Passenger slams Regent Seven Seas Cruises for ‘treating him like a criminal and bundling him off ship’ after he had his passport stolen
A BRITISH holidaymaker has slammed Regent Seven Seas Cruises after he was kicked off their ship because his passport was stolen during an excursion.
The incident left Chris Crook, who was travelling with his wife Sarah, more than a thousand pounds out of pocket and ruined their £10,000 dream holiday.
Chris, 70, and Sarah, 63, were on the 12-day all-inclusive holiday from Barcelona to Venice on board the Regent Seven Seas Explorer in April this year.
But the couple from Surrey found that the experience was far from meeting their expectations.
He told Sun Online Travel: "My wife and I booked the cruise, which was one of the most expensive holidays we had ever been on, as it was all inclusive meaning every excursion as well as food and drink was included.
"It cost the best part of £10,000 for the pair of us.
"The whole thing was plagued with difficulties because of the weather, They were pretty cavalier in telling us that we couldn't go to some ports because of the weather.
"I felt that because it was all inclusive, they were very "take it or leave it" with the ports as you paid for it all in advance.
"Many of our ports such as Menorca and Monte Carlo were cancelled, which I was really looking forward to visiting."
The couple's real nightmare began when they arrived in Rome.
The ship had arrived at 4pm that day instead of 7am because a passenger had a heart attack on board.
It meant that the ship was spending an extra day in the city.
Chris said: "On the second day, after exploring the city by hop-on-hop-off bus, we headed down a side street for lunch away from the main crush."
The 70-year-old explained how he had carried his passport with him "at the insistence of the cruise liner", which was inside a jacket that he placed into a rucksack.
Chris explained: "After putting it under my chair, my wife went to the bathroom, and when she returned, I also headed to the bathroom.
"When I came back, I saw it was gone from underneath my chair, despite us never leaving it unattended."
The couple went to the local police station to make a report and then rushed back to the coach that would take them back to the ship in time for a 7pm departure.
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Back on board, Chris headed straight to reception to explain that his passport had gone missing.
But staff told him that as he didn't have any other form of ID, such as a driving licence, he had to get off the ship immediately.
The 70-year-old explained: "I wasn't anticipating any difficulty as I had to show my passport to get onto the ship and would have all the details.
"I also had a copy of it so there was no doubt I had one.
"No sooner that I said it was stolen and that I had no second form of ID, they said 'well then you have to get off the ship'."
"I asked if they were kidding as there must be some form of dealing with this, as we were only halfway through our all-inclusive £10,000 trip, and it couldn't have been the first time it happened."
However, not only were the crew insistent that they had to get off the ship straight away, the general manager was also, called along with two members of security, who escorted Chris back to his cabin to pack.
The couple were then rushed from the ship with their bags, after being told the cruise ship would sort out their taxi and hotel.
However, they were then saddled with a €110 (£98) taxi journey, which they were unable to pay, as well as a hotel costing €250 (£224) a night, plus a nightly tax.
As it was a bank holiday and then the weekend, the couple were then forced to stay in Rome for five days to wait for Chris's emergency travel documents.
They have since been told by Regent Seven Seas that they were kicked off the ship to comply with Italian law.
In a letter sent via their travel agents, the cruise line said: "The decision to not allow the guests to sail with us come from the Italian immigration authorities.
"Regent Seven Seas Cruises are obliged to comply with all Immigration authorities, Maritime Law and International Law where we require passports for all travellers for all voyages, regardless of guests' nationality and ports of call and countries visited.
"Unfortunately, passport cards or a copy of a passport are not accepted."
Chris said: "It was a truly horrendous experience where we were treated like pieces of meat.
"My wife was also was shocked by the situation and fearful obviously, after we arrived late at night at our hotel."
Not only did they miss out on the remainder of their cruise, costing roughly £4,500, but they accrued over £1,000 in costs for their hotel, an £80 flight from Rome, as well as their taxis to Rome and to the airport.
Chris also explained that his travel insurance covered just a fraction of the costs, and it would not cover his wife's as she didn't lose her passport.
He added: "Having chatted to other cruisers, they said they take the passport off you when leaving the ship and the only ID you need is the card they give you to show that you're on the cruise, which is scanned when getting on and off.
"However, with our cruise, there was also no warning about bringing more than one form of ID."
What Italian laws say about passports
Different countries have different laws around photo IDs of cruise ship passengers.
According to the FCO, in Italy: "By law you must be able to show some form of identification at all times.
"In most cases a photocopy of the data page of your passport should suffice, but you may be asked to accompany the police to collect the original document, or to produce it within 12 hours."
A spokesperson for Regent Seven Seas Cruises told Sun Online Travel: "It was with regret that following the theft of his passport in Rome, Mr Chris Crook had to disembark Seven Seas Explorer on 23 April 2019.
"We sympathise greatly with Mr and Mrs Crook for the inconvenience caused and curtailment of their holiday, however the decision to disembark Mr Crook was made by Italian immigration officers in accordance with applicable maritime law.
"Both Mr Crook and Regent Seven Seas Cruises are of course required to comply with the decisions made by the authorities.
"Following their disembarkation we had contact with Mr and Mrs Crook during their time in Rome and our ground agents assisted them with their stay as well as their passport application with the British Embassy."
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They aren't the first couple to be kicked off a cruise - a man was forced to leave the ship after calling a staff member an "idiot."
Earlier this year, six passengers were removed and banned for life from a cruise after "damaging the lift doors" which they kicked when trying to escape after it broke down.
In January, a man was also banned for life after filming himself jumping into the sea from his 11th floor balcony.