CruisinCarps

The family has stated that Carnival admitted the mistake and told then the child, in fact, had the necessary documents. I agree obtaining a passport is best but it was not required on this closed loop cruse. The parents certainly are NOT asking to "get paid." They are asking for a full refund given Carnival's mistake. This will continue to circulate all around the internet and on adoption forums until Carnival gets it right. Full refund - period. As I have said before, Carnival certainly doesn't need another black eye. It's in its best interest for this to go away.

The people on the FB page are right out pissing me off! I think they are trying to get a free cruise or something- they keep wanting to ignore what happened in this case and keep posting 'Should have had passports'...UGH! That is not the point! Carnival KNOWS that is not the point, have realized their mistake and has apologized- GOOD!

If Carnival was 100% responsible for this mistake, then they owe them nothing less than a full refund! (And honestly, I would expect my travel expenses, hotel stays before the cruise, kennel fees for my dogs, etc.- every cost that my family personally incurred so we could go on the trip that never happened!)

Carnival- do what is right by this family!!! I have followed the 'poop' cruise and other stuff that has happened with them. I haven't sailed yet on Carnival, but have seen where it seems they've done right by most who had something bad go wrong. (And sometimes even seeing them go beyond: to the point of refunding people their entire excursion fees who didn't like what was served on a buffet during an excursion- one item on the buffet in a foreign country for crying out loud.) Anyways, I have stood up for Carnival but absolutely won't if this family doesn't get their refund- a FULL refund!!

how did i miss this???:rolleyes: you are allowed to smoke on regular balconies????:confused:

my dh will love this!!!;) is this true????:confused: __

Yes, smoking is allowed on all balconies except the spa stateroom balconies.

We head out on the Magic in just a few weeks- I am so excited!!:)

they had birth certificated for themselves. for the child they had his ethiopian passport and visa and a copy of the green card

I am thinking here is where someone (whether the TA, family, Customs, Carnival) was tripped up. Taken from this U.S. Customs/Border Patrol link:

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1279/~/children---traveling-with-adopted-child

"....

I adopted a child what documents are required for us to travel?

Adopted children: If the child is an adopted U.S. citizen, foreign-born naturalized U.S. citizen or is a LPR -

Traveling by Sea or Land: The child 15 years and younger must have a U.S. birth certificate, a consular report of birth abroad, a certification of birth, naturalization certificate or Certificate of Citizenship accompanied by the adoption decree with the adopting parents' names, a court order establishing custody, and/or a court order establishing guardianship.

*I* read it as basically you need only ONE of the :

1) U.S. birth certificate (which they said they had) As I understood it, they re-adopted the child, so they were given a U.S. birth certificate that had the adoptive parents' names on it, etc.

2) Consular report of birth abroad

3) Certification of birth

4) Naturalization certificate

5) Certificate of Citizenship accompanied by the adoption decree with the adopting parents' names, a court order establishing custody, and/or a court order establishing guardianship.

I saw in the comments on the blog, it seems the adoptive father is also wondering if it is the wording on that last bit wherein the confusion lies. As in, the confusion might be that someone might believe you had to have one of the above AND it had to be accompanied by the adoption decree, etc....

I love how some of you are "so sure" as if you were there. Good grief. Mistakes do happen, ya know. Even though it would boggle all of our minds as to how it happened. I am sure Carnival wants everyone to have a great time and HATES having to turn anyone away. That being said, it is possible somebody made a mistake. Guess what- I've done it- you've done it. We will see, in the end, who it was who made the mistake and learn from it so we can help/warn others in the future.

Anyways, here is what U.S. Border Patrol/Customs website reads (excerpted from this link):

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1279/kw/adopted%20child

I adopted a child what documents are required for us to travel?

Adopted children: If the child is an adopted U.S. citizen, foreign-born naturalized U.S. citizen or is a LPR -

Traveling by Sea or Land: The child 15 years and younger must have a U.S. birth certificate, a consular report of birth abroad, a certification of birth, naturalization certificate or Certificate of Citizenship accompanied by the adoption decree with the adopting parents' names, a court order establishing custody, and/or a court order establishing guardianship.

If the family is posting the truth, they said they have a U.S. birth certificate for the child, given in North Carolina. Their names are on that said birth certificate!! Both adopted parents were traveling with the child.

If the child is not yet adopted, then how could they have received a U.S. birth certificate for the child, with THEIR names on it? Something is definitely screwy here...

By the way, out of curiosity, I was wondering if an adopted child's U.S. birth certificate would look any different, according to this, it does not.

http://ouradopt.com/adoption-blog/aug-2008/fostermommy/what-does-adopted-child%E2%80%99s-birth-certificate-look

I am curious also about someone else's comment stating that/wondering why they still have the green card. They stated they the way it works is that once you become a citizen, you no longer have that green card. Hmmm...curious indeed.

For some reason it wouldn't let me edit to add:

The family has updated their blog, saying Carnival has reached them via Twitter. Said they will keep everyone updated on there.:) I fully believe in Carnival and that they will do what is right.

It refers paxs BACK to the cruise line. Carnival clearly states that a valid BC is sufficient on closed looped cruises. I stand by what I wrote - in this circumstance, paxs should be able to rely on what Carnival tells us - especially when the CBP refers us back to Carnival to "ensure" we have appropriate docs.

Exactly. They had an official U.S. birth certificate, according to the family. That *should* have been case closed and they get on the cruise. Also, it *appears* Carnival is the one who turned them away, not Customs. (Again, going by what the family wrote.)

Also, there are some youtube videos if you want to see what it would look like if you stayed in a balcony right above Deck 5. We were originally in a Deck 6 balcony until I saw those videos. People can see right onto your balcony, let alone right into your room from those hot tubs especially from the Lanai area!!

(We had only sailed one other line before, so I didn't know about the fact that Magic, and some others have that deck that sticks out.) About 51 seconds in, if you pause, when she is where the hot tubs are, you can see right into the rooms:

Anyways, it depends on what matters to you. Privacy matters to us, when out on the balcony. (I mean we aren't getting 'nekkid' out there. ;)) So we decided to switch to a cove balcony. We also like being able to look down to the water and not people walking around, etc. so the cove was a better fit for us. (However, going higher up, like the 8th level or so, wouldn't be that big of a deal either.)

Video of cove balcony:

Also, do you smoke? Smoking is NOT allowed on any spa balconies. (It is allowed on other balconies though.) We might try one of these next time. But I am excited to try the cove as well. :)

Yeah, I am thinking that either they scared the daylights out of her for drinking underage, she misunderstood what they told her, or she seriously, seriously did something very, very bad. (Underage drinking is bad- obviously.)

On a second note...going to check Texas resident rates...lol!

It looks like NC issues a Certificate of Identification, not a birth certificate, so it may not be a WHTI compliant document. It also state the country the child was born in as place of birth, so it would not prove citizenship.

If the adoption wasn't complete, they wouldn't have been able to obtain a state birth certificate.

All I know is that if I had an official birth certificate with me, that is all they should ask for- PERIOD- for a closed-loop cruise. If they asked for anything else, I would ask to see a supervisor and go on up until I spoke with Customs.

So: 1) Either we aren't being given all of the correct info by the family who had the issue- or they are still confused about the actual documents that have.

2) Carnival and/or Customs messed up. (But according to the family, they never spoke with anyone at Customs and only spoke with Carnival staff.)

People make mistakes. If Carnival goofed, they owe them their cruise money back (and honestly I think whatever costs incurred reaching port, hotels, kennel fees, etc.- that is what I would expect if I'd done absolutely everything correctly and someone else made a mistake costing me our trip!)

If Customs goofed, they need to find a way to refund this family if it isn't Carnival's fault.

I surely hope we hear what happens with this. This only occurred 5 days ago and someone (somewhere, on Facebook maybe?) said that Carnival has tried to reach them or there is some dialogue going on between the family and Carnival to find out what happened.

I guess we all have to stay tuned...

Passport have been mentioned an ultimate fix, I see it more of an ultimate insurance. A family pays thousands to cruise and if they follow the advice here they will also pay hundreds for travel insurance and then hundreds more for "entrance" insurance (passports).

The ultimate fix is for the cruise lines to be accurate in what they state and then to abide by those statements. It's really pretty simple.

__

• An original, embossed birth certificate issued by North Carolina Vital Records, showing both my wife’s name and mine with our birthplaces
  

THAT should have been 'case closed', on to your ship to enjoy your cruise. Here's what the family in question wrote, they presented the B.C. first and THEN a Carnival employee asked for more 'back up' documents. Why?! It doesn't matter if the child didn't outright 'appear' to be their birth children, etc...at that point, with the birth certificate with the names of the adoptive parents on the B.C., and both of those parents cruising, there shouldn't have been a problem, a slight delay, but they should have been allowed to board. Yes, it is *recommended* everyone gets a passport, to make things smoother, quicker, and if you should need to fly back to the U.S. while on your cruise, not having a passport could be a problem, BUT they should have been allowed to board.

And it doesn't matter what the family showed them after this, the point being that, according to the family and what they reported, Carnival isn't backing up its own website stating that particular documentation (birth certificate) is all that is needed to go on a closed-loop cruise with them!! OR Customs needs to update Carnival if there has been a change in policy. Again, if we have been provided all of the info on this case, then the family is not at fault...and need to be reimbursed their money, etc.

This will make anyone question now, regardless of their situation, if an official U.S. birth certificate really will suffice. Yes, getting a passport *helps*, but being that the family already HAD correct documentation, now who is to say a passport won't be questioned now? What's the difference? (Not what is the difference between a passport and birth certificate, what is the difference on questioning one completely viable document vs another.)

** Never mind- I missed it the first time in their blog- says they were going on a closed-loop cruise to the Bahamas. The U.S. birth certificate *should have* sufficed, according to Carnival's website.

Uow can the US issue a birth certificate for someone born outside the US? I can't even get a reissue unless I go back to my town of birth.

1) Like someone else mentioned- our kids were born overseas, at a U.S. base hospital. We were issued certificates that read something like "Consular Report of Birth Abroad". It looks different than 'normal' birth certificates. We decided to get the kids passports, just in case this ever caused confusion although should be perfectly acceptable. Technically, we could go on the ship using all of our birth certificates for our particular upcoming cruise and another one we've taken.

2) My husband was re-issued a birth certificate without having to travel to his birth state. I don't remember all of the details, but I know we/he didn't travel back to that state to get it.

I am interested to see what Carnival has to say about this and what ultimately happens as a result. Someone else brought up a good question- did it have anything to do with what ports they might be visiting?

Can you direct us/me over to that other thread or remember how it was titled? (I would like to read what was posted over there.)

I read her blog entry and she states they had an original birth certificate for them...so I am not sure what the problem is. ?? We are also going on a closed-loop cruise as well, and it states we only need those items to board. (We have passports we're using though- easier than carrying B.C.s on board).

Thank you. :) Yep, he has already been cleared to go.

Be careful with "military discounts". I have done a good bit of research and found that airlines (as well as some hotels), will have a "military rate" vs an actual discount. I tried something one day on a popular hotel chain's website and they were going to charge me an extra $20 a night under their military fare! (It was cheaper under their 'best rate' fare.) Anyways, when military personnel are on orders, they get per diem. Hotels know this (don't know about airlines) and sometimes will even adjust UP to meet their per diem. Not all hotels do this, mind you...but since the government is paying for it, they will sometimes sneakily do this. (In all fairness, they will also adjust the price down too, if their per diem won't cover it.) So always, ALWAYS double-check what their regular or 'best rate' fares are vs the military rates.

Anyways, but I have found on the airlines, that only a certain number of seats are what they call 'military fare' and they seem to do the same. Unfortunately, I have found that it is just cheaper to book through the airline itself online. Every time I have called, they've told me that either no seats available under military fare or that it costs more. (So, in other words, in case my husband got last minute orders, we could pay more for the "privilege" of getting a refund, etc. Anyways, Southwest has been our best bet so far and we have never had to pay for bags. AirTran (owned by Southwest) has also been good to us. Once, when we were flying back from Orlando, the Disney hotel charged us for our bags. (You can go to a separate check out line and Disney will take your bags for your flight, etc.) Anyways, they were not supposed to charge us and I kept telling the lady that, but she charged us anyways. (I explained that AirTran didn't charge us on the way down, showed her our military IDs, didn't matter.) So we explained this to the customer service agent about what happened. (I believe AirTran wasn't charging anyone for bags at that time as well.) Well, when my husband was explaining things, she asked for his ID, saw he was military...and apologized to us for our problem. Then she surprised us with free upgrades to business class seats! :-)

Also-we have discovered we are allowed to bypass pat downs and body scanners if hubby shows his ID card even when not in uniform.

Come back...come back! ;) (I asked in my most pitiful, Kate Winslet impression.) Loving your trip report! We sail for the first time with Carnival on the Magic this Thanksgiving...can't wait!

Hey, what are those lollipop/cherry looking things on your plate in the beginning of your trip report?

Also, did the crew member who was out on your balcony not explain himself and why he was in there?!!!:eek: I mean, he might have stepped out for some fresh air, like maybe your room was the last he had to clean, make up beds, etc...??

Just wanted to let you guys know that there is a wonderful group called the Galveston Carnival Cruisers with over 1000 members that can help answer all of your questions. Do a search and ask to join.

Where? Facebook? Cruise Critic? I have several questions! :D Thanks!

Thoroughly enjoyed your review! Thanks SO MUCH for taking the time out to post it. We are going on our first Carnival cruise in a few months (sailed one other time with Disney).

I am thinking of posting a trip report when we get back. Do you take extensive notes? (Please say yes and that you didn't remember this much detail in your head...LOL! I can't even remember what I had for breakfast yesterday...;) )

Happy0810- Yeah we are going to be snorkeling and out in the sun during all port excursions so I agree- we will appreciate the shade. :D Thanks!!!

That's a riot!! Ahahaha! Did anyone say anything to him? (I don't plan on fishing off the ship, FYI, I am just curious.) :p

don't laugh, it's been done :cool:

Ahahahahaha! Tears, I have tears coming out!!! :p:D I can't wait to show my husband this...LMAO!

I switched our rooms to cove balconies that partition to one another. I think we'll be much happier there. Plus, we plan on getting of the ship pretty much as early as possible when we port- this will help to. (No need to wait for the elevators.) Our last cruise, we used the stairs a lot instead of waiting for elevators. (Worked off some of that food!)

Thanks so much for this board! We prefer a little more privacy and we don't hang out there to get sun. Will be cool to be that close to the water. (My husband says we should bring some deep-sea fishing rods- lol!) ;)

So thankful for everyone's tips! I don't think we would have been as pleased in our original rooms and y'all were right- the original rooms did NOT have connecting balconies like we were told. Got that fixed now. :D

ALL balconies on both side are smoking- only in public areas is it limited to one side __________________

Well, what I meant was that she was putting us over a public area (the lanai and promenade area) where (I think) smoking is allowed. But not all balconies are allowed smoking- spa balconies are non-smoking. :)

Yeah, I am going to call to try to switch our rooms. I am thinking the lady who answered the phone might be new.

Thanks again!

Understood about the smoking on balconies...I meant, if we can't change our rooms, she booked us not only over a bar (I even asked if we were over something like that!), but she also (possibly) put us over the lanai area where additional smoking is allowed on that side of the ship particularly.

I won't let it ruin our vacation Kenmo- thank you!:) As long as I know ahead of time how things will be I can prepare accordingly (ear plugs and headache medicine). :D

Thanks for everyone's replies. :) I don't want to start a smokers vs non-smokers thread. I simply stated where OUR comforts lie and why WE book a balcony as we have the right to sit out there and enjoy ourselves too.

I, in no way, again, would infringe upon any smoker's right to smoke on their balcony. I wouldn't ask them to not smoke, etc. I cannot help my condition, trust me, I've tried- breathe through my mouth, drink caffeine when I don't want to in order to prevent the headache from coming on....but I also won't not vacation either. Like I said- some cigarette smoke doesn't bother me- others make me nauseous.

If I am correct, the starboard side of the Magic is smoking, correct? We are currently also on that side. I guess the lady at Carnival wasn't listening. I also found out she didn't enter information correctly which accidentally cancelled our reservations! (Although somehow, someone caught the mishap and put us back in those rooms.)

I was having internet issues here today and tried that pay website, but the Paypal link wouldn't work, but finally got it to working so I will call Carnival tomorrow and see if we can get switched to at least one floor up. I want to be able to look out on the water so we may possibly have to not have connecting rooms and spit out another $1,000 just so we won't have people peering in. (I finally found a video on youtube this lady was taking from Deck 5 and not only could you see right into some of the balconies, but could see the beds as well. There goes our open door, 'nekked' escapades...LOL!)

Thanks again for all the tips!:)

Oh and Jifner- I'm a Jifner too! My sister used to call me that when we were little. :D

Thanks for the tips so far. I looked into spa rooms, but we wanted connecting rooms with balconies that have removable dividers. Plus, the spa rooms were a good deal more costly. But I will look into it- thanks!

I knew the deck wraps around on the Magic but I certainly don't want to be right over where we can't have privacy or enjoy ourselves.