Refused Boarding on Princess after ID Stolen

[sjbdtz]

Know what it takes to get a Police Report?

 

Spend ten minutes describing the situation to a Police Officer who takes notes, and "files" the notes under a document number.

 

That's it, that's all.

 

A police report does not infer credibility, or negate the damage caused (loss of identification).

 

I'm surprised it took over 45 posts before someone said "you had 24 hours...go to the passport office".

 

This is important not only for YOUR ability to travel; but also to preclude the thief from impersonating you, using your stolen ID.

 

I believe that you have an obligation to report the theft to the passport agency ASAP.

 

Keep an eye on your credit bureaux, as the thief has enough personal information to commit an identity theft and obtain credit in your name.

 

You CAN put a note on the credit bureaux explaining ID was stolen and asking any prospective creditor to telephone you prior to issuing new credit.

 

Good luck sorting things out....this has been an expensive lesson for you (too bad you couldn't just find a reasonable hotel in Los Angeles, and spend the week there!)....but those are the lessons we remember best.

 

IN all of this...Princess has no liability, whatsoever. I'd be quite surprised if they accepted any...not because they would be considered heartless, but because of the precedent it would set.

 

You showed up without the required documentation, and were denied boarding as per the rules. As to why it took 3 hours...I'm not sure.

[nrdsb4]

Could you give me more info on where you got this info please? Yes I work for FedEx Kinko's and I know it is illegal to copy any govt issued doc including dl and passorts in color, so I am wondering if this is really true. People also have to keep in mind that if we copy anything that is copyrighted or gov issued id docs in color we can loose our jobs. I would rather have a customer be mad at me becuse I told them I couldn't copy or scan their passports in color than loose my job. I really don't think it is company policy as much as gov regulations. All I know is that I am not allowed to copy these documents in color and if I do so I run the risk of loosing my job.

 

NavySis

 

 

Navy Sis,

 

The Passport information center # as well as the phone number is on this post. Seems like what you need is right there on that post.

 

You say you "know" that it is against the law to color copy a passport. From your post, all you really know is that Kinko's does not allow you to copy a passport in color at risk of losing your job. Seems simple to me: ask someone at Kinko's to refer you to the law which forbids this and then we will know for sure. If management cannot provide you with this information, than it seems more likely that this is just a company policy vs. government regulation.

 

Again, on the OFFICIAL government website regarding passports, the US government passport agency encourages citizens to make a photocopy of their passport. If if were illegal to make a color copy, don't you suppose this would be noted in capital letters IMMEDIATELY after this recommendation?

[xamsx]

NavySis, the email from the National Passport Information Center stated it was perfectly legal for the passport owner to make the color copy. If you made the color copy of a passport for someone at at Kinko's other then yourself, you are not the owner, correct? Kinko's attorneys may have interpreted the law to spilt hairs (and better safe than sorry) and not allow employees to make the copy because they do not own the passport.

 

You may want to email the National Passport Information Center, explain you work at a copy center and ask if there are any law(s) against someone other then the owner of the passport to make a color photocopy.

 

If there are no such law(s), it is another misuse of the words "legal and illegal". It would just be a corporate policy.

[xamsx]

double post

[nrdsb4]

NavySis, the email from the National Passport Information Center stated it was perfectly legal for the passport owner to make the color copy. If you made the color copy of a passport for someone at at Kinko's other then yourself, you are not the owner, correct? Kinko's attorneys may have interpreted the law to spilt hairs (and better safe than sorry) and not allow employees to make the copy because they do not own the passport.

 

You may want to email the National Passport Information Center, explain you work at a copy center and ask if there are any law(s) against someone other then the owner of the passport to make a color photocopy.

 

If there are no such law(s), it is another misuse of the words "legal and illegal". It would just be a corporate policy.

 

 

You know, that's a very good point!:) You may well have just solved the mystery!

[smeyer418]

To the original poster I am sorry that this happened to you.

I haven't read all the postings.

No one is in jaol for making a color photo of their own passport. Kinko's doesn't do it because of policy-since they can't be sure its your passport. You must have a friend who has a color scanner/copier. I take multiple extra copies placed in different bags.

 

LA has a passport issuing office. If you contacted them had the police report and a copy of your passport, it is possible to get a replacement passport issued within hours. The way to do this is to contact you congress person, have them call their liason with the passport office. With a copy of your passport pages, pictures, the police report, you could have gotten a replacement(either a temp or permanent passport)....

 

Its too bad no one suggested that to you.

 

The Passport office when pushed can be very accommodating.

 

Insurance is always good when something goes wrong....

[smeyer418]

What Princess is at fault here, in my opinion, is not what happened with the stolen id but failing to come up with a solution. You have clearly the normal beucratic reponse-No. It is hard to imagine that no one at Princess could come up with the idea of the replacement passport. They could have arranged for the person to be taken to the Passport office and a replacement issued within the necessary time. Some of us knew that a replacement can be issued within hours. They can compare the picture with the one on file. I can't imagine that this is the first time this has happened in LA.

There is almost always an acceptable solution if only good willed people look for it.

[Colo Cruiser]

What Princess is at fault here, in my opinion, is not what happened with the stolen id but failing to come up with a solution. You have clearly the normal beucratic reponse-No. It is hard to imagine that no one at Princess could come up with the idea of the replacement passport. They could have arranged for the person to be taken to the Passport office and a replacement issued within the necessary time. Some of us knew that a replacement can be issued within hours. They can compare the picture with the one on file. I can't imagine that this is the first time this has happened in LA.

There is almost always an acceptable solution if only good willed people look for it.

 

 

 

Not their job, it is our job to hang onto the passport. :rolleyes:

[smeyer418]

Not their job, it is our job to hang onto the passport. :rolleyes:

 

 

"Not my job"...the refuge of small minds....I hate when a service employee says that.

 

It is their job to try to accommodate and make passengers happy. Simply having the experience to give the passenger the suggestion is their job.

 

You know its technnically a federal felony to fail to obey a cruise lines direction or interfere with a crew member in any way so when someone tries to bring liquor on the ship, they are committing a felony subject to 20 years in jail since they fail to obey the cruise lines direction about alcohol and interfere with the employee doing their normal screening duty by making them take time to confiscate the alcohol but no one gets prosecuted for this one either.

[Colo Cruiser]

"Not my job"...the refuge of small minds....I hate when a service employee says that.

 

It is their job to try to accommodate and make passengers happy. Simply having the experience to give the passenger the suggestion is their job.

 

You know its technnically a federal felony to fail to obey a cruise lines direction or interfere with a crew member in any way so when someone tries to bring liquor on the ship, they are committing a felony subject to 20 years in jail since they fail to obey the cruise lines direction about alcohol and interfere with the employee doing their normal screening duty by making them take time to confiscate the alcohol but no one gets prosecuted for this one either.

 

 

Wow a felony!! Where did that come from? I would like to see that law on paper can you produce it? Are you in Law Enforcement? No wonder the jails are all full, all the cruise line Liquor Scofflawsl!! :eek:

 

What does that have to do with baby sittting a pasenger??? :confused:

[hrhdhd]

Could you give me more info on where you got this info please? Yes I work for FedEx Kinko's and I know it is illegal to copy any govt issued doc including dl and passorts in color, so I am wondering if this is really true. People also have to keep in mind that if we copy anything that is copyrighted or gov issued id docs in color we can loose our jobs. I would rather have a customer be mad at me becuse I told them I couldn't copy or scan their passports in color than loose my job. I really don't think it is company policy as much as gov regulations. All I know is that I am not allowed to copy these documents in color and if I do so I run the risk of loosing my job.

 

NavySis

 

I went to this page http://travel.state.gov/passport/about/npic/npic_895.html

 

and sent a message with the question. There's also the toll-free phone number in the reply--maybe your FedEx Kinko's manager could call and speak to a NPIC representative for clarification.

[smeyer418]

Wow a felony!! Where did that come from? I would like to see that law on paper can you produce it? Are you in Law Enforcement? No wonder the jails are all full, all the cruise line Liquor Scofflawsl!! :eek:

 

What does that have to do with baby sittting a pasenger??? :confused:

 

Its has to do with the people who say its a crime to color photo copy your own passport....It clearly is an felony...from the same law that applies both to airplanes and ships ....but hopefully no one will enforce it that way(except if they are really after you for something else...)

[Colo Cruiser]

from the same law that applies both to airplanes and ships

 

Seriously I would really like to see this law, please show me. :confused:

[smeyer418]

Seriously I would really like to see this law, please show me. :confused:

 

check the US Code under interference with airline and ship(passenger) crew...I don't know the exact cite but it is there....its part of the anti-terrorism legislation...

[ldoc31]

Not their job, it is our job to hang onto the passport. :rolleyes:

 

 

I'm so glad the whole world doesn't feel that way. Perhaps some training in how to handle passengers with lost ID would be a good thing. I'm sure this is not a first for Princess.

[Colo Cruiser]

I'm so glad the whole world doesn't feel that way. Perhaps some training in how to handle passengers with lost ID would be a good thing. I'm sure this is not a first for Princess.

 

 

Thats funny only heard one side of the story, so know you know what training Princess has given their employees?? What do you want Princess to do lead them by the hand to the passport office??? :confused:

[nrdsb4]

? anger? any one who disagrees with you is angry? You seem to think that Princess did no wrong. All I said is I think they should have come up with the solution of getting a temp passport in LA. I can't imagine that it hasn't happened before. You should dream on you on the one who said it wasn't their job and BTW I don't think I am the only one who disagrees with you. Personally I think you should let it go-since you seem obsessed with the rightness of Princess....

BTW its not my job is still the refuge of small minds...what someone should do when they don't know is say wait a minute and I'll see if I can find someone to help you- that is service not sorry can't help you, its not my job.

 

I agree that it would be a great idea for all cruise lines to have and provide correct information for passengers in this situation as to where to go and what to do, but as this happened to the OP the day before his cruise, I stop short of saying it's Princess' responsibility to provide transportation to and from passport agencies the day before the cruise to accomodate people who set their essential documents on the floor at airports and find that someone has stolen them while they attended to other business. I would be willing to be that the OP would have been happy to just be given the very valuable information that he could have had his passport replaced in time for the cruise and the appropriate address where he could get it done.

[ldoc31]

Better make sure you hang onto your passport when you sail Princess.......

Once again it is my opinion. :p

 

Still don't see anything wrong with my opinion that a little training to deal with this issue would be good. If they already are trained for this then I guess someone dropped the ball. I don't think anyone is saying that they must hold your hand and take care of the problem, but if they knew where to send the OP for new ID they should have told her.

[Colo Cruiser]

Still don't see anything wrong with my opinion that a little training to deal with this issue would be good. If they already are trained for this then I guess someone dropped the ball. I don't think anyone is saying that they must hold your hand and take care of the problem, but if they knew where to send the OP for new ID they should have told her.

 

 

I agree but we have still only heard the OP side of the story, maybe the employees are trained?

 

If it were that easy to run and get a replacement passport then I would think that Princes would have advised the OP of that or any other passenger that encounters this problem.

 

Other then advising them of what they (OP) could do......

I just don't feel that it is the cruise line or anybody else's (other then the OP) responsibility to go any further on this. :)

[negc]

It seems that a lot of people are being too quick to take sides in this matter without anyone knowing all of the details. Clearly it might have been nice if Princess' reps were able to assist the OP in getting a replacement passport, but was this really possible? When did the OP advise Princess of the lost passport? Was it a weekday or a Saturday or Sunday? Was the passport office even open at that time? The instructions to the Princess personnel probably tell them that passengers who fail to produce acceptable (usually original) identification are not allowed to board. Presenting less than legible(as the OP herself admits) copies of that ID would not meet that standard, and let's face it, a police report would only reflect that the OP told the police that her passport and ID were stolen. It is not "proof" of the theft, although I think that all of us believe the OP's account.

Travel insurance should cover this unfortunate situation and perhaps Princess will consider doing something to make the OP feel better about missing her long-anticipaed cruise, but I don't think that we should demonize the line or its personnel, especially without hearing both sides of the story and knowing exactly what options were available.

[smeyer418]

It seems that a lot of people are being too quick to take sides in this matter without anyone knowing all of the details. Clearly it might have been nice if Princess' reps were able to assist the OP in getting a replacement passport, but was this really possible? When did the OP advise Princess of the lost passport? Was it a weekday or a Saturday or Sunday? Was the passport office even open at that time? The instructions to the Princess personnel probably tell them that passengers who fail to produce acceptable (usually original) identification are not allowed to board. Presenting less than legible(as the OP herself admits) copies of that ID would not meet that standard, and let's face it, a police report would only reflect that the OP told the police that her passport and ID were stolen. It is not "proof" of the theft, although I think that all of us believe the OP's account.

Travel insurance should cover this unfortunate situation and perhaps Princess will consider doing something to make the OP feel better about missing her long-anticipaed cruise, but I don't think that we should demonize the line or its personnel, especially without hearing both sides of the story and knowing exactly what options were available.

 

even if it was after "official" hours most offices have someone there for emergencies--believe me I know I have gotten a passport after hours from the one in NY. That is why I suggested calling your congress person. They have a number than can get through even after hours Saturday's and Sunday's too. If you have a copy of your lost or stolen passport, they can get the records on their computers. With the Police Report that will be enough to get something from them. I don't demonize the Princess people I just think they should know better. A police report is proof of the police report after all it is a crime to falsely report the passport stolen. I just think they could have done better.