Open Letter to Celebrity: I'm Extremely Disappointed with how your staff handled our multiracial family at check in.

[wahooker]

Note - This was also sent to Customer Service at Celebrity, and 3 Executive email addresses that I could find publicly. I reached out to them on Twitter during the cruise as well with no response, but this was my first chance to get Internet access and research everything and write up a full email after getting home from the cruise.

 

I'm posting this as a warning for any other multiracial or adoptive families that might run into this situation, I'll follow up if I get a response.
 

--------------------------------------


To Whom it may concern,

 

This is involving a recent cruise on Reflection, that set sail from Fort Lauderdale on 12/22. Our reservation # was 212635. and we were sailing with all 4 of our kids, in 3 rooms.

 

At check in your employees singled our 17 year old daughter out, and asked us "Is your daughter adopted?"

Our Adopted daughter is a different race than my wife and I. She is 17 years old, a US Citizen, with a US Passport and North Carolina Drivers License. She has been with us on multiple cruises with us on Disney, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. She has also flown internationally with my wife.

Not once in any of those trips were we asked to provide her original adoption paperwork - her identity was proven when we originally got her passport, and that has been sufficient for any and all situations in her life, not just travel but for school purposes and everything else.

Since we have all of her paperwork proving she is a citizen, we have never needed to bring along paperwork proving her adoption. This would require us to bring a binder full of documents over an inch thick with us wherever we go, which absolutely no adoptive family would do almost 17 years after the adoption is finalized.

 

We were delayed a good 30 minutes having to talk to multiple staff, including supervisors, and they were telling us unless we produced that documentation, we would be prohibited from getting on the cruise ship. Keep in mind, this is documentation that we keep locked in our fire safe at home, not something we have ever needed at a moment's notice like that.
 

One of the staff even said that without us having that documentation, we could be suspected of sex trafficking, merely because our daughter is of a different race than we are. This is 2023, and multiracial families and blended families and adopted families are extremely common. A US Passport should be sufficient to prove her identity by itself. There is absolutely nothing on your website telling adopted families they are going to have to jump through this hoop that multiracial or blended families following a remarriage might also bump into. Never in her life has my daughter ever wanted to hide the fact that she was adopted. But after this, she said she wished that we had just said "no" to the question about the adoption.

 

As one of her brothers said, "Who is to say that I'm not adopted?" Just because he's the same color as my wife and I he could just as well be adopted, but he wasn't singled out to prove who he was born to.

 

If this is the official position of your company, you should be ashamed of yourselves, and if it is not, you need to completely retrain your staff on how to deal with the situation with multi-racial and adoptive families such as ours to avoid stigmatizing them.
 

William Anthony Hooker

Proud Father of an adopted daughter.

 

 

[cruisestitch]

What countries were you visiting?  Many have very strict rules designed to deal with human trafficking.  Is it possible that Celebrity was simply working within the rules of one of the places you would be visiting?

[Nachosdelux]

4 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

What countries were you visiting?  Many have very strict rules designed to deal with human trafficking.  Is it possible that Celebrity was simply working within the rules of one of the places you would be visiting?

 

a passport would satisfy this.  What the OP reports is disgraceful.  Hopefully this is an opportunity for an apology and re-training.

[1Virgo]

29 minutes ago, wahooker said:

Note - This was also sent to Customer Service at Celebrity, and 3 Executive email addresses that I could find publicly. I reached out to them on Twitter during the cruise as well with no response, but this was my first chance to get Internet access and research everything and write up a full email after getting home from the cruise.

 

I'm posting this as a warning for any other multiracial or adoptive families that might run into this situation, I'll follow up if I get a response.
 

--------------------------------------


To Whom it may concern,

 

This is involving a recent cruise on Reflection, that set sail from Fort Lauderdale on 12/22. Our reservation # was 212635. and we were sailing with all 4 of our kids, in 3 rooms.

 

At check in your employees singled our 17 year old daughter out, and asked us "Is your daughter adopted?"

Our Adopted daughter is a different race than my wife and I. She is 17 years old, a US Citizen, with a US Passport and North Carolina Drivers License. She has been with us on multiple cruises with us on Disney, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. She has also flown internationally with my wife.

Not once in any of those trips were we asked to provide her original adoption paperwork - her identity was proven when we originally got her passport, and that has been sufficient for any and all situations in her life, not just travel but for school purposes and everything else.

Since we have all of her paperwork proving she is a citizen, we have never needed to bring along paperwork proving her adoption. This would require us to bring a binder full of documents over an inch thick with us wherever we go, which absolutely no adoptive family would do almost 17 years after the adoption is finalized.

 

We were delayed a good 30 minutes having to talk to multiple staff, including supervisors, and they were telling us unless we produced that documentation, we would be prohibited from getting on the cruise ship. Keep in mind, this is documentation that we keep locked in our fire safe at home, not something we have ever needed at a moment's notice like that.
 

One of the staff even said that without us having that documentation, we could be suspected of sex trafficking, merely because our daughter is of a different race than we are. This is 2023, and multiracial families and blended families and adopted families are extremely common. A US Passport should be sufficient to prove her identity by itself. There is absolutely nothing on your website telling adopted families they are going to have to jump through this hoop that multiracial or blended families following a remarriage might also bump into. Never in her life has my daughter ever wanted to hide the fact that she was adopted. But after this, she said she wished that we had just said "no" to the question about the adoption.

 

As one of her brothers said, "Who is to say that I'm not adopted?" Just because he's the same color as my wife and I he could just as well be adopted, but he wasn't singled out to prove who he was born to.

 

If this is the official position of your company, you should be ashamed of yourselves, and if it is not, you need to completely retrain your staff on how to deal with the situation with multi-racial and adoptive families such as ours to avoid stigmatizing them.
 

William Anthony Hooker

Proud Father of an adopted daughter.

 

 

I am so sorry your daughter and family had to experience this

 

A passport should have been sufficient 

[cruisestitch]

Were these terminal staff who asked you so many questions or Celebrity staff?

 

Also did they call for the ship’s documentation officer to come to the terminal to talk to you?

Edited December 30, 2023 by cruisestitch

[dleahy4444]

20 minutes ago, wahooker said:

Note - This was also sent to Customer Service at Celebrity, and 3 Executive email addresses that I could find publicly. I reached out to them on Twitter during the cruise as well with no response, but this was my first chance to get Internet access and research everything and write up a full email after getting home from the cruise.

 

I'm posting this as a warning for any other multiracial or adoptive families that might run into this situation, I'll follow up if I get a response.
 

--------------------------------------


To Whom it may concern,

 

This is involving a recent cruise on Reflection, that set sail from Fort Lauderdale on 12/22. Our reservation # was 212635. and we were sailing with all 4 of our kids, in 3 rooms.

 

At check in your employees singled our 17 year old daughter out, and asked us "Is your daughter adopted?"

Our Adopted daughter is a different race than my wife and I. She is 17 years old, a US Citizen, with a US Passport and North Carolina Drivers License. She has been with us on multiple cruises with us on Disney, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. She has also flown internationally with my wife.

Not once in any of those trips were we asked to provide her original adoption paperwork - her identity was proven when we originally got her passport, and that has been sufficient for any and all situations in her life, not just travel but for school purposes and everything else.

Since we have all of her paperwork proving she is a citizen, we have never needed to bring along paperwork proving her adoption. This would require us to bring a binder full of documents over an inch thick with us wherever we go, which absolutely no adoptive family would do almost 17 years after the adoption is finalized.

 

We were delayed a good 30 minutes having to talk to multiple staff, including supervisors, and they were telling us unless we produced that documentation, we would be prohibited from getting on the cruise ship. Keep in mind, this is documentation that we keep locked in our fire safe at home, not something we have ever needed at a moment's notice like that.
 

One of the staff even said that without us having that documentation, we could be suspected of sex trafficking, merely because our daughter is of a different race than we are. This is 2023, and multiracial families and blended families and adopted families are extremely common. A US Passport should be sufficient to prove her identity by itself. There is absolutely nothing on your website telling adopted families they are going to have to jump through this hoop that multiracial or blended families following a remarriage might also bump into. Never in her life has my daughter ever wanted to hide the fact that she was adopted. But after this, she said she wished that we had just said "no" to the question about the adoption.

 

As one of her brothers said, "Who is to say that I'm not adopted?" Just because he's the same color as my wife and I he could just as well be adopted, but he wasn't singled out to prove who he was born to.

 

If this is the official position of your company, you should be ashamed of yourselves, and if it is not, you need to completely retrain your staff on how to deal with the situation with multi-racial and adoptive families such as ours to avoid stigmatizing them.
 

William Anthony Hooker

Proud Father of an adopted daughter.

 

 

That is just awful! People make assumptions based on skin color all the time but you would expect better training from the staff of a big international cruise line. I had a similar experience at an airport. My grand nieces are African American like their mother, my nephew’s wife. I am fair skinned and blond. I have flown them up several times as unaccompanied minors several times to visit from Florida to NY mostly without incident. However the last time I picked them up, I spent about 20 minutes with a clerk who refused to release them to me even though I was named on the paperwork and had my picture ID with me. The clerk insisted that my young nieces explain our relationship, and verify that I was their aunt. This was never required on previous pickups from the same airline and airport. Obviously I am certainly in favor of protocols ensuring that unaccompanied minors be released to the correct individual, but this questioning of my young nieces was beyond the protocols. I hope to cruise with them in the future and hope we don’t have similar issues 

[Loracpin2]

29 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

What countries were you visiting?  Many have very strict rules designed to deal with human trafficking.  Is it possible that Celebrity was simply working within the rules of one of the places you would be visiting?

We have 8 Grandchildren. Two are adopted from an Asian country. We have sailed 3 times with our entire Family of 16 and never have our youngest Son and Daughter-in-Law been questioned about the validity of  their children!!!!  

Edited December 30, 2023 by Loracpin2
addition

[PTC DAWG]

I don’t see an issue in making sure of things in this instance…

 

 

[prmssk]

3 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I don’t see an issue in making sure of things in this instance…

 

 

Would they have made the same issue with an adopted child of the same race as the parents?

 

If so, is there guidance provided ahead of time so that all parents of adopted children come prepared with their adoption paperwork?

[MagPie60]

Before Covid I volunteered at a major international airport in Canada. We had extensive training in the subject of child trafficking etc. Even as volunteers we were expected to be aware of the issue, and what to do if we suspected something was wrong. 

 

Therefore I understand the mind-set behind the actions of Celebrity or the port officials. However it does sound like they were a bit heavy-handed, and I can also understand why you were upset. 

 

Perhaps in-lieu of dragging the relevant paperwork around with you, you could get a lawyer to do a legal affirmation stating they have seen the paperwork and she is indeed your daughter etc. 

Edited December 30, 2023 by MagPie60
corrections

[BOB999]

This piqued my interest, so I looked at what Celebrity says on the subject of required documentation.  

 

So long as the last name of the parents and the child are the same, then no additional documentation is required.  If the last names differ then additional documentation (no mention of adoption certificates or paperwork) is required.

 

Family Legal Documents

Should the last names of the parent and minor child traveling with them differ, the parent is required to present the child's valid passport and visa (if required) and the child's birth certificate (original, a notarized copy or a certified copy). The name of the parent(s) and the child must be linked through legal documentation.

 

Adults who are not the parent or Legal Guardian of any minor child traveling with them are required to present the child's valid passport and visa or the child's birth certificate (original, a notarized copy or a certified copy) and an original notarized letter signed by at least one of the child's parents. The notarized letter from the child's parent must authorize the traveling adult to take the child on the specific cruise, must authorize guardian to sign legal documentation/waivers for participation in any activities requiring them and must authorize the traveling adult to supervise the child and permit any medical treatment that must be administered to the child. If a non-parent adult is a Legal Guardian, the adult must present a certified certificate of Guardianship with respect to the child.

[cruisestitch]

More questions

 

does she share your last name?

does her Driving License show the same address as yours?

[cruisestitch]

8 minutes ago, MagPie60 said:

Before Covid I volunteered at a major international airport in Canada. We had extensive training in the subject of child trafficking etc. Even as volunteers we were expected to be aware of the issue, and what to do if we suspected something was wrong. 

 

Therefore I understand the mind-set behind the actions of Celebrity or the port officials. However it does sound like they were a bit heavy-handed, and I can understand why you were upset. 

 

Perhaps in-lieu of dragging the relevant paperwork around with you, you could getter a lawyer to do a legal affirmation stating they have seen the paperwork and she is indeed your daughter etc. 

photographs of the documents saved as a pdf on your phone or tablet might also be warranted

[Yoshikitty]

2 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

More questions

 

does she share your last name?

Imo that‘s the crucial question.

[Charles4515]

OP is assuming that skin color or multiracial was the reason. I don't see proof of that. 

[laslomas]

11 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

OP is assuming that skin color or multiracial was the reason. I don't see proof of that. 

 

Not proof, but why were the other children travelling with them not asked whether they were adopted too??? 

Edited December 30, 2023 by laslomas

[cruisestitch]

While young men and boys are sometimes victims of human trafficking, much more often it is females who suffer

[Contretemps]

Exactly @laslomas. It's completely based on skin color. Dear OP-I'm so sorry this happened to you and your family. The victim-blaming going on here is just awful.

[critic2023]

I'm surprised that this is even controversial on this forum. If every single minor is not being asked for birth certificates, adoption paperwork, whatever the case may be, then why was this one singled out? It's clearly because she looked different than OP's other kids. But how is that any indication that she was adopted and the others weren't? Maybe she's the biological daughter of one of the parents from a previous relationship, and just looks more like the other biological parent (who is not present). Maybe she's adopted, but who's to say the other kids aren't as well?

 

I mean, I think the intent is clear because OP was not asked to produce all this paperwork for the other kids. They only cared about the one who looked different. You would think a passport, driver's license, etc. would be plenty enough. I have literally heard of people taking other people's kids on cruises before who were not put through this much heartache.

 

Sorry that happened to you, OP. Hopefully it was an isolated incident and does not represent Celebrity as a whole.

[jelayne]

Up until cruising was halted in 2020 I had a friend who worked at Port Everglades and then the Port of Miami.  He was responsible for managing the check-in process for a couple of terminals.  Neither he, nor the check-in staff were employed by any of the cruise lines, they were employed by the Port and did check-in for multiple cruise lines.  This may have changed now but I rather doubt it.

The situation the OP and daughter encountered was clearly not handled well, but it could be problem was port employees not Celebrity.  Either way there needs to be better training.

[Pinboy]

Mr. Hooker:

While we have never met, I truly " feel " for you and your family.

What you went through was a disgrace and there are no excuses.

( IMO-- a few of the above posts are out of line in their questioning/suggestions. I can't point them out as per the Guidelines of CC ).

From what I understand, the folks at check are not Celebrity employees, but, it doesn't make one bit of difference who they are employed by.

Presentation of your Celebrity Check-in documents is all that was required, but, some " clown " wanted to cause difficulty. 

I'm sure it caused stress throughout the entire cruise--- 

Lets hope Celebrity does the right thing and provide compensation---- that is acceptable to you!!

 

 

 

 

[crusinthrough]

31 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

OP is assuming that skin color or multiracial was the reason. I don't see proof of that. 

What do you think was the issue?

 

36 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

photographs of the documents saved as a pdf on your phone or tablet might also be warranted

Should parents have photographs of birth certificates of children as well? or only if your child doesn't look like you?

 

54 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I don’t see an issue in making sure of things in this instance…

 

 

What prompted this instance?

 

59 minutes ago, Homosassa said:

Kudos to the shore side staff on being aware of the trafficking issues of children in the day and age and taking the time to be sure that your adopted daughter was truly traveling with parents.

 

I suggest that you avoid this problem in the future by having the adoption papers with you.

I have never read this as a trafficking indicator and possible red flag.  It's Celebrity's responsibility to inform guests of documentation needed to board their ship.  Can you show where Celebrity has advised parents to carry adoption papers to prove family association.  Here are DHS  human trafficking indicators. Which one are you giving kudos to the shore side staff for recognizing and causing anxiety to a family? 

 

https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/indicators-human-trafficking

 

These comments are typical CC victim blaming.  The shore staff needs more training on HT awareness.

 

[roxannex]

I can’t believe anyone is defending this. This is embarrassing for Celebrity. Would they call out someone’s child of the same race? I hardly think so. I’m actually pretty shocked this happened. This isn’t 1950. Interracial families are not exactly unusual anymore. I’m sorry, OP. That would have been extremely upsetting to me. 

[dleahy4444]

Just now, roxannex said:

I can’t believe anyone is defending this. This is embarrassing for Celebrity. Would they call out someone’s child of the same race? I hardly think so. I’m actually pretty shocked this happened. This isn’t 1950. Interracial families are not exactly unusual anymore. I’m sorry, OP. That would have been extremely upsetting to me. 

And upsetting to the child as well. 

[roxannex]

Yes! I would be so upset for my kid. 😞