Couple imprisoned in cabin for 6 days during £5,000 cruise | UK | News

A retired British couple said their £5,000 dream trip turned into an “absolute disaster” after they were confined to their cabin for six days with a suspicious illness they insist they never had. Anne Parsons, 83, and her husband John, 75, had booked a Northern Lights cruise to Norway on the MS Balmoral, operated by Fred Olsen Cruise Lines. The couple traveled from Gloucestershire and left Newcastle on March 3 in anticipation of a 10-day holiday.

But shortly after boarding the plane, Anne said she was feeling unwell after drinking alcohol, which reacted badly to her medication. He was quickly isolated by the crew, who diagnosed him with a gastrointestinal illness and ordered him to remain in the cabin.

“I was immediately transferred to my cabin and told: ‘You are disconnected from everything. You are not allowed to leave your cabin,'” he said. “They locked me up in a completely rude way.” Documents he saw Mirror He stated that the couple was diagnosed with gastrointestinal symptoms and quarantined due to acute gastroenteritis.

Anne, who has a medical history, said she repeatedly tried to explain that her symptoms were not caused by an infection.

“I knew I didn’t have gastroenteritis because I had been drinking when I shouldn’t have,” he said. “They won’t believe me.”

He added: “There was no examination, no testing, no evidence that I was suffering from gastroenteritis.”

The isolation lasted from the evening of March 5 to the afternoon of March 7. Just as she was about to be evacuated, worsening weather conditions caused further problems as her husband fell out of bed in a storm and became seasick.

“As we were getting ready to go out, we got caught in a storm and my husband got seasick,” she said. “It wasn’t gastroenteritis, it was seasickness.”

Despite this, he was also placed in isolation with the same diagnosis. The mother said staff once again ignored her concerns.

“They didn’t listen,” he said. “He was also transported to the cabin and placed in isolation.”

It remained closed until the morning of March 9, meaning the couple spent a total of six days in isolation and missed a significant portion of their trip.

“We were in isolation for six days,” the mother said. “We missed trips we were supposed to take. It was a disaster.”

He also described how the outbreak worsened during the cruise, with daily updates from the captain.

“Every morning we heard on the microphone that there were more cases,” he said. “It went on every day.”

The outbreak follows an earlier incident on the same ship earlier this year, in which nearly 200 passengers reported symptoms of gastroenteritis during a cruise in the Norwegian fjords.

The experience left the couple deeply disappointed and reluctant to travel again, the mother said.

“I wish we had never gone,” he said. “It completely ruined what was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime holiday.”

The couple were offered a £179.90 discount on a future cruise as a goodwill gesture for adhering to the isolation policy, but Anne said the offer fell far short.

“This doesn’t make up for what happened,” he said.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines said in a statement that the health and safety of passengers and crew is its top priority.

“Any guests exhibiting symptoms consistent with gastrointestinal illness are asked to remain in the cabin as a precautionary measure to help protect the health of all guests and crew,” a spokesperson said.

They added that affected passengers received “full support, including free medical assessments, regular health checks and delivery of meals, drinks and essential supplies.”

The company said goodwill gestures were offered to guests who followed isolation guidelines and were designed to recognize their cooperation during the pandemic.