Woman Misses Out On Antarctic Cruise After Paying Rs 11 Lakhs, Because Airline Forgot Her Baggage

It was supposed to be the 'holiday of a lifetime' on an Antarctic cruise, but it turned out to be a nightmare for a British woman after she was left stranded in an airport without her cabin baggage. The woman, identified as Valerie Coleshaw, was scheduled to board an Antarctic cruise operated by Hurtigruten in February 2023, but her trip was cut short in Amsterdam.

Plane was extremely full

Coleshaw told The Independent that she left home and took a KLM flight from Manchester to Amsterdam, where she was to take a connecting flight to Buenos Aires. From there, she was supposed to head to the Port of Ushuaia in Argentina.

REUTERS

According to her, at the Manchester airport, the KLM cabin crew asked her to check in her cabin baggage "as the plane was extremely full".

"I have heard of this happening before. So after checking several times that I would pick it up in Amsterdam, I agreed," she told The Independent.

Also read: Netizens React To Woman's Reel On Airport Baggage Conveyor Belt

Baggage goes missing

But to her utter shock, when she landed in Amsterdam, she learned that her cabin baggage was missing.

"Arriving at Amsterdam, my case was not on the carousel. I was advised to go straight to the boarding gate for Buenos Aires and it would be waiting for me there. It wasnĄ¯t. After hours of badgering the staff, my hand luggage could not be found. In it was my asthma spray," she said.

While KLM offered to put her on another flight the next day, Coleshaw said she could not fly without her medicine and paperwork for her cruise.

Airline offers full refund

"I was given vouchers for a hotel and a flight back to Manchester the following morning," she said.

KLM

KLM gave Coleshaw a full refund for the value of the flights plus a ?500 (Rs 52,000) voucher for future travel, but her ordeal did not end there.

Also read: US Couple Sold 'Everything' To Live On Cruise Ships For The Rest Of Their Lives

Can't get another cruise

Coleshaw had spent ?11,000 (Rs 11.6 lakhs) on booking the cruise and other related expenses, which the operator refused to refund.

Instead, she was offered ?8,500 (Rs 9 lakhs) for an alternative cruise as a goodwill gesture.

Hurtigruten

But when she tried to use some of the credit on a West African cruise, the voyage was cancelled by the company ahead of departure.

Coleshaw, who says her health has suffered from the pursuit of the refund, said she is close to giving up on the fight to get her money back.

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