THIS TAKEN FROM CARNIVAL'S WEBSITE:

What are the new passport requirements (04/06/2005)?


On Tuesday, April 5, 2005, the U.S. State Department announced details of the proposed "Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative." If the proposed rules are enacted, U.S. citizens will be required to carry a passport for travel to or from certain countries/areas that were previously exempt. The proposed implementation is as follows:

* December 31, 2005 - Passport required for all air and sea travel to or from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Central and South America.

* December 31, 2006 - Passport required for all air and sea travel to or from Mexico and Canada.

* December 31, 2007 - Passport required for all air, sea and land border crossings.

According to the U.S. State Department's press release: "To provide vital information to the general public, the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and State (DOS) are issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on the plan to the public and requesting input and/or comment on the suggested documents and possible alternative documents that can meet the statutory requirements. A more formal rulemaking will be issued later this year following review of those comments to implement the first phase of the initiative. This rulemaking will take into account comments received from the advanced notice as well as soliciting further comments on the rulemaking itself."
Once the proposed rules are finalized - either in their current form or a modified form - the cruise industry will communicate that information to our travel agent partners and guests. In the meantime, individuals with future travel plans that would be affected by the proposed new rules may wish to proceed with obtaining a passport now.
We will provide additional information as it becomes available.
For additional information from the U.S. government, visit:
www.travel.state.gov