Ever Been Denied Boarding for Not Knowing Something the Royal Travel Agent Didn't Tell you?

[Bencruisin]

We've been cruising for decades and this is the first time I've seen someone denied boarding let alone experienced it.

 

We were supposed to sail the Independence of the Seas out of Port Canaveral but were denied boarding because of a Puerto Rico birth certificate dated before 2011.  Turns out Puerto Rico birth certificates issued after 2010 had to be re-issued to be valid. 

 

When booking over the phone with the Royal agent we explained that our passports had just expired and we wanted to know if we could use birth certificates.  The Royal booking agent replied "Yes, but your wife will also need the marriage certificate". When we finally got to the document verification line we were told my wife's birth certificate wasn't valid and we wouldn't be allowed to board.

 

We were treated horribly once we were denied boarding but I'm happy to say we continued to treat every Royal employee with respect even though we weren't treated similarly.  The person working the "exception" desk literally raised her voice in anger and glared at us a couple times. I have a suspicion she had been stressed and abused by a customer or two and was paying it forward.  

 

I checked the Royal FAQ page and found a mention of the PR birth certificate issue. I'm not upset that this PR rule caused us to be denied boarding. I'm upset that there are situations like this where cash refunds are not policy when the customer is expected to know more than the subject matter expert/Royal booking agent.  After being told we could use birth certificates we didn't investigate further so I consider the blame to be shared with the agent we depended on.

 

Anyone else experience something like this?  Were you able to get a refund for more than taxes and fees?  I've already reached out to Royal at an 800 number and been told there's nothing they can do but I'm not sure those agents do little more than read from a script.

Edited August 3, 2022 by Bencruisin

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, Bencruisin said:

I've already reached out to Royal at an 800 number and been told there's nothing they can do but I'm not sure those agents do little more than read from a script.

Explain the situation as calmly as this post to mbayley@rccl.com. 

[d9704011]

Here is an excerpt from the RCCL Cruise Ticket Contract:

 

Passengers are solely responsible to maintain in their possession all passports, visas and other travel documents required for embarkation, travel and disembarkation at all ports of call. Passengers assume full responsibility to determine through their travel agent or the appropriate government authority the necessary documents. Passenger agrees to provide to Carrier (at Carrier’s reasonable request) any travel documents. Carrier shall return such travel documents to Passenger by no later than the end of the Cruise.

 

Seems to me you are on very thin ice.  The booking agent isn't really a seasoned travel agent and, in any event, making sure you have all the correct travel documents is your responsibility and with the unusual birth certificate situation you seem to be aware you have well...

 

You're probably correct that the agent at the 'exception desk' had a busy and stressful day.

 

Good luck pursuing this one.

Edited August 3, 2022 by d9704011

[Ourusualbeach]

Wait for it.....

[Joseph2017China]

Well, first, your title says that you are laying blame on the booking agent and not yourself.  The bottom line is that you are to blame.  Once you accept that fact, than maybe, you can calmly request your issue to be reviewed.  

[BND]

23 minutes ago, Bencruisin said:

We were supposed to sail the Independence of the Seas out of Port Canaveral but were denied boarding because of a Puerto Rico birth certificate dated before 2011.  Turns out Puerto Rico birth certificates issued after 2010 had to be re-issued to be valid. 

This part confuses me.  First you say "dated before 2011" and then you say "certificates issued after 2010 have to be re-issued".  

[Starry Eyes]

As I recall the government of Puerto Rico invalidated all birth certificates issued before July 2010 (due to extensive theft and fraud).  So due to that law, your wife did not present a valid birth certificate.  It is a pity she did not hear about the law in time to get a new one.

Edited August 3, 2022 by Starry Eyes

[Starry Eyes]

Here is a link to some info about the PR BC invalidation law.

https://www.ct.gov/ctportal/lib/ctportal/PRBirth.FAQ.pdf

[Bencruisin]

7 minutes ago, BND said:

This part confuses me.  First you say "dated before 2011" and then you say "certificates issued after 2010 have to be re-issued".  

Looks like I messed up .... the birth certificate in question was from 1980 and the PR rule was all birth certificates issued before 2011 need to be re-issued.  I mis-typed the "after" 2010 had to be re-issued.  It should have read "before".

 

Thanks for catching that!

[Bencruisin]

20 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

Well, first, your title says that you are laying blame on the booking agent and not yourself.  The bottom line is that you are to blame.  Once you accept that fact, than maybe, you can calmly request your issue to be reviewed.  

I wasn't trying to say the booking agent is to blame.  I'm simply saying the agent didn't inform us of anything other than we could use birth certificates. I put this out there in case anyone thinks we just ignored the agent's information and decided we could do what we please. Based on some of the interaction I saw it seemed like the people working boarding thought some customers were ignoring rules "they new about".

[reallyitsmema]

1 minute ago, Bencruisin said:

I wasn't trying to say the booking agent is to blame.  I'm simply saying the agent didn't inform us of anything other than we could use birth certificates. I put this out there in case anyone thinks we just ignored the agent's information and decided we could do what we please. Based on some of the interaction I saw it seemed like the people working boarding thought some customers were ignoring rules "they new about".

 

How was the booking agent supposed to know you had an invalid Puerto Rican birth certificate though?  

[Bencruisin]

Just now, reallyitsmema said:

 

How was the booking agent supposed to know you had an invalid Puerto Rican birth certificate though?  

Not saying she was supposed to know that....I would expect her to know about the rule though and to mention it during the time we asked about using birth certificates just like the myriad of things she mentioned about covid.  Many didn't pertain to us but we were told about them.

[twangster]

I'm surprised this is the first you've encountered the Puerto Rico birth certificate issue. The old BC can't be used for an I9 form for example so any employment over the past decade should have raised this issue before now.  It's unfortunate this was the first encounter with old PR BC's validity issue.  

 

The people working in the terminal are generally from a company called Intercruises.  They are a 3rd party that works under contract.  Very few actual Royal employees work at a cruise terminal.  These folks often work under contract for other cruise lines too.  That doesn't excuse them being impolite but I can also understand that these folks working denied boarding cases are probably dealing with a lot of upset and hostile guests who haven't brought valid documentation.  They probably deal with a lot of hostility all day long that isn't warranted.  Even if you were calm and collected I imagine they get a lot of verbal abuse directed their way that causes them to be direct when dealing with issues like invalid documentation.

 

Unfortunately it does happen.  Some people try to use photocopies of BC's or short form versions that are not accepted.  Just about every denied boarding situation involves invalid or insufficient documentation.   I don't imagine there is any easy way to inform a guest they won't be sailing today.  Not a job I'd like to have.  

[reallyitsmema]

5 minutes ago, Bencruisin said:

Not saying she was supposed to know that....I would expect her to know about the rule though and to mention it during the time we asked about using birth certificates just like the myriad of things she mentioned about covid.  Many didn't pertain to us but we were told about them.

 

You asked about birth certificates, did you specifically ask about Puerto Rican birth certificates?  I am sorry you were denied boarding but I just don't see how the rep that booked this would tell anyone all the exceptions.  It is up to us to know what documents we need to travel and to have the correct ones.

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-travel-documents-are-required-for-cruises-from-united-states-ports

[long4acruise]

Sorry you experienced this and thanks for sharing with others.

 

My personal "Golden Rule" - always travel with my passport and have more than 6 months prior to expiration and have Global Entry for my international travel/flights.

Just prefer stress-less and hassle-free lifestyle as much as possible.

[Bencruisin]

15 minutes ago, twangster said:

I'm surprised this is the first you've encountered the Puerto Rico birth certificate issue. The old BC can't be used for an I9 form for example so any employment over the past decade should have raised this issue before now.  It's unfortunate this was the first encounter with old PR BC's validity issue.  

 

The people working in the terminal are generally from a company called Intercruises.  They are a 3rd party that works under contract.  Very few actual Royal employees work at a cruise terminal.  These folks often work under contract for other cruise lines too.  That doesn't excuse them being impolite but I can also understand that these folks working denied boarding cases are probably dealing with a lot of upset and hostile guests who haven't brought valid documentation.  They probably deal with a lot of hostility all day long that isn't warranted.  Even if you were calm and collected I imagine they get a lot of verbal abuse directed their way that causes them to be direct when dealing with issues like invalid documentation.

 

Unfortunately it does happen.  Some people try to use photocopies of BC's or short form versions that are not accepted.  Just about every denied boarding situation involves invalid or insufficient documentation.   I don't imagine there is any easy way to inform a guest they won't be sailing today.  Not a job I'd like to have.  

Couldn't agree more.  If you're working the "surprise, you can't board or get your money back" window the chances are good someone's going to lose control. That thought entered my mind each time I was glared at and it helped me to take the high road.  I got the impression we were expected to lose control and some of what we experienced was a defense mechanism for the employee.  Still, as I taught my kids, just because you had something bad happen doesn't give you the right to visit that on anyone else.

 

The reason we got surprised by the PR BC was because our passport expired a month prior so we had been using passports before and after the 2010 PR rules.

[twangster]

2 minutes ago, Bencruisin said:

Couldn't agree more.  If you're working the "surprise, you can't board or get your money back" window the chances are good someone's going to lose control. That thought entered my mind each time I was glared at and it helped me to take the high road.  I got the impression we were expected to lose control and some of what we experienced was a defense mechanism for the employee.  Still, as I taught my kids, just because you had something bad happen doesn't give you the right to visit that on anyone else.

 

The reason we got surprised by the PR BC was because our passport expired a month prior so we had been using passports before and after the 2010 PR rules.

 

One time when I was cruising with a minor child without her parents it was like they doing everything they could to find a reason we couldn't board.  I had copies of divorce decrees and child custody court documents plus many of other notarized letters and... stuff.  More stuff then I think the mother was eager for me to have copies of.  Every time they tried "... and you need this.."  it was like they were disappointed when I produced it.  We ended up sailing when they gave up but I completely understand your feelings as you were going through it.  

 

PS - you may need that re-issued PR birth certificate to that passport renewed.  

[Bencruisin]

I appreciate all the responses so far but I've only had one response answering the questions asked:

 

Anyone else experience something like this?  Were you able to get a refund for more than taxes and fees?  

[CruiseDad-NYC]

Hi, Bencruisin - I am sorry this happened to you and can understand how frustrating it must be. It hasn't happened to me, but is something that I have worried about. I had read on these boards a long time ago that a parent and a grand parent had been denied boarding because they were traveling with a minor child and weren't able to establish that the parent of that child had proper permission to take the child out of the country without the other parent.

 

My wife and I have different last names (and my children have mine). I had been concerned that if challenged, we would not be able to demonstrate that my wife was my wife and the mother of my kids.  So, we always travel with their birth certificates (in addition to their passports) and our marriage license just in case we are asked to show by paper that my wife is their mother and that I am not taking them out of the country without permission. 18 cruises and 15 years later, we have never been questioned, but it was something that concerned me particularly when they were much younger.

 

Good luck and all the best.

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Explain the situation as calmly as this post to mbayley@rccl.com. 

You understand that the outward facing email address for the execs go to an off-shore call center where sub-minimum wage call center personnel respond with canned, legally approved responses signing the boss' name? That email address gets hundreds and hundreds of emails a day that Mr. Bayley never sees. 

[shippmates]

You maybe able to file a claim with your travel agent company, once you get the refund of your port charges.  So sorry this has happened to you.

[Bencruisin]

12 minutes ago, shippmates said:

You maybe able to file a claim with your travel agent company, once you get the refund of your port charges.  So sorry this has happened to you.

That's exactly what I'm doing.  I had travel insurance so I'm not expecting to be out that much.

[Bencruisin]

I really feel for anyone who may not have had travel insurance.  At least I'll recoup most of it.

 

The reason for the post was ..... I've been wondering about other people who had a similar experience who had no travel insurance.  Are they really out all that money just like that?  Because of a honest mistake like a PR BC?  That's a lot of money!  And they were stranded.  In our case my grandkids luggage didn't show up along with some others who were denied boarding. Again we were the lucky ones....we live within a couple hours of the terminal.

 

I've run into two other recent denied boarding stories that look like the customer isn't going to recoup anything other than the taxes and fees.

 

I wonder how often this happens.

[Ferry_Watcher]

Unfortunately, when the booking agent was told about your expired US passports, and when asked if you were both US born, did not consider the possibility of one passenger having a PR birth certificate issued prior to 2010.  Your (PR born) spouse should have know about this weird exception for older PR birth certificates.

 

As you are finding out, the cruise lines are under no obligation to refund your cruise fare.  They will refund your taxes and fees, as well as any prepaid excursions.  The cruise contract that you sign (that no one reads) clearly points out that you understand, and will have the correct travel documents needed to board the ship.

 

As for the the way you were treated - my guess is that once it was apparent that your spouse did not have the correct documents needed to sail, the first agent called a supervisor, who then brought you both to a 'document recovery' team to help your spouse figure out if there were any other documents that Royal (and CBP) will accept.  This could include an Enhanced Driver's License if you live in states of MN, MI, NY, VT or WA.  Or perhaps if you had a SENTI or NEXUS card.  These staff members are there to help see if there are any other options.  It is well known that the pier agents who deal with these passengers who do not have the correct/needed travel documents receive all kinds of frustration, anger, tears, shouts and other reactions.  On the other hand, when a passenger is helped to brainstorm how someone back home can get into their house and retrieve a US birth certificate and send a photo of it to the port and the cruise is saved - then there are hugs and high fives as those passengers get to board.  It's all in a day's work at the pier.

 

It is not unusual for denied passengers (and especially their loved ones) to respond in outrage and sometimes anger.  It's even more frustrating when it is an American citizen who can't provide the necessary documents.  I am guessing that you were quite adamant and vocal in response to your spouse's denial, and there is only so much these pier staff can take - especially when there are no other option to move forward.  At some point they have to move on, and the denied passenger and travel companion have to accept the fact that they will not be going on the cruise.  It is unfortunate, and it isn't fun for anyone involved.  

 

As someone who has checked-in passengers, I have been the one who first realizes that there is a problem.  On cruises to Alaska, we have so many friends/family members of US citizens who are from countries that require a Canadian visa to take a cruise to Alaska (due to the mandatory port-or-call in Victoria).  For those poor passengers who need a Canadian visa, not don't have one, it's a full stop denial with no options.  At least with US citizens, there is a chance, but unfortunately for your spouse there were no available options.  Denials are hard on everyone.  I have shared many a story about 'my' passengers who have been denied.  I have sought out members of my pier's document recovery team the following day to ask is passenger 'so-in-so' made it on to the cruise.  We all like happy endings.  We all care - we really do!

 

It is unlikely that you will receive a refund.  If I was you, I would ask if there is a possibility to reschedule your cruise.  If your spouse can either get their passport quickly renewed, the cruise line might consider that option.  Also, trying to use 'poor customer service at the terminal' as leverage for a refund won't fly.  Own up to the unintentional error of not having the correct travel documents and ask if they will reschedule your cruise.

 

 

[d9704011]

28 minutes ago, Bencruisin said:

That's exactly what I'm doing.  I had travel insurance so I'm not expecting to be out that much.

You seem pretty certain that your insurance company will pay the claim.