Carnival Cruise Line clarifies critical visa rule impacting thousands including Royal Caribbean and MSC passengers

If you're planning a cruise this year, the last thing you want is to be turned away before you've even managed to board.

That is apparently what happened to some Carnival Cruise Line customers recently, due to their lack of appropriate documentation.

The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) is essentially a digital document that gives the holder permission for short stays in the UK if they do not currently have or need a UK visa to travel to the country. They were introduced back in January for non-European visitors, and in April for European visitors.

It's worth noting that this new rule impacts all cruise lines, such as Royal Caribbean and MSC, not just Carnival Cruise Lines. So, if your itinerary includes the UK, and you're not a British passport holder, you will need to make sure you've applied before arriving.

Important info for those sailing out of Southampton (Getty Stock Image)

This also applies to air travel, so if you're flying to the UK for a cruise, you will still need to apply for an ETA.

If you're not from the UK, but you're travelling there, you can quickly and easily apply for an ETA via the gov.uk website.

John Heald, the Brand Ambassador for Carnival Cruise Lines, took to Facebook to remind customers of the rule, while also pointing out that 'shouting and screaming at the staff and crew is really uncalled for'.

Paperwork must be correct (Getty Stock Image)

In his post, Heald explained that the cruise line had recently had an issue with 'a lot of people who arrived at embarkation of the Carnival Miracle for their cruise from Portugal to Dover, UK without the correct visa'.

He followed on by explaining that some staff had allegedly been subjected to verbal abuse by passengers frustrated by the rule.

"As told to me by Carnival beards who were there for this first cruise they shouted, screamed, and threw all their toys out of their stroller at the embarkation staff and the team behind the guest services desk," Heald said.

While the cruise line had apparently sent out emails, displayed information on its website, and seemingly done everything it could to notify customers of the changes, it appears some passengers decided to take it out on the cruise line's staff directly.

Thankfully, more level-headed Carnival Cruise Line fans had Heald's back, with one Facebook user responding "We needed Visas for Indonesia during our Singapore to Sydney.

"Guess what I put on my big boy pants and took responsibility and organised the required visas."

While new laws and regulations can be frustrating, it's always important to make sure that you research any laws before travelling.

It might seem time-consuming and annoying, but it's much less annoying than being turned away and having your holiday ruined because you hadn't taken the time to do the necessary research.