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

[Lena11033]

7 minutes ago, hcat said:

  Not sure if she will need paperwork due to name difference if they trvl together, or what if she trvls with the children on her own.?? 

 

 

my cousin was traveling with her son, who looks like her but have different surnames as she wasn't married. They were stopped and she was held until customs/border control could verify she didn't leave the country without permission of her son's father - we had told her to get a notarized letter but 'she knew better' 

[critic2023]

Let's say that someone saw this family at the cruise terminal, and picked up some warning signs that they thought this young lady may be a victim of trafficking. Totally independent of race - let's say it was other warning signs that had nothing to do with the way she looked as compared to the rest of the family. And then, on top of it all, they find out that she is a minor once they ask for identification. Why on earth would they not ask for the same paperwork (adoption records,  birth certificates, etc.) from the other minors in the group?  If these people are supposedly suspected of trafficking one minor, why would the same precautions not be taken for the other minors in the group?

 

It was racial profiling, plain and simple. And I don't think OP is looking for a "free cruise," as others have suggested - I just think he is hoping changes are made and other families are not subjected to the same treatment. I'm sure it was not pleasant for anyone in his party, most of all his poor daughter.

[RichYak]

4 hours ago, mphooker said:

But here's the other thing that bothers me...How likely is a sex trafficker going to have a passport AND pay for all this to go on a cruise?

AND bring their other children with them on this supposed “sex trafficking” trip. 

[cyntil8ing]

Ugh. This was inexcusable. We too are a family where one child does not look like the rest of us. We had an issue earlier this year, our first ever with embarkation in 20+ cruises, over a dozen on Celebrity.
 

We had mom and dad in one room, and son and daughter in another next door, all within guidelines. Our daughter could not make it, so son was going to be alone in the room. Not sure why this led the agent to ask if he was adopted, but she did. I did not answer, instead asking why she asked. She gave me some story about him being under 18 and alone in the room. I asked again why she needed this information and again she didn’t answer, so I turned and walked toward the ship (we had completed the check-in and had our passports back in hand). I stopped in front of the desk where they send you if there are issues and asked if there was a problem with our documents. She ran up and started to explain that he couldn’t be in the room alone. They said that of course he could as he was next door and sent us on our way. 

 

When that child was about 8, he was asked by Customs when disembarking to identify who we were to him. He was very confused and concerned and didn’t know how to answer. Finally, the customs agent asked,”who is this?” and pointed to me. Son smiled and said “mom!” and we we’re on our way. I was shaky about the interaction for days.
 

I do not carry adoption paperwork because it is not required. 
 

The other area we run into issues are comedy shows. Comedians love to ask questions and we have generally learned how to get them to move on without making anyone uncomfortable, but we never sit in the first few rows.

[wahooker]

26 minutes ago, cyntil8ing said:

The other area we run into issues are comedy shows. Comedians love to ask questions and we have generally learned how to get them to move on without making anyone uncomfortable, but we never sit in the first few rows.

 

Oddly enough, I don't think comedians would be as big an issue for us. With the last name Hooker, we all have a huge amount of self deprecating humor, and can make jokes about all kinds of things including our last name, our family structure, etc. My Daughter has some hilarious jokes about the differences in race within our family that of course she can throw out just to make her friend's jaws drop. 🙂

[TommyD3]

Wondering what happened at the end of the 30 minute interrogation that they finally let you onboard?

[cyntil8ing]

3 minutes ago, wahooker said:

 

Oddly enough, I don't think comedians would be as big an issue for us. With the last name Hooker, we all have a huge amount of self deprecating humor, and can make jokes about all kinds of things including our last name, our family structure, etc. My Daughter has some hilarious jokes about the differences in race within our family that of course she can throw out just to make her friend's jaws drop. 🙂

Ha! Yes, we have last name jokes too. Our’s is Lord! 
 

There are good comedians that can have us all laughing together, but there are also comedians that try to make us laughable. It’s a line some can walk and some can’t. Fortunately and unfortunately, we have run into both.

 

 

[rerepunim]

ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE !!

[Purplsmurf]

34 minutes ago, TommyD3 said:

Wondering what happened at the end of the 30 minute interrogation that they finally let you onboard?

Wondering the same

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, wahooker said:

 

Oddly enough, I don't think comedians would be as big an issue for us. With the last name Hooker, we all have a huge amount of self deprecating humor, and can make jokes about all kinds of things including our last name, our family structure, etc. My Daughter has some hilarious jokes about the differences in race within our family that of course she can throw out just to make her friend's jaws drop. 🙂

FWIW, you and your family sound delightful. I hope we cross paths some day. 

[Random Cruizer]

6 hours ago, wahooker said:

A public apology, and a promise to ensure that the staff (Whether Celebrity or contractors employed by the port) is properly trained to avoid this in the future would be a great starting point.

 

I support you 100%! This shouldn't have happened!

[mayleeman]

I suspect the port agents had seen the recent trafficking  movie and/or had had training recently, and as a result became hyper-vigilant, so they decided to seek out suspected traffickers.

 

Trying to identify victims probably left them looking for anything that seemed "different", and boom, when they saw a multiracial family their suspicions went into overdrive. 

 

Being ignorant of actual trafficking, they compounded their mistake by letting their suspicions feel vindicated when no documentation they thought should be there (adoption papers) was produced.

 

This wasn't poor training alone. The port agents were stubbornly stupid. They could probably be trained for hours on end and still insist that they acted propery, all becase many people think that if they are certain of a suspicion it must be a fact. 

 

Racial profiling could have been the origin, but I doubt it reflects a Celebrity policy. Celebrity should still use its influence with the port to insist that its passengers not be harrassed.

Edited December 31, 2023 by mayleeman

[Essiesmom]

@Ferry Watcher might you give us an opinion here?  EM

[1Virgo]

3 hours ago, hcat said:

My dtr uses her name before marriage 10 + yrs ago ( quite common these days)... Her husb and childen use husb's last name...One child looks like her   the other like her husband. All are white.  Not sure if she will need paperwork due to name difference if they trvl together, or what if she trvls with the children on her own.?? 

 

We can all dance around this  but I sense a racial bias...overt or otherwise. Not sure it deserves a free cruise for all.

My Dds had their father’s last name. Mine, after divorce was reverted to maiden. I always  travelled with notarized copies of divorce and custodial arrangements    advise from my lawyer. 

[vjmatty]

I don’t know what’s more bizarre, the idea that human trafficking only happens interracialy, or that anyone engaged in trafficking would bring attention to themselves by taking their victims on a cruise. 

[vjmatty]

2 hours ago, wahooker said:

 

With the last name Hooker,

That’s what did it! 😉

[Charles4515]

34 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

I don’t know what’s more bizarre, the idea that human trafficking only happens interracialy, or that anyone engaged in trafficking would bring attention to themselves by taking their victims on a cruise. 

There have been a number of cases where couples were caught trafficking children from Africa and the Philippines to work as slave labor or nannies. I don’t know that any took their victims on a cruise but they did travel with them so it is possible. 

Edited December 31, 2023 by Charles4515

[Honolulu Blue]

54 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

I don’t know what’s more bizarre, the idea that human trafficking only happens interracialy, or that anyone engaged in trafficking would bring attention to themselves by taking their victims on a cruise. 

I struggle to figure out why a trafficker would bring their victim on a cruise. There's a lot of scrutiny of faces and documents involved, which most criminal types would rather avoid. And there isn't much revenue opportunity that I can see. They'd be better off skipping the cruise, traveling a big city directly, and going underground ASAP.

[Georgia_Peaches]

A horrible sounding experience. Heartwarming to read about the reactions and efforts of the three brothers. Please let us know how Celebrity responds to your letter. I feel certain you will get a response. 

[wahooker]

11 hours ago, TommyD3 said:

Wondering what happened at the end of the 30 minute interrogation that they finally let you onboard?

 

THat's the thing, they never apologized, and most of that time they just told us to sit and wait while they got a manager. They eventually just said "You can go ahead" with no explanation. Being in a TSA-like situation where speaking up could have them take disproportionate action and even make us miss the cruise, we just went ahead, and decided to deal with it when we got back via official customer service channels.

[vjmatty]

8 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I struggle to figure out why a trafficker would bring their victim on a cruise. There's a lot of scrutiny of faces and documents involved, which most criminal types would rather avoid. And there isn't much revenue opportunity that I can see. They'd be better off skipping the cruise, traveling a big city directly, and going underground ASAP.

Plus you don’t really stay anonymous on a cruise like you could in a city. The opportunity for a child, especially a 17 year old fluent in English, to escape or alert someone is extremely high risk to the traffickers. 

[CruiseRQA]

Obviously a situation mishandled by poorly trained intake personnel.   But was it racially motivated?   The person they were trying to protect (wrongly, I know) was the person of color.   If they were racist why would they have been concerned about a person of color being trafficed?  

 

They may well have been stupid, poorly trained, ill-informed, power hungry, ignorant (and any other derogatory adjective you choose to add) but I don't think it's cut and dried a racially motivated incident. 

[TommyD3]

51 minutes ago, wahooker said:

 

THat's the thing, they never apologized, and most of that time they just told us to sit and wait while they got a manager. They eventually just said "You can go ahead" with no explanation. Being in a TSA-like situation where speaking up could have them take disproportionate action and even make us miss the cruise, we just went ahead, and decided to deal with it when we got back via official customer service channels.

So sorry about your ordeal. I have been on over 150 Celebrity cruises and can tell you that the average terminal employee is an idiot !!! Nothing nearly as bad as what you experienced but SO many issues with port employees. Will be interesting to see what Celebrity's response is. Thank you for posting !!!

[soapbxking]

Kudos for Celebrity taking this issue seriously  This was my area of expertise for almost 28 years(deling with sex offenders and victims of such).  People should stop whining and live within the rules.  yes i understand delays etc, but if proper rules are followed i have no issue.

[dateacher]

This is outrageous.  The question never would have been asked if she wasn't a different race.  Period.  If they are worried about sex trafficking every young adult's relationship should be questioned.