ONE couple was denied boarding their dream cruise because of an EU passport rule that is still catching thousands of Brits out.
Grandparents Jenny Gee, 69, and Trevor Bamford, 77, booked to sail to in the but were turned away at the last minute.
The cruise was on Trevor’s bucket list, and they were due to set sail on April 27 – which marked two weeks after Trevor finished treatment for .
The parents-of-four paid £3,600 for a deck-12 top cabin cruise ship.
The ship was set to dock in New York on May 5, and the couple were staying in the Big Apple a week before travelling to Arkansas to visit family and flying home on May 22.
But when the couple were set to board, they were sent out of the check-in queue and Trevor was told he couldn’t travel because of a post-Brexit passport rule.
British issued before 2018 can be valid for over 10 years, because time remaining on the previous passport could be added to a new one.
But EU rules now state that to travel in the EU or Schengen zone, a British passport must be less than ten years old.
It also has to be valid for three months after the planned date of return to the UK.
Trevor’s passport was issued on March 2, 2015, and it expires in September 2025, so was valid for ten years and seven months.
Staff explained to the couple that the extra months on Trevor’s passport didn’t count and he couldn’t board the boat because it travelled through EU waters: docking in Le Havre, , the following day (April 28), before heading across the Atlantic.
Jenny said she knew nothing of the new passport rule before being handed a letter by the staff after she and Trevor were ushered out of the queue.
The letter not only explained the rule and also said Trevor wasn’t entitled to any compensation or back.
The couple had booked the cruise as the first leg of their trip to visit their daughter and her family.
They had to go back to their home in and have since paid a further £1,400 to fly to New York next Monday (May 5).
Jenny said: “We were so shocked and upset. This trip has been Trevor’s dream for ages.
“I honestly thought he was going to have a he was so upset he went white and was shaking.
“This is the longest trip we’ve ever done and we’ve been really looking forward to it.”;
The couple gave all their passport details when they booked the trip but were not told there might be a problem.
Jenny added that there should be more awareness surrounding the passport rule and that she had spoken to others who weren’t aware of it either.
She added: “This is happening to people a lot, they need to be told about the rule when they book.”;
Here’s more information .
And a .
