A COUPLE were kicked off their £1,900 cruise around the Mediterranean on their last day after testing positive for Covid.
Kelly Silverton and her partner Rob were then forced to fork out £250-per-night to stay in an isolation hotel in Malaga, Spain, for seven days – totalling £1,500.
The couple, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were six days into their seven day trip when holidaymakers on the boat were asked to take a Covid test while docked in Malaga.
Kelly, 29, was shocked to discover her and her partner tested positive for the virus so, along with around 50 others, were told to leave the boat and quarantine.
She said she watched the Marella Cruises ship “sail off into the distance” to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria with the rest of the holidaymakers for the last day of the trip.
Kelly and Rob then had to pay £158 for a taxi to a quarantine hotel last Wednesday – which Kelly claims used to be a student hostel costing just £20-per-night.
Teacher Kelly said the food was so bad at the quarantine hotel that she paid £125 on Uber Eats orders for the week.
And they also had to pay an extra £200 for return flights back to the UK – meaning in total the couple had to pay £1,983 on top of their original holiday costs, due to Covid.
Kelly has since criticised TUI for their Covid protocols, alleging that passengers only had to take one lateral flow test before flying to Spain to embark on their cruise.
She claims that TUI told customers to take the lateral flow tests but purely relied upon temperature checks to deem passengers as safe.
Speaking today, Kelly said: “We took PCR tests around 8pm on Wednesday night and it was confirmed at midnight that we were positive.
We got a call at 11am on Thursday that we were to leave at 2pm and finally at 6pm we got a taxi to the Covid hotel.
“The temperature check was the only safeguard but people had been passing that all week.
“The cruise was £1,853 for the week and we thought it was going to be a nice break.
“TUI had no protocols and the hotel they used was not fit for purpose.
“The costs were a joke.
“It cost £1,500 for the two of us to stay in the Covid hotel, as well as £200 for us to fly ourselves home.
“We also spent £125 on UberEats throughout our time in the hotel.
“There were people in their sixties and seventies who were upset and on their own.”
Kelly tweeted from her quarantine hotel last week, writing: “Anyone who has a cruise booked with @TUIUK #marellacruises.
“You are really gambling on your holiday. Over 50 people on a cruise of 500 guests tested positive for #Covid on the last day.
“Unhappy holidaymakers now strewn across Malaga and ignored by #tui.”
“I only booked with @TUIUK and #MarellaCruises for extra peace of mind that we would be looked after if the worst happened.
“No one has confirmed what happens now. How long I am here, how much it costs, and most importantly what was that meat?! #isolation #covid #tui #mysterymeat.”
“Also @TUIUK #marellacruises, while I’m an optimistic #livehappy millennial who enjoys moaning on Twitter and ‘hablo un poco de español’, there are some older holidaymakers in this #quarantine who are scared, upset and feel abandoned by you.
“Why @TUIUK? Why?”
Unaware their quarantine was costing them £250-per-night, Kelly later tweeted: “Yep, having an absolute ‘mare over here. Marella Cruises have sailed off into the sunset (literally) and left us paying €250 a night pp (based on rumours from guests as no-one actually knows) in unfit for purpose student digs.”
Kelly claims the hostel did not provide breakfast until 10:30am on multiple occasions and no questions were asked about dietary requirements.
Vegetarian Kelly said she was given half a jacket potato with beef for dinner at one point before staff then replaced it with carrots and rice.
Kelly captured a video of the hotel’s kitchen showing a tray of eaten food laying unemptied and other foods left out unstored.
The couple spent the rest of their quarantine days ordering KFC and McDonald’s meals.
