The loss of their dream cruise has left a grandmother and granddaughter, aged 75 and 15 respectively in tears on a Southampton dockside. According to WalesOnline, Anne Conway and her grand-daughter Lelia Conway were scheduled to board a two-week Cunard cruise liner to New York on Sunday, July 21 but they were not allowed to because the teenage girl’s ESTA visa was missing.
Anne had put together this holiday so she could cherish moments with her child for long. It broke her heart when the mandatory visa arrived at exactly five minutes after five hours p.m., just four minutes after it was supposed to have already departed. Despite being assured by port officials that they would be allowed on board, they helplessly watched as the ship sailed off while the ramp went up.
She saved £3,934 for those holidays that would celebrate Leila’s GCSE completion as well as give Ann an opportunity to ‘cram in memories’ before becoming infirm again. The granny from Gourock said she had been putting money aside for over one year in anticipation of such a trip. “Both of us were just sobbing. I was so disappointed for Leila. She was so excited,” Anne told The Associated Press. “I took this trip with Bethany fifteen years ago when I turned sixty. This will be the last time I can do something like this.”
Anne misunderstood the condition of visas thinking that children under sixteen do not need an ESTA if traveling together with grown-ups. Upon reaching port she applied online for her visa only for them to be told that they could not embark until it had been approved. Because of this Anne asked twice ‘does it mean we might not get on?’ and twice received an immediate response both times saying ‘no don’t worry it won’t come to that’.
In another move, Anne’s other granddaughter aged twenty-eight, Bethany Williams set up a Go Fund Me account, which raised £1,720 within 48 hours to pay for flights to New York so that they could at least go back with the same journey. “I am completely overwhelmed and astonished at the kindness and generosity of so many people,” Anne said. “Most of the flight and hotel costs have been covered by kind, thoughtful and generous people”.
Accordingly, she booked a flight from London Luton to New York on Thursday, July 25th so that she could board the ship on Saturday, July 27th for an eight-day return trip. This led to extra expenses in terms of flights (£1,182.90) and a hotel (£347.86). “I can’t begin to put a price on the stress this has caused me or the toll it may have taken on my heart or how much this has disrupted our whole family’s plans,” added Anne.
Anne-Marie her daughter drove them as far as Southampton but was heartbroken when she saw them left behind. “My mum and Leila just stood there crying with their bags when I collected them. It was just horrendous. My heart went out to them,” she said.
For her grandmother, Leila tried to be strong. “The last thing I wanted my grandma to feel is that it was not her fault,” she said. “I did all I could to make sure she never knew how bad it was.”
Bethany’s purpose of having a fundraiser for this trip was because she had once enjoyed the experience with her grandmother and hence wanted Anne to still have memorable times with Leila. “It happens only once in a person’s life time. She is not getting any younger. We really enjoyed ourselves during our first trip. My grandma insisted that we do it again; she wants us to take advantage of her while she still can,” Bethany says.
Cunard expressed their sympathy but maintained that they could not allow guests on board without proper travel documents as stated in their communication, “regrettably we cannot accept passengers who are unable to produce the correct documents.”
