Incorrect spelling of first name

[colbe]

My SIL has just discovered that her first name is spelt incorrectly on her boarding pass. (Virgina instead of Virginia). Mistake made by the agent loading the reservation. Is this likely to cause a problem when she arrives at the ship? I have sent her to the TA this morning to see if it can be corrected before we fly on Friday. Thanks for your help.

[sail7seas]

I would firmly request the error be corrected.

Chances are she could get along okay but I would not risk it.

We are supposed to assured our reservation names exactly match our Passport/ID's.

 

If they correct it in the computer, it gets corrected on the manifest that is sent to authorities and if corrected in HAL's system, your S-I-L can print the corrected boarding pass.

 

Edited September 12, 2015 by sail7seas

[jtl513]

I would try to get it corrected as sail suggests, but if you can't I wouldn't worry about it a whole lot. My bet is that no one will notice. Act surprised if they do. :)

Edited September 12, 2015 by jtl513

[sail7seas]

My feelings on situations such as this are you likely will have no problem BUT, it is not your error and you should not have to stress about whether you will have a problem. Either your TA or the cruise line made the error...... let them have the stress of making it right.

[colbe]

My feelings on situations such as this are you likely will have no problem BUT, it is not your error and you should not have to stress about whether you will have a problem. Either your TA or the cruise line made the error...... let them have the stress of making it right.

 

I am having a nervous few hours wait until I hear that it has been successfully changed. It is a long journey from NZ to Europe only to be denied boarding because of a missing vowel!

[cruz chic]

When I booked a princess cruise about a year ago the agent told me to make sure my documents had my name spelled correctly. She said I could be denied boarding if the spelling was incorrect. I have no idea if this is true. I have no desire to test the theory. I would make sure it gets corrected.

[colbe]

I can relax a littlle bit. Brother has just texted to say that the TA will contact HAL on Monday to have it changed and then ring my SIL. (They are in Perth, Australia)

I will not be completely happy until I see the reprinted boarding pass with the correct name. I do not need this kind of excitement when I am in the middle of packing!!

[erewhon]

I hope that it will be corrected on Monday, and that you all have a super cruise.

 

I will go and check our boarding passes that our names are correctly spelt.

Edited September 12, 2015 by erewhon

[take us away]

I can relax a littlle bit. Brother has just texted to say that the TA will contact HAL on Monday to have it changed and then ring my SIL. (They are in Perth, Australia)

I will not be completely happy until I see the reprinted boarding pass with the correct name. I do not need this kind of excitement when I am in the middle of packing!!

 

HAL is open on week-ends for situations so you may be able to get this handled today - may be worth the phone call:

 

HAL customer service:

Monday – Friday 5:00am to 7:00pm Pacific

Saturday & Sunday 6:00am to 5:00pm Pacific

1‐877‐932‐4259 or 1-206‐286‐3900

[avian777]

IMO that is excellent advice, take us away, even though OP has a TA who can probably get the problem rectified. Why wait (and worry) until Monday for the TA to handle when a call to HAL just might do the trick?

Edited September 12, 2015 by avian777

[cruz chic]

Most people realize that if you book with a ta you become a third party with Hal. Hal will generally not deal with the passanger directly in these cases. This is the biggest downfall of using a ta. I hope this issue gets resolved.

[oxfordgal]

Most people realize that if you book with a ta you become a third party with Hal. Hal will generally not deal with the passanger directly in these cases. This is the biggest downfall of using a ta. I hope this issue gets resolved.

 

Had an issue on my last cruise that the TA didn't pay my final payment on time. I contacted HAL as it was a weekend and Chatted with HAL and was told they could do nothing that the final payment had to be initiated by the TA. Of course the Agency was closed and so I had to wait until Monday to get it taken care of. Was relieved though when HAL told me that since I had a deposit down that there was a grace period, but to make sure the TA paid it ASAP on Monday. Wouldn't have been so upset had the TA not reminded me twice during the week before that she would make the payment on time. HAL explained they couldn't do anything since I went through a TA.

 

I doubt a name change would be done by HAL either. It would more than likely have to be done through the TA.

[avian777]

... I doubt a name change would be done by HAL either. It would more than likely have to be done through the TA.

 

You may be right ... but what's the harm in asking? Since the error occurred on OP's Boarding Pass, I would think that HAL could correct it. I would think that a call to HAL might lessen OP's anxiety even if the best HAL can do is to assure OP that the problem will be resolved as soon as OP's TA contacts HAL.

 

FWIW we have had several similar issues over the years, and I honestly cannot recall an instance when HAL has been less than helpful ... maybe it's just my charm at work ...

Edited September 12, 2015 by avian777

[sail7seas]

Most people realize that if you book with a ta you become a third party with Hal. Hal will generally not deal with the passanger directly in these cases. This is the biggest downfall of using a ta. I hope this issue gets resolved.

 

Exactly.

 

That is a major reason I hesitate to getting TA. I had one for years but could call them 24/7. It is unlikely I would ever have that same relationship again..

 

All (most ?) of the cruise lines refuse to speak with the guest about almost any subject if they have used a TA.

 

[sail7seas]

You may be right ... but what's the harm in asking? Since the error occurred on OP's Boarding Pass, I would think that HAL could correct it. I would think that a call to HAL might lessen OP's anxiety even if the best HAL can do is to assure OP that the problem will be resolved as soon as OP's TA contacts HAL.

 

FWIW we have had several similar issues over the years, and I honestly cannot recall an instance when HAL has been less than helpful ... maybe it's just my charm at work ...

 

Sadly, 'things' are not always what one would think.

 

[avian777]

Sadly, 'things' are not always what one would think.

 

Huh? Although the accuracy of your truism above cannot be gainsaid, I do question its relevance to the post you quoted and to the topic of this Thread.

Edited September 12, 2015 by avian777

[3rdGenCunarder]

Had an issue on my last cruise that the TA didn't pay my final payment on time. I contacted HAL as it was a weekend and Chatted with HAL and was told they could do nothing that the final payment had to be initiated by the TA. Of course the Agency was closed and so I had to wait until Monday to get it taken care of. Was relieved though when HAL told me that since I had a deposit down that there was a grace period, but to make sure the TA paid it ASAP on Monday. Wouldn't have been so upset had the TA not reminded me twice during the week before that she would make the payment on time. HAL explained they couldn't do anything since I went through a TA.

 

I doubt a name change would be done by HAL either. It would more than likely have to be done through the TA.

 

Yikes, I'd have been out of my mind with worry. Good that HAL has a grace period. So does your charge go to the TA and then the TA pays the cruise line? I call my TA and authorize payment, but the credit card shows the name of the cruise line, not the TA.

 

And to the OP, I would definitely get it changed. A person might not notice, but computers are incredibly literal, and a one letter difference would be noticed.

Edited September 12, 2015 by 3rdGenCunarder

[colbe]

Thank you all for your replies. In NZ and Australia it is normal to work through a TA who then works with a travel wholesaler (I hope that that is the correct name). My SIL is living in Australia and I am in NZ. If she does not get a resolution by Monday afternoon I will start emailing and ringing HAL in the USA. I do have her booking number so I can quote that.

[kazu]

Thank you all for your replies. In NZ and Australia it is normal to work through a TA who then works with a travel wholesaler (I hope that that is the correct name). My SIL is living in Australia and I am in NZ. If she does not get a resolution by Monday afternoon I will start emailing and ringing HAL in the USA. I do have her booking number so I can quote that.

 

I think you should be o.k. They can make that change quite quickly. For whatever reason, they had my name incorrect on a booking despite going by my Mariner records. A quick email to my TA and it was fixed VERY fast :)

 

hopefully the same happens for you.

[oxfordgal]

Yikes, I'd have been out of my mind with worry. Good that HAL has a grace period. So does your charge go to the TA and then the TA pays the cruise line? I call my TA and authorize payment, but the credit card shows the name of the cruise line, not the TA.

 

And to the OP, I would definitely get it changed. A person might not notice, but computers are incredibly literal, and a one letter difference would be noticed.

 

I most certainly was quite upset especially since the TA reminded me that week it would be done and I had sent her an email to go ahead and pay the final payment. Mine was the same as yours as the credit card showed HAL and not the TA.

 

I have since booked a cruise directly through HAL. The missed final payment was it for me with that particular travel agency. There had been some smaller mishandling of things, but I overlooked them as we all make mistakes. HAL did assure me that my final payment would automatically come out on time. It is due out on the 21st of September. No problems at all with HAL all was taken care of for the cruise in a phone call and a couple of emails and if all goes smoothly I will probably just continue to use HAL instead of finding another TA/Agency.

[take us away]

 

I doubt a name change would be done by HAL either. It would more than likely have to be done through the TA.

 

When I had a name change HAL handled it as my TA was cruising. Just called, explained and they took care of the boarding pass once the passport was received with the new name. Maybe the HAL person was having a good day but she was most helpful.

[cruz chic]

When I had a name change HAL handled it as my TA was cruising. Just called, explained and they took care of the boarding pass once the passport was received with the new name. Maybe the HAL person was having a good day but she was most helpful.

 

I remember a poster being very insistent a while back that you can get Hal to work with you if you have a ta. They should not be doing that because you are a third party. I did a live chat with Hal to asked them if they will deal with a person if they booked with a ta. They answer was no that you had to deal with the ta. Once again, Hal is inconsistent.

Edited September 13, 2015 by cruz chic

[3rdGenCunarder]

I most certainly was quite upset especially since the TA reminded me that week it would be done and I had sent her an email to go ahead and pay the final payment. Mine was the same as yours as the credit card showed HAL and not the TA.

 

I have since booked a cruise directly through HAL. The missed final payment was it for me with that particular travel agency. There had been some smaller mishandling of things, but I overlooked them as we all make mistakes. HAL did assure me that my final payment would automatically come out on time. It is due out on the 21st of September. No problems at all with HAL all was taken care of for the cruise in a phone call and a couple of emails and if all goes smoothly I will probably just continue to use HAL instead of finding another TA/Agency.

 

I don't blame you for dropping that TA. If there hadn't been a grace period, that mistake could have cancelled the cruise and cost you the deposit! My TA is great, but I always authorize the final payment a few days early in case someone's computer goes rogue. And as soon as the initial deposit receipt goes through, I go into the voyage personalizer and make sure the cruise line has the right info and it's all spelled correctly. One of the nice things about HAL storing info is that if it was right last time, it's right the next time (so far at least!).

[ICtheC]

You sure do have to check everything - was checking our tickets for the shuttle to Seattle and found they had misspelled both our names.

DH was so annoyed as he spelled them out carefully even though they are not unusual names.

Fortunately I was able to go on-line and correct the spelling myself and reprint the tickets.

Have now checked all the HAL documents and all are spelled correctly.

 

We do appreciate all the excellent information we get on this site!

[avian777]

When I had a name change HAL handled it as my TA was cruising. Just called, explained and they took care of the boarding pass once the passport was received with the new name. Maybe the HAL person was having a good day but she was most helpful.

 

Thanks for your pleasant and positive post - your experience with HAL parallels mine on several issues over the many years that we have cruised, and we have always used a TA.

 

Yes, the HAL person may have been having a good day, but IMO it's equally (or more) likely that the tone/tenor of your contact positively impacted the outcome. I have always tried to apply the old adage about catching more bees with a spoonful of honey than with a barrel of vinegar to my dealings with service personnel, and I generally get good results.

Edited September 13, 2015 by avian777