Denied boarding

[Springwater21]

we have cruised twice and each time the cruise line took our Canadian passports"for safe keeping". We could not get them back until the end of the cruise. Everyone should get the passport! Its like insurance-you may need it someday! I realize the fee is high, but look at the advantages it gets you..Dona

[tradewinds traveler]

I really feel for you!! You would not believe what I went thru to get my driver's license in Fl. I had to get a cert of my marriage license from Jacksonville. When I called my State Rep. they explained it was all do to HLS. I had to have proof of citzenship (passport ) proof of that I live in Fl & since I changed to marry name a cert copy of the marriage license. It is getting a little out of hand w/HLS!!!!!

[Ken076]

You should be able to get your "Govt Fees and Taxes" portion refunded. I'd make a written plea to Carnival for some Future Cruise Credit. I don't believe a Birth "Record" has ever been acceptable, so I guess this could have happened to you previously. ken

[tha sista]

Now my dh and I have birth certificates with a raised seal that we were going to use on the cruise rather than investing in passports. The cruise was a surprise gift for us and we were hoping to use birth certificates than have to spend so much money on 4 passports but maybe we need to. I would hate to get there and be denied!

 

I am soooo sorry that happened to you!

A birth certificate with a raised seal is the document that is required. See your boarding document and it explains it in detail.

[shof515]

Enhanced drivers license is only good if you live, drive and cross at a border such as Windsor/Detroit - Thunder Bay/ Pidgeon River - Fort Frances/International Falls just to name a few. For International flights and US flights we have needed a passport - I hope to heck you are wrong otherwise we have been duped and it would not be the first time. Thanks for bringing this to my attention - you can believe I will look into it.

 

new york state enhanced driver licenses can not be used international air travel.

[Kurbanfan]

I really feel for you!! You would not believe what I went thru to get my driver's license in Fl. I had to get a cert of my marriage license from Jacksonville. When I called my State Rep. they explained it was all do to HLS. I had to have proof of citzenship (passport ) proof of that I live in Fl & since I changed to marry name a cert copy of the marriage license. It is getting a little out of hand w/HLS!!!!!

 

That sounds right........as it should be........

[INCHARGE]

USA_Cruiser...I am so sorry that this has happened to your family. It had to be so disappointing to have anticipated going on the cruise, only to be turned away. Thank you for alerting others, in hopes that they can avoid this nightmare.

[jennycait]

My DH had used what he thought was his birth certificate his whole life, even in the Navy. It wasn't until we tried to board a plane for Jamaica about 5 years ago that we found out this was not a "real" birth certificate. The rest of the family went ahead and boarded the plane while he stayed behind and literally ran to the Dept of Vital Statistics and got one. The lady at the check-in counter was nice enough to tell us where he could get one processed immediately. Luckily he was born in the same state we were leaving from. DH had to wait and catch a later flight, fly to Miami, change planes then fly to Jamaica. About $600 later we were reunited and had a terrific vacation. It was a hard lesson to learn though, and since then we have all gotten passports.:eek:

[chickie_mite]

Man oh man.

 

I would be crying my eyes out---for about a month.

[Tbay-eh]

we have cruised twice and each time the cruise line took our Canadian passports"for safe keeping". We could not get them back until the end of the cruise. Everyone should get the passport! Its like insurance-you may need it someday! I realize the fee is high, but look at the advantages it gets you..Dona

 

We have never had our passports taken "for safe keeping". By any chance were you on a cruise overseas as they often do this. We have only cruised Caribbean area so may this is the reason. Inquiring minds want to know.

[cruisinmeme]

This sucks. When you fill out your Fun Pass, it asks what documents you are using. Carnival should have notified you of the change. I'm sorry you missed your cruise.

 

i was sorta thinking the same thing. what good does it do to fill it out if they don't even pay attention to what it put there.

[PA Dutchman]

A birth certificate with a raised seal is the document that is required. See your boarding document and it explains it in detail.

I agree, People need to read there cruise contracts. All the info is there, what they need instead of asking on a message board.

I really don't understand why they just don't make everybosy get a PASSPORT, then there are no problems.

[Ken076]

i was sorta thinking the same thing. what good does it do to fill it out if they don't even pay attention to what it put there.

 

 

there has been no change - a "birth record" has never been acceptable. ken

[Cool Waters]

I beg to differ - this is only this tip of the iceberg. I don't know how many times I have read: my S&S card was $800-1000-1500-2000, I bought 2-4-6-8 pictures, I booked a Carnival Excursion in every port, I bought 2-4-6-8 Tshirts, I played bingo often, I booked the steakhouse and the list goes on. The cruise price is only a part of what people spend. Believe me, their bottom line still suffered whether people cruised or not.

 

I agree!

[PA Dutchman]

i was sorta thinking the same thing. what good does it do to fill it out if they don't even pay attention to what it put there.

All They did was click Birth Cert. Didn;t understand what they were reading. Cost them. You are responsable to have the correct doc. It also states that.

[marriednlovinit]

So sorry to hear that you were denied boarding. I also understand the concern of not wanting to purchase the passports due to the cost of them and not using them regularly. We got ours under the assumption that "one day" we will be able to use ours. Now, since we have obtained ours we have used them at the airports, just because we had them. We have not had any issues getting through airport security, but still got pulled for "random" search. Just still waiting for the day that we can finally get a stamp in them. lol.

[marriednlovinit]

I agree, People need to read there cruise contracts. All the info is there, what they need instead of asking on a message board.

I really don't understand why they just don't make everybosy get a PASSPORT, then there are no problems.

 

oh, it's coming to that quicker than we know.

[minni323]

OMG, I'm so sorry to hear that! Don't worry about people flaming you b/c it's in their nature. I have one person trying to push my buttons on a thread I started today.

 

We were on the Pride two weeks ago and we had birth certificates not birth records. I was worried out of my mind until I got on the ship. Next year will definitely be passports for us!

 

i was on the pride the same time and was worried to because i had my original bc and its old and the seal is a lil worn , so i was so nervous but it was ok.

[ANGSWIN]

I am so, so, so sorry. I know that you must be devastated.

Thank you so much for letting us know so that this won't happen to someone else.

[Molly BPOE]

This sucks. When you fill out your Fun Pass, it asks what documents you are using. Carnival should have notified you of the change. I'm sorry you missed your cruise.

This makes no sense as "Record of Birth" is not an option on the Fun Pass. The only opition they could have used with that document was "Birth Certificate". The other options are, "Passport", "Passport Card", "Certificate of Citizenship" or "Enhanced Driver's License".

To the OP, so sorry about your cruise. That is a real bummer:(

[big_duck]

We have never had our passports taken "for safe keeping". By any chance were you on a cruise overseas as they often do this. We have only cruised Caribbean area so may this is the reason. Inquiring minds want to know.

 

They stopped doing that on Carnival in 2005.

[QuentinH]

A birth certificate with a raised seal is the document that is required. See your boarding document and it explains it in detail.

 

 

I very much feel sorry for the people not allowed to board and missing their cruise. As an attorney and a frequent traveler who works in Europe and spends extended time there, I read a thread here not to long ago about this subject. "closed loop cruises", "they can't make you", "don't spend money on a passport, go the homeland security website, you don't need it"

I just shook my head at the advice, and the "I have experience advice, I've board 100 times with my birth certificate"

Rules and laws regarding this can change at any moment. The reason we are not requiring passports is political as there was uproars about the cost, privacy issue etc. The US bows to political pressure....well folks, the rest of the world does not. AT ANY TIME other countries including the countries visited on your closed loop cruises can change the rules. Carnival will have no say in it and our almighty American dollars may or may not stop this from happening, most likely not. Get a passport for you, and your children or you will find yourself in these situations. If you keep holding to the very bare minimum instead of getting a passport, you will be left behind at some point.

 

...to the OP, you do have some negotiating power to recoup several fees that they cannot with hold and can most likely get sizable credit with you payment applied to a future cruise. Start a folder and start writing Carnival - no threats....tears work better in the situation - good luck.

[Kurbanfan]

I agree, People need to read there cruise contracts. All the info is there, what they need instead of asking on a message board.

I really don't understand why they just don't make everybosy get a PASSPORT, then there are no problems.

 

I wonder how many people bring their hospital certificate instead of a certified birth certificate when they apply for a passport:p

[dancerbelle]

Before you start flaming. I don’t have a passport and don’t travel enough to have one. We cruise maybe every other year and we don’t go out of the country any other time. Now for what happened we were suppose to cruise on the Dream today but when we got to the port we were denied boarding. The Documents we had was my birth cert. and my driver’s license. DH had his driver’s license and a certified birth record which he have used on the other 3 cruises we have been on with Carnival and there was no issue BUT as a 2 weeks ago they no longer except that document. And we weren’t the only ones there were families with children that were refused boarding. I called Carnival and spoke to 3 different people regarding this and was told if we didn’t take the insurance out that Carnival offered we were SOOL this just FYI if you have a certified birth record and have used it before you can’t use it now. You need a birth certificate. We thought since we used it in the past we could still use it. And regular insurance won’t cover them denying you boarding.

 

I'm really sorry this happened to you and the other families.:(

[disneylynn]

What is a birth record? Can you still use a birth certificate and a new york drivers license?

My family has passports, on my next cruise I will be traveling with a family new to cruising.