Carnival Cruise Line continues to expand the use of facial biometric technology to expedite the debarkation process and its partnership with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The cruise lines says over three million guests have already used utilized the new technology, with helps make disembarking from ships faster and easier.

Nine of Carnival’s 14 US homeports are using this secure, streamlined technology, including Miami, Port Canaveral, Tampa, Jacksonville, New York, Baltimore, Mobile, Galveston and Long Beach. Across the homeports where facial biometrics is being used, the debarkation process has been expedited by an average of 30% in the largest deployment of the technology in the cruise industry, says Carnival.

“Expanding this technology at our US homeports ensures we’re doing everything we can to make the debarkation process as simple as possible for our guests,” says Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “Thanks to our partnership with CBP, these technology solutions make the process more efficient, while giving guests a sense of safety and security, knowing their information is protected.”

The enhanced and innovative process is simple. Guests debarking the ships at the end of a closed loop cruise pause at a kiosk with a camera and take a photo. Within seconds, the image is biometrically compared to their passport or visa photo to verify the guest’s identity with over 98% accuracy.

US travellers and select foreign nationals who prefer to opt out of the facial biometric process can simply request a manual document check from a CBP Officer, consistent with existing requirements for admission into the United States.