Is this enough compensation? Missed honeymoon cruise because of paperwork problem


Becky and David Hovis’ honeymoon cruise on Carnival never happened. And it never will, probably.

Why not? When they booked their cruise directly through the company back in 2009, they were told she only needed a photo ID to board. Not true.

Here’s her recollection of her conversation with the Carnival agent:

I specifically asked if we needed a passport. She said no, just a photo ID. She left out the birth certificate part. This was our honeymoon.

You can probably guess what happened next.

We took the trip From Oregon to Tampa, ony to be told we were not allowed to board the ship. We had to rely on family to bail us out and pay for a hotel for the week to stay in Florida since it was $1,400 to change our flight. Carnival never even offered to re-schedule.

The Hovis family is out $1,578 plus $190 for the “vacation protection plan” which was of no use to them, since it didn’t cover this kind of omission.

Aren’t the paperwork requirements spelled out on Carnival’s site? Yes, they are. But Hovis says the site confused her, and she relied on the word of a Carnival representative.

Now what? I contacted Carnival on the couple’s behalf.

Here’s its response:

They were denied boarding because they did not have the proper travel documents presenting only a photo ID.

While they claim that Carnival’s personal vacation planner didn’t advise them of proper documentation, in fact, it is documented in the booking record that the personal vacation planner did advise them of the travel documents required.

Additionally, this information is listed on their confirmation as well as on our web site. It is the guest’s responsibility to have the proper travel documents.

However, as a gesture of goodwill, we will be offering them two sailing dates—Carnival Dream 11/6 and Carnival Valor 11/7. This will be in an interior cabin and they will only be required to pay taxes.

So Carnival is going to let them re-do their honeymoon cruise. That’s a pretty decent offer, don’t you think? I asked Hovis, and she said she’d already spoken with a cruise line representative about the offer.

I told her it was decent that they were offering the November cruise although we have kids and we also can’t afford to just fly there next month, plus we need vacation time.

Despite numerous verbal appeals to Carnival to extend the sailing dates, the first offer was its final offer. Hovis thinks the cruise line should be more flexible.

I agree with Carnival that having the right paperwork is the traveler’s responsibility. But I can certainly see the passengers’ perspective on this, too. Did the cruise line make them an offer that was so limited, they were bound to reject it?

What do you think? Is this enough compensation?

Survey says …

We had more than 800 responses, with nearly 69 percent saying the cruise line did enough.

(Photo: raging wire/Flickr Creative Commons)

← Older Comments
  • Arizona Road Warrior

    First, I think that the Hovis should have used the services of a traditional brick & mortar travel agent instead of booking the cruise directly with Carnival. There is a good chance that the Hovis would have the proper paperwork with them.

    Second, I think that travel providers like Carnival that sells directly to the end user should eliminate this sales channel OR record their phone calls to eliminate these ‘he said\she said’ situations.

  • Ron

    I looked at this after the poll had closed, but I am of very mixed feelings on this. I have been a travel agent for 23 years and Carnival has gotten more and more difficult to deal with, so the fact that they are offering anything to the Hovis’s is surprising to me. I do feel that it is enough as it is, ultimately, the responsibility of the traveler to know what the requirements are.

    We require all of our customers to sign off on our invoicing that everything listed on the invoice is correct, and one of the things listed is what citizenship is required for their trip.

    Moreover, to complete your Funpass, which is required, you have to fill in what proof of citizenship you are bringing with you.

    I know that many people on this site bash travel agents and, as in any profession, there are some bad ones out there, but this truly is a case where using an agent MAY have saved this honeymoon.

  • Sarah Di

    On my confirmation sheet, it tells you where to find up to date documentation information about what’s needed as well as the contract. It also says that you have to complete your guest information in advance on the website. If the Hovis’ had done that, they would have been asked what documentation they were bringing. They had no excuse for not knowing what the requirements were. I have always booked myself directly with Carnival by phone without a problem; but, if they find the website that confusing, a travel agent could have been very helpful to them. Carnival didn’t need to offer them anything.

    Per Carnival’s FAQs: I think it’s pretty straightforward myself.

    TRAVEL DOCUMENTATION – ALL PORTS

    Proper travel documentation is required at embarkation and throughout the cruise. Even though a guest has completed registration using FUNPASS, it is still the responsibility of the guest to bring all required travel documents. Guest should check with their travel agent and/or government authority to determine the travel documents necessary for each port of call. Any guest without proper documents will not be allowed to board the vessel and no refund of the cruise fare will be issued. Carnival assumes no responsibility for advising guests of proper travel documentation.

    CRUISE TRAVEL

    U.S. Citizens

    Carnival highly recommends all guests travel with a passport (valid for at least six months beyond completion of travel). Although a passport is not required for U.S. citizens taking cruises that begin & end in the same U.S. port, travelling with a passport enhances your disembarkation experience, as delays may be expected upon your return to the U.S. if you do not have one. Additionally, passports make it easier for you to fly from the U.S. to a foreign port should you miss your scheduled port of embarkation, or need to fly back to the U.S. for emergency reasons.

    The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) allows U.S. citizens (including children) sailing on cruises that begin and end in the same U.S. port to travel with one of the following WHTI compliant document:

    Valid U.S. Passport
    Passport Card
    Original or suitable quality copy of a Birth Certificate (Issued by the department of vital statistics)
    Certificate of Naturalization
    Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL)
    Trusted Traveler Program Membership Card, e.g., Nexus Card, Sentri Card or Fast Card
    A Consular Report of Birth Abroad
    A government-issued photo ID is also required for all guests, including children 16 and over. For a complete list of WHTI-compliant documents Click Here

  • Kevin

    In defense of Carnival on this one. I just booked a cruise through one of their vacation planners. Within a few days of booking I received an e-mail that very clearly stated what the documentation requirements are. In fact that was the entire content of the message. There is no way after reading this that I could claim that I don’t know what documents I need for my family to board the ship.

  • Teresa

    Many commenters say that “it’s the passenger’s responsibility to have the required documentation.” Right. Sure. Agreed. But whose responsibility is it to make sure the passenger knows what documentation is required?

    There are a lot of comments saying “Well, they should know if they’ve been reading the news.” Nonsense. There is no way they should know at all. No one is born knowing what you need a passport for. It is the cruise line’s responsibility, in selling their product, to explain to the customer what documentation will be needed to actually go on the cruise. Any tour operator does this.

    The Hovises were confused. They asked Carnival. They say they were told they didn’t need a passport. Maybe this was a misunderstanding. They were departing and returning from a U.S. port, which makes it plausible though. It seems very unlikely that they would have failed to get a passport unless they truly believed that no passport was necessary.

    They took this as a final answer and apparently ignored Carnival paperwork that said that they did need a passport. Unfortunate, a bit lazy perhaps, but also understandable.

    Without a tape of the call, it’s impossible to know what really happened. But my point is that it is completely possible that someone acting entirely in good faith who had the conversation the Hovises report having might reasonably come to the conclusion that you don’t need a passport for the cruise. Where does the responsibility for that lie? Surely not just with the Hovises.

    This case is in some ways similar to the young man who was denied boarding in Scotland because the check-in rep mistakenly thought he didn’t have the proper paperwork to enter the USA.

  • John R. Strohm

    There is an easy once-and-for-all, one-size-fits-all solution to this kind of problem.

    Get a passport. Use it.

    Several years ago, because of an impending dive trip that wound up not happening, I got a passport. A few months later, a different dive club organized a trip to Mexico, which didn’t require a passport, but did require at least a driver’s license and a birth certificate. I made a command decision to carry my passport. When I got to the airport, and saw what was actually involved in travelling on “just” the photo ID and birth certificate, I was very glad I’d made the previously-described decision.

    A few years ago, for another international trip, it was necessary to get a new passport. Between that and the TSA, I now use my passport for ALL air travel, since it covers all the bases in one document. It establishes beyond doubt *BOTH* identity *AND* citizenship, case closed.

    In the matter at hand, if they had presented passports instead of mere unspecified “photo IDs”, we would not now be reading this story.

    Yes, getting a US passport is a minor hassle. Yes, it costs a few dollars. There are reasons for this. The hassle is because the US passport is the most highly-desired travel document on the planet. The fees are because, among other things, there has never been a politician who could not find some other frivolity on which to waste other people’s money, and *ANY* fee paid to the government, no matter what the alleged purpose of the fee, is seen by said politicians as Fair Game. (I saw this firsthand several years ago, in a committee hearing in the Texas House of Representatives, when I watched and heard a Texas state Congresscritter talk about raising University of Texas tuition and fees to pay for reduced-cost school lunches for underprivileged children.)

  • Raven

    They didn’t deserve anything and should have taken what was offered to them. No sympathy from me on this one.

  • Kevin

    For the people who want a tape of the call, if you have ever cruised on Carnival ships you would know that you have to check in online at least 72 hours before the sail date. One of the questions that they ask is what your citizenship information is. They want to know if you are going to use a passport, passport card, naturalization certificate, birth certificate, or enhanced driver’s license. So before they left Oregon, they had to tell Carnival what form they were using. The only confusion could be if they don’t know what an enhanced driver’s license is. If that were the case, then they should have found out if that is what Oregon issues. In the end, between the confirmation, the contract, (which it sounds like they didn’t even read), follow-up e-mail. and the online check in, I find it hard to believe that it was not clear what they needed for identification.

  • Joe Farrell

    @Teresa – what part of “it’s the passenger’s responsibility to have the required documentation” is not clear?

    Leaving and coming back into the US and NOT getting off the boat anywhere? See the post above concerning proper travel documents. Its on about 100,000 travel blogs, the US Department of State website, DHS, ICE, Carnivals website, every other cruise website and just anywhere if you look for US travel requirements.

    Next – getting off the ship? Know countries you are going into? You do know that these are separate nations and not pavilions at EpCot right? They also have websites in English which CLEARLY define the travel documentation you need going into the country. Also – the US Department of State website ALSO contains a listing of most nations entry requirements for US Citizens.

    These folks booked directly with Carnival – was it on the internet? Who knows – but regardless – the brochure, the documents sent to cruisers, the reservation confirmation – ALL OF IT – contains a warning about travel documentation.

    so THATS where you find out information – if you do it yourself – you’d best know what you are doing. . . .

  • http://infuserveamerica.com David Kazarian

    I think Carnival should be ashamed of themselves. I for one will probably never book another carnival cruise. Sure they customer was wrong, but… the customer is the customer. The short thinking people at carnival won the battle, but I think they’ll lose the war. In my business when I have a customer that is in error, I compensate them. After all, they honor me by being my customer. Carnival has lost their way, but then again, they are a big company and I suppose becoming like the airline industry. (Airline industry = customer doesn’t matter) So much for customer service. When I have a problem in my business, I take the side of the customer. Obviously Carnival doesn’t see the benefit in siding with the customer. So the only thing the customer can do (if they are smart) is NEVER book with Carnival again. And after hearing this story, I don’t think I ever will again.

  • Sarah Di

    @Theresa – They don’t need a passport, but it is recommended. They need a drivers license and certified birth certificate. Regardless of what they may or may not have been told when the booked, rules regarding documentation could have easily changed over the next year. The Carnival FAQs clearly list the necessary documentation. If someone can’t understand it, they should probably use a travel agent or ask a friend who travels often for help.

  • Carver

    @Arizona

    Surely you are not suggesting that cruise lines not sell directly to customers. Let’s not become Big Brother. Many of us are perfectly capable of booking cruises without anyone’s interference and are quite happy to take the risk.

  • Greg

    I am an American, but after traveling the world, one of the biggest things I have learned is how much other countries value personal responsibility. In our lawsuit crazy country, nothing is ever YOUR fault. Ever.

  • Toni

    No mercy.

  • barbie45

    Carol. you are onehundred percent correct.

  • Carlo

    I agree with the minority here. Yes, it IS the passenger’s responsibility to know what documents are required, but she asked the representative and the representative gave her what she took to be the correct information. An official with the company says something about what is required to board one of their ships – is there any reason to second guess the person? Okay, yes. CSRs are notorious for making mistakes. But in reality, shouldn’t you be able to trust a company official who gives you information about how to take a trip with their company?

    And that’s probably why she didn’t even read it in the documentation – she had already been given the information, she didn’t feel the need to read it again. “I already have that information, so … moving on.”

    And no, you are not *required* to check in online. Not everyone has internet or can use it, so there are other ways of getting documentation than going through the online questions. I’m not saying that’s what happened here, because since she said she didn’t understand their site, clearly she does have internet. But one should never assume things like that.

    To me, it sounds like she isn’t very tech-savvy, and most travel sites (including Carnival’s) are very glitzy and exciting (and full of marketing) – by design – but for someone who doesn’t spend a lot of time with computers or the internet, it’s hard to put the blame on someone for simply deciding to trust a company representative to give her the correct information verbally instead. Again, once she has what she thinks is the correct information, why does she need to spend time trying to prove it wrong? I know the practical answer to that question, but in theory, she doesn’t need to check any further. She’s already been told. She did her due diligence by simply asking what documents she needed. It became Carnival’s responsibility when they gave her the wrong answer.

← Older Comments