‘A hidden passport rule meant I was denied boarding'
There were two opportunities for Norwegian to tell me about it. The first was when I submitted my passport information once the flight had been booked. The second was when the agent checked my passport and boarding card at the bag drop. If I'd been told at this point, I would have been able to rebook my flight because it was a flexible ticket. I'm looking to reclaim the cost of my original ticket as well as the replacement, as well as some level of compensation for the inconvenience caused to me. Can you help?Vanessa Ralph
A This is a ridiculous situation. I'm sorry to say that getting a refund or compensation will be very tricky. Your passport is valid under Schengen area rules but Denmark has decided to apply a stricter interpretation than other Schengen countries. Infuriatingly, it has failed to publicise this, while online UK government foreign travel advice hasn't caught up with this problem and just offers standard Schengen entry advice for Denmark. Understandably, you're blaming Norwegian for your losses but passengers are responsible for making sure their documents are accepted by the country they are going to, not airlines, which tend to check passport validity at the gate because not all passengers fly with checked luggage. It won't refund or compensate you and said it had attempted, without success, to get the Danish authorities to highlight this issue to travellers. I can only advise you to get a new passport if you are planning any more trips to Denmark. The Danish embassy in the UK was approached for comment.
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✉ Back in November I bought easyJet flights to La Rochelle in France from London Gatwick and hired a nine-seater minivan for our family via CarTrawler as part of the booking. The flights were at sensible times and everything looked fine. Since then, easyJet has changed the flight times twice. Originally the outbound flight was at noon, this was first changed to 14.00, then later to 07.30. Our inbound flights were alsochanged significantly and to much more inconvenient times, with no recourse. It now transpires that, even though it is part of the same booking, easyJet has not told the car hire partner of these changes. I tried to amend the times myself and was told there was a £400 difference in the car hire cost. Surely this can't be correct? I've tried to contact easyJet but that's nigh-on impossible. Can you help?Gary Sinton
A One of the most annoying aspects of booking a flight is that there's no guarantee that the time you've chosen to fly will actually be the time you depart and unless the time difference is significant, there's very little you can do about it. Furthermore, even though they caused the problem in the first place, airlines wash their hands of any resulting issues with ancillary bookings made on their websites. So your rental time change could only be sorted out through CarTrawler. Its rules state that a material change in the pickup/return time will result in a 're-rate' if a customer amends the booking. So your booking was cancelled and rebooked, with the new cost based on live pricing and availability. Fortunately, after I sent details of your case, CarTrawler contacted Europcar and confirmed that it would honour the new flight times and amend the booking in its system, with no price change. It also apologised for the inconvenience caused.
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✉ My family and I would like to travel to Italy on holiday next month. We're looking for a small, family-run hotel, directly on the beach and not too far from an airport where we can get a half-board deal. Anywhere on the Adriatic coast would be lovely. Any ideas?Susan Douglas
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A Stay at the sleek Mariver in Lido di Jesolo, about half an hour from Venice's Marco Polo airport. It's right on the Adriatic, but away from the main strip, with its own private beach and heated pools (never a given in Italy) as well as bikes to borrow. A week's half-board at the end of September starts at £1,470pp with Italian specialist Long Travel, including flights to Venice (with hold baggage and transfers (long-travel.co.uk).
✉ My Uncle Tom died in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in 1945. He is buried in the War Cemetery — also known as the Australian Cemetery — in Ambon, an island in Indonesia, in the Maluku province. No one from our family has ever been to the grave and my brother and I would like to visit it with our spouses next year. I think we need to fly via Jakarta but I'm finding it hard to get a lot of information about visiting Ambon and things to do while we're there and, as it's such a long journey, we'd also like to have a bolt-on holiday. What can you suggest?Fiona Stewart
A This would undoubtedly be an emotional trip to pay your respects to your uncle who suffered so terribly. It would then be a chance to explore the remote tropical Maluku (or Spice) Islands, between Sulawesi and Papua. Fly to Ambon from Jakarta and a visit to the cemetery, immaculately maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, is included in local operator Come2Indonesia's seven-night Ambon and Kei Islands tour, which would also have you snorkelling with the sacred eels of Waii, learning about local customs and picnicking on pristine white sand beaches. It would cost about £1,350pp in May, including B&B, most meals, transport and guiding but excluding international flights and visas (come2indonesia.com).
✉ We celebrate our 52nd wedding anniversary in November and usually go to the Cliff Bay hotel in Madeira. This year we have decided to go somewhere in England. Could you please suggest a hotel that is super comfy and not too strenuous a destination? Just a couple of days will do. We live in Leicestershire and are open to driving to the destination or taking the train. Karen Ward
A I think a few days at the Samling Hotel in Windermere would be a suitably cosseting spot for your anniversary celebration. It has 12 calmly decorated rooms, suites and cottages, plus fabulously elevated views and one of the Lake District's best restaurants, with full-length windows in the slate and glass extension overlooking the water. B&B doubles start from £340 in the middle of November (thesamlinghotel.co.uk).
Have you got a holiday dilemma? Email traveldoctor@thetimes.co.uk
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