Cruises cancelled following crash

Costa Cruises has been forced to cancel its last two sailings onboard its ship the Costa Europa after the vessel crashed into a port in Egypt, killing three crew members and injuring at least three British passengers.

Customers who were due to travel on the Costa Europa on March 4 and March 22 are being offered refunds or alternative cruises by Costa, which is in the process of carrying out repairs on the ship.

Passengers on the cancelled cruises should check their travel insurance policies to see if they are entitled to claim compensation for any non-refundable out of pocket expenses such as airport parking or hotel accommodation.

Holidaymakers who had bought travel insurance for trips that have now been deferred may also be able to postpone their travel insurance if they have not made a claim.

Repairs to the ship, which crashed into a pier in Sharm-el-Sheikh with more than 1,400 passengers onboard, are expected to take about 30 days. The hull, parts of the engine room and some crew quarters were damaged.

The ship will transfer to Thomson Cruises next month. It will sail out of Palma, Majorca, under the name of Thomson Dream, operating five itineraries around the Mediterranean during the summer. In the winter it will move to the Caribbean.

A seven-night cruise on the Thomson Dream costs from 513 pounds per person in April.

It will be Thomson's biggest ship and, according to the tour operator, its most luxurious. In fact, the company has labeled it 'the flagship of the fleet'.

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