Welcome to Consumer Rescue
Fiascos and Fixes
This is what happens when troubled travelers get denied boarding their flights and cruises. Each denied boarding fiasco ends with a helpful fix from the Consumer Rescue experts.
Could you be denied boarding your cruise even if you have a valid passport? The answer was ‘yes’ for one Carnival Cruise Line passenger who missed her much-anticipated trip recently.
Here’s her unfortunate tale.
Although a Real ID and an Enhanced ID look nearly identical, there are critical differences between the two identifications. Diane Dipalma recently received a rapid and painful education on the topic while attempting to board Carnival Cruise Line’s Legend.
She and her new husband believed they could use their Real ID driver’s licenses to take the cruise. But the Carnival Cruise Line staff quickly clarified that they couldn’t, and the shocked newlyweds missed their honeymoon.
Here’s their story and what you need to know about the differences between a Real ID and an Enhanced ID.
If you suffer a sudden medical emergency during a cruise, could the ship leave you behind in a foreign country? Much to his dismay, NCL passenger Andrew Goldstein found out that the answer is ‘yes.’
Stepping up to the check-in counter of Alaska Airlines, new mom Jisu Lee wasn’t expecting any problems. She was well-prepared for the grueling 20-hour journey ahead, flying alone with her infant from Seattle to Auckland via Vancouver. In New Zealand, her parents were excitedly waiting to meet their granddaughter for the first time.
Lee had anticipated almost everything – except the possibility of being mistakenly denied boarding by a confused agent of Alaska Airlines. That error caused the trip to morph into an expensive four-day travel nightmare for the frazzled mother and baby.
Now Lee is hoping Consumer Rescue can help. She’s asking Alaska Airlines to admit it made an error refusing to allow her to board the flight. She also wants the airline to repay her for all of the additional expenses she incurred as a result of that mistake.
But what is the real reason that Alaska Airlines denied boarding to Lee and her child? That’s the question of the day.
What if you flew 7,500 miles to take an NCL cruise only to be denied boarding at the pier? It happened to one stunned couple. Here’s their story.
As Erin Beztilny’s flight from Vancouver touched down in Auckland last month, she could hardly contain her excitement. She and her husband were about to embark on a much-anticipated dream cruise aboard NCL’s Norwegian Spirit from New Zealand to Australia.
At least that was the plan. But that isn’t what happened.
Could a cruise ship passenger be denied boarding even if they have all of the required documents for sailing?
Lee Bolland says he knows the answer to that question is “Yes” because it happened to him.
Last fall, he and his wife planned to cruise through the Mediterranean on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Epic. The couple flew to Spain to begin their adventure, and all was going well — until it suddenly wasn’t. At the port, NCL employees shockingly denied Lee boarding and abandoned the couple there.
Barbara Vannier’s adult daughter tried to check in for her international cruise with just a driver’s license and a printout from Ancestry com. Unfortunately, she quickly found out that this is not valid ID to cruise to Canada and the ship left without her. Now Barbara wants an apology from Royal Caribbean and a full cash refund for her daughter’s missed vacation. But is she entitled to either?
An Air Canada agent made a mistake that set off a terrible chain of events for Sarahy Sigie during the dark days of the pandemic. The end result? Sarahy was detained in South Korea for 15 days against her will and at her own expense.
Could asking for an upgrade to business class end with you getting kicked off your flight — and banned for life?
Maybe.
“Social Influencer” Jacqueline Ng insists that’s exactly what happened to her when she recently asked for an upgrade. Cathay Pacific agents turned down her request in no time and then kicked her off the flight. Worse, the airline accused her of fraud and banned her from all future flights.
Jacqueline says this is all a misunderstanding. Now she wants our advocacy team to investigate and ask the airline to reverse the banishment.
Have you heard of the EU261? Unfortunately, many airline passengers haven’t. As a result, these unaware travelers miss out on hundreds of dollars in compensation owed to them during a flight delay or cancellation.
Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Info
© 2025 Consumer Rescue / Michelle Couch-Friedman
