Honeymoon night mare because we were not able to take the trip bought for us...

[shdixon]

19 hours ago, The4Cruisers said:

Need to be nice, so I'm going with CLUELESS!!!   I couldn't believe when I saw the story spun so badly by whoever put it on John Heald's FB page.  

Hate that the OP lost their trip, but I understand CCL following the rules.  My family gets tired of me asking them if they have their proper ID while we pack and when we get into the car to drive to the port.  It's just a sucky lesson for OP to learn about travel in this new age.  

 

The poster on JH page made it seem like it was Carnival's fault and bashed Carnival saying how other cruise lines would have handled it better. It was really off putting

[Mikew0805]

4 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

 

Thank you for your kind and supportive comments, Mike. I appreciate your feedback very, very much and will use it to improve!!  Typically I refrain from ever posting anything negative on Cruise Critic and this is exactly why, but obviously had a personal failure here as apparently could not resist descending into the pit of harsh judgment.  I deserve the eye roll and thank you for putting me back in my place and reminding me of the consequences of my inappropriate behavior.

 

Have a great day and also hope you have a wonderful time on your upcoming cruise on Carnival Horizon. Wish we were going as well.  She really looks like a "dream boat" from the reviews I have seen but alas there are just too many ships and too little time and other resources.

 

John Heald is saying over at that place where he connects with people that he would like to help this couple.  Unfortunately I don't think anyone knows how to get directly in touch with the Original Poster to tell her this. I don't know what he means by help as he did not clarify.  We are going in to an off season (aside from the holidays of course) from now until about mid February and perhaps he can get them a very hefty credit toward a sailing out of Galveston with slow-selling staterooms.

 

Kmom 🙂

Well this reminds me, that maybe I was a bit harsh as well. I was not trying to put you in your place, as that is not really my place either. I think that I was reading all the previous nasty comments, and finally on yours post I hit reply. Sorry it came off so harsh.

 

Thanks about the Horizon. I booked it over a year ago, even with all the negative reviews of the Vista. There are some things I am sure that I will not like (show lounge... ugh) but there is so much I am looking forward to. I am looking forward to my first Guy's burger (the burgers on RCI are disgusting, and I have not had one on a cruise in a long time) as well as the Blue Iguana. I'm excited.

 

As far as JH helping, I follow there on that site too, but just not closely, so I have not seen anything about it. I am not sure there is much to do for them, as this is a really hard lesson they learned, and I feel bad that they had to learn this lesson on something so important, and limited - as a honeymoon. I remember the days of scraping money together, and working hard to have something that I wanted, so I am sure this was devastating to her Mother as well. 😞

Edited November 24, 2018 by Mikew0805

[IPlayWithString]

16 hours ago, StillPooh said:

I don’t understand why you’d need to bother with your husband’s DL, if he had a passport. 

Because he doesn't normally go anywhere with his passport except on vacation and I can't say about you or anyone else, but I know my parents drilled into me from the time I got my DL at 17 (and I'm sure his parents did too) that you never ever ever EVER go anywhere without your license. Period. You leave the house to go ANYWHERE, you take it with you. 

 

He didn't realize he didn't have it with him until we went to purchase something at Best Buy with his employee discount the night before we left (he used to work there and you had to present ID to prove you were who you said you were when making a purchase with your discount). He forgot to double check to make sure he had it before we pulled out of the driveway, which he readily admitted to. Fortunately, he knew EXACTLY where it was and his friend who was cat-sitting for us was able to email him a scanned-in copy of it which he printed off in the hotel's business center the next morning before we headed to the terminal just in case, for some weird reason, we needed it for something. Because you never know.

Edited November 24, 2018 by IPlayWithString

[Mikew0805]

46 minutes ago, Micah's Grandad said:

 

So true. We make sure we take our meds and pack them before the cruise and DW will take passports and I will always double check and have her shows me them before we leave our house.

 

We can easily deal with any other needs.

We have a packing checklist and a departure checklist. We stand in the garage once we think everything is in the car and go over the departure checklist and put our hands on each item on the list. My other half hates the lists. 😜

 

In 2008, we lived in Colorado, and I took my Mother on her second cruise with us. We lived about 40 miles away from her. (towards the direction of Galveston) So we went and picked her up, and then came back towards the direction of my home, passed it by 40 miles on the way to Galveston - when she realized that she left her passport on her counter at home. Luckily it was only a 160 mile total increase (there and back to where we realized) and we left with the intent to arrive a two days early so it was not a big deal. However, I remember the sinking feeling in my stomach when she said "OMG My passport is at the house." 😳

[KmomChicago]

My guess is this:  IF John Heald gets in touch with these people, they will look for a sailing that they are having trouble filling up.  We are in an off-season now until Christmas, then again right after New Year's until mid-February.  They will work something out with some kind of generous discount (keep in mind the casinos offer comp cruises, so the discount could literally be up to everything except the port charges and gratuities), but it won't be for high demand dates, and it will be a guarantee stateroom, meaning, whatever is the last one chosen by regular passenger / whatever is left on embarkation day. 

 

We will never know the details as they will ask / maybe require a signed agreement that the OP not to tell us for fear everyone else will think they are entitled to the same based on precedent in similar situations.

Edited November 24, 2018 by KmomChicago

[DebJ14]

On 11/13/2018 at 3:53 PM, Nic6318 said:

Hi

 

I know this would be too little, too late, also, I don't know what kind of cruise it was. So it may not have been worth the effort, but did nobody suggest that your husband could board (with your luggage) and you could catch up with the ship at the first port? 

The husband could not catch up with the ship unless the first port was Key West.  He would need a passport to fly to a foreign port in order to catch up.  

[ksmcdonald]

We left on a cruise out of NYC a few years back and one person in our party did bring his passport, thinking a enhanced driver license with  was good enough for cruise travel.  He was mistaken and was refused boarding.  I told him to call the courthouse in the county he was born and they just faxed the birth certificate to the cruise terminal.  Luckily, it was a week day and the court house was open.  Another time my 21 year old niece went on her first cruise without all us family. She called my brother crying that she forgot her passport and they wouldn't let her board.  He ran home and got her birth certificate and faxed it to the terminal, problem solved!  Two cases where it was a good outcome.  Sorry that wasn't possible in your case.  My heart breaks for you!  I totally see how you could leave the papers by accident, it happens to the best of us.

[PhillyFan33579]

On 11/24/2018 at 7:15 AM, KmomChicago said:

 

Thank you for your kind and supportive comments, Mike. I appreciate your feedback very, very much and will use it to improve!!  Typically I refrain from ever posting anything negative on Cruise Critic and this is exactly why, but obviously had a personal failure here as apparently could not resist descending into the pit of harsh judgment.  I deserve the eye roll and thank you for putting me back in my place and reminding me of the consequences of my inappropriate behavior.

 

Have a great day and also hope you have a wonderful time on your upcoming cruise on Carnival Horizon. Wish we were going as well.  She really looks like a "dream boat" from the reviews I have seen but alas there are just too many ships and too little time and other resources.

 

John Heald is saying over at that place where he connects with people that he would like to help this couple.  Unfortunately I don't think anyone knows how to get directly in touch with the Original Poster to tell her this. I don't know what he means by help as he did not clarify.  We are going in to an off season (aside from the holidays of course) from now until about mid February and perhaps he can get them a very hefty credit toward a sailing out of Galveston with slow-selling staterooms.

 

Kmom 🙂

 

John Heald would be opening up a huge can of worms if word got out that he helped passengers who missed a cruise that was 100% the fault of the passengers. I think it is a shame the couple missed their cruise, but I don’t feel one bit sorry for them since it was entirely their fault they missed the cruise. 

[ProgRockCruiser]

On 11/24/2018 at 1:17 AM, Bosrox said:

If you have passports (Canadians) do you even need to take birth certificates?

Canadian's would require passports, and birth certificates and DLs would be useless, since the use of those applies to US citizens only - the BC & DL would need to be US-Gov't issued.  So bit of a moot point there.

Edited November 26, 2018 by ProgRockCruiser

[dcgrumpy]

On 11/24/2018 at 4:13 PM, ksmcdonald said:

We left on a cruise out of NYC a few years back and one person in our party did bring his passport, thinking a enhanced driver license with  was good enough for cruise travel.  He was mistaken and was refused boarding.  I told him to call the courthouse in the county he was born and they just faxed the birth certificate to the cruise terminal.  Luckily, it was a week day and the court house was open.  Another time my 21 year old niece went on her first cruise without all us family. She called my brother crying that she forgot her passport and they wouldn't let her board.  He ran home and got her birth certificate and faxed it to the terminal, problem solved!  Two cases where it was a good outcome.  Sorry that wasn't possible in your case.  My heart breaks for you!  I totally see how you could leave the papers by accident, it happens to the best of us.

Enhanced driver's licenses are acceptable for closed loop cruises https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/western-hemisphere-travel-initiative

Edited November 26, 2018 by dcgrumpy

[ProgRockCruiser]

18 minutes ago, dcgrumpy said:

Enhanced driver's licenses are acceptable for closed loop cruises https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/western-hemisphere-travel-initiative

I think the problem (if not a mis-understanding at the port) is that some states issued what they called EDLs, but they weren't - they were a generation behind.  So someone might think they have an EDL but really they just have a better-than-before DL.

 

Nowadays, everything issued as an EDL truly is such.  AFAIK, at least.

[ksmcdonald]

3 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

I think the problem (if not a mis-understanding at the port) is that some states issued what they called EDLs, but they weren't - they were a generation behind.  So someone might think they have an EDL but really they just have a better-than-before DL.

 

Nowadays, everything issued as an EDL truly is such.  AFAIK, at least.

 

 

Exactly!  This was five years ago and they definitely said he could not board with what he had at the time.

 

 

[bnceo]

This is why my number 1 tip for newly married couples is:  Wait 1-2 weeks after your wedding to go on your honeymoon. 

 

Use that time to decompress from the wedding, get back it the swing of things, and send out thank you cards.

[CdrescherRBL152]

On 11/14/2018 at 10:55 PM, CoasterGuy said:

OP,  really sorry this happened to you. Stuff happens. Learn from it and move on.

 

Gotta love all the perfect people on these forums who have never made a mistake in their entire lives......

Don't think people think they are perfect. Those who find fault with the OP. Are doing so cause she wants to blame anyone and everyone for her mistake but herself.

[CdrescherRBL152]

On 11/23/2018 at 10:57 PM, Mikew0805 said:

Do you pick and choose words to comprehend? She didn't blame anyone else... she actually said "I cried and told my husband it was my fault I didn't mean to leave it behind.. because of me we can't go and enjoy our honeymoon.. and I apologized." The other things you mentioned... stress of wedding, rush of leaving, heavy traffic... all stressful things that can lead one to forget something.

 

So it was clear she was not blaming, she was sad. However, I understand if you have to convince yourself that she was trying to find blame, in order to live with your lack of compassion for another human being. 

 

Compassion does not mean that you have to think they deserve a refund, or another cruise. 🙄

Mike reread the OP. She dose not come out and blame Carnival. However says more then once that they wouldn't let us on.  Which makes it sound like that she wanted them to bend the rules for her. And that they were somehow wrong cause they couldn't.  That at the least is an attempt to shift some of not all of the blame off to Carnival. 

[Mikew0805]

4 hours ago, CdrescherRBL152 said:

Don't think people think they are perfect. Those who find fault with the OP. Are doing so cause she wants to blame anyone and everyone for her mistake but herself.

 

4 hours ago, CdrescherRBL152 said:

Mike reread the OP. She dose not come out and blame Carnival. However says more then once that they wouldn't let us on.  Which makes it sound like that she wanted them to bend the rules for her. And that they were somehow wrong cause they couldn't.  That at the least is an attempt to shift some of not all of the blame off to Carnival. 

 

Sorry, but I do not need to re-read. Words have meanings, and the words I quoted she was clearly taking the blame. Just because you and others turn words like "They wouldn't let us on" into blame of the cruise line, doesn't mean that I am going to ignore the meaning of those words. Those words are true... they would not let her on. Consider the disappointment, and the fact that not everyone has perfect grammar, and maybe you can turn your judgement into something more positive. 

 

Consider your words prior to responding to me... "She wants to blame anyone and everyone for her mistake but herself" Where exactly do you get that?  For the purposes of this part of my response, I went back and read... and I cannot find ANYONE that she blamed. Again.. words have meaning.

 

She told a story... it painted a picture of the things that happened. No reason to read into it further than that. 

Edited November 28, 2018 by Mikew0805

[BellaSweet]

Its very sad that you couldn't go on your honeymoon but this is 100% personal responsibility. And not just yours, your husband too. I got married in May and we left the day after for our week-long honeymoon. We were both exhausted and overwhelmed. At one point, I got lost in the airport and had to text my husband for help  lol    I can't tell you how many times I checked our bags to make sure we had our documents, flight info, IDs...and he did the same for me. Plus, my matron of honor also sent me a text the following morning "Do you have your IDs, check-in info..?" because she knows how stressful a wedding is. 

 

This is nobodys fault(definitely not Carnival) but your own. You've owned up to that and have apologized. Don't try to get anything out of this with a sad tale. Chalk it up as a learning experience and move on..and start saving money to pay your Mom back.

[CruiseHealing]

Do not ask your fellow travelers do you have their  I'd, passport, boarding pass.  Ask them to take it out so you can see visually inspect it before you the house.  Everybody should visibly inspect each other's documents, if you don't do it, you could be waving good bye to your cruise as it heads out to sea without you.

[PhillyFan33579]

2 hours ago, Mikew0805 said:

 

 

Sorry, but I do not need to re-read. Words have meanings, and the words I quoted she was clearly taking the blame. Just because you and others turn words like "They wouldn't let us on" into blame of the cruise line, doesn't mean that I am going to ignore the meaning of those words. Those words are true... they would not let her on. Consider the disappointment, and the fact that not everyone has perfect grammar, and maybe you can turn your judgement into something more positive. 

 

Consider your words prior to responding to me... "She wants to blame anyone and everyone for her mistake but herself" Where exactly do you get that?  For the purposes of this part of my response, I went back and read... and I cannot find ANYONE that she blamed. Again.. words have meaning.

 

She told a story... it painted a picture of the things that happened. No reason to read into it further than that. 

 

The OP also said “If there is any way I could get another chance to have the honeymoon of our dreams plz tell me how or what I have to do”. Like a previous poster stated, she is looking for away around the rules to benefit herself. In my opinion, this is the entire reason behind her post. If her post was simply to say don’t make the same mistake I made, she wouldn’t need to ramble on the way she did. While she does state it was her fault, she also made numerous comments that heavily imply Carnival was at fault too. Bottom line is the mistake was 100% her fault (you can include the husband too) and no one, including Carnival, should do anything for her. 

[WorkerBee74]

On 11/26/2018 at 7:08 AM, ProgRockCruiser said:

Canadian's would require passports, and birth certificates and DLs would be useless, since the use of those applies to US citizens only - the BC & DL would need to be US-Gov't issued.  So bit of a moot point there.

 

Exactly.  I never travel with my birth certificate.  When I travel outside of Canada I travel with my passport, and within Canada I travel with my driver's license.

[Mikew0805]

1 minute ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

The OP also said “If there is any way I could get another chance to have the honeymoon of our dreams plz tell me how or what I have to do”. Like a previous poster stated, she is looking for away around the rules to benefit herself. In my opinion, this is the entire reason behind her post. If her post was simply to say don’t make the same mistake I made, she wouldn’t need to ramble on the way she did. While she does state it was her fault, she also made numerous comments that heavily imply Carnival was at fault too. Bottom line is the mistake was 100% her fault (you can include the husband too) and no one, including Carnival, should do anything for her. 

Yeah... if you are reading you will see that no one, including myself ever said that someone should do something for her. How is asking if there is a way around this passing blame? Really?  

 

If I was in this situation, I too would look for a way around it. One who doesn't is making a second mistake. Maybe since she has never cruised before, she does not know there is not much she can do, until she asks others opinion. WE understand it, WE have done this before... put yourself in their shoes, and ask yourself if you would try to find a way around it to salvage what you had, if you had limited knowledge of how this works. This is not a hard concept, but I guess for some - its just easier to be mean. Thank goodness I don't have that in me, or surround myself with people like that. 

 

 

[PhillyFan33579]

12 minutes ago, Mikew0805 said:

Yeah... if you are reading you will see that no one, including myself ever said that someone should do something for her. How is asking if there is a way around this passing blame? Really?  

 

If I was in this situation, I too would look for a way around it. One who doesn't is making a second mistake. Maybe since she has never cruised before, she does not know there is not much she can do, until she asks others opinion. WE understand it, WE have done this before... put yourself in their shoes, and ask yourself if you would try to find a way around it to salvage what you had, if you had limited knowledge of how this works. This is not a hard concept, but I guess for some - its just easier to be mean. Thank goodness I don't have that in me, or surround myself with people like that. 

 

 

 

If I was in their shoes I wouldn’t have forgotten the birth certificates 😊.

 

You make a good point that they likely do not know too much about the cruise industry. 

[NavyEmt]

On 11/13/2018 at 4:06 PM, ManyMore said:

 I tell people the best idea is to get another official copy of your BC and keep it in your suitcase. That way if you forget at least you have another one in there.

 

a few years ago my wife told me she had lost my BC 2 days before our cruise, I had to drive 12hr round trip out of state to get a new one. So I decided to ask for 10, yes 10 copies so I would never have this problem again. Luckily I have family all over Florida so we now have one near by for all cruises is she ever loses it again. I also have a copy that I pack in my carry on.