NCL Air - does middle name matter?

[travelgip]

I am using NCL air from CLT to MCO and I noticed that my reservation for NCL is just first and last name.  My ID (NC DL) has my middle name on it.  Does it matter to airlines if reservation is missing middle name?  I flew 2 years ago and it didn't matter.

Thanks

[GeezerCouple]

Better safe than sorry:  Make *sure* that you have the same name everywhere... reservation, air tickets, passport (and DL if that's used instead of passport).

Have them all match.  Why risk a problem, small or large?

 

"Same" probably means same as passport, as that's not easily changed.

GC

[EvanBedar]

What NCL is most pressing about is that your identification match what is listed on your PASSPORT.  It's the State Department who will make a big whoopteedoo over a missing middle name.  If your middle name doesn't appear on your passport, or you're on a cruise that will not require one you're probably smooth sailing.

[TrumpyNor]

What NCL requires of details for booking a cruise and what AIRLINES (or more correctly the state dept.) require when booking a ticket may not be the same - even if NCL is acting as the "middle man" in the purchase.  

Much info on this matter can be found here: 

https://upgradedpoints.com/travel/airlines/middle-name-airline-ticket/

Edited October 31, 2022 by TrumpyNor

[travelgip]

1 hour ago, TrumpyNor said:

What NCL requires of details for booking a cruise and what AIRLINES (or more correctly the state dept.) require when booking a ticket may not be the same - even if NCL is acting as the "middle man" in the purchase.  

Much info on this matter can be found here: 

https://upgradedpoints.com/travel/airlines/middle-name-airline-ticket/

Thank you.  This article was very helpful!

[ChiefMateJRK]

5 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

Better safe than sorry:  Make *sure* that you have the same name everywhere... reservation, air tickets, passport (and DL if that's used instead of passport).

Have them all match.  Why risk a problem, small or large?

 

"Same" probably means same as passport, as that's not easily changed.

GC

That's easier said than done.  Sure, make certain that when you acquire a passport that it matches your full given name as documented on your birth certificate.  Don't they require you to send in your birth certificate with the application?  Beyond that, make sure that your first and last names match exactly.  IIRC, back at megacorp, all travel arrangements HAD to be made through the megacorp travel system which, as you might have guessed, only allowed middle initial.  It was literally impossible to have the airline reservations fully match my full name.  Was it ever a problem?  Of course not.  Thousands of travelers every week and ziltch.  If it was a problem, it would have been fixed immediately.  Never was.

 

Have we seen any first hand reports here of somebody not being allowed to board a flight because of a middle name problem?  Or, is this just urban (internet) legend?

[travelgip]

UPDATE:  I called NCL and since my air ticket had not yet been issued, they added the middle name for me and no $150 fee!!!!!!

[Middleager]

My full name is on my DL, and on my Canadian citizenship certificate.  On my passport, most credit cards, and NCL reservations, it is a short form of my first-name.   

 

For airlines, when they see the name matching my passport, they are fine.  No problem.

[ChiefMateJRK]

Update!  I called NCL on an unrelated issue with an existing reservation yesterday.  Out of the blue, the agent asked me if my and DW's middle names were on our passports.  They are.  She then asked for them so that she could update our NCL profiles.  I'm not sure why, but it may be an area that they are trying to clarify.  It's the first time a travel provider has ever expressed any interest in my middle name.  That said, I'll probably change my tune and expend some effort to get my Southwest Airlines profile updated.  It can't be done online.  As somebody else stated, probably better safe than sorry.😎