Lookingforfacts

We're not allowed to discuss individual TAs therefore there is no way to intelligently comment. I've never seen the phrase "by invitation only" There are auto clubs and warehouse clubs which only offer deals to their members, not the general public. Some of the legitimate sites only offer their deals to customers who share a valid email address. Occasionally the deal will only be shared via email. Cruise lines generally prohibit sites from publicly offering rates which are less then the lines posted rates. Group bookings being an exception. TA deals generally involve TA provided extras such as free insurance, extra on board credit, prepaid tips, drink plans and sometimes even a check or cash card after your cruise.

No reason doing business with anything that looks shady.

I'm pretty sure the 100K sign up offer is history. Earlier this year, after the 100K offer expired online, you could get the 100K offer if you applied for the card at a Chase branch.

The car offers some good travel benefits. Rental car coverage is primary. Benefits are provided, if some restrictions, for medical evacuation, trip cancellation even some coverage for medical expenses. The benefits aren't as extensive as benefits typically included with travel insurance. The coverage may be adequate, for those people who have coverage with their regular health policy.

Amazon fire stick is designed to allow easy access to the accept conditions screens necessary for use in hotels.

Pros and cons of either ship? Food? Entertainment? Is includes food good or do you need to pay for specialty dining if you want good food

No, cruise lines say it is passengers sole responsibity to get their traveling paperwork and visa in order before showing up at the pier. No babysitting, hand holding or free tutorial service provided on this subject. No freebie cruise voucher if you screw up. That's the deal.

Regular posters on this board research and are very unlikely to make the mistake the OP made.

Cruise lines have no problem babysitting, hand holding and offering free tutorial services regarding the "best" stores to frequent in ports. Same with respect to shore excursions. Believe some of the CDs and independent excursions leave passengers behind on a regular basis.

We can agree to disagree. I think helping customers comply with various rules is good business. Leaving customers at the dock isn't good business. It's not a matter of owing anything to the passenger. It's about satisfied customers and repeat business.

The problem I foresee with recommending a site like the one above is that sometimes there are special exceptions for cruise passengers in transit (e.g., they have a port stop somewhere but they are not embarking or disembarking the ship in that country).

 

Turkey, for example, requires US citizens -- and many others -- to prepurchase an electronic visa prior to arrival by plane into the country. However, if you are a cruise ship passenger in transit -- arriving and leaving by ship -- you do not need a visa.

 

This is a source of endless confusion on these boards for as long as I've been here -- >10 years. Same with Egypt, and I'm sure other countries as well.

I understand the IATA tool is for air travel. My point is cruise lines should be able to offer equivalent information to their customers.

How 'bout this? It's nobody's business where she's from. The OP only wanted to know about some good will vouchers from HAL despite the whole kerfuffle being their fault. He is right to not reveal where she's from, otherwise the cc busybodies would rush to give their full legal analysis and criticism. He knows they goofed, stop beating up on him (and her). There is a difference between "hiding" information and keeping information private that is no one's business. No one's business - and that includes me and you.

 

OMG, now there's speculation on his marital status. I do have some unsolicited advice for the OP: run and hide from the gossipy meddlers on cc as fast as you can.

+1

There is thread describing customs agents who demand a birth certificate in addition to an enhanced drivers license. The OP should make sure HAL is correct. Mistakes happen.

The poster booked a cruise an Alaskan cruise, leaving from (and returning to) a US port. Unlike some (many?) of the posters in this thread I can understand an honest mistake. Maybe they thought they could just stay on board, skip Victoria.

IATA has tool air passengers can use to check travel requirements. Airlines use the same tool when they validate passenger documentation. http://www.iatatravelcentre.com/

I agree the ultimate responsibility is with the customer BUT it would nice if the online check in process flagged issues. A pop up which said, you're a citizen of XXX. You need a VISA before you'll be allowed to board.

What do I think HAL owes the passenger nothing BUT if you want repeat business you try and work with a customer who made a mistake. Maybe $100 on board credit for a future cruise, want to be generous 10% of money lost. I don't know how long it takes for the OPs spouse to get a VISA. Contact the customer shortly before flash pricing and let them book a month or so before the cruise.

I almost think some posters derive sadistic pleasure in telling people it's all their fault, too bad, when there is an issue. A recent poster on the Celebrity board had friends who missed their ship (out of Vancouver) due to flight issues. Numerous posters told them their friends were out of luck due to PSVA issues. Illegal to let the people board in another port. Posters all but said they got what they deserved (cruise air). We later learned they were allowed to board at one of the ports.

Consider an adult only resort. There have been previous suggestions, in other threads, on how to increase your probability of a more adult cruise. NONE of the suggestions work for you. They include booking a premium $$$ cruise line. Book a longer (more then one week) cruise. Don't book when many schools are on vacation. Book a cruise that's more expensive for a family, Europe for example. Avoid cruises from ports which are easy and cheap for families. That means ports within driving distance (NYC) and/or cheap flights (Florida).

I would have thought the Celebrity Summit would have worked until I read the previous poster. 400 kids isn't the experience you're looking for.

Okay - just did a random "ita matrix" search for high traffic dates/times more than six months out. Found quite a few RT airfares at well under $400/person. So, we're still only talking in the neighborhood of $500 to $600+\- more to fly than to drive and that's still before adding parking and enroute meals during a drive. BTW, for many folks, that drive time addition of 10+ hours subtracts from a two income family's earning potential not to mention the negative impact on your first (very tired) day aboard.

AFAIAC, driving is still a losing proposition.

 

 

 

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Bring food and drinks. Give you the option of skipping meal breaks. Use Google navigation. I only switch to alternate route if the savings are at least 5-10 minutes.

Pick up your wife at work. Have the car gassed, tire pressure checked etc.

Long shot. First verify Canada requires a Visa. OP didn't give enough information. Next do you need a visa if you stay on the ship in Victoria.

Did you really on incorrect information contained on HALs website.

None of the above applies. Tell HAl you weren't planning on visiting Victoria, didn't realize you needed a visa and ask for an exception. Maybe a (small) part of your forfeited fare as an onboard credit towards a future cruise. Maybe ask why online check in didn't flag visa issue.

Sounds like HAL employee picked this up. I'd ask why HAL couldn't apply same screening during online check in

A few years ago a poster, I think in the Alaskan forum had a complaint. Cruise line wouldn't let him violate the PSVA. He did some research and cruise line was paying the fine and accommodating cruise air passengers. Not sure where he got that information.

The cruise line had a legitimate concern, though proven wrong, concerning fraud. I can understand employees on the ship letting land based employees handle it.

I didn't mean to imply the OP was engaging in fraud. Rather the appearance of fraud dictated the cruise employees actions.

Years ago I read what's important isn't just more then one credit card. If possible make sure they aren't all from the same bank. If possible take one that was issued to your spouse.

Our credit cards are generally chip and signature. Europe is generally chip and PIN. Might be an issue if your using a kiosk. I bring an ATM/debit card. Can save a long line at a transit station.

I'm not assuming anything. We were told in then OP, cruise line told pax fraud prevention put a hold on the card. OP asked for manual entry based on a picture of a credit card.

Cruise employees were able to resolve the situation at disembarkation. Sounds like too many issues to solve at sea.

Unless you are a mind reader you have no idea what any of the people involved actually thought so there is no way you can say that this situation "screamed fraud" to the cruise line.

 

There is a free drink in it for you on your next cruise if you can tell me what I'm thinking at the very moment you read this.

The bank put a fraud stop on the card. The bank wasn't willing to remove a hold, reactive the old card or doing anything else to assist. The OP didn't have any other acceptable form of payment.

I don't have to be a mind reader, just a regular reader.

I'm not saying it was fraud, but it was more then enough to trigger fraud warnings.

The OP was told to resolve the situation or the police would be called. Again, I don't have to be a mind reader, just a reader.

Perhaps it was. The OP recognises he goofed up by not carrying another physical card but RC also goofed up by 1; threatening arrest and 2: not letting him use the non-physical card on the ship (they did after the ship docked). The guy dropped 7 grand in two days! And that 7 grand was high margin business. As I said earlier I'd want him as a customer and do everything in my power to keep his business. If that meant bending company policy a bit so be it, as long as I got paid. Goofing up with these 'Whale' type customers is not a wise business strategy on RC's part.

They also don't want passengers leaving the ship with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise paid for with fraudulent credit cards.

How many passengers charge $7,000 the first 2 days of a cruise? Few enough to generate a possible fraud issue with the credit card?

The arrest threat was made when the OP tried to give the RC employee a credit card number over the phone (from his cabin). Sounds like it was made to motivate the passenger into going to the desk to resolve the situation.

The only solution acceptable to the OP was manual entry of a card not present. He was told that wasn't allowed. It's likely the ships credit card system is programmed not to allow for that transaction. Manual entry without the credit card being present is different then manual entry due to an issue with a credit card being read (magnetic strip issues).

According to the OP the ship suggested contacting a friend or relative. I don't know if the the OP wasn't give some options or if the OP was just stubborn. Could the OP have contacted his bank and has funds wired (or ACH transfer) to his shipboard account? Could the OP have called a friend or relative and asked the same. Could the OP have gone online and used one of his credit cards to purchase ship board credit? Maybe not the amount of money we're talking about. Could he have called one of the those cards and gotten authorization to pay online?

The OPs story sounds a little fishy. He's spending like a whale but left his high credit limit credit card home?

RC decided this situation was best handled by employees at the dock. This situation screams fraud. Makes sense the issue couldn't be completely resolved on the boat.

Do you call the cruise line? Regular 800 number? Special number? Regular TA? Are there specialized TAs who book very last minute? Do you negotiate the price or are you given the bottom line price?

In person a customer is expected to produce a physical card . The card is swiped or inserted in a slot so the chip can be read.

I've never asked a merchant to manually type my credit card number from a cell phone picture. I guess some might.

Fraud issues and credit card policies with respect to merchant liability.

Different procedures at a call center where a physical card is never used.

I assure you I am far from a millennial I made a mistake of not calling my bank. Lesson learned. I just find it hard to believe there was no other way of handling it. They asked me to call family... how would that of worked without a physical card?

You still don't get it. Manual entry without a card present isn't allowed on the ship. A family member might have been told how to wire funds, or ACH transfer, into your cruise account.

Did the ship assist you in contacting your credit card? Why wouldn't the bank remove the hold? Could you have made a payment via transfer from a linked bank account.

Maybe the ship could have done a better job with suggestions. Sounds, based on your posts, your insistence on using a photo of your credit card stopped you from considering alternatives.

Coral Princess goes to Glacier Bay. No brainier.

The OP doesn't belong the rc employees who told him the ship terminals won't process manual entry, card not present.

He said he spent 7,000 in two days? Is he counting his cruise fare? Casino losses? Ship store purchases?

RC should have assisted OP in talking to his bank. Sounds like OP was only interested in using his cell phone picture of a card

Why is everyone assuming the issue was failure to notify? My credit cards pick up on trip planning charges like airline tickets and send me an email a few days before my tripl reminding me to take their credit card.

The OP said he charged $7,000 in a few days. That could trigger a fraud alert.

In what world should a merchant assume the risk inherent with the use of a manually entered credit card number. OP goes home, contests the charges and benefits from an automatic charge back.

Manually entered credit card may result in a higher fee and reduced merchant protection from fraud.

Your first credit card was declined for possible fraud. In what world would you expect acceptance of an image on the phone.

You needed to contact your bank on the spot. Try online chat. Ask if cruise line will let you use their phone. Pay to use your phone.

That doesn't work see if you could apply for a rcl card on the ship. Contact your high limit card. See if they would be willing to contact the cruise line and arrange payment. See if there is a way to express a physical card to a port.