CARIBBEAN TODAY -usw^caribbeantodj..c.. ~ A Caribbean Today special feature Be prepared for new document requirements starting in June ED PERKINS If you're heading out of the Residential/Commercial m Office: (954) 467-0105 Mobile: (954) 696-6792 Fax: (954) 467-2722 miltonwilson@keyes.com wilsonmilton.sef.mlxchange.com Ft. Lauderdale Branch 1520 E. Sunrise Blvd. Ft. Lauderdale FL 33304 .... -- TH country and expect to return after June 1, it's time now to make sure your documents comply with the tightened requirements that will apply. Those tightened require- ments focus on re-entry by land or sea from countries partici- pating in the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) program (Bermuda, Canada, the C.iribbc.in, includ- ing The Bahamas, and Mexico). To enter those countries and cross the border back to the United States you will need either: * A U.S. passport the tradi- tional, all-purpose document for international travel. * A passport card the new credit-card-size ID, valid for travel to/from only countries in the WHTI program. It is issued by the U.S. State Department; it's a less expen- sive alternative for travelers interested mainly on cross-bor- der travel by car or foot. * An enhanced driver's license (EDL) the updated, high-tech version of a conventional dri- ver's license that requires proof of citizenship as a condition of issue. * An ID from one of the "Trusted Traveler" programs. This rule has two prominent exceptions: * Children under age 18 with- out the documents required for adults will be able to enter or return from WHTI participat- ing countries with any accepted proof of citizenship, including birth certificate (original or copy) or citizenship card. * Cruise ship passengers on , IcJd loop" iliinir.iric, (cruises that begin and end at the same U.S. port) can enter or leave with a birth .crifiik.iki or gov- ernment-issued photo ID. (You may, however, need a U.S. pass- port to debark at some ports.) Border Protection Agency tout- ing its new high-tech facilities at the Tijuana-San Ysidro bor- der crossing, the nation's busiest. By scanning the radio frequency ID (RFID) chips in the latest high-tech travel docu- ments, U.S. agents can speed the flow of traffic through the checkpoint and they hope - reduce the long lines of vehicles that currently clog the border crossing. All passports, passport cards and EDLs contain chips, which provide instant access by agents to the g, 1% c r c iI LliiI passport database, and all future passports will contain them. Some folks are worried that hackers will be able to extract personal data from EDLs and other chip-enabled cards. The people who make these systems and the govern- ment say that a metal sleeve will prevent unauthorized read- ing. Air travelers arriving from any foreign country, including those in the WHTI program, U.S. citizens traveling out of the country by air will need a passport to return. infants. The only exceptions are for active-duty military person- nel, merchant mariners, travel- ers with NEXUS cards, and permanent residents groups with their own specific ID requirements. For more detail on any bor- der crossing documentation issues, log onto the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Website at www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/. And if you think you'll need a passport, apply now: I'm sure that a short-staffed State Department will again be slow in filling applications. will see i no cnanges. ou neeu a "0 h...Deli ious!" HI-TECH passport; the passport card 2009 Tribune Media This column was prompt- won't do. This requirement Services, Inc. ed, in part, by a news release applies to travelers of any age, vor rush AsAS from the U.S. Customs and including children and even _____orush It can be wonderful fun taking Spring Break with the kids Olive Chung-James, M.D. Board Certified Family Physician children adults gynecology OlnQe ja M.D. weight management A Dr. Chung-James, practicing in Miami since 1983, well-known in the Caribbean community. Conveniently Located Across From Jackson South E.R. at: 9275 SW 152 Street, Suite 204. Miami, Florida 33157 Phone: 305-251-3975 Fax: 305-251-9839 The Citizenship Clinic Real Lawyers. Real Cheap. SpTNGR 1 (888) 928 REAL 1(888) 928-7325 www.citizenshipclinic.com 400 SE 12"t Street Building C Ft. Lauderdale FL 33316 Sd,,s no include USCS rlinc Iese The hinn, oln ar, alnrney s an, im .,rrT', Oe,: n ai',d sr1ouid rc.i e based o', ad.erliirag alone Be ,re you decade, vil our brtsIle or dal us lo 3nd yOu Iree r,1.rm.T,n abou[ our qu31ilcllaorns Atorn-yvs Edoard Earelh and Inrnad Shapo.valov (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11) world.disney.go.com) and Universal Studios (www.univer- salorlando.com) that offer free nights, theme park admission and significant savings. One local vacation rental home company (www.ImagineVacationHomes. com) has even piL,_\l.kLd on Disney World's promise of a free ticket on your birthday, offering birthday tickets for your whole family, if you book a five-night stay. The best part - three-bedroom houses that start at $159 a night. You don't need to plan ahead either this year, even for the busiest times. "Families need to know this year we're seeing a lot of excellent last-minute deals with hotels willing to throw in freebies or perks to entice guests at the final hour," says Arabella Bowen, editorial director of www.shermanstrav- el.com, which focuses on deals. CRUISE Maybe this is the time to try a cruise. Go from a port near home and you can save on airfare. Many cruise lines are offering significant shipboard credits and deals where kids cruise for $99 (Norwegian, for example, www.ncl.com), or even free (www.disneycruises.com). On a four-day cruise, Carnival is offering deals under $1,400 for a family of four. "There are still plenty of opportunities for families to snag a good deal," says Carnival spokesman Jennifer de la Cruz. Cruise Compete (www. cruisecompete. cornn, which enables travel agents to offer you the best deals they have for the time you want to travel, touts some Holland America sailings for just $70 a person a day, says spokesman Heidi Allison-Shane. Look at an all-inclusive. Club Med (www.clubmed.com) offers $499 per person deals for an entire week at some of its family resorts. Don't discount places you thought were too pricy either, especially if you can snag a cheap flight. Use up those frequent flier miles. And go for a long weekend rather than a week. Windjammer Landing in St. Lucia (www. windjammer- landing.com), for example, is offering 50 percent off the room rate in "sun d, ILair' , credit for food and activities. Mention Taking the Kids and you can get a parents' massage too. Hotels.com, meanwhile, has a luxury for less sale (www. hotels. com/luxuryforless ) that promises upscale lodging for as low as $89 in cities across the country. Try something you've never done. Go to the Frost Valley YMCA camp in the Catskills (www.frostvalley.org) and you can see how maple syrup is made. Join a flotilla of sailing boats in the British Virgin Islands and save 25 per- cent with Sunsail (www.sun- sail.com). (Other deals offer as much as 35 percent off.) FREE SKI There are so many third- night-free deals in ski country that you can find an entire page devoted to them at (www. ski. com/3rdnightfree). Ski.com's Dan Sherman added there are many second-night- free deals in Park City, while Vail and Beaver Creek have just extended their kids-fly free ski-free deal (book by Mar. 14 (with your travel deadline of Mar. 31) one child flies and skis free for each paying adult (www.flyvail.com). Also www.perfectfamily- vacation.com has just slashed prices significantly from last year's rates at Shadow Ridge Resort in Park City Utah. Wherever you want to go, don't be shy about asking the resort/cruise line/hotel to up the ante a better room, free breakfast, free kids' club. Remember, they want and need your business. And you need that time together. "The kids are only going to be this age once," says Anne Stewart. 2009 Eileen Ogintz. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc. 0 March 2009 I. 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