British couple 'in tears' after being blocked from boarding £3,500 cruise due to little known passport rule

A retired British couple were left 'in tears' after being blocked from boarding a £3,500 cruise.

Thanks to a little-known passport rule, Andrew, 62, and Sandra Sutherland’s, 72, plans to sail around Spain and Portugal were ruined.

The Devon couple were supposed to have a 12-day holiday aboard Cunard’s Queen Victoria and were all checked in when they were blocked from getting on the ship.

With their luggage loaded on, the pair were at Southampton Docks when Sandra’s passport problem was eventually flagged.

And before you guess, it actually wasn’t due to the expiry date – she had another seven months on that.

BPM Media

As Sandra’s passport was issued on 20 August, 2013 and they were travelling on 19 September, 2023, she was told it was no longer valid.

This rule came in after Brexit as EU regulations mean a UK passport holder wanting to visit Europe needs to have a passport issued within the last 10 years – and Sandra just missed out.

The couple say they weren’t informed of the rule when they booked the holiday through Hays Travel and that it wasn’t picked up when Andrew popped their details in on the Cunard site.

This would have been their 23^rd cruise, making them coveted Cunard diamond members.

Andrew, a retired teacher, told DevonLive: "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.”

Andrew says he’s tried to get compensation from both companies but ‘neither want to know’.

“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,” he added.

Horacio Villalobos/Contributor/Getty Images

"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."

Hays Travel told DevonLive: "We always advise customers to check their passport will be valid for travel and if not to renew at the earliest opportunity."

Meanwhile, Andrew received an email from Cunard's customer services team, reading: "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."

LADbible has contacted Cunard and Hays Travel for further comment.