Royal Caribbean International Upon the companies information Via their 800 number....did not bring birth certificate and was denied boarding. Miami Florida

Gosh Michael, I think you're missing the boat here!

First of all, in your answer #4 above you wrote, "By the way, CBP regulations require you to be checked in 90 mintues prior to sailing ..." Well, I got curious and checked Customs & Border Patrol regulations for myself. Your statement is not accurate and it is not factual. The CBP requires the final manifest 60 minutes before the cruise ship departs. Period. The cruise line, not as you wrote "CBP regulations" requires you to be checked in 90 minutes before departure.

But I think you are pulling threads just to argue and missing the big picture here. Passengers who arrive after the deadline through no fault of their own, like those caught up in a traffic wreck, get denied boarding and lose all the money they paid for the cruise.You take the same position as Royal Caribbean andpointto the fine print and blame goverment regulations. But the truth is Royal Caribbean could check-in and board a tardy passenger if they wanted to and the CBP regulations even allows for it.Any company that takes a customer's moneyjust because they can doesa rip-off in my book.

Once again, perhaps a little more research on your part, SAH from Robbinsville, would prevent you from spewing inaccurate information. Yes, the manifest is required 60 minutes prior. However, that manifest cannot be turned over until all persons are on board - ON BOARD, not checked in. Therefore, RCI, and all other cruise lines for that matter, require you to check in 90 minutes prior. And one more time, that 90 minutes requirement is on the cruise contract and on the Set Sail pass you have to print out and sign. Failure to make that time is only the fault of the passenger, not the cruise line.

It doesn't take a genious to figure out you have to be there more than 60 minutes prior in order to be on board 60 minutes prior.

Cheerleader? Ifgiving factual informationmakes me a cheerleader, then rah rah!

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, like other major cruise lines, close and deny embarkation 90 minutes prior to the ship's published sailing time. Some evenstipulate on-line pre-registration even thougha Passengerhas pre-paid.Those whoarrive late will very likely be denied boarding andgiven norefund.

Royal Caribbean and other cruise lines often cite that they are just following government regulations. Readers need to know that is only partially true. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security regulations for cruises departing from U.S. ports does obligate the US Customs and Boarder Patrol (CBP) to require a final departure manifest of passengers and crew 60 minutes prior to sailing in a report called the electronic Notice of Departure (eNOD).In spite of what Michael, Summerland Key (who seems to me to be this message board's Royal Caribbean cheerleader)says,the requirement is60 minutes prior to departure - not 90 minutes or 2 hours before a published departure time.

Further, there is nothing in the CBP regulations requiring or permitting cruise lines to refuse refunds to passengers. A passenger's right to a refund is actually surrendered to Royal Caribbean, and other cruise lines, whenever a passenger signs their ticket.The "fine print" of my RCCL ticket states, "Carrier shall not be required to refund any portion of the fare paid by any Passenger who fails for any reason to be onboardthe Vessel... "

What Royal Caribbean and other cruise linestry tofaultgovernment regulations but not telling passengers is that the CBP actually does allow cruise lines to submit an amended eNOD making it possible to add so-called "tardy" passengers. However, the caveat is an amended eNOD resets the 60 minute clock for departure time.

The cruise lines argue that port traffic, costs (fuel, port rent, landside labor, etc), and itinerary schedule demands adherence to the published departure time unless "very extenuating circumstances" oblige a cruise operator to submit the eNOD report less than 60 minutes prior to scheduled departure. Just what is considered a "very extenuating circumstance" remains undefined but apparently all those delayed by the traffic accident in Miami were not.My brother-in-lawhas since learned there is a case when a traffic delayed bus load of passengers from the airport terminal were denied boarding because they arrived to the port terminal "late". It should come as no surprise that minimizing corporate expenses has priority to even legitimate needs of a Passenger.

Just make it a priority to arrive atRoyal Caribbean'sport terminal about 2 hours ahead of the published departure time. Caveat emptor: If one givesRoyal Caribbeanan opprtunity to screw them - they will!

SAH

I have taken over 30 Royal Caribbean cruises, and these types of complaints always leave me scratching my head. Required travel documents are well advertised on both Royal Caribbean's and CBP's websites. Furthermore,Royal Caribbean requiresyou to print out a Set Sail Pass from their website. Indoing so, there is a block where you have to specify what travel documents you will be providing atcheck-in. It very clearly states you have to have a passport or a government issued ID, along with a birth certificate. You cannot get past that step without specifyingwhat documents you will be carrying. Nowhere does it allow for the carryingof a drivers license only.

My next question is the cruise itinerary. What cruise, in 2008, starting in Long Beach and ported in San Diego and Catalina? That itinerary did not exist, at least not with Royal Caribbean.

And as for the replies,second hand complaints are invalid. By the way, CBP regulations require you to be checked in 90 mintues prior to sailing, not 7.

There are a lot of issues and uncertainties in the Original Report. And while it is true there is much to fault with the customer, it is worth observing that (according to the complaint) Royal Caribbean International did not refund the money.

Such happened to my brother-in-law, who is a Crown & Anchor Platinum member (9 Royal Caribbean cruise credits). He and his wife were delayed by a traffic accident in Miami. They arrived at the desk in the Royal Caribbean terminal with 7 minutes to spare, according to the terminal clock. The only staff person behind the desk announced she wouldn't have enough time to process them (even though they had prepaid and completed Set-Sail Pass, completed expense forms, valid passport, driver's license, and required documents). They were not tardy. Their ship was still tied to the dock and they saw passengers walking up the gangway.

While they were at the desk, several other would-be passengers, who had been caught in the same traffic delay, approached the desk. These were informed that they had arrived late and could not board the ship.

Royal Caribbean refused to refund monies paid to all. My brother-in-law and wife watched the ship untie and sail away without them. The only good news is that they had paid Royal Caribbean through their credit card (not a RCCL credit card). Their credit card company arbitrated and got their monies refunded. In a truthful statement made to the credit card company, Royal Caribbean agreed to the refund "as a courtesy and not as their legal obligation."

Everybody knows that a Passport is now (since January) required for travel to Mexico and Canada (as well as to the rest of the world). The fact that you walked across to Mexico in 19xx is immaterial. All of us did -as well as shopped or had dinner in Canada. The Passport requirement is a Government mandate. It is easy to find out in advance what is required for foreign travel by looking at Customs and Immigration's web site. This was NOT a Rip Off. Your problem was caused by your lack of knowledge of regulations. DON'T call a cruise line for information. Go to a Governmental web site.

Straight from Royal Caribean website

"In the absence of a Passport, U.S. Passport Card or State or Provincial Enhanced Drivers License (when available - this secure drivers license will denote identity and citizenship) or any other Department of Home Land Security approved Identification / Citizenship document(s), a birth certificate (original or certified copy), plus a laminated picture ID card including photo, name and date of birth issued by a federal, state, or local government agency is required.

We have been cruising since 1980 and it has always been required to bring a birth certificate and D/L, starting June 2009 a valid passport will be mandatory instead of a BC.