Amidst the busy summer travel season, Carnival Cruise Line is further implementing facial biometric technology to expedite the debarkation process. This partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has already improved the experience for over three million Carnival guests.
Out of Carnival’s 14 U.S. homeports, nine are currently utilizing this secure and streamlined technology. These include Miami, Port Canaveral, Tampa, Jacksonville, New York, Baltimore, Mobile, Galveston, and Long Beach. The deployment of facial biometrics in these homeports has resulted in an average 30 percent reduction in debarkation time, making it the largest implementation of this technology in the cruise industry.
Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, expressed the company’s commitment to simplifying the debarkation process for guests through the expansion of this technology. The partnership with CBP ensures that these technological solutions not only improve efficiency but also provide guests with a sense of safety and security, knowing that their information is protected.
The process itself is straightforward and innovative. Guests departing the ships at the end of a closed loop cruise are required to pause at a kiosk equipped with a camera and have their photo taken. Within seconds, the biometric technology compares the image to the guest’s passport