As all the passengers you will hear about
discovered, being denied boarding for a cruise, not only turned their dream
vacation into complete disarray, but lost them a fortune as cruise lines do
not refund guests who they deny boarding to, arguing it's up to us as passengers to pay
close attention to any rules and requirements, whether it's the cruise lines or
the countries being called upon. Welcome aboard, I am Gary Bembridge, and
after seeing reports of more people being caught out these days, I want to make it
easier for you to avoid the things that could get you denied boarding. Many of
which I stumbled upon and am wrestling with as I was getting ready to board a cruise
on Cunard’s Queen Anne as I was making this. One reason was fresh in my mind after a
group of 10 guests were refused boarding on my previous cruise, an Oceania
Vista Caribbean cruise out of Miami. The ship was due to set sail at four
o'clock and they arrived half an hour before that due to flight delays. However,
they were not allowed to check in and board. Cruise lines have a final check in and
boarding time, which is usually an hour before the cruise departs, due to local Customs
and Immigration authorities’ requirements. So, those unfortunate guests had to watch the gangway being pulled back after they arrived,
and the ship set sail without them. This made me double check my Cunard
Queen Anne boarding pass which clearly says I must be checked in and on board
by 4:30pm even though the ship is only leaving at 6pm. Arriving later than that
and I am likely to be denied boarding. So, always know the final boarding time to
avoid the fate of that Oceania Vista group. But it seems the most common reason
cruisers are denied boarding, is also the one I fret about the most too, which
is not having the right documents to travel. What I need varies based on where I
am cruising which makes it trickier, but I have discovered there are
three critical things to focus on. The first is around passport and identification. While some cruises starting and ending in the
United States, like some Caribbean cruises and Alaska cruises, allow USA nationals to use a birth
certificate and a government issued photo ID, every single cruise line I checked with
recommend using a passport even for those. As if something goes wrong and you need
to leave the cruise and return home, not having a passport makes
it extremely difficult. However, if you do decide to cruise with a
birth certificate, it must be the official state-certified birth certificate, and the
original copy as photocopies are not allowed. Your government issued photo ID (like your driver's
licence) must exactly match the name on it too. Also check if your itinerary does allow the
birth certificate option. Last year dozens of guests were refused boarding on a 10-day Princess
Caribbean Cruise out of Port Everglades as it included the Panama Canal and calls into Central
American, so guests had to have a passport. Even though some had called Princess and
been told that a birth certificate was okay, Princess refused refunds and compensation
and the statement they issued said and I quote “Passengers need to take responsibility
for their mistakes” and went on to say “it is the passenger's sole responsibility to ensure
they have proper documentation. Even if a cruise representative provided wrong information,
it's still the passenger's responsibility.” So, as I said at the start, we need to
be very sure we have the right documents. But having a passport also comes with
some watch outs. First, every cruise line I checked with says the passport must
be valid for six months after the end of the cruise or you will be denied boarding. This is
mostly due to requirements by many countries. Some countries require a certain number of blank
pages. For example, when I headed off on a cruise earlier this year to South Africa, I had to
have a minimum of two blank pages for the visas. Third, if you're cruising in the European
Union, so most likely the Mediterranean, due to a quirky rule, your passport expiry date
must be within 10 years from the date of issue. So, for example, if you've had your passport
expiry date extended say to cover the period of your cruise, you will be refused
boarding as happened to an English couple, Andrew and Sandra Sutherland, when they went
to check in for Cunard Queen Victoria cruise to Spain and Portugal recently. Again,
the line would not refund anything. Name Changes Another thing to bear in mind is your
reservation must be the same as on your government issued identification
to avoid being denied boarding. And, if your name has changed for
any reason, you must bring official documentation to show why your name is
different such as a marriage licence, government issued name change document, or
anything proving your name legally has changed. That's also important that if you're travelling with kids who are not your own
or have a different surname. If you're travelling with a child that's not your
own, perhaps you're taking a grandchild, niece, or nephew, then you need to have a notarized
form signed by the child's guardian. If your child has a different last name to you,
you also need to bring any sort of official document to explain why the name's different
and it must be the original or a notarized copy. The next important thing is
visas. I see so many cases of cruisers being denied boarding for this one. This is a live topic for me because the cruise I'm
going on after the Queen Anne one is a cruise to Alaska, which starts in the United States
from Seward but ends in Vancouver Canada. The risk was brought home to me after reading
about Sherry Ramhit and her husband who decided to take their teenagers on a cruise to
Alaska on Norwegian Encore out of Seattle. As non-US residents like me, they needed
and got their USA ESTA visas to be able to fly into the US, board the ship
and visit Alaska ports. However, they hadn't thought to get
a Canadian ESTA or visa. They were denied boarding without any
refund in Seattle, as their cruise was calling into a Canadian port and they
lacked the required Canadian visa. As a reminder, if you're sailing
out of Vancouver on Alaska cruise, and not a USA national you're going to need
a US ESTA or visa if you are going to Alaska. If you are a USA citizen the
rules are slightly different, again showing how we all need to make sure we know
the exact requirements. At time of making this, the Canadian government does not
require US citizens to have a visa. No matter where you are cruising to,
check if you need a visa. And remember things change. For example, the European
Union is introducing a system like the USA and Canadian ESTA visa so everyone
who is not an EU national will need to get this before cruising in Europe.
Another reason that I see cruisers refused embarkation is one that is only the
case on some cruise lines and destinations, which is why people get caught out. This is for
not having travel insurance, and the right type. For example, for my Queen Anne cruise, Cunard
require anybody that has booked in the UK, whether via a travel agent, online or directly
with Cunard, irrespective if they live in the UK or not, to have travel insurance.
And then it must be of a certain kind. Cunard say the policy must include cruise
cover, cover the full length of the trip, all destinations being visited, and
include medical and repatriation cover for not less than UK £2 million. That's
about US $2.4 million. At the terminal, I will have to show and prove I have this,
as I did for my last Cunard cruise too. Other lines sailing out of
the UK also require this. Always check if you are required to have travel
insurance to board. I have found that while many lines recommend it, it is not a requirement or
reason for denying boarding in many parts of the world. The only other cruises where I have
had to prove it to date have been expedition cruises to remote places like Antarctica
and the Canadian Arctic I have been on. There are also several age and
condition related reasons that I am seeing people denied boarding
at check in. Starting with this one. Cruise lines have strict rules
around pregnancy. So, for example, I can see reviewing the rules for my Queen
Anne trip that Cunard will not carry guests who've entered or will enter their 24th
week of pregnancy during the cruise. Anyone checking in who's showing a pregnancy
must produce a letter from their doctor or midwife staying there in good health to travel,
if the pregnancy is progressing normally, and must include an estimated date of delivery calculated
from the last menstrual period or ultrasound. This does catch people out. For example,
an Australian Gold Coast resident called Kaylee Farrington was excitedly checking in for a
Carnival Luminosa cruise in Brisbane recently but was denied boarding because during check-in the
people in the check-in realised that she was pregnant. On finding she was 26 weeks pregnant,
so she was turned away again at her own cost. I also noted that Cunard, like all other
lines including Disney that I checked, will refuse boarding to anyone travelling
with a child under the age of six months, and under 12 months on World Cruises,
Exotic and Transatlantic crossings. While I have not seen many cases
of people being denied boarding for innocently or mistakenly packing items
from the cruise line prohibited list, things like irons, drones, alcohol to
even something that looks like a weapon, I have where cruisers refuse permission
for a search of themselves or bags. In most cases prohibited items will
be confiscated when spotted through hand and check-in bag screening. Unless
it is drugs or actual weapons that is. For example, earlier this year a Texas woman called Melinda Van Veldhuizen was both
denied boarding and banned for life by Carnival Cruise Lines for trying to take
CBD gummies on board to help her sleep. She was going through check-in security at
Port Miami when a security guard spotted a bag of CBD gummies in her backpack.
She’d bought them legally online as they are allowed in the State she lives in,
so assumed she could bring them on the cruise. Carrying recreational drugs will have you denied
boarding. Trying to take weapons likely will too. Sort of linked to that, although
I have never seen it firsthand, if cruisers are disruptive, threatening
or causing issues at check in, especially if drunk, the cruise
lines will deny boarding too. I have seen some lines update their guidelines
which makes me think this must be a growing issue. For example, P&O Cruises, a sister line
of Cunard here in the UK, has recently published this warning as part of an update of their alcohol
policy and pricing saying, “We reserve the right to deny access to the ship to anyone who appears
to be heavily under the influence of alcohol”. One area that seems less clear on if you will
be denied boarding or not is around Covid. For example, for my Queen Anne cruise, in the
documentation Cunard says if I am experiencing symptoms of Covid-19, or test positive
in the three days prior to embarkation, I need to declare that at the
terminal to the check-in staff, and the onboard medical team will
screen and assess if I’m fit to travel. Some cruise lines I reviewed say online
that they will refuse boarding if I show signs of Covid or have Covid. For
example, Norwegian Cruise Lines online at time of making this says any guest
with very high temperature or who've have Covid or been in contact with someone with
Covid are unlikely to be allowed to board. So, make sure you know the
cruise line rule on that. If you'd like to know more quirky and unusual
rules and things that happen on cruises, watch this video where I talk about some
unusual things that I do on cruises that most people don't know about. See you over there.
