Denied boarding

[Hobbsey]

If you truly believe you were wronged, then file a chargeback on your credit card. Carnival will likely win the chargeback. Then you file a chargeback a second time, which goes through the arbitration process. It's very rare that companies continue to fight at that point and you are likely to get your money back without anything additional. If they do continue to fight, you go through arbitration and the worst that can happen is you are out the money you were already out. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

 

If you end up winning, Carnival may not want you onboard ever again, though :)

 

My opinion, for the penny that it's worth - is that this says a lot more about Carnival simply not caring. Regardless of what rules or terms state, Carnival can certainly make exceptions "for the sake of customer satisfaction" - that's a term I got used to when working for a major tech company long ago. Carnival wins nothing and it's bad business on their part. But what can you do? I'm not sure how I'd handle it, personally.

 

Uh. No. They are following Federal Law.

[Hobbsey]

Poor kid - he must have felt awful to have caused his girlfriends entire family to miss a cruise. I don't know what I would have done in that situation, if I was in your shoes. I might have called the boyfriends parents, to alert them to the situation, and to see about flying him home, and then gone on with the trip - after all, he's an 18 year old, and that's an adult in anyone's estimation. But that's me. By choosing to keep everyone together, you made a decision to not board - and that's not Carnival's fault. But it still sucks.

 

 

 

KC

 

Good thought but he would not have been able to board an airplane either. But Greyhound might have been an option.

[zdcatc12]

Good thought but he would not have been able to board an airplane either.

 

Yes he would have, see numerous posts above.

[NHL Philly Fan]

My theory on this is if Carnival wasn't sold out (meaning they wouldn't have sold that room to someone else if you hadn't booked) then they could have done the nice gesture and given you full or partial credit for a future cruise. While they have no obligation to this, if you weren't taking someone else's spot on the ship, then why not right? That being said, they really don't have any obligation and legally you probably don't have a leg to stand on as many others have posted.

 

 

Well if you really feel that way YOU can do a nice gesture and refund the guy his money.

[IPlayWithString]

This is exactly why we travel with passports.

 

Our last cruise, we sailed out of New Orleans. The day prior to the cruise, we spent driving down from Dallas and that evening, my husband decided to go purchase something from the retail chain where he works. When he checked out, the cashier asked to see his photo ID (which is standard procedure..I've shopped with him many times) to verify that yes, it was him using his employee discount.

 

He discovered that he'd left his driver's license in Dallas. Obviously there was NO way to go back and get it at that point (although we did have our friend who was catsitting for us take a picture of it and email it to him, which he did print out at the hotel and put with our travel docs). Because we all have passports though, there was no issue with boarding thank goodness.

[La_Souris]

You could have sent the daughter's boyfriend home at the pier and went on the cruise. Your decision, your loss. Ask the boyfriend to reimburse you the money. He screwed up, not Carnival.

 

I have to agree with this.

 

I understand it's an accident and the family has probably decided to not go just to be supportive of the boyfriend's mistake... Their good heart failed their wallet.

 

If I was the one who forgot my ID, I would have insisted that the rest of the family go on vacation without me.

[ray98]

LOL at all who think something as simple as a 18yo being responsible for his own wallet is just too much. We have 18yo's in charge of squads in combat every day. Age isn't an excuse, lack of maturity is.

[maxim1010]

Just wanted to get some input from other cruisers and any tips on how to possibly win this battle against Carnival. Here is my story. Myself, my wife, my son, my daughter and her boyfriend who is 18 were supposed to cruise on the Carnival Paradise out of Tampa last week. Her boyfriend was denied boarding because he didn't have any form of photo id with him because he accidently left it in the hotel room in Georgia we had stayed at the previous night. We had his birth certificate and the hotel found his wallet with drivers license in it and sent us and Carnival a picture of the license. After waiting for over 3 hours we were told he wouldn't be allowed to board. Now we are fighting with Carnival to try to get the money we had paid to be put towards a future cruise with them. They are refusing to give us anything back or put towards another cruise because we didn't purchase the insurance they offer. We were told by the Carnival employees in Tampa that the insurance wouldn't have helped in this situation anyway but that is not what customer care is telling us. We have been on multiple cruises with Carnival and brought other couples previously on their first cruises. I am failing to see what Carnival feels like they will be losing by giving us our money towards another cruise with them. It was a 5 day cruise from Tampa to Mexico in the cheapest cabin they had so they won't be out much money in my opinion. Anyone with any suggestions on this?

 

Shame on Carnival. I know fora FACT one can FLY without an photo ID if forgotten. Sure it's not easy and takes extra time as things are verified but there is a program in place for these emergencies. RIDICULOUS carnival doesn't have some type of backup plan. Accidents happen we all have forgotten things. Yet another reason we just dumped Carnival (they tried to screw me out a a refund 6 as I cancelled a cruise 6 months out!). Bye Felicia!

[LMaxwell]

Shame on Carnival. I know fora FACT one can FLY without an photo ID if forgotten. Sure it's not easy and takes extra time as things are verified but there is a program in place for these emergencies. RIDICULOUS carnival doesn't have some type of backup plan. Accidents happen we all have forgotten things. Yet another reason we just dumped Carnival (they tried to screw me out a a refund 6 as I cancelled a cruise 6 months out!). Bye Felicia!

 

Why didn't the cruiser have a back up plan like a passport?

 

Would YOU feel safe if people were let on to a ship without their ID being verified? maybe this time it is a nice kid, maybe next time it isn't. Then you find out Carnival ignored protocol and travel regulations and put people at risk, how would you feel then?

 

come on...Carnival didn't punitively punish this person, they followed their guidelines, which are in place for a reason. Hey, in the 70's, 80's, 90's you could show up at the pier and haggle for a left over room and get right on the ship without a prior reservation. But those days are long gone now.

 

This is clearly spelled out

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3409/~/travel-documentation%3A-u.s.-citizens

 

 

I DO agree, mistakes happen. But Carnival is NOT the one that made the mistake here.

Edited August 13, 2016 by LMaxwell

[drolltroll]

Shame on Carnival. I know fora FACT one can FLY without an photo ID if forgotten. Sure it's not easy and takes extra time as things are verified but there is a program in place for these emergencies. RIDICULOUS carnival doesn't have some type of backup plan. Accidents happen we all have forgotten things. Yet another reason we just dumped Carnival (they tried to screw me out a a refund 6 as I cancelled a cruise 6 months out!). Bye Felicia!

 

What part of "Not Carnival's decision whether he gets to board or not" do you not understand? Carnival would have been fine with it if he boarded, I am sure!

[sparks1093]

Why didn't the cruiser have a back up plan like a passport?

 

Would YOU feel safe if people were let on to a ship without their ID being verified? maybe this time it is a nice kid, maybe next time it isn't. Then you find out Carnival ignored protocol and travel regulations and put people at risk, how would you feel then?

 

come on...Carnival didn't punitively punish this person, they followed their guidelines, which are in place for a reason. Hey, in the 70's, 80's, 90's you could show up at the pier and haggle for a left over room and get right on the ship without a prior reservation. But those days are long gone now.

 

This is clearly spelled out

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3409/~/travel-documentation%3A-u.s.-citizens

 

 

I DO agree, mistakes happen. But Carnival is NOT the one that made the mistake here.

 

Actually a passport is plan A if you have one, drivers license/birth certificate is Plan B if something happens to the passport (for closed loop cruises).

[sparks1093]

Shame on Carnival. I know fora FACT one can FLY without an photo ID if forgotten. Sure it's not easy and takes extra time as things are verified but there is a program in place for these emergencies. RIDICULOUS carnival doesn't have some type of backup plan. Accidents happen we all have forgotten things. Yet another reason we just dumped Carnival (they tried to screw me out a a refund 6 as I cancelled a cruise 6 months out!). Bye Felicia!

 

But one may not cruise without appropriate ID and any cruise line that allows a passenger to embark without ID is subject to hefty fines.

[momonthego17]

Same here. When we travel I get all the passports, ID's, and BC needed to board at before we leave home and hang on to them myself with our boarding passes. I make sure we get on that ship. It is called taking responsibility.

 

 

I do this as well. My poor DH has been told to "pull over, I need to check something " on our way to a port or the airport and the only way I feel comfortable is when I have all the tickets, boarding passes, ID, etc in my hot little hands.

Edited August 13, 2016 by momonthego17

[simplelife]

I can't imagine not double checking that everyone has their ID and boarding documents before any trip.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[summersigh]

This is again an argument for arriving to the port a day early! They could have driven back to Georgia to get the wallet - problem solved! It's taking a chance to drive day of. What if the car breaks down? What if a road is closed? You are stuck somewhere? You could say they were cutting it close to begin with, no room for a problem to occur. Which one big one did.

And yeah, I said before, leave him and everyone else cruise! He had family nearby. He I assume had a phone. The Princess officials would have helped him some with making some arrangements. It's not like he would have died or slept in the street if he was left alone. And when the family gets back, they all drive home together as originally planned. And for the rest of his life, that boy will check his documents carefully. At least I hope so.

 

Ahhhh ... the voice of reason :)

[logan25]

And for those who say they would leave him, let me ask you this....You are on a family vacation and your son/daughter who is 18, forgets their paperwork. Are you saying that you will leave them? Are you really going to hand them some cash and tell them "make sure you water the plants when you get home"....

 

Thank you for the suggestion. I like it!

[loubetti]

I can't imagine not double checking that everyone has their ID and boarding documents before any trip.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

^^^ ...and therein lies the answer! How hard is it to double check? You never "assume" or "presume"; you check and even double check. Too much at stake if you do not!

 

You do as we pilots do: Have a written or mental check list and go through it. Of course, lives depend on us doing it right! In the case of a cruise, a lot of money is at stake.

 

Just to add to the choir; Carnival owes nothing here. :cool:

[Drazil65]

At 18 this person can vote, sign a contract, get married, buy a house, join the military and everything else that a "grown up adult" is entitled to do. Including being responsible for their own ID and cash for travelling/spending.

 

YES, I would absolutely have told him to contact his family to arrange for transportation home or to be put up in a hotel until we arrived back from the cruise and then ride back home with us. No way should the rest of us suffer for this irresponsibility on his part by missing our vacation. We always purchase travel insurance for any emergencies that may happen but I am sorry this was no emergency and no reason for the others to stay behind.

[Shmoo here]

Shame on Carnival. I know fora FACT one can FLY without an photo ID if forgotten. Sure it's not easy and takes extra time as things are verified but there is a program in place for these emergencies. RIDICULOUS carnival doesn't have some type of backup plan. Accidents happen we all have forgotten things. Yet another reason we just dumped Carnival (they tried to screw me out a a refund 6 as I cancelled a cruise 6 months out!). Bye Felicia!

 

Yes, you can fly if you don't have your photo ID - on domestic flights - not international ones.

 

Taking a cruise is like taking an international flight - there are specific ID requirements (from the government - not the cruiseline) that must be met in order to board that ship (plane).

 

Again, it wasn't Carnival's decision to make whether he could cruise or not, it was the government personnel. I'm fairly certain that's why it took 3 hours to make the decision.

 

The "back up" plan is if someone doesn't have a passport, they can use their birth certificate and government issued photo ID. The 18 year old was already using the back up plan. And he didn't carry through.

 

As to whether I'd take the rest of the family and still cruise - yes. OP already stated that the boyfriend had relatives "close" to the port. I'd call them, and set up some sort of pick up for him. If that's not possible, I agree with the plan to put him in a hotel while we're gone, and pick him back up when the cruise was done.

Edited August 13, 2016 by Shmoo here

[Elaine5715]

I have no doubt that the OP wasn't interested in leaving boyfriend behind because daughter would have made the cruise miserable, as a matter of fact, bringing boyfriend was likely to keep daughter happy. That the basic problem when the children are in charge so why expect any responsibility.

[usd2bmd]

If it were me, the bf would have gotten left (I'm just mean like that). There is no way an entire vacation would be ruined over someone being irresponsible.

 

Sucks this happened but Carnival isn't responsible and doesn't have to give anything back.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yes. It sounds mean, but We have a limited vacation budget and I can't/won't waste my vacation because my daughters boyfriend forgot his wallet. But Knowing my husband, it probably wouldn't have happened. He asks a hundred times if we have everything. Then wants to see it with his own eyes to be sure.

 

I'm sorry you missed the cruise, but Carnival doesn't owe you anything.

[RuthlessBoss]

Here we are 3 days after post 1, over 200 posts yet the OP gave us a total of 1 hour and 24 minutes of his time on the 10th!! ;)

[Shmoo here]

Here we are 3 days after post 1, over 200 posts yet the OP gave us a total of 1 hour and 24 minutes of his time on the 10th!! ;)

 

Yeah, I kinda expect that from a first-time poster.

 

Especially, when it's been pointed out there are not "any tips on how to possibly win this battle against Carnival." (as posted in the first post).

[maldenmusic]

I can't imagine not double checking that everyone has their ID and boarding documents before any trip.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Agreed. I always check, then double and triple check.

[wiskt]

Since you had the Carnival insurance., and depending on your itinerary....

 

I probably would have asked the Hotel to overnight the wallet, and had the person miss the Port boarding and board at the next port. I believe with the insurance, if you miss check in boarding you can get flown to the 1st NON-US port and board there. I've seen plenty of times where passengers missing the ships out of S Florida are rolling their luggage and boarding in Nassau.

 

It's unfortunate this happened to your group.

Edited August 14, 2016 by wiskt