crazyank

This is not quite correct. Passports are still being issued. What has been stopped is expedited service, and face to face service is limited to emergencies. Passports issued thru the mail is still going on but with some delays.

Nope, passports are being issued. Just no expedited service and very limited face to face service. I doubt that anyone needs one right now, Those of us living overseas are required to have a valid passport at all times. Fortunately our closest consulate is accepting applications and issuing passports, just with delays in delivery.

Two weeks? where did you get that idea? Most of Europe is locked down UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. The way things are going in Italy, Spain, France, and Germany it's gonna be a lot longer than two weeks

Totally agree.

Spoke to a lawyer here about this a few hours ago. His opinion is that requiring a doctor's note in order to board a cruise ship based solely on age is definitely discrimination and completely illegal under EU law. Keep in mind, this is an opinion.

requiring a medical clearance for a particular activity is understandable. requiring a particular age group to get clearance before boarding a cruise ship is discrimination, period. People with diabetes, high blood pressure, COPD, etc are considered high risk when it comes to Covid-19. But if those people are less than 70 years old no cruise line is asking them for a doctor's note.

Take a look at the news from Italy, Spain, and France about who is actually dying. As for the UK and Europe, we have family in both places and so far, NOT ONE SINGLE DOCTOR IS WILLING TO SIGN THE LETTER.

It most certainly IS discriminatory. There are many people under the age of 70 with underlying health problems that could be seriously compromised by Covid-19. Asking only those over 70 to provide a Doctor's note is blatant age discrimination.

If the person was claiming that foreign governments have given US citizens three days to get out, then no the comment is not correct. The problem will be no available flights

unfortunately this is no longer true. Several Schengen countries have closed their borders.

and punish/put limits on everybody else because of a few irresponsible drunks?

I stand corrected. Venice is on the far eastern edge of the restricted are.

What travel restriction are you talking about? Venice is not in any of the restricted areas. Also, the major train route from Germany and Austria to Venice does not go through the restricted areas. At the moment there is no restriction on flying into Venice.

This is correct.

I don't think there is a definitive answer to this. It seems to vary depending on the embarkation port. We've sailed from Tampa with our grandchildren and never got asked for a letter. We also sailed from Venice and definitely had to show a notarized letter of consent. Far better to have it and not need it than vice versa.