Refused Boarding on Princess after ID Stolen

[SLCcruiser]

After flight to LA, passport and driver's license were stolen in airport. I obtained copies of both as well as birth certificate from home, but FAX copies were poor quality. ALso had police report as requested by Princess rep. After 3 hours of deliberation at port was denied boarding for long awaited anniversary cruise on Princess Diamond to Mexican Riveria. Am aware of small print that allows Princess to refuse to board anyone without adequate original, government issued picture identification. BUT, any thoughts on negotiating with Princess for a refund/credit from any of you who are more experienced cruisers than I? I've sent the first letter with sad facts and request for consideration and received form letter response. Thanks.

[PTC]

After flight to LA, passport and driver's license were stolen in airport. I obtained copies of both as well as birth certificate from home, but FAX copies were poor quality. ALso had police report as requested by Princess rep. After 3 hours of deliberation at port was denied boarding for long awaited anniversary cruise on Princess Diamond to Mexican Riveria. Am aware of small print that allows Princess to refuse to board anyone without adequate original, government issued picture identification. BUT, any thoughts on negotiating with Princess for a refund/credit from any of you who are more experienced cruisers than I? I've sent the first letter with sad facts and request for consideration and received form letter response. Thanks.

 

You didn't state why they denied the boarding? You said you had copies and police report so what reason did they give? I'm confused as to the series of events which lead to your being denied boarding. Did all this take place in one day?

Flew to LA with passport and DL which were stolen. But you had faxed copies of DL & Passport and Birth Ctf whcih somehow you had copies at home which someone faxed to you but the quality was bad??? You got a copy of police report as requested by Princess rep and they still denied boarding.

Soooo, there must be more to the story, eh?

 

PTC

[davejohn]

Maybe Princess has the same questions and thus denied boarding?

[Coral]

My guess is that with out original, valid IDs, one would be denied boarding.

 

My guess with all the issues in this world, one really needs proper ID or they can not travel. If this had been a situation about flying to Europe, I bet one would be treated the same way.

[Globaliser]

Am aware of small print that allows Princess to refuse to board anyone without adequate original, government issued picture identification. BUT, any thoughts on negotiating with Princess for a refund/credit from any of you who are more experienced cruisers than I?

You should be making a claim on your travel insurance. That's what insurance is there for.

[happy cruzer]

You have my sympathy. This sounds like a horrible series of events.

 

Did one of you on the anniversay trip have good IDs or were both sets stolen? It would seem to me if one had a good ID that would have helped establish the other id's. Also in the state I live in when you get the driver's license they put your picture in the computer; I think they do the same with new passports. So seems like that could have helped if someone in charge had been willing to do something extra.

 

Did you have travel insurance? That were to start with claims. Hopefully they cover the circumstance you experienced; I don't think many policies do.

 

Barring the insurance claim, and since your bad experience is now in the past, I think I would keep trying Princess for some relief. I don't think they will do much more than an OBC on a future booking but that is better than nothing.

 

Can you give us some details of how your ids were stolen? It might help us not to have the same thing happen to us.

 

I am so stunned by your bad experience and hope that things go much better for you.

[SissasMomE]

Never ceases to amaze me the rude, ignorant responses people post to others on this board. Most of you would never be so hateful to say the things you say here to someone's face.

 

OP - I'm sorry you were denied boarding. Did you have travel insurance? If so, make a claim on the insurance, but I would still send a certified letter to Princess. If you did not have insurance, send the certified letter along with a copy of the police report, and the photo copies of your ID that was produced at the pier. I know they can't make it right, as your anniversary already passed, but I am sure they will refund your money and possibly even give you a credit towards a future cruise. Again, I am so sorry this happened to you. It must have been really disappointing ... :(

 

As for the travel "contract", most are nothing short of disclaimers, which really do not hold much water in a court of law. If it does come down to it, you can file a small claims action for your money back, as well as the court costs. You do not need an attorney for this. My guess is, if it comes down to you filing that action, they will give you your money back and it would cost them more to fight it then it would to settle. Had you arrived without ID of your own fault, I'd say you didn't have a chance .... but it was stolen - you had a police report, and you had copies. Unless there is more to the story, they should've tried to accomodate you.

[Globaliser]

As for the travel "contract", most are nothing short of disclaimers, which really do not hold much water in a court of law. If it does come down to it, you can file a small claims action for your money back, as well as the court costs. You do not need an attorney for this. My guess is, if it comes down to you filing that action, they will give you your money back and it would cost them more to fight it then it would to settle. Had you arrived without ID of your own fault, I'd say you didn't have a chance .... but it was stolen - you had a police report, and you had copies. Unless there is more to the story, they should've tried to accomodate you.

The requirement to have valid ID is not just a disclaimer and will hold water.

 

And the issue is not whether the OP was at fault. Princess doesn't have to pick up the bill just because the OP was not at fault. The key is that Princess was not at fault in any way.

 

Remember, if Princess picks up the bill for this, who pays? It's all the rest of us who pay our cruise fares.

[SissasMomE]

The requirement to have valid ID is not just a disclaimer and will hold water.

 

And the issue is not whether the OP was at fault. Princess doesn't have to pick up the bill just because the OP was not at fault. The key is that Princess was not at fault in any way.

 

Remember, if Princess picks up the bill for this, who pays? It's all the rest of us who pay our cruise fares.

 

This is a little more than showing up to the pier without ID. The OP had a police report, as well as copies of his ID. OP - you will get multiple opinions on here ... just go ahead with your certified letter and take the steps you need to take to get your money refunded. Please keep us informed as to the outcome. Good luck!!

[spongerob]

OP - I'm sorry you were denied boarding. Did you have travel insurance? If so, make a claim on the insurance, but I would still send a certified letter to Princess. If you did not have insurance, send the certified letter along with a copy of the police report, and the photo copies of your ID that was produced at the pier. I know they can't make it right, as your anniversary already passed, but I am sure they will refund your money and possibly even give you a credit towards a future cruise. Again, I am so sorry this happened to you. It must have been really disappointing ... :(

 

As for the travel "contract", most are nothing short of disclaimers, which really do not hold much water in a court of law. If it does come down to it, you can file a small claims action for your money back, as well as the court costs. You do not need an attorney for this. My guess is, if it comes down to you filing that action, they will give you your money back and it would cost them more to fight it then it would to settle. Had you arrived without ID of your own fault, I'd say you didn't have a chance .... but it was stolen - you had a police report, and you had copies. Unless there is more to the story, they should've tried to accomodate you.

I think this is bad advice and will only lead to further frustration. Bad things happen to nice people, that's why there is an insurance industry. We have the option not to purchase and therefore assume 100% of the risk. We can be as sorry for such people as possible when life happens, but it doesn't mean we also suggest that they be able to avoid the consequences of their own decisions.

[rebeccalouise]

I am so sorry that you were robbed. There is a problem with traveling without proper documentation and I doubt any cruise line would have let you board under the exact same circumstances.

Unfortuneately, you were a crime victim. One would hope that Princess would credit you toward a future cruise because of the circumstances.

I never buy the cruise insurance and had something like this happened I would definitely buy cruise insurance in the future.

[spongerob]

This is a little more than showing up to the pier without ID. The OP had a police report, as well as copies of his ID.

Consider it this way. If the OP were just traveling abroad on his or her own, they would not be admitted to any country with that documentation. The same goes when on a cruise ship - the staff are required to prove that all on board have the proper documentation to enter the countries they visit. It's not within the authority of any cruise line to interpret the rules even in unusual circumstances.

 

And again, this discussion is nothing more than an example of the risks people take when they choose not to buy insurance.

[Globaliser]

This is a little more than showing up to the pier without ID. The OP had a police report, as well as copies of his ID.

None of which amounts to ID.

 

You try flying internationally with copies of your passport and a police report that your passport has been stolen. You'll get told to go and get a new passport. Same with ships - no difference at all.

[chrysalis]

Not doubting what had happened to you enroute to LA, but I was travelling with some who thought that their passpost and DL had been stolen at the airport....as it turned out, when they checked in for their flights, they were asked by the ticket agent for 2 pieces of photo id......and after checking in, the person I was with walked away from the ticket counter leaving the passport and DL just sitting there.

[SLCcruiser]

I get it that one should never carry there two pieces of picture ID together in one place. I foolishly was using one of those passport travel packets with my passport and drivers license and boarding pass for my flight from SLC to LA on 2/9. I tucked it into an outer pocket of the backpack I carried on the plane after boarding at SLC. I was in possession of my ID at that time. (ALthough I did check with SLC airport on the chance that I was wrong and it was located there - not!). My cash and credit were separte, but I had noo other ID.

 

I realized I no longer had my passport packet within 15 minutes of arriving in LAX at the baggage claims area. I admit that I had left my backpack alone for a few minutes to help my husband with the bags. It was close, within eyesight, but I soon realized the packet was gone. Assumed I had left it on the plane or lost it in the airport. Our cruise left 24 hours later on 2/10 so the entire time was spent tracing the planse to 4 cities, searching various lost and founds, dealing with Delta lost and found, finally getting a police report. The LAX police were able to look up my UT license online and print out a confirmation report, but it does not contain a picture.

 

I was also able to contact a friend at home in SLC. They had a key to my house, were able to retrive copies of my documents that I keep for emergencies (fires,etc - not this type!). She faxed me at my hotel a birth certificate, copy of my UT driver's license, and a current passport. She faxed several times, but the quality remained poor with lettering legible, but pictures fuzzy.

 

I brought this packet of info to the port - we had princess tranfers from the Marriott. (Our luggage was on the ship before we were and later had to be retrieved.) My husband did have all his ID. I had done all the appropriate things to pre-register our ID, etc online with princess weeks before the cruise.

 

After 3 hours of deliberation with port authority, Princess, and customs officials they said no. I understand that the reason was not the passport which is not required for transporation by ship yet, only air travel. The reason was that I dd not have one piece of orignal picture identification and they were willing to board me, but were afraid they would be fined if a custom official on the return to US felt Princess had made an exception to the

ID guidelines.

 

So that's the story. Stuck in LA, missed the cruise, flew home at additional expense. No travel insurance. That was a poor decision. I agree with those of you who have stated - just a bad thing happened, no recourse, why blame Princess, (I mostly blame myself and some back luck), just move on.

 

But did want to say for the record to who ever may still be reading at this point, I didn't understand the "there must be more to this story" ..... There's no big lie here. It may sound like a stupid mistake, but it really happened just like this and I tried for 24 hours to fix it so I could go on a cruise I had planned for and paid for - and I don't have any plans to sue Princess! Guess I'm still just angry that I couldn't fix this one.

[ilovetocruisetoo]

Did your husband go ahead and go on the cruise without you? Just intereseted to know.

[Cathy p]

SLCcruiser, I am so sorry that happened. I would be devastated. I think if nothing else this proves the cruise insurance is a must have as you never know what will happen. However, people being rude and just plain mean is another story. After being on this site since 2005 I have learned that some people have no life and therefore take it out on an unsuspecting person on the ole CC. There are some of us that really care and can feel your pain. I hope that you will be able to cruise again real soon.:)

[westwind6371]

SLC Cruiser; Thanks for posting the "rest of the story". I know it must have been a terribly stressful 24 hours for you and your spouse. I am truly sorry that that happened to you and applaud your common sense assesment of your situation.

 

Because the theft was the cause of your loss, check your homeowners policy, which may have a coverage for theft. Your credit card may have some coverage for travel situations. You have had a very expensive lesson about travel insurance and I hope others learn from your experience.

 

Fair winds

Dave

[westwind6371]

Hi dixieDiva761;

 

Good post! Your post is an excellent example of how we should respond to posts we disagree with. Deal with the post and not the person.

 

Fair winds

Dave

[Leafpeeper]

So much for a happy anniversary. I'm so sorry that this happened. I didn't even realize insurance would cover this. I thought it was for illness. Did the thief snatch your wife's handbag? Just wondering.

 

If nothing else, your experience taught me to carry our passports and give my license to DH. What an awful experience for you. Did you make any other plans while in LA to spend a few nights at a hotel? We drove from LA to Vegas after we got off Star last week. I hope your mishap wasn't a total waste for your anniversary. My Grandmother's maiden name was Murphy, so we always expect Murphy's Law when traveling: "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong." We just learned how to turn our lemons into lemonade I guess. Hope you made the best of it before flying home.

 

Hint: I would suggest you take the NCL Star for your next Mexican Riviera cruise. We met Princess people in Cabo who were not happy with Mazatlan and had a shorter stay in Cabo than the NCL people did. The Star stopped in Alcapulco and Ixtapa, which are further south and much warmer water for swimming. Star is an 8 night cruise with stops in Puerta Vallarta and Cabo as well. We enjoyed this cruise much more than the one we took to the Mexican Riviera on RCCL Visioin of the Seas a few years ago.

 

I would definetely try to get a future cruise with Princess for compensation. Since you had all your documents and police report, they should try to help you out.

[SLCcruiser]

Just to clarify again - if someone is thinking that I /we lost interest in this cruise and wanted a way out AND expected to get a refund, here are some facts:

 

We paid $4oo on the flights from SLC to LAX, plus an additonal $200 to change the flights to fly home early.

 

Paid $100 hotel phone charges because we only had one cell phone and we were both working the phones to atempt to find my ID and obtain duplicate ID from home.

 

Paid $50 for cab ride from San Pedro pier to LAX after being unable to board ship after having arrived 3 hours earlier by pre-paid Princess Transfer. Tansfer on 2/17 obviously went unused.

 

Paid $25 at LAX for a notary public to provide me with an affidavit of citizenship after reviewing my documents as suggested by LAX police, airport customs, and Princess.

 

Upon arrival home paid in full to pick up dog from kennel after only 2 days due to pre-pay policy ($200)

 

Paid $500 to go away to a B&B in Moab for a Plan B vacation and celebration of anniversay.

 

Luckily we had not planned or prepaid for any excursions or for the anniversary package or vow renewal. We had decided to be spontanous on this trip and see what came up after the ship sailed...that may have been the one piece of good luck we actually had...plus it was sunny and warm in Moab!

[Donna - dsw]

So sorry this happened to you - but thank you for sharing. Maybe someone else can learn from this experience.

 

I think you can get a certificated copy of your birth certificate via the internet in 24 hours - so late for you -but maybe someone else can learn.

 

We carry pdf copies of all documents with us - not sure they would have used this - but it does certify that it is a clear original copy.

 

Never, never travel without insurance - you can get it for as low as $49.00.

[CMVAC]

I just wanted to say how sorry I am that this happened to you. It must have been like a nightmare. We have been planning our current cruise for almost 3 years (due to the fire on the Star) and I couldn't even begin to tell you how devistated I would be to have something like that happened to me. Insurance or not! Unfortunately, the criminals out there are much better at being criminals than we are at anticipating how to protect ourselves from them. I hope you were able to still have a nice anniversary somehow in spite of everything.

[reggae]

So sorry that this happened to you, but should be a word of caution to others.

 

Another story...I was at the Las Vegas Airport a while back. My cell phone was stolen right out of my purse!

 

I went into the ladies room, and I believe someone pulled it out of the outside pocket on my purse as I was washing my hands.

 

You really need to be careful in airports these days.

[nrdsb4]

SLC Cruiser; Thanks for posting the "rest of the story". I know it must have been a terribly stressful 24 hours for you and your spouse. I am truly sorry that that happened to you and applaud your common sense assesment of your situation.

 

Because the theft was the cause of your loss, check your homeowners policy, which may have a coverage for theft. Your credit card may have some coverage for travel situations. You have had a very expensive lesson about travel insurance and I hope others learn from your experience.

 

Fair winds

Dave

 

 

Equally valuable lesson here is to NEVER EVER put your passport and other ID off of your person. If I need to use my hands for some reason, I put my purse crosswise on my body so that it is always right there on my chest/abdomen (not even just hanging off my shoulder where someone could take it off or grab something out of the purse while my head is turned). If my husband cannot hold his passport in his hands at all times, he gives it to me to hold.

 

It seems kind of like a paranoid state of mind, but US passports are a very valuable commodity to thieves and you just cannot afford to make it easy for them by setting your identification down, even if only for a moment and "close and within eyesight."

 

I bet that Princess will come through with a future credit, but I think hopes of a refund as someone else predicted are incredibly optimistic.