An elderly Scottish couple had their dream holiday ruined after they were told to get off their cruise ship over a covid scare.
Janet and Ian Anderson had forked out over £4,000 to see them travel on a P&O cruise liner to the Canary Islands this year, with everything pre-booked and paid for.
Using the trip as a way to celebrate Ian's recovery from a brain tumour, the couple saw their trip become a nightmare when they were thrown off the ship minutes before it departed.
Sharing their frustration, Janet, 75, explained that a positive covid case on their coach down to Southampton saw them flung out of the ship.
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Despite neither Janet nor Ian testing positive, staff had removed them from their cabin and argued that they would be refused travel.
Then left to make their way back from Southampton to Glasgow, the pair were told they would not get a refund and could only rebook another cruise.
However, the Sunday Mail now reports that the company have retracted their initial statement, and have arranged another trip as well as giving them a gesture of goodwill.
Janet said: “Both my husband and I have had health issues, so this was going to be a one-off holiday of a lifetime.
“We paid £4000 and I spent another £230 on kennel fees and insurance. We travelled on a coach to Southampton and were shown to our cabin on the Iona, all of which took about 12 hours, so we were exhausted and hungry. But an hour before the ship was to sail, we got a call telling us to get off – it was devastating.
“We got sent to a hotel for the night, where we had to pay for our own meal, before getting put on a bus for another 12-hour journey back to Glasgow.”
The couple booked the two-week P&O Cruises holiday through agents Scotland’s Cruise Centre.
Janet added: “We have been vaccinated and have never tested positive for Covid. We tested negative in Southampton. It has been so stressful.
“I just want a refund and compensation for my other costs but we have been told we can only rebook. The only replacement one we can go on is a week-long cruise – our original holiday was for two weeks.”
After we got in touch with P&O, the firm contacted the couple directly. P&O Cruises – which is not connected with controversial firm P&O Ferries – said: “We are so sorry the Andersons’ holiday did not go as planned. However, they have booked another holiday for the autumn. We’ve also given them a gesture of goodwill.”
Janet said: “Thanks to the Sunday Mail, we received a call from P&O Cruises and have come to an agreement.”
