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ITD service ensures successful bon voyage

Having a great time on a cruise to exotic ports of call depends on a lot of details beyond booking and paying for the trip. Just ask Eric.

His bon voyage almost didn’t happen – indeed, probably wouldn’t have – if it hadn’t been for the commitment to outstanding customer service by Idaho’s land-locked Division of Motor Vehicles.

Eric was in a state of panic when he tried to board a Carnival Cruise Line in Florida and discovered he had lost his Idaho driver’s license. Determined cruise employees refused to let him board without a photo ID.

Enter Brenda Bengston of ITD’s Driver Services unit.

She asked Eric to fax a request along with the required fee and a return fax number for Carnival. She pulled the photo and created a verification letter to fax back to the cruise line. But she too, hit a snag. ITD’s fax system was on hiatus at the time, and every time she tried to transmit the information she received an “intermittent fax failure verification.”

Sand in the hourglass was disappearing for both Eric and Brenda. She had a departure date with her own cruise line – Commuteride, which delivers her to ITD every morning and takes her home at night. The driver and fellow riders waited patiently …

She contacted Eric again and requested an e-mail address for the cruise line office, and promptly emailed all of the documents needed to secure his spot on deck –and just in time to secure her own seat on the commuter van.

Bengston hasn’t heard back from the panic-stricken sailor, so she assumes he is basking at poolside on the ship or enjoying excursions to foreign ports.