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

However, shortly after boarding, Anne said she felt unwell after drinking alcohol that reacted badly with her medication. She was quickly isolated by crew, who diagnosed her with a gastrointestinal illness and ordered her to remain in her cabin.

“I was immediately transferred to my cabin and told: ‘You’re out of contact with everything. You’re not allowed to leave your cabin,’” she said. “They just totally rudely locked me away.” Documents seen by The Mirror stated the couple had been diagnosed with gastrointestinal symptoms and were being confined due to acute gastroenteritis.

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

“I knew that I hadn’t got gastroenteritis because I’d had a drink when I shouldn’t have had,” she said. “They wouldn’t believe me.”

She added: “There was no examination, there was no test, there was no evidence that I had gastroenteritis.”

Her isolation lasted from the evening of March 5 until the afternoon of March 7. Just as she was due to be released, worsening weather conditions led to further problems when her husband became seasick after falling out of bed during a storm.

“As I was getting ready to come out, we hit a storm and my husband had seasickness,” she said. “It wasn’t gastroenteritis, it was seasickness.”

Despite this, he was also placed into isolation with the same diagnosis. Anne said staff again dismissed her concerns.

“They just wouldn’t listen,” she said. “He was transferred to the cabin and put into isolation as well.”

He remained confined until the morning of March 9, meaning the couple spent a total of six days isolated and missed a significant portion of their trip.

“That was six days that we were in isolation,” Anne said. “We missed trips that we should have had. It was an absolute disaster.”

She also described how the outbreak appeared to worsen during the cruise, with daily updates from the captain.

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

The outbreak follows a previous incident earlier this year on the same ship, when around 200 passengers reported symptoms of gastroenteritis during a Norwegian fjords cruise.

Anne said the experience has left the couple deeply disappointed and unwilling to travel again.

“We wish we had never gone,” she said. “It completely ruined what should have been a once-in-a-lifetime holiday.”

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

“That doesn’t make up for what happened,” she said.

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

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

They added that affected passengers receive “full support, including complimentary medical assessments, regular wellbeing check-ins, and delivery of meals, drinks and essentials”.

The company said goodwill gestures are offered to guests who follow isolation guidance and are designed to recognise their cooperation during outbreaks.