Guests Denied Boarding Due to Passport Requirements at Port Everglades

[ontheweb]

33 minutes ago, jsglow said:

Yep. Going into the Yukon at Skagway.

Yes, that was the excursion.

[staceyglow]

18 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

Same. Lots of people we know don't have them. Are they irresponsible? No. They just never travel outside the US.

Exactly.  Why would someone go through the hassle and expense to get a passport when they have no plans to travel outside the US, especially if you live hundreds of miles away from the border? If it was a permanent document, like a Social Security Card, maybe, but they have an expiration date, so it might never get used.

 

[whitecap]

Please, someone correct me if I am wrong, but having to use the Medallion App to complete the boarding process, wouldn't they have had to either enter their passport or birth certificate information and if they entered their passport port info showing that it expired while on the cruise, wouldn't the app deny the information?  And if using a birth certificate for a cruise that "requires" a passport, would the app deny that as well?  

If the app denies a piece of information, does it tell you it has been denied or that there is an error?  

[startedwithamouse]

6 minutes ago, whitecap said:

Please, someone correct me if I am wrong, but having to use the Medallion App to complete the boarding process, wouldn't they have had to either enter their passport or birth certificate information and if they entered their passport port info showing that it expired while on the cruise, wouldn't the app deny the information?  And if using a birth certificate for a cruise that "requires" a passport, would the app deny that as well?  

If the app denies a piece of information, does it tell you it has been denied or that there is an error?  

You can bypass that and do it at the port. You just won't be in the green lane. They were probably stalled in the blue lane or were waiting to just show documents at the port. 

[whitecap]

2 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

You can bypass that and do it at the port. You just won't be in the green lane. They were probably stalled in the blue lane or were waiting to just show documents at the port. 

Got it.  Thanks.

[jagoffee]

1 hour ago, staceyglow said:

Here is my guess as to what happened:

 

It's established that the woman who is out $8,500 is an experienced cruiser.  She booked the cruise, and was aware (because she was notified by all the traditional methods) that a passport was required.  She discovered late in the process that her passport was expired.  She called Princess to see if there was any way of getting around the requirement.  The CSR told her she didn't need a passport (quite possibly due to incorrect or incomplete information from the passenger), and the passenger ran with that, despite having all official information from Princess saying something else.

 

It's either that or the passenger is flat out lying about customer service telling them they didn't need a passport.

 

I have a family member who spent 25 years as a Taxpayer Service Rep for the IRS. She always recommended that taxpayers get their answer in writing from the TSR they spoke with.   If you are audited, the IRS does not consider "the lady on the phone told me..." as a valid excuse for completing your tax return incorrectly.  The same principle should apply to any important interaction you have with a company, especially when there is a lot of money at stake.

If only one person in the party did not have a passport, the rest of the party likely could have taken the cruise.  (Depending on the situation).

 

I wonder how many people across the dozens of people actually did not have a valid passport?

 

 

[MamaFej]

2 hours ago, sloopsailor said:

 

I agree fully with your comment. I was pointing out the reasons many Americans don't get a passport. Several people on this thread seemed to look down on people who don't have a passport as if it is a flaw in their character. If they don't need one, they don't have to get one. It has nothing to do with "stubborn Americans" not wanting to spend the money. Why spend money if they don't have too??

 

If going out of the country, then yes, if they refuse to get a passport because of a loophole in the requirements, then THOSE people are indeed stubborn - and careless. That we can agree on. 

Thank you for this. I think it might be easy for those of us who can afford to cruise, and who are conversing on a message board catered to those who can afford to cruise, to forget how fortunate we are and that an enormous portion of the US population will never be able to afford to travel more than a few hundred miles. I remember when I was student teaching, my master teacher had previously taught in South Central Los Angeles. About 60% of his students there had never seen the ocean in person.

 

Your second paragraph is spot-on as well. 

[donaldsc]

11 hours ago, sloopsailor said:

 

Why do you think they don't get a passport? 

 

They are too frugal to spend the money.

 

DON

[staceyglow]

35 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

If only one person in the party did not have a passport, the rest of the party likely could have taken the cruise.  (Depending on the situation).

 

I wonder how many people across the dozens of people actually did not have a valid passport?

 

 

 

The original complainer probably told the rest of her party, "Just bring your birth certificate.  The lady at Carnival said that would work, and you don't want to risk losing your passport".

[voljeep]

3 hours ago, voljeep said:

Note to self:  check passport expiration date...😎

July 2026 - all good

[nini]

One of my initial thoughts include the small possibility of needing to fly home, due to medical needs or something happened at home. A Passport should always be with you when traveling outside of the country. We even take it with us when flying within the USA.

[Daniel A]

The US Passport is the "Gold Standard" for identification of US citizens both within and outside the borders of the US.  Don't leave home without it.

[donaldsc]

5 hours ago, Daniel A said:

The people in the news story may have been given the correct answer.  They may have been asking the wrong question.  "If I'm going on a Caribbean cruise, do I need to have a passport?"

 

I seriously doubt they asked if they would need a passport for a cruise stopping in South America and Panama.  They probably called the 800 number and got somebody who was thinking they were asking a general question prior to actually making a booking.  Yes, you can take any number of Caribbean cruises without needing a passport.

.  🤷‍♂️😄 

 

This is a direct quote from the Princess FAQ page when I typed in "Passport"

 

"A valid passport is required for all international itineraries including Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, India, Central and South America, Panama Canal (partial and full transit), Caribbean voyages that visit Martinique or Guadeloupe, South Pacific, Tahiti and World Cruises. Although US and Canadian passport holders are not currently required to sail with a passport on most domestic itineraries (including Alaska, Bermuda, Canada, Caribbean, Hawaii, and Mexico), Princess highly recommends they are carried"

 

Also

 

"PASSPORT REQUIREMENT WHEN MINORS TRAVEL WITH ONE ADULT ON VOYAGES GOVERNED BY THE U.S. WESTERN HEMISPHERE TRAVEL INITIATIVE (includes travel within BERMUDA, CANADA, CARIBBEAN, HAWAII, MEXICO, UNITED STATES) When minors are traveling with only one adult 21 years of age or older, Princess requires that all guests must be in possession of a valid passport. We have implemented this requirement because we want to ensure that your party remains together should an emergency arise that requires one or more in your party to be disembarked in a non-U.S. port. We cannot guarantee that all members of your party will be allowed to disembark with just a WHTI-compliant document or birth certificate. Failure to present a valid passport for all guests traveling together will result in denial of boarding without refund of the cruise or cruisetour fare.

 

I will bet that the average American thinks that any place and definitely any island south or not necessarily even south of the US is the Caribbean.  For example we  have seen many posts on CC where the OP did not realize that Bermuda is not in the Caribbean.  Americans do not have a great knowledge of geography.  Witness the person-on-the-street interviews that one used to see on the late night talk shows where they asked people geography questions.  Yes they select the clips to only show people who had a minimal knowledge of geography but I would bet that it was not hard to find such interviews.

 

Now this does not excuse the people who did not read their cruise documents.  Also Princess is not off the hook on their  reply that question since I believe that since there are some Caribbean islands that do require a passport.

 

Bottom line is to be safe and just get a passport.

 

DON

 

 

[dchip]

I was 50 when I got my first passport. Up until that time I never needed one. The minute we booked our first cruise for our 30th wedding anniversary, we both got passports. It was a closed loop cruise to Alaska. 
Cheers, Denise

[Potstech]

2 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

They are too frugal to spend the money.

 

DON

Wrong.

[Thrak]

35 minutes ago, dchip said:

I was 50 when I got my first passport. Up until that time I never needed one. The minute we booked our first cruise for our 30th wedding anniversary, we both got passports. It was a closed loop cruise to Alaska. 
Cheers, Denise

 

I was 58 and my wife was 59 when we first got passports. We had never had occasion to travel outside the US. When she finally badgered me into agreeing to cruise we immediately got passports. It was a 10 day closed loop SF to Alaska cruise. I looked into the requirements and it looked like we would be fine with certified copies of our birth certificates. Nope, nope, nope. We got passports anyway. 

 

We're booked with one of our sons and his wife and daughter for the 2024 Solar Eclipse cruise. We are well aware that our granddaughter's passport will need to be renewed before the cruise. She got it in 2019 when she was 2 years old and children''s passports are only good for 5 years. I would guess that has a lot to do with the fact that they change so much in appearance. She will be 6 when we cruise and will be on her second passport. It only makes sense to have a passport if you plan to travel outside the US.

 

It's not for cruising but we also paid for 5 years of TSA Pre-Check. After having my bag pulled aside one time and dealing with that hassle we went ahead and paid to get KTN (Known Traveler Numbers). I paid for it with my Capital One credit card and the card company actually reimbursed us for one of the signups. I also went down and got an updated driver's license before it was actually required (it had been postponed a time or two). I don't see any reason not to have the proper ID.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I would personally not be comfortable traveling outside the country without a passport regardless of legal loopholes. If anything happens to the ship (ie a shipwreck in Nice, France, but it could easily happen in the Caribbean), the cruise ends and you’re finding your way home from a country where a passport is required to enter the US. 
 

Ditto visiting a China without a visa. You may have a flight out of the country within the required timeframe to go without one, but then Shanghai gets fogged in, the port gets closed and you miss your original flight and can’t get another one booked within that timeframe. 
 

These things happen. They’re not advertised but they’re as much a part of the travel experience as the social media pics. It’s prudent to be prepared. 

[CruiseVA]

If you don't already have a reminder calendar entry to renew, add one now. Make sure it's at least 9 months to a year ahead.

 

[Rmc7]

It’s the dumbing down of America come to fruition! They could have read the actual policy , reached the Central America and South America part and figured it was all just America so…

[Daniel A]

7 minutes ago, Rmc7 said:

It’s the dumbing down of America come to fruition! They could have read the actual policy , reached the Central America and South America part and figured it was all just America so…

I never heard of this local CBS reporter before.  Why would people from Ohio and Chicago be "texting, calling and e-mailing" this particular reporter?  Something's rotten in Denmark....

[Guest ldtr]

I do not blame someone for making a mistake.  Sooner or later it happens to mot of us.  It is the practice of contacting the media or trying to use Social Media to blame others for their mistake that I disagree with.