PASSPORT MISTAKES - Page 2 of 4

Singapore Airlines, an aircraft taking off

Middle name on your passport? Don’t make this airline ticket mistake

February 15, 2024October 22, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

What happens when your middle name is on your passport and airline ticket, but your last name is missing? Eleanor Rasmussen can tell you because it happened to her.

If your middle name is on your passport, you probably always try to add it to your airline ticket. But many airlines and booking agencies don’t give you that option.

The reason for this omission? Travelers aren’t required to include a middle name on their airline ticket – even if one is displayed on their passport.

In Rasmussen’s case, the online booking agent her friend used to book their airline tickets didn’t have a specific field to add a middle name. That led to a travel fiasco that left her with an unusable ticket to Tokyo with only her first and middle name.

Now, with her middle name on her ticket where her last name should be, Rasmussen is asking for our help. She’s hoping Consumer Rescue can convince Singapore Airlines to correctly rewrite her ticket.

But will the third-party booking agent cooperate

LOT Airlines, an aircraft in flight with the words LOT Polish Airlines on the side.

LOT Airlines mistakenly denied boarding to us. How do we get our $2,249 back?

February 15, 2024October 8, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Yevgeniy and Artyom Yevtushenko flew LOT Airlines from Toronto to Astana, Kazakhstan, via Warsaw, Poland, last June without a hitch. But it was a different story when they tried to check in for their flight back to Canada in August. That’s when a stern LOT Airlines agent reviewed their passports and quickly denied boarding to the father and son.

Confused by the employee’s announcement, Yevtushenko assumed there was some mistake that the airline could easily correct. That is until a supervisor appeared who promptly ended that assumption. He confirmed that LOT Airlines was required to deny boarding to the pair because they were missing Canadian visas.

But the agents had some good news for the rejected passengers. Since their ultimate destination was Grand Rapids, Michigan, LOT could reroute the pair and avoid Canada altogether. However, there was bad news as well: the new itinerary would cost an additional $2,249.

Given no other choice, a frustrated Yevtushenko paid the fee, and he and his son flew home to Michigan.

Now, Yevtushenko is asking Consumer Rescue for help getting the money back. He hopes we can convince LOT Airlines that its employees mistakenly denied boarding to him and Artyom. They didn’t need Canadian visas, and he can prove it – if only someone would listen and look at the facts.

If you’re familiar with our team, then you know he came to the right place to find someone willing to listen.

Carnival Cruise Line's Celebration, a passport mistake caused this passenger to miss her cruise.

My passport is valid, so why did I miss my Carnival cruise?

August 23, 2024August 29, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

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.

Carnival Cruise Line ship, cruise ship on the ocean.

We had our Real ID! Why couldn’t we board our Carnival Cruise?

February 17, 2024July 30, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

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.

A U.S. passport on top of a white and brown world map

Need a new passport fast? This is how to do it

February 23, 2025April 7, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Imagine your entire family is excitedly packing for your first international adventure since the beginning of the pandemic. You’ll soon be on your way to the Caribbean to relax and enjoy some sun and tropical drinks.

Or will you?

The traveler in this tale neglected to look at his passport’s expiration date until a few nights before his family’s trip. That’s when he was shocked to discover the document had expired – two years ago!

But no worries, he thought. Consumer Rescue could surely help him.

Why was this guy so confident about that, you might ask.

Well, that’s the embarrassing part of this story.

This passenger brought an expired passport to board her cruise, Carnival Cruise Line's Celebration, arriving in the Caribbean for the first time.

Carnival Cruises rejected me and my expired passport! Can I get a refund?

March 11, 2024February 17, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Angela Romero and her buddy Gail recently arrived in Miami ready to sail on Carnival Cruises’ newest ship, Celebration. But the two shocked friends were rejected for boarding the cruise when Angela discovered she had accidentally packed an expired passport.

Gail says Carnival Cruises made a mistake rejecting Angela for boarding Celebration. While she concedes that passengers can’t cruise with an expired passport, she maintains Angela had other acceptable documentation with her.

Now the friends are asking Consumer Rescue to investigate. They hope our team can convince Carnival to admit its mistake and provide a future cruise credit to the pair.

But what did Angela hand over to Carnival Cruises besides that expired passport? This case hinges on that detail.

Viking cruise ship, passengers missed bucket list cruise, cruise ship sailing away

We landed just in time… to miss our bucket list Viking cruise! Now what?

March 1, 2025February 10, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

An elderly couple flew halfway around the world only to miss their $28,000 bucket list Viking cruise. Is there anything Consumer Rescue can do to help?

Last November, Thomas and Jane Entenza began a grueling 20-hour journey via United Airlines from Jacksonville, Florida to New Delhi, India. The excited couple was on their way to take a much-anticipated bucket list Viking cruise through the Bay of Bengal.

Or so they thought.

Unfortunately, the Entenzas would miss that bucket list cruise. In fact, the only part of India they would see was New Delhi airport’s immigration hall.

Mexico's blue water, ocean, honeymoon destination

Here’s a honeymoon horror story that could have been avoided. This is how

April 30, 2024January 22, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Lauren Weichman missed her honeymoon and she wants you to hear her horror story.

After their wedding, she and her new spouse boarded a Frontier flight for their much-anticipated honeymoon to Cancun. Upon landing, the giddy couple made their way to the immigration window and handed over their passports. But when Mexican authorities asked Lauren’s husband for his required visa, the couple’s honeymoon came to a premature halt. He didn’t have a visa — and the border agents rejected his entry to Mexico.

Now Lauren wants our advocacy team to find out who is to blame for this honeymoon horror story. And who will refund her missed honeymoon?

Baby was denied boarding international flight because the mom didn't know she needed a passport. This is a cautionary tale that babies need passports too.

Our baby was denied boarding our international flight. Whose fault is this?

June 12, 2024December 28, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Yes, your baby needs a passport to fly internationally, just like you do. Otherwise, your little tot will be denied boarding their flight just like any other passenger who doesn’t have the required documents for international travel.

Aly Meyer wishes someone had given her this critical information before her family arrived at the airport ready for their tropical vacation. That’s when an airline employee broke the bad news that without a passport, the baby was being denied boarding the international flight. As a result, instead of flying to Mexico, the family headed right back home.

Kids need passports too, children must have passports to fly internationally, passport cards aren't for flying

Kids need passports to fly internationally. Why didn’t this mom know?

August 15, 2024November 27, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Just like their parents, kids need passports to fly internationally too. But Kim Ross wasn’t aware of this requirement. She says the travel agent she used to book her family’s dream vacation never informed her. But when the family tried to check in for their flight to Turks and Caicos, Delta Air Lines quickly broke the bad news. Without passports, Kim’s children weren’t eligible to fly internationally, and the airline denied boarding to the family.

Kim blames her travel agent for their ruined vacation. But is that a fair place to put the blame for being unaware that her kids needed passports?