did, around the exact same time, and she happened to decide to contact John Heald.

 

Second one, John Heald completely made up that post based upon him or someone else seeing your post here, and then totally faking that he was contacted about this story, and with those demands he listed out.

 

Third, you're not being truthful about contacting John Heald.

 

Clearly, something is not adding up.

Name: Faye------

Message: Why John when have you never warned and given people pre-advice that trying to get on the ship with an enhanced Driver's Licence (EDL) and a Global Entry Cards is not allowed. My family are back from their cruise which they only managed to get on 10 mins before the ship sailed off. would be sufficient identification. They were separated from everyone else and treated like immigrants. It was only because my BIL managed to get other documentation copied and scanned and e mailed that they were allowed to get on the boat at all. Get this! They were forced to carry on their own bags! No refund, no free drinks nothing. I have cruised before with Carnival. This is not acceptable. You should warn people and stop wasting peoples time with garbage posts about nothing.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, I have written and apologised to Faye although I have to also say that I had no idea what an enhanced drivers licence was until I ask Uncle Google. So I post this as a kind reminder that we do need official government ID to check in please and obviously the Global Entry card and the enhanced drivers licence are not accepted forms of ID.

I am truly sorry that Faye's family had to wait but obviously there are very strict rules set up by various US Government Agencies about ID and would get a serious bollocking indeed if we did not follow those rules.

I am glad that Faye's family were able to sail and I do hope they had a brilliant time.

Cheers

[gambit57]

Holy crap the entitlement and offensiveness in that post to Heald. What an ***hole.

[sparks1093]

So you're saying that the post on John Heald's page (pasted below) is not from you? That only leaves 3 possibilities. First one, someone had the exact same problem almost verbatim as you did, around the exact same time, and she happened to decide to contact John Heald.

 

Second one, John Heald completely made up that post based upon him or someone else seeing your post here, and then totally faking that he was contacted about this story, and with those demands he listed out.

 

Third, you're not being truthful about contacting John Heald.

 

Clearly, something is not adding up.

Name: Faye------

Message: Why John when have you never warned and given people pre-advice that trying to get on the ship with an enhanced Driver's Licence (EDL) and a Global Entry Cards is not allowed. My family are back from their cruise which they only managed to get on 10 mins before the ship sailed off. would be sufficient identification. They were separated from everyone else and treated like immigrants. It was only because my BIL managed to get other documentation copied and scanned and e mailed that they were allowed to get on the boat at all. Get this! They were forced to carry on their own bags! No refund, no free drinks nothing. I have cruised before with Carnival. This is not acceptable. You should warn people and stop wasting peoples time with garbage posts about nothing.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, I have written and apologised to Faye although I have to also say that I had no idea what an enhanced drivers licence was until I ask Uncle Google. So I post this as a kind reminder that we do need official government ID to check in please and obviously the Global Entry card and the enhanced drivers licence are not accepted forms of ID.

I am truly sorry that Faye's family had to wait but obviously there are very strict rules set up by various US Government Agencies about ID and would get a serious bollocking indeed if we did not follow those rules.

I am glad that Faye's family were able to sail and I do hope they had a brilliant time.

Cheers

 

Fourth possibility- someone from here took the story and posted it as their own on John's page. My money is on possibility 2 or 4.

[Moviela]

For domestic and international travel there is only ONE document that is acceptable in every situation. A PASSPORT!

 

Get one and keep it with you. In the case of unforeseen travel needs a passport is much better than any other form of ID. People who love peace of mind will spend the time and money to get a passport.

 

The only enhancement I use is a Global Entry card. $100 for five years, but it I enter often and it saves time and stress. It also give you a "Known Traveler Number" with TSA precheck and Sentri line at the Mexican boarder for land travel.

 

Forget your birth certificate, Passport wallet cards, Enhanced drivers license (only four states have it), or Real ID. All have limitations that are trumped by a passport book.

[sparks1093]

For domestic and international travel there is only ONE document that is acceptable in every situation. A PASSPORT!

 

Get one and keep it with you. In the case of unforeseen travel needs a passport is much better than any other form of ID. People who love peace of mind will spend the time and money to get a passport.

 

The only enhancement I use is a Global Entry card. $100 for five years, but it I enter often and it saves time and stress. It also give you a "Known Traveler Number" with TSA precheck and Sentri line at the Mexican boarder for land travel.

 

Forget your birth certificate, Passport wallet cards, Enhanced drivers license (only four states have it), or Real ID. All have limitations that are trumped by a passport book.

 

All well and good but the OP has passports. And it's actually 5 states now that issue the EDL. If I didn't take my passport with me for whatever reason I know that I would be able to board because I do have an EDL that is valid for said boarding both because I researched the issue and because I've actually used it. Again, the issue comes down to people thinking that REAL ID act compliant licenses are somehow enhanced and they are not.