Question for former crew members about signing off.

[Aurori]

Not sure. Did she speak to hotel director? If JH is only avenue left and it is important for her to go home would give info to JH.

 

However there is always a risk of permanently pissing off someone and losing her job so this is a tough one.

 

Hotel Director has been elusive up til now. She is off at 3pm for a break. She will contact me then and I will find out if she's gotten a hold of him or not.

 

John did follow up his post with: She should not be worried about you looking out for her and I will make it sound like a personal request from you rather than a plea from her - just in case you were concerened

 

So, that sounds reassuring. Still, I want to make sure all avenues have been exhausted beforehand. Nervous, man!

[FloridaGram]

I could be wrong because I know the crew rules are different than the American way of doing things. But it seems that cruise lines, because there are so many ships, has a problem getting qualified servers. So while she may not want to go back to the same ship or the same bar manager it seems she would be able to get another job if she wanted it. Or on another cruise line, it seems her experience should allow her to get another job.

 

I am curious how you have a girlfriend that works on a ship and then goes back to her country. When do you see her? Or do you live in her country?

[Bibble]

I would act innocent and go to his boss and ask "This is the first time I haven't been able to have my B2 signed. Do you know where I'm supposed to go or do when I get off the ship until my flight?" And she what HE says...

 

Has she asked the travel agent (assuming this person is versed in these immigrations issues to an extent) what she can do without the B2 being signed?

 

I know it's been joked about, but if her only real option (if it's "allowed") is to be somewhat homeless in the Miami airport in immigration for two days, and it's that important to her to get on that flight and not extend her assignment, I'd do it.

(If it's not quite that "easy" - and by easy I mean legally allowed - I apologize. I tried to follow what her choices are, but I admit I probably don't have it completely clear).

 

I do wish her luck!!!

 

How about flying out of Fort Lauderdale to LAX on the 6th?

[Aurori]

I am curious how you have a girlfriend that works on a ship and then goes back to her country. When do you see her? Or do you live in her country?

 

We met on Glory a few years ago and were friends for a long time. Started dating a little over a year ago. Im lucky to have a job that allows me to take plentiful vacation time so I'll see her onboard, I think I went on triumph last year about 6 times! Then on her vacation, every 6 months, we'll spend a lot of time together. Last time I went back home with her for a month, then before her next contract she flew here for a couple weeks. We're looking to do something similar this contract as well. It's not easy, but we're making it work. :D

[CdrescherRBL152]

I have a reply from John Heald.

 

John Heald says: the B2 visa sign off is rather complicated but instead of me trying to explain this why dont we try and help her. Please can you send me her name and ship and let me see what I can do for her. I am going to ask someone to contact you and then have the details in your reply and they will relay this to me. Let me see what I can do. cheers

 

She is leery about giving this information up. As we know, ship rules differ from normal logical thinking at times. She's worried that giving up this information will put her job in jeopardy for some reason. Perhaps I wasn't to be told the conversations between the bar manager and herself? Should I divulge the info to John?

 

I would for the simple fact that if JH is willing to help, it is most assurably not Carnival's policy to not sign them. Plus the fact that seeing as she has been with Carnival for 7 years, will bet they don't want to lose her as an employee.

[FloridaGram]

Well congratulations! One can never tell who you fall in love with! Glad you have such an accomodating work schedule and love to cruise!

[mzloolue]

I hate it when people with a little bit of power get off on jerking people around.

 

It is just senseless.

 

I am sorry this is happening to the young lady.

 

And to the powers that be at Carnival, it would be nice if you would do the right thing.

[Amy Giard]

Hi Jason - I met your GF earlier this year - what a sweetie! :)

 

Hope everything works out!

[cuppettmd]

You could always go get her!:)

[Aurori]

You could always go get her!:)

That's that plan! I'm flying down on April 6 to pick her up, already booked the ticket. But without her visitor's visa, I'm not sure what will happen...

[Surfwench]

She would be forced into extending her contract because the alternative would be... who actually knows? Locked up in immigration? 3 days at the airport? Honestly, I'm not sure.

 

I don't understand. I checked Kayak and there are DOZENS of flights from Miami to LAX April 6.

 

She's looking for extra time off in-country to spend with you...isn't she?

 

Hope you can find a way. I have a soft spot for lovers.

 

:)

[Aurori]

I don't understand. I checked Kayak and there are DOZENS of flights from Miami to LAX April 6.

 

She's looking for extra time off in-country to spend with you...isn't she?

 

Hope you can find a way. I have a soft spot for lovers.

 

:)

 

Just like passengers who disembark, she would need to find a flight leaving Miami in the afternoon in order to allow for enough time to catch her connecting flight out of LAX. 6:40am, 10:45a, etc don't leave enough time to disembark. Plus crew generally are let off a bit later than guests, 1-2 hours or so after passengers start disembarking. I remember once waiting for the crew gangway to open until 10:30am. There is a one-way flight on Kayak from United Airlines that leaves at MIA at 3pm and arrives in LAX at 8pm which would leave her 30 minutes to catch her connecting flight... it's $3047.00 :cool:

[Aurori]

It seems the Hotel Director is elusive and not keeping regular hours, so I went ahead and submitted her information to John Heald. Hope this was a good decision! Wish us luck! :eek:

[mzloolue]

Good luck.

 

Truthfully, my impression of a lot of the men who work on the ships is that they are swell headed and chauvinistic.

 

Like little kings in a tiny kingdom.

 

I am sorry that your lady is having to deal with this.

[jessiesgirl2013]

Good luck, and I think you made the right decision by submitting her info to him. :)

[Fighterone]

Absolutely unbelievable to see that someone who is such a jerk is placed in a position of authority:eek:

!John Heald will help. He is a swell chap!

Please keep us posted. Best of luck to you both.

[Aurori]

An update

 

She finally cornered the Hotel Director and explained to him what's going on. He ultimately said "write me a letter of exactly what the situation is, leave it under my door and I will speak to your bar manager tomorrow." It's promising that he's willing to entertain her problem. However, he also told her that it is up to her Bar Manager whether or not she gets a B2 signature, and if they are too busy then she may be out of luck. When he speaks with her bar manager, that is exactly what he will say also, "too busy of a ship to sign B2".

 

Looks like John Heald is our last chance!

[jonbgd]

An update

 

She finally cornered the Hotel Director and explained to him what's going on. He ultimately said "write me a letter of exactly what the situation is, leave it under my door and I will speak to your bar manager tomorrow." It's promising that he's willing to entertain her problem. However, he also told her that it is up to her Bar Manager whether or not she gets a B2 signature, and if they are too busy then she is out of luck. When he speaks with her bar manager, that is exactly what he will say too, "too busy".

 

Looks like John Heald is our last chance!

'

As a man I wish you all the luck for this to resolve itself to her benefit

 

BUT JH isnt in the chain of command so my concerns are

 

My experience with the chain of command on ships is

 

If you have pissed your superior off they wont do anything

If you go up the chain you have a better chance but no gtys

 

It sounds like the HD has no clue and the BM is a BM'

 

I guess she is on the Fantasy now

If she was still with the Triumph I know a few officers with their private email addys

[Aurori]

No update to give tonight. She is still waiting to hear back from her Hotel Director on the final work. Also no update from John either. Patience is a hard thing to have right now, but we're trying!

[packedandready]

Thanks for keeping us posted.

[MasterNotCommander]

Just to clarify the situation a little. As I understand it she holds a C1-D crew visa and a B2 visit visa? If she enters the USA on a C1-D visa she is required to depart on the first possible flight within 24 hours. She remains the companies responsibility at all times during this repatriation process.

 

Her intention then is to sign off the vessel as a crewmember at the last port prior to entering the US and sign on as a Passenger so that she can enter the US on her B2 visa?

 

The company does not have to approve this, and in fact its not common to approve these kind of applications. Remember that the company remains responsible at all times for her welfare and repatriation.

 

This brings me around to the second question, why is she booking her flights herself? The company should be responsible for her repatriation, is there something amiss here?

 

The next point is that the flights you see online are not the flights that are available to a crewmember unless the book full fare. Crewmembers are entitled to 'SEMN' fares which have limited availability. SEMN fares allow a baggage allowed of 40kg and are fully flexible, the airline also does not often request payment until the day of departure.

 

The final point is about the comments pertaining to the 'MLC 2006' or Maritime Labour Code. This code is still being ratified by countries, so is not the law in every IMO Member state as yet. The USA and UK are good examples of countries who haven't ratified it. However on a positive note, Panama and Bahamas where the Carnival ships are registered are countries that have ratified and adhere to the MLC.

 

Whilst I appreciate your situation, there is something missing from the story relating to her flights.

 

That being said, a good company will endeavour to help her with transferring to a B2 entry, but it is not an entitlement.

Her entitlement is to be repatriated, and this is always the safe option for the company. The companies basic responsibility is to disembark her on the 6th April onto the next available flight, and if not is not available they can extend her until the next port and repatriate her there. She cannot however exceed 12 months onboard.

[Aurori]

Just to clarify the situation a little. As I understand it she holds a C1-D crew visa and a B2 visit visa? If she enters the USA on a C1-D visa she is required to depart on the first possible flight within 24 hours. She remains the companies responsibility at all times during this repatriation process.

She currently holds a C1D, however no flights are available within 24 hours of her current sign-off date.

 

Her intention then is to sign off the vessel as a crewmember at the last port prior to entering the US and sign on as a Passenger so that she can enter the US on her B2 visa?

Correct

 

The company does not have to approve this, and in fact its not common to approve these kind of applications. Remember that the company remains responsible at all times for her welfare and repatriation.

 

This brings me around to the second question, why is she booking her flights herself? The company should be responsible for her repatriation, is there something amiss here?

Carnival crew members are responsible for booking and paying for their own passage home. I am not sure this applies to staff, but bartenders, housekeeping, and restaurant crew yes. The only time Carnival pays for their crew to travel home is during emergency leave or termination... as far as I know.

 

The next point is that the flights you see online are not the flights that are available to a crewmember unless the book full fare. Crewmembers are entitled to 'SEMN' fares which have limited availability. SEMN fares allow a baggage allowed of 40kg and are fully flexible, the airline also does not often request payment until the day of departure.

The travel agency she uses books under SEMN rates, but requires payment within 1 week of booking

 

The final point is about the comments pertaining to the 'MLC 2006' or Maritime Labour Code. This code is still being ratified by countries, so is not the law in every IMO Member state as yet. The USA and UK are good examples of countries who haven't ratified it. However on a positive note, Panama and Bahamas where the Carnival ships are registered are countries that have ratified and adhere to the MLC.

 

Whilst I appreciate your situation, there is something missing from the story relating to her flights.

 

That being said, a good company will endeavour to help her with transferring to a B2 entry, but it is not an entitlement.

Her entitlement is to be repatriated, and this is always the safe option for the company. The companies basic responsibility is to disembark her on the 6th April onto the next available flight, and if not is not available they can extend her until the next port and repatriate her there. She cannot however exceed 12 months onboard.

 

I think at this point she is ready to resign and try to find employment with another line. She requested a specific sign-off date which was approved by Carnival. Now she is being blocked from traveling home to be with her family by that date she desired. She is fed up with this Bar manager, and seemingly the hotel director, working against her as opposed to trying to help her.

[MasterNotCommander]

Hi Aurori,

 

It does sound quite stressful, may I ask what nationality she is? Certain countries have restrictions by their own government as seafarers.

 

Under the MLC 2006 she should be repatriated to her home at the companies expense, paying for it herself is essentially illegal.

 

I do hope that you get everything sorted out, when I worked for Holland America Line we often found it easier to disembark, fly to the Bahamas and fly back to the US, instead of going through the hassle of requesting the company to allow us to stay on as pax. This was sailing as a Deck Officer and thats what upto the time I left 5 years ago.

[Aurori]

Hi Aurori,

 

It does sound quite stressful, may I ask what nationality she is? Certain countries have restrictions by their own government as seafarers.

 

Under the MLC 2006 she should be repatriated to her home at the companies expense, paying for it herself is essentially illegal.

 

I do hope that you get everything sorted out, when I worked for Holland America Line we often found it easier to disembark, fly to the Bahamas and fly back to the US, instead of going through the hassle of requesting the company to allow us to stay on as pax. This was sailing as a Deck Officer and thats what upto the time I left 5 years ago.

 

She is Thai. I keep hearing about many other lines paying for their crew's passage home. So, I spoke with 3 other Carnival crew since replying to your last post and they confirmed for me, yes they do have to pay for and arrange their own travel home. One crew told me Carnival will pay for emergency travel, but will take it out of your pay on the next contract.

 

Mostly her bar managers love her, and vice-versa. Generally they work well together and every time she speaks of BM, it's usually positive. "Bar manager helped me today change my shift so I could go out for lunch...." etc. Never really any problems. She's had B2 visa sign-off 4 other times and has never had anyone tell her no before, or even hint that she needs to confirm/request before booking travel. This is a very unfortunate situation with a very headstrong jerk of a boss, imo.

[MasterNotCommander]

I really hope you sort things out, I think Carnival has to be one of the few companies that expects crew to pay for their own repatriation, and I'm surprised that under MLC 2006 ratified flag state they haven't changed, unless they have some kind of period of grace to adopt the changes.

 

Good luck, and all the best with getting everything resolved.