Oasis of the Seas: Denied (5/14/16)

With an eye on perspective, there are far worse things that can happen than missing an embarkation. That said...it's been 5 days since we attempted to board Oasis of the Seas and still a raw, exposed nerve sends waves of pain, anguish, and regret throughout my chest and down into my abdomen when the very suggestion of a cruise comes to mind.

My wife is taking it better than I am, at least these past few days. Her face wrought with tears and frustration as she attempted to distract our 20-month old daughter at the customs counter while I placed one phone call after another...not easy to forget.

We're first-time, would-be cruisers. Inexperience, poor time management, and some misfortune led us to this point: 25 min late for our 12:30-3:30pm check-in window. The ship leaves at 5:00pm.

Our shuttle driver made a valiant effort to get us there. Briefing us along the way, he warned clearing customs would be the biggest concern. Suitcase in hand, I scurried ahead of my wife and daughter to alert officers of our arrival.

To our relief, customs was quite accommodating and made quick work of our processing as they whisked us through security. As this was going on, a customs officer was radioing back and forth with someone on the Oasis. The already infrequent responses from the ship became even more tenuous.

Mere steps away from the stairs, a response came in through her ear piece that stopped her dead in her tracks. She looked at us and shook her head.

So. Close.

Here's where I wish future me could have interceded.

"We have a toddler with us!"

"My daughter and I only have passport cards, which are insufficient to meet you downline in Nassau!"

Perhaps something would have softened the heart of the individual on the other end.

The time was 4:00p. A full hour before departure.

I spent the next 5 hours calling, booking, pleading. I even looked into taking a ferry to Freeport, then perhaps swimming to Nassau. Ultimately, flying was the only option and I was getting mixed answers on whether or not a US passport card was sufficient to fly to the Bahamas. I finally rented a car and drove down to Miami International in order to get a definitive "No".

All options exhausted, we decided to fly home to Dallas the following day.

...

Once home, I spoke with a very sympathetic soul on the RCCL escalations team who was surprised we weren't let on-board given an hour remained. She asked that I first check with our trip insurance (LeisureCare) to see if our situation is covered. It is not - trip delays need to be at least 12 hours. I'll call the escalation team back today, but I'm not holding out much hope. We can't afford to take another trip for a while.

For those who share a similar experience or know someone who has (particularly with RCCL)...any positive experiences getting back on a ship with nominal cost? Refunds? Any success reaching out to Mr. Bayley's office? Or am I just a dolt who needs to come to terms with the fact that I'm at-fault for not getting us there in time?

TL;DR - I went full-Griswold and caused us to miss our cruise. Any chance of full or partial credit towards another?

-Chris

Don't have any advice but I am so sorry this has happened to you!

Sorry that this happened to you but your ship actually departs at 4:30. There is a specific cut off time for boarding the ship that is set by Customs and/or Homeland security as to when the final passenger manifest must be turned in and there is no boarding after that point. Staff on board are unable to allow exceptions to this regulation.

There is always a chance that contacting someone higher up could result in a partial credit towards another cruise. At this point you have nothing to lose so I would give it a try.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Sorry about missing the ship. This underscores how passport booklets can be extremely useful.

I don't know your circumstance for getting to the pier so close to the cut off time...but I would call the insurance company again.

I am assuming you did not book a flight that was getting in so close to departure. If there were airline delays that caused you to miss the ship I though that would have been covered.

I find the original post confusing. I know terminology is mixed up such as customs VS RC checkin agents but this is a first time cruiser so the lingo and confusion over position of workers is understandable. I don't know why the escalations worker shoreside post cruise would say you could be on the ship, when the pier side workers stated you did not have the documents allowable for Nassau.

Whatever the case it is unfortunate for the OP. It sounds like the perfect storm of bad events. Welcome to CC and hopefully your next cruise, if there is one, is well planned and occurs.

With an eye on perspective, there are far worse things that can happen than missing an embarkation. That said...it's been 5 days since we attempted to board Oasis of the Seas and still a raw, exposed nerve sends waves of pain, anguish, and regret throughout my chest and down into my abdomen when the very suggestion of a cruise comes to mind.

 

My wife is taking it better than I am, at least these past few days. Her face wrought with tears and frustration as she attempted to distract our 20-month old daughter at the customs counter while I placed one phone call after another...not easy to forget.

 

We're first-time, would-be cruisers. Inexperience, poor time management, and some misfortune led us to this point: 25 min late for our 12:30-3:30pm check-in window. The ship leaves at 5:00pm.

 

Our shuttle driver made a valiant effort to get us there. Briefing us along the way, he warned clearing customs would be the biggest concern. Suitcase in hand, I scurried ahead of my wife and daughter to alert officers of our arrival.

 

To our relief, customs was quite accommodating and made quick work of our processing as they whisked us through security. As this was going on, a customs officer was radioing back and forth with someone on the Oasis. The already infrequent responses from the ship became even more tenuous.

 

Mere steps away from the stairs, a response came in through her ear piece that stopped her dead in her tracks. She looked at us and shook her head.

 

So. Close.

 

Here's where I wish future me could have interceded.

"We have a toddler with us!"

"My daughter and I only have passport cards, which are insufficient to meet you downline in Nassau!"

 

Perhaps something would have softened the heart of the individual on the other end.

 

The time was 4:00p. A full hour before departure.

 

I spent the next 5 hours calling, booking, pleading. I even looked into taking a ferry to Freeport, then perhaps swimming to Nassau. Ultimately, flying was the only option and I was getting mixed answers on whether or not a US passport card was sufficient to fly to the Bahamas. I finally rented a car and drove down to Miami International in order to get a definitive "No".

 

All options exhausted, we decided to fly home to Dallas the following day.

 

...

 

Once home, I spoke with a very sympathetic soul on the RCCL escalations team who was surprised we weren't let on-board given an hour remained. She asked that I first check with our trip insurance (LeisureCare) to see if our situation is covered. It is not - trip delays need to be at least 12 hours. I'll call the escalation team back today, but I'm not holding out much hope. We can't afford to take another trip for a while.

 

For those who share a similar experience or know someone who has (particularly with RCCL)...any positive experiences getting back on a ship with nominal cost? Refunds? Any success reaching out to Mr. Bayley's office? Or am I just a dolt who needs to come to terms with the fact that I'm at-fault for not getting us there in time?

 

TL;DR - I went full-Griswold and caused us to miss our cruise. Any chance of full or partial credit towards another?

-Chris

Sorry- you're SOL. It is an unfortunate and expensive lesson to learn.

Sounds like things were left to the last minute...and being a first time cruiser AND travelling with a little one, I would not even try to show up at last minute. I would do everything in my power to be there when it FIRST opens.

But yes, a very hard and expensive lesson to learn. Perhaps some research ahead of time or inquiring ahead of time about the process and normal procedures would have prevented some of this.

First piece of advice I give new cruises is to arrive at the port city the day before. Second piece of advice is to try to get to the terminal as soon as possible on departure day. Between traffic, weather, mechanical problems you never know. Why chance it.

Besides, you have paid for that first day, so why not get on there early and relax and enjoy.

I find the original post confusing. I know terminology is mixed up such as customs VS RC checkin agents but this is a first time cruiser so the lingo and confusion over position of workers is understandable. I don't know why the escalations worker shoreside post cruise would say you could be on the ship, when the pier side workers stated you did not have the documents allowable for Nassau.

 

Whatever the case it is unfortunate for the OP. It sounds like the perfect storm of bad events. Welcome to CC and hopefully your next cruise, if there is one, is well planned and occurs.

I agree. Id like to hear additional details. I feel bad for the OP and his family and I don't intend to sound critical. Based on the story as I understand it, I'm not sure where, if any, fault lies for this unfortunate outcome other than the OP.

I'm curious as to whether he understood the full document requirements in order to board a cruise ship; Did he book directly with RCI or use a TA; did he intentionally book a flight so close to departure, etc.....?

I thinks the OP's story could be a useful experience for all new cruisers.

Thanks for sharing your story and I hope you book a cruise again. It's worth it!

Tom

I think it was brave of you to share your story and you did it in a true reflecting tone. So often I hear people gripe. RCI "WOULDN"T LET ME ON"!!

I'm truly sorry this happened to you and it sounds like a combination of events led up to that nightmare. It sounds like you didn't even stay in Fort Lauderdale but went home. I'm so sorry for you I missed a family flight to the bahamas once and everyone went but me and I had a meltdown in the airport. I was travelling from tallahassee, joining them in Miami. My mom had my passport in Miami but they wouldn't let me board because I didn't have it. ARGH!!!

Take Care

This is total speculation on my behalf, but perhaps they wouldn't let you on because at that point you would have been missing the mandatory safety meeting.

With an eye on perspective, there are far worse things that can happen than missing an embarkation. That said...it's been 5 days since we attempted to board Oasis of the Seas and still a raw, exposed nerve sends waves of pain, anguish, and regret throughout my chest and down into my abdomen when the very suggestion of a cruise comes to mind.

 

My wife is taking it better than I am, at least these past few days. Her face wrought with tears and frustration as she attempted to distract our 20-month old daughter at the customs counter while I placed one phone call after another...not easy to forget.

 

We're first-time, would-be cruisers. Inexperience, poor time management, and some misfortune led us to this point: 25 min late for our 12:30-3:30pm check-in window. The ship leaves at 5:00pm.

 

Our shuttle driver made a valiant effort to get us there. Briefing us along the way, he warned clearing customs would be the biggest concern. Suitcase in hand, I scurried ahead of my wife and daughter to alert officers of our arrival.

 

To our relief, customs was quite accommodating and made quick work of our processing as they whisked us through security. As this was going on, a customs officer was radioing back and forth with someone on the Oasis. The already infrequent responses from the ship became even more tenuous.

 

Mere steps away from the stairs, a response came in through her ear piece that stopped her dead in her tracks. She looked at us and shook her head.

 

So. Close.

 

Here's where I wish future me could have interceded.

"We have a toddler with us!"

"My daughter and I only have passport cards, which are insufficient to meet you downline in Nassau!"

 

Perhaps something would have softened the heart of the individual on the other end.

 

The time was 4:00p. A full hour before departure.

 

I spent the next 5 hours calling, booking, pleading. I even looked into taking a ferry to Freeport, then perhaps swimming to Nassau. Ultimately, flying was the only option and I was getting mixed answers on whether or not a US passport card was sufficient to fly to the Bahamas. I finally rented a car and drove down to Miami International in order to get a definitive "No".

 

All options exhausted, we decided to fly home to Dallas the following day.

 

...

 

Once home, I spoke with a very sympathetic soul on the RCCL escalations team who was surprised we weren't let on-board given an hour remained. She asked that I first check with our trip insurance (LeisureCare) to see if our situation is covered. It is not - trip delays need to be at least 12 hours. I'll call the escalation team back today, but I'm not holding out much hope. We can't afford to take another trip for a while.

 

For those who share a similar experience or know someone who has (particularly with RCCL)...any positive experiences getting back on a ship with nominal cost? Refunds? Any success reaching out to Mr. Bayley's office? Or am I just a dolt who needs to come to terms with the fact that I'm at-fault for not getting us there in time?

 

TL;DR - I went full-Griswold and caused us to miss our cruise. Any chance of full or partial credit towards another?

 

-Chris

This is total speculation on my behalf, but perhaps they wouldn't let you on because at that point you would have been missing the mandatory safety meeting.

No, because the ships will have late passengers (if there are any) go through a make-up drill later on. It's because they tried checking in after the cut-off time for the ship to submit the passenger manifest to Customs. The manifest has be submitted to Customs no later than one hour before the ship is scheduled to depart.

Since you understand your contribution to this situation and sounded relatively humane (not irate, placing blame on everybody and every thing around you), I sincerely hope that they're able to help make things right with you, and that you cruise again in the future. It's one thing (psychologically) to be making your way to the pier while seeing the ship sail away, it's another when you are standing within 100 feet of it for an hour and being turned away.

Best of luck in your endeavor with RCI. Truly.

This is so heartbreaking. I'm sitting here taking deep breaths trying to calm myself. I have no advice but I truly feel bad for you. :(

I hope you can one day give it another try. Cruising is truly an awesome vacation.

I see this is your 1st post, so I'm wondering exactly when you found out about Cruise Critic. Knowing about this site before your cruise would have helped you avoid flying in literally right before your cruise. Experienced/seasoned cruisers always recommend flying in the day before or at least early in the am on the day of your cruise.

I'm sorry this happened, but it is a hard lesson learned. Most of us know not to fly in that late. :(

Sorry for your traumatic experience but you seem to have suffered the effects of a double whammy. Arriving too late to be included on the passenger manifest and questionable travel documents made your boarding impossible. Hopefully you can recover some of your expenses through insurance. Good luck should you ever try again.

Unfortunately, gone are the days when they would let you go to Mexico or Canada w/o a passport.

If we lived near the border and planned frequent trips to Canada or Mexico, we'd have a passport card for trips north. But passport cards are pretty limited. Probably the only place you can use a passport card is on those Alaska shore excursions that visit the Yukon. But they always ask for a passport. Border patrol are very conscientious. In the Yukon, we had to hold our passports while Customs boarded. We were told to remain in our seats. And the guide told us they had once let a lady use the restroom, and she was still in the restroom when the Customs got there. He wasn't impressed, and pulled his gun.

OP may have been able to board w/ the birth certificate & ID, if it's a closed circuit cruise. Passports booklets are better. If for some reason you must fly back to the US, Customs will let you back with a passport booklet.

Nassau can be risky. Last time we were there, they had police all over the place. Usually that doesn't happen unless there had been some incidents.

With Zika now such a risk for young people, I'd suggest booking Canada/New England or Alaska.

I'm so sorry to hear of your experience. So many of these things could have happened to me with three teenaged girls in tow had I not gotten up to speed on these boards well in advance of our first cruise last fall.

I planned on arriving the morning of our cruise (it was a non-issue when I was young and single so I didn't consider it could be an issue) and I did not plan on getting passports (they weren't required). Instead, after reading these boards for months, we flew in the morning before and had an extra day of vacation plus got to the port before boarding even began so we had a full day on board before setting sail. I also got all of us passports (that took a chunk out of our budget) and felt so much more at ease that if something were to happen, that was one thing we wouldn't need to worry about.

I hope you are able to get some closure and can actually cruise in the future...with all plans in place well in advance.

Sorry for your traumatic experience but you seem to have suffered the effects of a double whammy. Arriving too late to be included on the passenger manifest and questionable travel documents made your boarding impossible. Hopefully you can recover some of your expenses through insurance. Good luck should you ever try again.

There was nothing questionable about their travel documents, they had what they needed to take a closed loop cruise.

Sorry this happened to you but I have no advice that you haven't already learned for yourself. Maybe you'll get lucky and receive some sort of credit from Royal. I just wouldn't count on it.

Passports last 10 years for adults. Don't know about youth. When I got my original passport, it was only about $30 and lasted five years.

They they raised the cost, and changed it to 10 years. Much better since passports are not supposed to expire w/in 6 months. So, that passport is actually only 9 1/2 years of useful life.

Last year, it took about 8 weeks for mine to arrive. I paid for regular processing, but rush delivery. With rush delivery, we got a tracking number! They say six weeks, because they don't start counting until after the check clears the bank. DH and mine went in separate envelopes. Once we put ours together. They cashed the checks, then misplaced DH's application.

Some lines do better than others telling you what documents you need. On our Australia cruise itinerary, HAL shows we need a visa. But Royal Caribbean didn't show that on their itinerary. Every cruise has their ups and downs. Royal Caribbean does better at fixing things, but we love Princess's coffee card.

I am Sorry for you and your family. I cannot imagine how you all felt. Personally if I cannot plan my cruise vacation where I reach the departure city a day or two before a cruise, I will not book a cruise.

I understand its different strokes for different folks, limited vacation days etc.

But as I said I still will never do it but will most likely book a land vacation instead.

Hope you do get some sort of compensation for your loss.

The best way to get through this disappointment and that pain in your gut is to start talking and planning about your next vacation and if you are thinking of a cruise make sure and take this experience into consideration with your plans.

Good luck.

Passports are good for 10 years. There is no excuse for not having one when you leave the country. "Penny wise, and dollar foolish". I'm sorry for the OP's experience, but in this day and age one should not consider leaving the country without a proper passport book. Forget about those that say the passport card or birth certificate route is a way to go.

passport = money well spent.

When we were on Oasis last April there were still people boarding during the muster