A GOUROCK couple have received a £6,000 refund after their dream cruise ended up ‘dead in the water’ – and the payout is all thanks to the Tele.

Les Gillespie and his wife Eleanor contacted us when they discovered that due to ‘technical issues’ with the Norwegian Star vessel, they would miss no fewer than four of the places on the advertised itinerary and would also have to spend an extra night in port before they left.

The couple, left, who were due to fly out to Auckland via Dubai to board the ship tomorrow, feared they would lose all their money as they struggled to get answers from the company.

We stepped in, immediately took their case up and now the couple have received a full refund.

Eleanor said: “We have been extremely lucky.

“Thanks to help from the Tele we got our money back.

“I think it was down to the fact that the Tele phoned up the company about it.

“I had also told them that I had contacted the paper, so it made a difference.

“We’ve heard that a lot of other people are struggling to get their money back, so we feel very lucky.

“We do feel disappointed about the holiday though, and it has left us feeling flat as we were looking forward to it.

“It has taken the wind out of our sails.”

Eleanor and Les were looking forward to their luxury 26-night voyage from New Zealand to Singapore via Indonesia, Bali and Kuala Lumpur.

But just days before they were due to leave, they discovered that there had been problems with the ship and that their schedule had changed substantially.

They said they were never officially informed about the problems with the vessel, which hit the headlines in Australia, and refused to accept $250 each in compensation, plus 25 per cent off their next cruise.

Eleanor added: “The ship had to be towed in to Melbourne for four days of repairs.

“So we do feel that we had a very lucky escape.”