A man who reportedly spent a huge amount on his dream cruise was left stranded in the Philippines for weeks after the ship left without him while he was undergoing some medical tests.
Christopher Chapel had paid £17,500 (Rs 17 lakh) for a round-the-world trip that set off earlier this year. He was on the ship for days before he got off in the Philippines for a short duration to have himself checked after feeling nauseous and lightheaded.
Little did he know that he would not be able to set foot on the vessel again.
Chapel had first visited the ship's doctor, who had told him that he would not be allowed back on board. The doctor advised him to get some tests done.
The tests results weren't very concerning as Chapel was told he had nothing more than a mild case of heatstroke. But by the time they were carried out, his cruise had already left the port in the Philippines.
The 72-year-old man, who was with his wife Karen Williams, said he contacted cruise organisers P&O and travel insurers Nationwide following the departure and was told that his medical condition was marked as critical, making his return difficult.
It was also reported that doctors deemed him unfit to travel to Manila by flight. As a result, he took a boat but could not be taken rest of the way by plane.
"The doctors who brought me home were lovely, I could not fault them, though they weren't sure why there were required because they just gave me Diazepam to calm my nerves and there wasn't anything else wrong with me," Chapel, who returned home to UK on April 7, was quoted as saying by LadBible.
He claimed that the person who sent him way from the ship didn't examine him.
"It seems like a comical cock-up. The person who sent me away from the ship didn't even examine me and must have known that the hospital tests would have taken longer than the ship would be at the port. If there is a critical medical situation, as P&O keep saying, why haven't I been told more about it or shown their medical report?" he said.
Chapel said he told the nurses that he needed to get back to the cruse but they kept saying he needed to take more tests. "I was then stuck in a hospital bed with nothing wrong with me, it was ludicrous. I should have been allowed back on board, it wasn't a serious health issue,” he said.