Missing Middle Name - anyone recently traveled that can provide insight? (International)

[Parttimepharmacist]

Hi everyone, my first time posting on a forum ever but I was just told by the NCL rep that it would be advisable to put our middle names into our reservation/tickets.  My questions is has anyone recently (in the last 1-2 years) traveled internationally with NCL and did not put their middle name into their flight and cruise reservations and has this been an issue?  Background: Going on Mediterranean cruise international from USA end of this month, booked using NCL BOGO flight, our tickets are missing our middle names only (first and last names match).  I called Alitalia and they said middle name is not necessary but the NCL rep mentioned we could be denied at the port on boarding?  Would appreciate any insight into this.  I really loathe to pay $600 - we're a family of 4 😞.  Thank you in advance.

[cruiseny4life]

Personally, I wouldn't be too concerned since first/last are correct on the tickets. But, we all have our own risk tolerance. Will you stay up the night before your flights/cruise worrying? If so, then pay the $600 and have peace of mind. It'll be worth every penny. 

[zelliott]

When you input your passport data for the airline, make sure it matches what is on your passport exactly. Many tickets are printed without middle names anyway, so you'll be fine as long as you provide the airline with the appropriate information.

[Ellis1138]

I recently had to have NCL and United add our middle names to their systems, due to the new "everything has to match the passport" thing. I figured to get it done ahead of time than to be denied a flight or cruise when I get there.

[cruiseny4life]

12 hours ago, Ellis1138 said:

I recently had to have NCL and United add our middle names to their systems, due to the new "everything has to match the passport" thing. I figured to get it done ahead of time than to be denied a flight or cruise when I get there.

What is new? Did I miss something? I thought this had been a requirement for a long time, though I still maintain middle names aren't necessarily...well, necessary. But, if there's some new requirement I'd love to see it so I can educate myself on it. 

[Ellis1138]

40 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

What is new? Did I miss something? I thought this had been a requirement for a long time,

My husband and I hadn't traveled since pre-Covid, and I had never checked and it never came up in the last few cruises or flights, I guess. So, during 2021, when our passports needed renewing, all of a sudden the middle names were important.

 

When I went to book cruises with NCL, the customer rep told me that everything had to match the passports, and it was the same as United Airlines. So, even if this wasn't brand new, I suddenly had to get all my ducks in a row.

[ontheweb]

14 hours ago, Ellis1138 said:

I recently had to have NCL and United add our middle names to their systems, due to the new "everything has to match the passport" thing. I figured to get it done ahead of time than to be denied a flight or cruise when I get there.

Yes, easiest to get it done early. IIRC, I received an e-mail from NCL before they booked our BOGO flights asking for our full names as listed on our passports. I called our TA and gave him the information to forward to NCL. When I now go on ncl.com and see our information, I see our names including middle names. 

 

So instead if On Web, it's On The Web. 😊🤣

[Crown Vic]

21 hours ago, zelliott said:

When you input your passport data for the airline, make sure it matches what is on your passport exactly…

👍 👍 Can not go wrong matching to your passport. Cheers…

[step78]

22 hours ago, zelliott said:

When you input your passport data for the airline, make sure it matches what is on your passport exactly. Many tickets are printed without middle names anyway, so you'll be fine as long as you provide the airline with the appropriate information.

Thats wrong. My name is always different.  Thats because the german spelling (passport) matches not the International spelling. Never had any issue. And my name is always "wrong" at ncl and every airline. 

[zelliott]

18 minutes ago, step78 said:

Thats wrong. My name is always different.  Thats because the german spelling (passport) matches not the International spelling. Never had any issue. And my name is always "wrong" at ncl and every airline. 

That's fine! If you are aware of what works for you when you're traveling, that's great! You should realize, however, that I was responding with advice for a different person who is in a different situation and expressed a specific concern. 

Edited June 7, 2023 by zelliott

[drew69]

On 6/6/2023 at 3:09 PM, Parttimepharmacist said:

Hi everyone, my first time posting on a forum ever but I was just told by the NCL rep that it would be advisable to put our middle names into our reservation/tickets.  My questions is has anyone recently (in the last 1-2 years) traveled internationally with NCL and did not put their middle name into their flight and cruise reservations and has this been an issue?  Background: Going on Mediterranean cruise international from USA end of this month, booked using NCL BOGO flight, our tickets are missing our middle names only (first and last names match).  I called Alitalia and they said middle name is not necessary but the NCL rep mentioned we could be denied at the port on boarding?  Would appreciate any insight into this.  I really loathe to pay $600 - we're a family of 4 😞.  Thank you in advance.

Your ticket should also exactly match your passport.  Also, double check your flights as Alitalia ceased operations in 2021.  ITA Airlines is operating with some old Alitalia equipment but as a far smaller airline which is also in financial trouble - Lufthansa is purchasing a majority stake in them to try to bail them out.

[gbntmom]

I too, was concerned about this for our Med cruise this past April/May (Trieste-Lisbon). Our middle names were not on our reservation, nor on the BOGO airfare. We flew United - Lufthansa & Azores Airlines and had no issues whatsoever. The interesting thing is that when logging in and using the app, our middle names appeared there, but not on anything else. Weird. Maybe we were lucky, but matching first and last names were enough for us

 

[TrumpyNor]

6 hours ago, gbntmom said:

I too, was concerned about this for our Med cruise this past April/May (Trieste-Lisbon). Our middle names were not on our reservation, nor on the BOGO airfare. We flew United - Lufthansa & Azores Airlines and had no issues whatsoever. The interesting thing is that when logging in and using the app, our middle names appeared there, but not on anything else. Weird. Maybe we were lucky, but matching first and last names were enough for us

 

For my husband and myself it is actually the opposite. On our MyNCL accounts as well as on booking confirmations booked directly with NCL, only first and last name shows. But when we get our ship cards at the pier on embarkation day, full names are printed incl middle names. And my husband has so many middle names that his last name doesn't does NOT show on the ship card....!

[Parttimepharmacist]

Hi everyone, I really want to thank everyone for replying to my post and trying to be helpful.  I thought I would update now that we've gone on our trip and are back in the US.  The middle name thing did not matter what so ever.  No one even batted an eye from the TSA agents to ITA airways to NCL to American Airlines or any of the airports we flew in and out of.  I'm really glad I did not spend the $600 to change our names.  But lesson learned because it does seem that having our middle names in there doesn't hurt and is probably the best practice.  Hope this helps someone!

[LloydJr]

1 hour ago, Parttimepharmacist said:

Hi everyone, I really want to thank everyone for replying to my post and trying to be helpful.  I thought I would update now that we've gone on our trip and are back in the US.  The middle name thing did not matter what so ever.  No one even batted an eye from the TSA agents to ITA airways to NCL to American Airlines or any of the airports we flew in and out of.  I'm really glad I did not spend the $600 to change our names.  But lesson learned because it does seem that having our middle names in there doesn't hurt and is probably the best practice.  Hope this helps someone!

Thanks.  This is a moving, unpredictable target.  Ten or twenty years ago, some of my airline accounts required middle initial, and it was usually optional.  That said, I think things may be tightening up.  My passport and REALID drivers license have always included my full middle name.  Within the last few years, I've updated both my NCL account (easy, over the phone) and Southwest account (required a written request through their website).  Chase credit cards used to only allow initial, but are now allowing full middle name on the application/account (but the card still just displays initials....for now).

[omahabob]

Sometimes I wish my middle name would go missing.

 

It's kind of a policy thing that isn't strictly enforced at ports/terminals. Technically, TSA and immigration/customs want the names to match. They warn that it MAY "require additional documents to verify your identity" (https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/know-before-you-go/your-trip). There are reports that an airline denied boarding in Canada once, for those whose names did not match, but haven't seen anything like that since. The guys who check those things at ports/terminals don't seem to be fussy about it unless the names are obviously different.

 

However, for stuff like visas, you DO want the names to exactly match your passport.

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

16 hours ago, Parttimepharmacist said:

Hi everyone, I really want to thank everyone for replying to my post and trying to be helpful.  I thought I would update now that we've gone on our trip and are back in the US.  The middle name thing did not matter what so ever.  No one even batted an eye from the TSA agents to ITA airways to NCL to American Airlines or any of the airports we flew in and out of.  I'm really glad I did not spend the $600 to change our names.  But lesson learned because it does seem that having our middle names in there doesn't hurt and is probably the best practice.  Hope this helps someone!

I'm just here to say HURRAY! I'm so glad everything went well and you saved a few bucks. Also, it's really, really amazing when someone comes back and reports on whatever issue/question/concern they posted. So, thank you! Don't be a stranger. 

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

I'm just here to say HURRAY! I'm so glad everything went well and you saved a few bucks. Also, it's really, really amazing when someone comes back and reports on whatever issue/question/concern they posted. So, thank you! Don't be a stranger. 

Yes, it is definitely good when someone posts a problem and asks for help and then does a follow up on how it worked out. Too many post, and then disappear.