Australians who paid thousands of dollars to go on a cruise to visit three ports in New Caledonia are furious after being given a $50 onboard credit for a huge itinerary change a week after making the booking.
The outraged passengers were told that the cruise would no longer visit the advertised tropical paradise, but would instead stop at the Port of Brisbane, while some Queenslanders would fly from the city to board the ship in Sydney for the trip to go.
Brisbane neighbors David and Terry booked the eight-day cruise with their wives through Choose Your Cruise to visit paradise in the South Pacific.
“How can you advertise somewhere that you know you’re not going to go to,” they told A Current Affair in an episode on Friday.
‘I booked the cruise to go to three South Sea islands, and we’re not going to the South Seas, we’re not going to see white sandy beaches.
“We live in Brisbane, so maybe we can come home and do some laundry and go back to the dock in the afternoon.”
The retirees told the program they wanted to visit a place they had never been before and had seen a Choose Your Cruise advert promising a stopover in Noumea with delicious food, white sandy beaches and swimming with fish.
The cruise was advertised on Facebook as an island getaway with onboard entertainment from the 80s and 90s, including artists such as Marcia Hines and Human Nature.
Brisbane neighbors David and Terry (pictured) booked the cruise with their wives, but were disappointed to discover the cruise would stop in their home city instead of New Caledonia
The retirees said they wanted to visit a place they had never been before and had only received a $50 on-board voucher for the major destination change
“It doesn’t say, ‘Oh, by the way, you probably won’t see this,'” the disappointed passengers said.
The couples paid about $4,000 each for the cruise, not including flights from Brisbane to board the ship.
“I like entertainment, but a lot of those bands on the boat aren’t my kind of music,” they said.
‘The destination, the islands [were] my main reason for booking.’
Gold Coast passenger Kylie paid more than $6,000 to take her mother and daughter on a family holiday to New Caledonia.
The Gold Coast family said it was a shame to receive an itinerary change a week after booking the cruise only to find out they were going to Brisbane.
“Instead of going to the South Pacific, we’re still going for eight nights, but with one stopover, and that would be in the Port of Brisbane,” Kylie said.
Choose Your Cruise project manager Caitlin Manov said guests were notified of a change to their itineraries in September.
“Due to the current conflict and civil unrest in New Caledonia, and related travel warnings from Smart Traveller, we have had to adjust our planned ports of call in that region,” Ms Manov said.
A Facebook ad promised an eight-day cruise with three stops in New Caledonia (pictured)
Instead, guests were allowed to sail around Willis Island off the coast of Cairns (pictured)
‘The travel warning remains in effect and we want to ensure that the safety and well-being of all artists and guests are our top priorities.
“We understand how much our guests were looking forward to the South Pacific voyage and we share their disappointment that New Caledonia remains off-limits for the time being.”
Ms Manov said that due to the limited availability of ports in the South Pacific and because they had a packed entertainment schedule with 40 musical acts – some of which required airport access – Brisbane was the only viable port option.
The company has refused to give its customers a refund for the trip, instead offering passengers a $50 credit to use on board.
Guests were also told they would also sail around Willis Island, off the coast of Cairns, and because it was a remote area they could still get duty free.
“It’s just a nice cruise around a little weather station,” said passenger Kylie.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Choose Your Cruise for comment.