Warning as couple kicked-off cruise because of a little known EU passport rule

Jenny Gee, 69, and Trevor Bamford, 77, were due to set sail on Sunday April 27, two weeks after Trevor finished three years of treatment for prostate cancer

A couple were left crushed after being denied their dream cruise to New York due to a post-Brexit passport rule that prevented them from sailing through EU waters.

Jenny Gee, 69, and Trevor Bamford, 77, had planned the trip for the autumn, with the voyage being a bucket-list item for Trevor. The grandparents were set to embark on their journey on Sunday, April 27, just two weeks after Trevor completed three years of treatment for severe prostate cancer. They had splashed out £3,600 for a top cabin on the deck-12 cruise ship.

However, they were pulled out of the check-in queue and informed that Trevor couldn’t travel because of a post-Brexit passport rule. British passports issued before 2018 can be valid for over 10 years as any remaining time on the previous passport could be added to a new one.

Have you been blocked from travelling at the last minute? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

READ MORE: Center Parcs cheap European alternatives that will save you £1,000s

But now, EU rules dictate that to travel in the EU or Schengen zone, a British passport must be less than ten years old and valid for three months after the planned date of return to the UK. Trevor’s passport, issued on March 2, 2015, and expiring in September, was valid for ten years and seven months.

The staff explained to the couple that the extra months on Trevor’s passport didn’t count and he couldn’t board the boat as it would be travelling through EU waters, docking in Le Havre, France, the following day (Monday 28/4), before heading across the Atlantic. The couple had booked the cruise as the first leg of their trip to visit their daughter and her family.

Forced to return to their residence in Bristol, the affected family subsequently dished out an additional £1,400 for flights bound for NY next Monday (5/5). Jenny, a former communications worker, shared her astonishment: “We were so shocked and upset.

“This trip has been Trevor’s dream for ages: I honestly thought he was going to have a stroke 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.”

She expressed frustration over passport regulations, saying: “There needs to be more awareness of this passport rule: I’ve spoken to loads of people about this and none of them knew about it. It’s not even consistent: Trevor has travelled in Europe in the last month with no border problems at all, and we have to fly via Dublin and we’ve been told that’s fine.

“It’s such a shame, we can travel anywhere in the world but not the EU, and they are our closest allies.”

The couple’s voyage was planned to reach New York on Monday 5/5 before they toured Arkansas to visit relatives, with plans to return home on 22/5. Three years have passed since Trevor was struck by a severe case of prostate cancer, and he’s recently completed radiotherapy and hormone treatments.

Formerly part of the merchant navy, Trevor had long harboured the desire to sail the Atlantic again. When booking the cruise, the couple supplied all necessary passport details but were never informed about possible troubles with Trevor’s travel document.

Despite using his passport for untroubled trips to Spain, Italy, and Switzerland in the months of March and April, issues arose for this particular excursion.

Jenny was left in the dark about a new passport rule until she and Trevor were pulled out of the queue and given a letter by staff, which stated that Trevor, now retired from his business, wasn’t eligible for any compensation or a refund. Jenny was also not entitled to her money back.

She expressed her frustration, saying: “It doesn’t matter to travel companies, they can sell the places again. This is happening to people a lot, they need to be told about the rule when they book.”