A woman was in tears as she was refused entry to her dream £3.5k Cunard cruise and then refused a refund.
Andrew and Sandra Sutherland arrived at Southampton Docks after paying £3,500 to enjoy a cruise around Spain and Portugal aboard Cunard’s Queen Victoria. After unloading their luggage at the dock and checking in, Sandra was told she would not be able to board due to the issue date on her passport – not the expiry date, which had seven months to run.
As her passport was issued on August 20, 2013, and they were travelling on September 19, 2023, she was told it was no longer valid. Before Brexit, UK passport holders could travel up to and including the expiry date on their passports, DevonLive reports.
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However, EU regulations now mean a UK passport holder wanting to visit Europe needs a passport that was issued within the previous 10 years. It is a rule many people are unaware of, including Andrew, 62, and Sandra, 72, who say that when they booked their holiday through Hays Travel in Honiton, they were not informed of the new rules.
It was not picked up when the couple put in their details on the Cunard website. Both companies have stated it is in the small print of its terms and conditions. It was supposed to be their 23rd cruise making them Cunard diamond members.
They are now warning others to make sure they check their passports before travelling to avoid losing out like they have.
Andrew, a retired teacher, said: “We went to check in as we always do and we were dragged off to the side and my wife was told she couldn’t travel because it had an invalid issue date – despite the expiry date being in another seven months. We didn’t have a clue about this rule.
“I was so upset and my wife couldn’t stop crying in the terminal with everyone looking at her and we then had to wait for staff to unload our bags from the boat. I have tried to seek compensation from Hays Travel and Cunard but neither want to know.
“We feel so upset as we can’t afford to lose £3,500. What makes me cross is I put my wife’s passport details onto the Cunard website but the system does not flag up there is a problem; it only flags up the expiry date.
“A standard email sent by Cunard before your cruise has a section headed ‘passports’ with a read more link. It states, ‘depending on your itinerary, you will require a certain length of validity left on your passport when you return home’. There is no mention of the issue date on a passport.”
“Cunard won’t even transfer the money that was lost to a future cruise to lessen the financial impact. It’s been such a horrible experience that I feel it should be publicised to make other people aware to check the issue date of their passports.
“I will be filing a complaint with the Travel Ombudsman as I feel Hays should have shown a better duty of care towards us.”
A spokesperson for Hays Travel said: “While we can understand Mr and Mrs Sutherland’s disappointment at not being able to travel, we make it clear to our customers that they are responsible for specific passport and visa requirements, and this is set out in our terms and conditions.
“We always advise customers to check their passport will be valid for travel and if not to renew at the earliest opportunity.”
In an email sent to Andrew from Cunard’s customer services team, he was told: “I am sorry to hear that you are unable to join your voyage. Unfortunately, with the UK having now withdrawn from the European Union, countries within the EU will not accept the extensions on some existing UK passports and they consider a passport only to be valid for 10 years from the date of issue.
“This information is available in the booking conditions and frequently asked questions sections of our website. Unfortunately, where the responsibility lies with our guests to ensure they have adequate validity on their passport we would not be able to transfer the funds from this voyage to any upcoming bookings.”
Cunard has been approached for a comment.
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Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
