Our Venice cruise begins… TWO HOURS from Venice! The Holiday Guru addresses travelers’ problems

The Holiday Guru is there to answer traveller’s questions.

This week, he tackles questions surrounding the “misleadingly described” departure port of a Royal Caribbean International cruise, the recent chaos at UK passport e-gates, India entry requirements and more…

Q. We are going on a Royal Caribbean International (RCI) cruise in July that was announced to depart from ‘Venice (Ravenna)’. We booked two days in Venice prior to the cruise, as well as flights to and from Venice Marco Polo Airport. Now we learn that Ravenna is not in Venice but is more than two hours away. RCI says a transfer from Venice to Ravenna will cost us £241 return. If Venice had not been described as a port of departure, we would not have booked. What can we do?

Sharon and Steve Holmes, via email

A. Venice banned large cruise ships in July 2021. Lesley Bellew, the Mail’s cruise pundit, says this was highly publicized at the time, but agrees that using “Venice (Ravenna)” in advertising could be misleading. RCI says its policy is to list ‘the largest metropolitan area near our ports of departure’ and arrange appropriate transfers. To take this further, you can make a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority at asa.org.uk.

Q. Will passport e-gates work again at airports after last weekend’s problems?

Bill Simmons, Manchester

A. They are up and running again after the ‘IT problems’, at least for now.

Q. I booked a holiday with Tui to Benidorm in August but mistakenly entered my passport as Irish and not British. I can’t change this on the website. When I contacted Tui I was told to check in at the airport. Is this right?

Karen Miller, via email.

A. Tui has now corrected your data online. However, if it hadn’t done this, it would have been the correct procedure to check in at the airport.

Q. My wife and I are traveling to India in October. What vaccinations do we need and how long does it take to apply for/get a tourist visa?

Bob Ratcliffe, via email

A. You do not need proof of Covid vaccination or a negative test, but other vaccination advice can be found under the ‘India’ page at travelhealthpro.org.uk.

According to travel experts at tour operator TransIndus, e-Visas are usually processed within 72 hours – apply at indianvisaonline.gov.in. The cost for a 30-day visa is around £20, or £32 for a one-year visa. See ‘general visa information’ on hcilondon.gov.in.

According to travel experts at tour operator TransIndus, e-visas for India are usually processed within 72 hours

Q. We booked Club Europe tickets with British Airways to Malta, only to discover that we were on Avion Express, a Lithuanian airline. Passengers who had paid business class fares were crammed into economy pitch seats. The food was OK but not good enough. Can you warn readers?

Anne Fry, via email

A. British Airways says its BA EuroFlyer has a so-called ‘wet lease’ agreement with Avion Express for some flights during busy periods. Customers are informed in advance and can switch to a service managed by BA free of charge. The airline says such agreements are commonplace and that the seats and food are of the same quality as BA’s. Good to raise the issue as it sounds like standards are slipping.

Q. I have had to cancel a trip to attend an RAF Cosford Air Show later this month purchased from Just Go Holidays. I informed the company about this more than ten weeks before departure and the booking conditions said I should get a refund but nothing materialised. Could you help?

Michael Heywood, via email

A. We’ve contacted Just Go Holidays and your £258 refund should now be with you.

WE ARE HERE TO HELP

If you need advice, the Holiday Guru is there to answer your questions. Email us at holidayplanner@dailymail.co.uk.