Does DCL take walk-ups on departure day?

[tvguy]

Originally posted by Boardwalk Garry
Maybe that's the case where you are or in your experiences...however, verifying someone's ID through the current resources law enforcement uses takes a matter of minutes in MOST cases. There are those few that require more research.

Since my last post I had a chance to chat with a Highway Patrol buddy of mine. I guess they big problem they face now is the California system is 90 days behind . He pulled a guy over and a record check said the guy was in prison!!! A call to San Quentin verified he had been paroled the month before.
I guess California needs to look at whatever system you have in Ohio.
But the important point is, DCL alone carries 6000 passengers a week. I have no idea the total number of cruise ships leaving US ports on a daily basis, but even after September 11th, I doubt any agency has the staff on hand to handle that many background checks. Heck, it took me 3 hours to do the 250 background checks I had to do for Little League!!!

 

[JerseyMom]

I remember reading a few months ago that one of the Princess ships was denied docking in Charleston because they had failed to submit their passenger manifest in time.

 

[Boardwalk Garry]

I have to say that I also doubt that everyone on every cruise ship has an actual background check done on them. That would be way too manpower intensive. I'm thinking that they are checked against known lists of "persons of interest". As for checking for warrants, that in itself usually takes a matter of seconds to check for each person (with the right system).

As far as unreliable background checks, remember when you are working through a HR department, they are not getting direct access to all the info that law enforcement is. The more hands that are involved in the process mean more chances for a screw up, hence MermaidLady's experience (the old grapevine game).

As far as the CHIP experience, some inaccurate records slip through the cracks (mostly clerical errors). However, they still knew who the person was, they just had inaccurate "current" info.

 

[wildernessgirl]

Now returning to our original topic...

 

[hydster]

According to the Contra Times which is a newspaper out of Miami they had an article about this.

Their article sited that they could only find 2 cruiselines that would allow you to walk up and purchase a ticket last minute and that is Carnival and Costa. Three other lines -- Royal Caribbean, Princess and Holland America -- cut off their bookings 24 hours before sailing. Norwegian Cruise Line has a 48-hour deadline, Celebrity has a five-day deadline and Clipper Cruise Line, which sails the Sacramento Delta, requires that passengers book one week before leaving. A spokeswoman with Cunard Line said Cunard accepts passengers on the day of departure but only if voyages are booked through a travel agent or by calling the cruise line directly. It does not allow walk-up passengers

Jennifer de la Cruz, a spokeswoman for Miami-based Carnival
Cruise Lines, said Carnival accepts last-minute passengers at all of its terminals, including Long Beach.

Most operators cite security precautions for their booking deadlines. Since the terrorist attacks, most operators have tightened guidelines allowing nonpassengers to get close to boarding areas. The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, which operates under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security, allows passengers to book trips within 15 minutes of a ship's departure, but most cruise lines instituted their own deadlines.

"After 9/11, along with everybody else, we decided it's not a good idea to take walk-ups," said Greg Purdy, director of security for Royal Caribbean Cruises. "It comes down to company policy."

http://www.miami.com/mld/cctimes/living/travel/7332086.htm

*edited to add that you may have to subscribe in order to read this article! The first time I read it I did not have to but this time I did*

Also from the federal register issued in part by the DOJ and INS:

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/02-33145.htm

Electronic departure manifests. An appropriate official of
every commercial vessel or aircraft departing from the United States to any place outside of the United States shall transmit electronically to the Service a passenger departure manifest and a crewmember departure manifest. The electronic departure manifest must contain the data elements set forth in paragraph (e) of this section for each passenger
and crewmember.
(1) An appropriate official of a commercial vessel or aircraft must transmit both the passenger departure manifest and the crewmember departure manifest to the Service no later than 15 minutes before the flight or vessel departs from the United States.

(2) If additional passengers or crewmembers board or disembark
after the original manifest has been submitted, an appropriate official of the vessel or aircraft concerned will also be required to submit amended or updated passenger and crewmember information electronically to the Service no later than 15 minutes after the flight or vessel has departed from the United States. An appropriate official of the aircraft or vessel concerned must also notify the Service electronically if a flight or voyage has been cancelled after a departure manifest has been submitted.

(d) Electronic format.

(1) The arrival and departure manifests for passengers and
crewmember must be transmitted electronically to the Service via the USCS, by means of an electronic data interchange system that is approved by the Service.
(2) The passenger arrival and departure manifests must be
transmitted separately from the crewmember arrival and departure manifests. To distinguish the two manifests transmitted for a given flight or vessel, the crewmember arrival and departure manifests must have the alpha character ``C'' included in the transmission to denote that the manifest information pertains to the crewmembers for the flight or vessel.

This was to go into effect by January 1, 2003 and that passenger lists have to be filed no later than 15 min before the cruise departs and that if the manifest changes after the 15 min manifest has been sent they have an additional 15 min to change it after the vessel has departed.

I think it's common misconception that manifests have to be filed long before the ship leaves but from all that I can gather it's up to the cruiseline to decide their cut off policies! If you want to know what DCL's policy is I'd suggest you just call them and ask..after all they are the experts not a bunch of us sitting at home.

Heidi

 

[JerseyMom]

Hydster - great research! Thanks for all the links.

 

[hydster]

Jerseymom--You're welcome! Hopefully it answers some questions! I had some extra time on my hands today so it was nice to be able to do something worthwhile. LOL

Have a great rest of the weekend (whatever is left!)
Heidi

 

[aunt2brant]

when I applied for a new job, I had to sigh a document allowing them to check my background, my credit history as well. that being said, after 9/11, I would hope that airlines, cruise ships, etc. would have some system of screening passengers, even if it is not as intense as an FBI background check...although it brings me back to the saying 'it keeps honest people honest', I am sure that some people could find ways around their system. Plus, I always worry about child molesters anywhere that lots of young children are..and where else would there be so many young children in one place??? (Just one of my crazy thoughts.)

 

[lookingforward]

I definately don't think that people should be able to buy a same day passage on a cruise. Its just not safe.

As for child molesters, it would be naive to think that they don't exist. Even on a cruise. That is why it is so vital to explain safety measures to your kids and why it is important that you keep track of them on ship. There is no way that the cruise lines pre-screen for criminal history. It would be too time consuming, expensive and almost impossible to do on a weekly basis.

I work for a police department. Detailed and complete background checks take a while. They include fingerprinting, criminal history, credit history, address verification (for at least the last ten years), neighbor canvass(talking to your neighbors about you), polygraph exam, job verification, etc.

Criminal history can be pulled in seconds but (and it happens all the time) when you pull it anyone else with your name will pop up too. You have to make sure the birthdates match, social etc. If you have a common name the database can be pages and pages long. States don't necessarily share information with each other either. So if you were arrested in Maine , California might not know about it initially. Remember too that most career criminals do not use the same name all the time. Alias and stolen identities are common.

American Express predicts that one out of four floridians will have their identity compromised next year. That includes a simple credit card fraud all the way to total identity theft.