Denied cruise boarding by Carnival citing improper docs , have valid EAD/AP combo card

[Pennycat 880]

My sister has a tourist visa multiple entry here at the US and she is going to mexico. I printed this below just to make sure that she will have no issues going there this coming October.

FOR ALL NATIONALITIES. In accordance to National Institute of Migration of Mexico regulation, effective May 1st, 2010, all foreigners regardless their nationality traveling to Mexico, with a valid USA visa, will be allowed to visit Mexico through any port of entry – air, land, sea- without a Mexican Visa; this includes tourist, transit and business trips.

· Holders of a valid United States multiple-entry visa do not require a Mexican visa to travel to Mexico for a period of entry not exceeding 180 days and for non-gainful activities. The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is NOT considered a valid U.S. visa for the purpose of travelling to Mexico under the exemption of the Mexican visa. The U.S. visa must be stamped on the current passport.

https://embamex2.sre.gob.mx/filipinas/index.php/servicios-consulares/visas

Yes, but it sounds like OP came on a K1 visa, which is not multi-entry. Not sure if H1Bs are multi entry. Or he came on a multi-entry visa that is expired or otherwise no longer valid. It needs to be both a valid visa and a multi entry visa. Again, OP hasn't confirmed this suspicion, but it's really sounding like his US visa is no longer valid. Plus, there's the confusion with that "VisaHQ" website that makes it sound like cruises don't need tourist visas, which appears to be an old rule. A quick google search shows a lot of talk about it but 5+ years ago, and the Mexican consulate website says nothing about it.

[Lotofdoubts 18]

In Mexico this is the authority that gives the visas/ permision to entry the country:

http://www.inm.gob.mx/gobmx/word/index.php/paises-requieren-visa-para-mexico/

India nationals do need visa to visit the country, the conditions to not need it is to present a valid green card or a valid visa, if the OP don't have a multientry visa to USA or the green card, he would need a visa to visit Mexico. The Combo card is not valid as a proof of US legal residency nor as a visa for the US. So sadly OP will probably loose his money

Edited July 25, 2016 by Lotofdoubts

[Lotofdoubts 18]

And just want to add, that in my opinion the cruise lines, airlines and all the groups that do bussiness with anything related with international tourism should be more able to help/ inform of the updated needs for their passengers to the countries they will visit, Is terrible that someone need to loose money for something they could prevent with better information pre purchase

[Ash.1101 1,755]

I don't know how much of the company fault it is. You know the K1 visa is one time, you know that AP only allows you to leave and enter the united states. You know without a GC you're not a permanent resident yet and can not be treated as such UNTIL you have the GC. Where ever you plan on going that ISN'T your home country (where you have your passport from) or the US, you need to research that.


The best these companies can do is really provide the information on the international travel policies for each country that the person could go too, but... I would think that's something you would do anyways.

I know when I saw the change to Canada's entry policies, I looked up everything I'd need to know, even though I have no intentions of going up there anytime in the near future.


This is from the carnival cruise website:

"Carnival requires guests to provide proper travel documentation in order to travel. The documentation is required at embarkation and throughout the cruise and is the responsibility of the guest. Our policy states that any guest traveling without proper documentation will be denied boarding the ship and will be under full penalty, and therefore, will not be offered a refund or a replacement cruise. Guests must contact the appropriate embassy or consulate of the countries they will be visiting for specific travel documentation requirements. Carnival assumes no responsibility for advising guests of Immigration requirements"

"

Non-U.S. Citizens are required to carry a valid, unexpired passport and a Multiple Entry Visa, if applicable. In addition, guests must contact the appropriate embassy or consulate of the countries they will be visiting for specific travel documentation requirements. Carnival assumes no responsibility for advising guests of Immigration requirements."

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/category/~/travel-documentation-and-online-check-in/~/travel-documents/c/406

They tell you to contact the consulate of what ever country you may be visiting. I'd say the burden would be on the OP to prove he contacted the consulate and got the information there, instead of some third party website.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Ash.1101

[Pennycat 880]

I don't know how much of the company fault it is. You know the K1 visa is one time, you know that AP only allows you to leave and enter the united states. You know without a GC you're not a permanent resident yet and can not be treated as such UNTIL you have the GC. Where ever you plan on going that ISN'T your home country (where you have your passport from) or the US, you need to research that.

The best these companies can do is really provide the information on the international travel policies for each country that the person could go too, but... I would think that's something you would do anyways.

I know when I saw the change to Canada's entry policies, I looked up everything I'd need to know, even though I have no intentions of going up there anytime in the near future.

This is from the carnival cruise website:

"Carnival requires guests to provide proper travel documentation in order to travel. The documentation is required at embarkation and throughout the cruise and is the responsibility of the guest. Our policy states that any guest traveling without proper documentation will be denied boarding the ship and will be under full penalty, and therefore, will not be offered a refund or a replacement cruise. Guests must contact the appropriate embassy or consulate of the countries they will be visiting for specific travel documentation requirements. Carnival assumes no responsibility for advising guests of Immigration requirements"

"

Non-U.S. Citizens are required to carry a valid, unexpired passport and a Multiple Entry Visa, if applicable. In addition, guests must contact the appropriate embassy or consulate of the countries they will be visiting for specific travel documentation requirements. Carnival assumes no responsibility for advising guests of Immigration requirements."

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/category/~/travel-documentation-and-online-check-in/~/travel-documents/c/406

They tell you to contact the consulate of what ever country you may be visiting. I'd say the burden would be on the OP to prove he contacted the consulate and got the information there, instead of some third party website.

No one is saying it's the cruise line's fault. You don't even know what visa OP was on. I asked, he hasn't answered. It could be K1, but it could be a B2 he's adjusting from, or an H1B or anything. So honestly, this is all a lot of speculation. If it was some sort of multi-entry visa, then the policies are such that he *would* have been able to go to Mexico without a Mexican visa and it was Carnival's fault (I doubt this as I'm sure they see this stuff literally every day). I'm guessing it was a single entry and/or it was expired based on how it went down but... you never know.

And the thing is, if you read OP's posts here, you'll see that he says that he checked the embassy website and it says no visa needed for a cruise, and provided a link to a third party site. It's entirely possible that this is a (huge) error-- he thought that *was* the consulate's site. Also this "cruise visa" thing is backed up by other sites like this one.... just that all those posts are 5 or more years old. Again, this isn't Carnival's fault or even their problem but it is usually worth a phone call to explain and see if they can do anything. Don't fight with them, don't act like they did you wrong. Just explain, honest mistake, etc You're losing the money either way, but may as well try to ask. I recently did the same for a big snafu at Macy's and they're fixing it very creatively and likely with special circumstance exceptions. The thing about customer service is that you don't get special treatment if you don't ask for it.

[Cheezees 1,514]

OP, could you verify what kind of US visa you have/had? The issue has come up multiple times but you have yet to address it.

[Pennycat 880]

OP, could you verify what kind of US visa you have/had? The issue has come up multiple times but you have yet to address it.

He hasn't been back since I pointed out that's a third party site. I think he may have realized the problem at that point (and makes me think he didn't realize it wasn't a Mexican consulate site). But yes, I'd like to know, too. I think whatever it was, it was expired or single-entry. Which again, with AP is fine to get back into the US, but apparently for Mexico, not enough to get in there without a Mexican tourist visa.

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

~ Moved from AOS from Work, Student & Tourist Visas to Working & Traveling During US Immigration - topic is travel ~

[Unlockable 7,306]

This would be helpful information to know for future reference.

[Dave&Roza 748]

As an international traveler it always falls to the traveler to make certain that they obtain the proper travel documents to be able to enter all countries on your interned trip. As a foreign national--i.e. not a USC nor a GC holder--you must meet the visa requirements for the country you intend to visit the same as anybody else from your home country. There are exceptions for GC holders within the Western Hemisphere.

Based on what the OP has said, the visa used to enter the US was not valid any more, otherwise he would have been allowed to board the cruise ship. Always make certain you are looking at your country's official Embassy website for any information about required travel documents for people with your citizenship travelling to your destination. Verify and re-verify. Remember that the EAD/AP or the GC, for that matter, only get you back into the US after an international trip and most of the time it does nothing to help you enter a foreign county--the exception is it proves you are a LPR so you can enter certain countries in the Western Hemisphere without having to obtain a tourist visa like you would if you were not a LPR of the US. The OP is not a LPR yet. Unfortunately this was a very expensive lesson to the OP.

Dave

[Ash.1101 1,755]

No one is saying it's the cruise line's fault. You don't even know what visa OP was on. I asked, he hasn't answered. It could be K1, but it could be a B2 he's adjusting from, or an H1B or anything. So honestly, this is all a lot of speculation. If it was some sort of multi-entry visa, then the policies are such that he *would* have been able to go to Mexico without a Mexican visa and it was Carnival's fault (I doubt this as I'm sure they see this stuff literally every day). I'm guessing it was a single entry and/or it was expired based on how it went down but... you never know.

And the thing is, if you read OP's posts here, you'll see that he says that he checked the embassy website and it says no visa needed for a cruise, and provided a link to a third party site. It's entirely possible that this is a (huge) error-- he thought that *was* the consulate's site. Also this "cruise visa" thing is backed up by other sites like this one.... just that all those posts are 5 or more years old. Again, this isn't Carnival's fault or even their problem but it is usually worth a phone call to explain and see if they can do anything. Don't fight with them, don't act like they did you wrong. Just explain, honest mistake, etc You're losing the money either way, but may as well try to ask. I recently did the same for a big snafu at Macy's and they're fixing it very creatively and likely with special circumstance exceptions. The thing about customer service is that you don't get special treatment if you don't ask for it.

I don't think he actually checked the embassy website, I think he thought the site he linked WAS the embassy website.

Situations like this, you want to actually talk to someone. Email the consulate through inquiries or call them. Websites aren't always updated, even government ones, to the new rules and regulations.

As for saying who's fault it was, I assumed when he said what course of action should he take, it meant that he wanted to see if it was possible to get his money back, in which you have to prove it was an issue on THEIR end, not his.

At the same time, he stopped responding to everyone so we may never know.

As an international traveler it always falls to the traveler to make certain that they obtain the proper travel documents to be able to enter all countries on your interned trip. As a foreign national--i.e. not a USC nor a GC holder--you must meet the visa requirements for the country you intend to visit the same as anybody else from your home country. There are exceptions for GC holders within the Western Hemisphere.

Based on what the OP has said, the visa used to enter the US was not valid any more, otherwise he would have been allowed to board the cruise ship. Always make certain you are looking at your country's official Embassy website for any information about required travel documents for people with your citizenship travelling to your destination. Verify and re-verify. Remember that the EAD/AP or the GC, for that matter, only get you back into the US after an international trip and most of the time it does nothing to help you enter a foreign county--the exception is it proves you are a LPR so you can enter certain countries in the Western Hemisphere without having to obtain a tourist visa like you would if you were not a LPR of the US. The OP is not a LPR yet. Unfortunately this was a very expensive lesson to the OP.

Dave

^ This. 100%.

[Longrangeshootr 20]

My wife and I are leaving out of Galveston on cruise in Sept. our Carnival Personal Planner told us a valid Green Card would be allowed for any destination in the Carribean. We bought the cruise ticket in her married name. We were told to bring her Green Card, valid Vietnam passport and our marriage certificate.

[Pennycat 880]

I don't think he actually checked the embassy website, I think he thought the site he linked WAS the embassy website.

Situations like this, you want to actually talk to someone. Email the consulate through inquiries or call them. Websites aren't always updated, even government ones, to the new rules and regulations.

As for saying who's fault it was, I assumed when he said what course of action should he take, it meant that he wanted to see if it was possible to get his money back, in which you have to prove it was an issue on THEIR end, not his.

At the same time, he stopped responding to everyone so we may never know.

^ This. 100%.

Yes I think he thought the third party site was the consulate which is a huge error and unfortunate. I'd still say worth a call. He tried, he is in an unusual situation immigration wise. The error is his and the policy exists for a reason but still. Worth a shot. Always worth a shot

I'd also get in touch with that third party site and give them the what's what.

[Pennycat 880]

My wife and I are leaving out of Galveston on cruise in Sept. our Carnival Personal Planner told us a valid Green Card would be allowed for any destination in the Carribean. We bought the cruise ticket in her married name. We were told to bring her Green Card, valid Vietnam passport and our marriage certificate.

Different. Your wife has her GC and OP doesn't. From the Mexican embassy to Vietnam's site (and is the same policy across the board):

"2. Visitors of any nationality whose purpose of travel is tourism, business or transit and who are legal permanent residents in the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan or the Schengen countries are exempted from applying for a Mexican visa. Visitors will have to prove his/her permanent residency to immigration authorities at the point of entry in Mexico (airport - border - port)"

If you'd travelled *before* she got her GC, during AOS, she'd have needed a visa because her US visa was a single entry and was probably expired. Yes, AP gets her back in the US but *Mexico's requirements* are that they have a valid US visa (or already have a GC).

[ch3john 308]

The third party site is not incorrect. This is considered a "closed loop" cruise and regular tourist visa's are not required by most cruise ports in the Caribbean if the stop is within a certain amount of time (24-72 hours is the norm). Mexico is 72 hours.

If the OP pressed hard enough and went high enough in management at the port, they should have been able to board the ship with AP.

Getting a refund after the fact is going to be an uphill battle though. Carnival is not very customer friendly when a customer service issue arises.

OP - It sounds like you had the correct documentation (AP and valid India Passport). Unfortunately, you checked in at the port with someone who is not familiar with AP and didn't bother to check with anyone else.

Edited July 26, 2016 by ch3john