A DREAM holiday turned sour for a Worcester couple when an island-hopping cruise from Fort Lauderdale in Florida to Rio de Janeiro turned into a non-stop journey on the high seas.

Back home this week after the £3,000 holiday aboard Cunard's famous liner, Queen Mary 2, Stephen and Jean Jeffries, of Brickfields, have received a full refund.

Part of the two-week cruise was spent in protest meetings, with disgruntled passengers threatening lawsuits after hearing they would not be stopping at St Kitt's, Barbados or Salvador.

The couple had joined the ship at New York on January 15 and sailed to Fort Lauderdale, on the Miami coast, where they received a rousing send-off from flag-waving spectators.

"We were very close to the side of the quay and felt a thud as we were leaving the harbour and saw the sand being churned up," said Mrs Jeffries, aged 56.

The ship came to a halt at sea for several hours before returning to Fort Laud-erdale in the early hours of the morning, so that damage to a propeller pod could be investigated.

Twenty-four hours later, the ship set sail under reduced power and it was only when they were on the high seas that passengers heard they would go straight to Rio.

"Usually they sail quite close to the islands, but we were right out at sea and couldn't see a bird or anything," said Mrs Jeffries.

"There was a terrific wind and elderly people could hardly walk on deck. Three sunbeds blew away and one hit someone on the deck below. The spray was so bad you could scrape the salt off the deck chairs. The passengers were in revolt and morale was terrible."

On arriving at Rio, there were chaotic delays before disembarking and little time for sightseeing before leaving to catch their flight home. Despite all this, Mrs Jeffries said the cruise had been like a second honeymoon for her and husband, Stephen, aged 50.

"With about 10 couples, we renewed our wedding vows on board, and celebrated with champagne," she said.