Royal Carribean denied boarding

Cruise lines are not at the pier looking for an excuse to deny someone from boarding. It cost them income in the form of on board spending.

This is probably the best response and should be read by the OP over and over to understand that there is more to the story here.

Why would a cruise company prevent a passenger that has the potential to spend hundreds (or maybe even thousands) of dollars on-board for no reason? There HAS to be a valid reason. Even if the the passenger was attempting to break a rule by bringing alcohol on-board and was caught, I'm almost sure security would simply confiscate the alcohol, yet still allow the passenger to board.

I'm not going to leave the check in counter for any length of time without a reason. I'm standing there demanding a manager with a valid reason before I move away from the line.

This is probably the best response and should be read by the OP over and over to understand that there is more to the story here.

 

Why would a cruise company prevent a passenger that has the potential to spend hundreds (or maybe even thousands) of dollars on-board for no reason? There HAS to be a valid reason. Even if the the passenger was attempting to break a rule by bringing alcohol on-board and was caught, I'm almost sure security would simply confiscate the alcohol, yet still allow the passenger to board.

While I do agree 99 times out of 100 (probably more than that) there is a valid reason and we just aren't getting the full story, to play devil's advocate the workers are human and mistakes and miscommunication can happen.

Odds are there is more to the story, and/or there was a valid reason to deny boarding and it just wasn't properly explained. Chris Elliot and team is probably the best out there, but they will need a lot more detail than was provided here. There are a lot of reasons that boarding could be denied, many of which were already explained.

Damaged passports can be declined, and often it is up to the individual agent to decide if a passport is "too" damaged, but any damage at all is technically grounds to deny the passport.

The name on the passport must match exactly the name on the boarding documents.

The passport can't be expired, and depending on the countries being visited, may require being valid for 6 months after the cruise or more.

If any countries being visited require a Visa and the Visa isn't properly in the passport, boarding can be denied.

All that being said, I am really confused by this statement:

She called Border Patrol and spoke to a customs officer and they said they have nothing to do with boarding on the cruise lines but did say and has written her that there was no reason to deny her

These two claims seem at odds with one another. The Customs agent can't say that they have nothing to do with boarding AND say there is no reason to deny boarding. There is also the fact that over the phone the customs agent can't see the condition of the passport, the boarding documents, or anything else that the agent at the port handling boarding could see.

These two claims seem at odds with one another. The Customs agent can't say that they have nothing to do with boarding AND say there is no reason to deny boarding. There is also the fact that over the phone the customs agent can't see the condition of the passport, the boarding documents, or anything else that the agent at the port handling boarding could see.

Bingo. CBP does not process you out of the country until after the ship leaves port. Until then, they have no idea who is on the ship, or what documentation was used to board. In fact, the cruise line is checking documentation not to allow boarding, but to ensure the passenger can re-enter the US at the end of the cruise. No CBP agent would ever claim to know, without seeing the documentation in question or even knowing where the ship is going, whether the passenger was entitled to board.

When something does not make sense it is usually because some facts are missing.

I suspect this is the case. Not only missing facts, but second hand information.

I'm not going to leave the check in counter for any length of time without a reason. I'm standing there demanding a manager with a valid reason before I move away from the line.

Yes...instead of going and sitting down for "5" hours ... Hmmm ... and then given a ride by an employee ... This all sounds very strange :eek:

OP, where are you?

Or this could be a total bogus thread. Seems to be happening a lot lately.

Or this could be a total bogus thread. Seems to be happening a lot lately.

I don't think that's it. OP has been a member here for over 12 years and has not posted out-of-line comments before this. I think she was just looking for help for her friend and doesn't have all the facts to answer our questions.

This is simply silly - either there are vital facts omitted, OP’s friend is not competent to travel, or the whole thing is troll food.

There is simply not enough substance to warrant discussion.

I suspect the friend of the OP is hiding the details rather than the OP....

Legally, it is in most cruiseline contacts that boarding can be denied if the authorities that be say so...but without a valid reason this seems an extremely rare occurance.

I suspect the friend of the OP is hiding the details rather than the OP....

 

Legally, it is in most cruiseline contacts that boarding can be denied if the authorities that be say so...but without a valid reason this seems an extremely rare occurance.

I would bet that the friend has some legal issues in her past that the OP is unaware of.

DON

The part that was a big red flag for me was the OP's statement, "... [RC] told her several lies and she now has proof that they lied about their reasoning..."

Exactly how did RC lie? Either her passport was "clean" or it wasn't. Or something else was going on. I doubt the OP will come back to say that her friend left out the part about _____.

The problem here is the poster has no actual knowledge of what was said or done. Whatever the issue is/was, can only be handled by the party who was left at the docks, not a friend or relative. I'll take a stab at the problem. I can show up to the docks with a perfectly valid passport and be barred from the cruise. MOST CRUISE LINES REQUIRE PASSPORT TO BE VALID SIX MONTHS PAST THE CRUISE.

Even people well intentioned can misrepresent facts when they fail to understand the law surrounding the situation. I’m a police supervisor and took a complaint recently for an officer making the wrong at fault determination on an accident (the officer was actually right). She was convinced she was right because she explained the facts as she believed them to be true to another officer and her insurance company and both told her she was correct. The problem was she had a misunderstanding of the law. So the facts, as she explained them, were flawed, even though, in her mind, they were accurate. There is a piece of the puzzle missing here. The friend may or may not realize it; but there’s something else to the story she is missing.

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I find the OP's post preposterous. Why? Being denied boarding is certainly believable. But if somebody is denied boarding because of a document issue, they will be told exactly why. So either the OP is only giving us part of the story, or their friend did not explain the entire situation.

Hank

The problem here is the poster has no actual knowledge of what was said or done. Whatever the issue is/was, can only be handled by the party who was left at the docks, not a friend or relative. I'll take a stab at the problem. I can show up to the docks with a perfectly valid passport and be barred from the cruise. MOST CRUISE LINES REQUIRE PASSPORT TO BE VALID SIX MONTHS PAST THE CRUISE.

Certainly not needed if it was a closed loop cruise on RCI. I believe it's the countries being visited that set the six month validity requirement not the cruiseline. Again too many unknown details of this situation to be certain what actually happened.

You are correct that the countries are the ones requiring the 6 month validity, however they hold the vessel responsible for any violations.

My friend was denied boarding on a Royal Carribean ship. Her 9 friends (reunion) boarded. She was left behind without a proper explanation - to do with her passport. She called RC and tried to find out why this happen. They told her several lies and she now has proof that they lied about their reasoning.

Can anyone direct me to an ombudsman or an organization that would help us get a fair resolution.

Thanks

Linda

Interestingly enough, in July 2015 OP (111222) was called Esther and Lawrence from Toronto. Now they use the name Linda???

OP did not mention being Canadian, which may or maynot have a bearing on the matter.

Obviously because this is second hand info it only tells one side and is therefore biased. I’ve know of two people denied boarding. In both cases a supervisor was called over and the reason was completely explained. In one, my friend lived an hour away and was able to have her marriage certificate delivered to back up the name change. In both cases, the cruise line employees were very sympathetic and helpful

They aren’t in the business of breaking hearts.

OP was fed a load of fish, I think.

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Interestingly enough, in July 2015 OP (111222) was called Esther and Lawrence from Toronto. Now they use the name Linda???

OP did not mention being Canadian, which may or maynot have a bearing on the matter.

I am suspecting the owner of the ID, Esther, has allowed her friend Linda, the one denied boarding, to use her ID to seek...what??? EM

My friend was denied boarding on a Royal Carribean ship. Her 9 friends (reunion) boarded. She was left behind without a proper explanation - to do with her passport. She called RC and tried to find out why this happen. They told her several lies and she now has proof that they lied about their reasoning.

Can anyone direct me to an ombudsman or an organization that would help us get a fair resolution.

Thanks

Linda

I suspect there are some pertinent facts missing. Pehaps the friend did not share 'all' with Linda. Not possible to get a 'full picture' from what is posted in OP.

My friend was denied boarding on a Royal Carribean ship. Her 9 friends (reunion) boarded. She was left behind without a proper explanation - to do with her passport. She called RC and tried to find out why this happen. They told her several lies and she now has proof that they lied about their reasoning. Can anyone direct me to an ombudsman or an organization that would help us get a fair resolution. Thanks Linda

This is simply silly - either there are vital facts omitted, OP’s friend is not competent to travel, or the whole thing is troll food.

 

There is simply not enough substance to warrant discussion.

And what we ARE given sounds more like trying to make a case rather than just relating an experience. The whole thing with the customs guy for instance.

Prove it or this never happened as claimed.