Member Submission: NCL no longer allowing registrants to cruise
MEMBER SUBMISSION: I wanted to share a recent experience with you of being denied boarding on Norwegian Cruise Line. I have previously been on one of their cruises after my conviction with no problems after researching what cruise lines allowed people forced to register. We planned this new cruise on NCL with 12 other family members, my husband and I for a family vacation. I received a call from NCL one week prior to the cruise and was told my reservation was being canceled and because I was on the sex offender registry and I could not appeal the decision. I looked up and contacted Matthew Lewis (Sr. VP Chief Security Officer) and was then contacted by Scott Bernstein (Director of Security Operations and Investigations) who’s was very polite and professional. He said he would look into the matter and call me back. He called me back the next day and told me that it was a new policy, started on June 1st 2022 and purely by being on the registry regardless of my crime, which was non-violent with no actual victim from a sting operation, bans me from being allowed on their ships. I don’t know what you will do with this information but I wanted to share it with you.
anyone know about princess cruises as of january 2024? weird story but I talked to a RSO while at a bar on a MSC cruise. He said he goes on princess all the time and it’s only now
princess and MSC that will
allow RSO. Can anyone verify ?
How does these cruise lines know a person is on the registry they actually do back ground checks or ppl just tell them after reading all of the nigmare post
Well I did write a long detailed response however the stupid software deleted my entire message saying it was too long with no ability to go back and correct it so the bottom line of my post was to say nobody wants you to travel this system is designed to make you fail you do not want to be in multiple Ports computers for years with the possibility of getting denied my advice and my experience is to do last-minute travel after you’ve left the United States and book your cruise I don’t know if it’s because of the European rights to move on but my experience is that you will not have a problem if you do not leave from a US port and you book Outside the US jurisdiction maybe they don’t do background checks if it’s not booked in the US I’ve been lucky and I have gotten away and Cruise on some of the so-called band lines even when my final destination was a port in the US as my return my suggestion is also to do last-minute travel you get great deals you avoid having to notify every single port that you’re coming And the system tends to not work to your detriment when done like this and outside the country if you think there’s a clear cut procedure with clear cut companies that are always going to allow you to travel after you tell them that you’re a registrant you should not waste your money I also suggest travel insurance that covers all situations including visa problems
Well we didn’t need more excuses for Problems with cruises but after I saw this posted 4 hours ago Lauren Book is already jumping on the bandwagon with more reasons to push for more nonsense legislation that hurts us and helps nobody in reality. Earlier this month, MSC Cruises was sued for two alleged sex crimes on separate ships. One lawsuit alleged a crew member raped a passenger, and the other accused the cruise line of failing to protect an underage girl from being molested in a bathroom.
Hi, my brother who is a registered felon was just notified that he would not be allowed to board. There are 12 of us going, two families who know my brother and his background. This has ruined our vacation before it even started. We never would have booked with NCL if this policy was stated somewhere, which it is not. We will never cruise with NCL again. Note, 6 months ago the same bunch of us cruised to Alaska on Princess Cruise lines and he had no problem. Steer clear of Norwegian and Carnival.
is he on the RSO….or is it a different type of felony?
Tony,
I’m interested in an MSC cruise. Do you ever have any issues? I would do Princess too.
NCL did us the same way, my husband and I have cruised with NCL in the pas and booked again to cruise last May 2023 and between 4-5 days my husband received a call that he was not allowed to board due to being a RSO and would be refunded. This was very heartbreaking because it was our Anniversary. Instead I booked a week in the US virgin Islands with no issues
Hi I was wondering what you had to do to visit the Virgin Islands? I know you have to contact SORA but what about when you get to the islands? First time thinking of leaving the country.
US Virgin Islands should be no problem. The British VI will not permit SOs to visit
Did they refund your entire trip or only your husbands since technically you weren’t restricted? We want to take our kids too, so nervous to risk not getting our refund if they deny my husband.
Were you refunded by NCL or did you have to file an insurance claim. We’re in this same situation and our cruise is 11 days away. It’s BS that NCL does not disclose this information on their website. Thank you for you time.
I just sailed on Carnival with my son.For those wondering g, they have updated their cruise contract with a list of those who will be denied sailing. It now lists other violent felonies including armed robbery, domestic assault, manslaughter, and murder, along with any sexual assault. Thought that was interesting. Also, has anyone here recently cruised with MSC? If so, how was that process? Any ports you were denied entering? Did you have a passport?
I traveled on MSC from New York City to Bermuda this past August 2023. I had no issues getting on board. Getting off the ship in Bermuda there was no issues. Just walked off the ship and right into port. No Passport was needed. I just used my driver’s license to get back on board the ship with my ship card.
When I got back to NYC I got a call from guest relations. They said that immigration and customs needed to see me before I got off the ship. When I meet with them, they just looked at my passport and my driver’s license. They asked if my address has changed. I said no and I was on my way. I recommend MSC.
Thank you for that information. Did you book directly with the cruise line or through a travel agent? Did you have to be selective about where you wanted to go, or was any itinerary open to you? Hope you don’t mind my questions. I just want all my ducks in a row before I make any plans. I don’t need the rug pulled out from underneath me, or my husband for that matter.
We booked directly with MSC. We only looked at MSC cruises leaving NYC since we live in NY. The Bermuda trip fit into our summer schedule. I did my research on Bermuda and didn’t find anything saying I would not be aloud in. I know Grand Cayman won’t let RSO in. I don’t know about other islands.
Hello Dan,
I was wondering if you would be willing to help me. My husband is a RSO and we are wanting to go on a cruise this summer. After reading your submission, I was very excited to see that MSC allows RSO on board. My husband likes to double check and I called MSC and asked them if a RSO could Cruise with them. They put me on hold and got back on and said no, they couldn’t. I didn’t tell them where we planned to go or port, so I know it wasn’t an issue there. I was just curious if you had some other information that would be relevant. My husband is fearful that we will book it and then they will cancel. Thank you for your time.
I have a cruise on MSC currently booked and fully paid for sailing in March. We also called to verify if my husband could sail and we were told they (MSC) doesn’t screen passengers and that he’d just have to make sure the country we are visiting will allow him in.(We are currently working on that) When you called did you speak to their security or just a customer service rep?(we only spoke to a rep) You now have me wondering if my husband will be denied boarding now. I’m honestly considering canceling at this point to save the hassle.
Hi,
There is nothing more I can add. I booked my cruise directly with MSC. Never mentioned that I was RSO. I sent my trip info to NY SORA as I have to do when leaving the USA. I had no issues. I took the cruise in August of 2023.
Does anyone know if you’re on Virgin Voyages, whether you’d be prohibited from Puerto Plata? I’ve read on the travel matrix they prohibit RSO. My husband is a RSO. We had a great time on VV. Just had extra security checks. So we want to do another but not sure about ports or leaving internationally from Spain or Greece. Any feedback appreciated!
I’m curious how you were able to sail on Virgin at all. Did you book through an agent or thr cruise line directly. I looked at their cruise contract and it clearly states no one with any criminal background is able to sail. My husband and I wanted to try Virgin, but didn’t want to waste our time if he is going to be denied passage.
Vv no longer allows rso
I think their “rule” is horse poop
how many people have crimes on there record no matter how small the crime is a misdemeanor is a crime if that was the case they would have a empty ship.
if you no longer on the registry keep your mouth shut
never heard of a cruise ship doing back ground checks
it could happen IDK cruise line policies
I was flagged and called I wouldn’t be allowed for a misdemeanor arrest. I have no convictions and my case was dismissed. However the check the cruise line used only showed the arrest. Luckily I was able to provide correct documentation showing no convictions and a dismissed case and was allowed to travel. However this was evidence they check and restrict.
Has anyone had any luck getting contact info for Tony?