Cruise question?

Question

My husband and I were scheduled to board a cruise ship yesterday afternoon. We were denied boarding due to the fact that the state we are from only gives you a paper licence when you renew (the "hard" copy comes about two weeks later). Ten days before our scheduled departure we talked to our travel agent and showed him the "paper" licence and he said there will be no issue. That is considered a valid licence. My question is, what are our chances of getting him to either return our money or him paying for us to take another cruise? This travel agent is also "prefered" by the cruise line we were scheduled to take.

It is a state issued photo ID. The only difference is that the interim licence is paper and not laminated, other wise it looks exactly like the regular licence.

Answer 1

I am with the first commenter on this. Its is virtually impossible to board a plane, train or cruise ship or go into another country or out of the US without a Government issues photo ID. And regardless of what your dumb agent told you, its written clearly on the cruise ticket contract that you should have received about 30 days before your cruise. Its also right on all of the cruise line web sites.

This does you no good now, but what you should have done was get the process of getting a new license started much earlier, or just ordered a passport. Cruise lines have been telling travelers for months to get a passport, there are new travel requirements. Then when time got close you should have gone to the motor vehicle office in person and gotten your new photo ID.

Unless you got something in writing from your agent saying don't worry about the paper ID, you have no recourse legally. Now I suggest that you write to the owner/manager of the travel agency and explain all of this and ask for a refund. You may or may not get it, but it cannot hurt to ask.

Answer 2

Some of the previous posters statements are correct. It is really your responsibility to make sure that you have the correct identification when you are ready to board. Even if you asked the TA and he gave you the answer that this would be fine, it could have been for some cruiselines and not others. You should have contacted the cruiseline directly to find out if this was admissable for the photo ID.

The only other thing you could possibly do is contact the cruiseline directly and explain to them what happened, they might give you a credit towards another cruise, but then again they might not.

If you went to your TA 10 days prior to sailing, how long had it been since you received the license renewal? Did you renew online or directly at the DMV? Did you not have a copy of the expired photo ID?. So many questions to be able to help you. I really do not think you can hold the TA responsible for this as the previous poster stated, that to have the proper ID was your responsibility and not anyone elses.

I know with the birth certificates they come in paper, small laminated like drivers license or half sheets of paper depending on which state you are coming from. The TA could have thought that the license was a non-issue, but again, it will be hard to hold him responsible. A good TA should have called the cruiseline on your behalf and documented the answer and who they spoke with, or advised you to do the same. Actually even some of the agents at the cruiselines cannot actually tell you what is acceptable since this is a border and immigration question.

Sorry you lost your cruise, hope you do get something worked out, but I would not bet that you can hold the TA responsible for this.

Answer 3

If you actually READ the contract and terms and conditions of the cruise company - that comes with your invoice receipt AND your documents, you would have read the requirements of the cruise line (these are U.S. Immigration and Homeland Security rules - not the cruiseline...they are only responsible to make sure you have proper documentation). The contract will also state that it is ALWAYS the travelers responsibility to know what is required and to have it in your possession.

You are old enough to travel, you are old enough to make sure you have what you need. You don't need a "nanny" to tell you. The Agent you use, or the person you speak with on the phone, may not have ever cruised, may not have ever read the terms and conditions and will just answer your question using "best guess".

It is YOUR reponsibility and yours alone.

Go ahead, read it - you will see that it was your fault for the denied boarding. Don't go looking to blame someone else.

Answer 4

Having taken at least 9 cruises, my experience is at least one PHOTO-ID is required. Recently, my brother, a novice cruiser, asked 3 agents regarding the same issue, and received 3 very different answers - two of which would have resulted in no-boarding.

Get (perhaps pre-type) a signed letter from your agent admitting the bum advice. Keep the letter of admission very simple and non-threatening.

If you've already threatened the agent, without getting the written statement, you may have a very tough time documenting this.

Your cruise paperwork probably clearly states "photo ID" plus a 2nd form of documentation (passport, Certified Birth Certificate, etc) . Study the Cruiseline's policy in your contract and on-line carefully. If it says "any questions call us directly", and you took the agents advise, they may not accept liability. If it says "contact your agent" regarding immigration issues, and you have a signed admission, your chance of a happy ending is much better.

You can only hope best-case to rebook the cruise with perhaps a minimal fee.

An agent(cy) may gain "preferred" status purely based upon sales volume...it doesn't necessarily mean "expert" or "competent" any more than "New and Improved" toothpaste is anything different than a slight change of flavor. Good Luck.

Answer 5

That really stinks... the truth is, its going to be hard to pin this on your TA. All paperwork you received says that you need a governement issued "something", whether its your passport or a license and birth certificate. If you were unsure about what your TA told you, as I would have been as my worst fear would be to get to the pier and be denied boarding, I would have double and triple checked, called the cruiseline, re-read paperwork.

I know its easy for everyone else to say what you should have done, or what we would have done and I truely am sorry for your disappointment. My suggestion is getting passports for next time... they are going to be mandatory on cruises soon so you might as well get them now. They will save you all sorts of trouble in the future.

Answer 6

talk to the person who booked the cruise see if they can work something out if not tell them you are going to talk to a lawyer and the news they wont want bad publicity