Victorian holidaymaker seeking compensation over bungled ‘party cruise’

A Victorian holidaymaker is seeking compensation after a ‘party cruise’ he booked through a travel agent ended up being anything but.

Mathew Hasler and a mate booked a 14-day cruise on the South Pacific through Helloworld in Wodonga.

‘We told (the agent) we wanted a party cruise,’ he explained on 3AW Drive.

But it wasn’t what they got.

‘We found more walking frames than people,’ Mr Hasler said.

Even the ship’s nightclub ended in disappointment.

‘We thought we’d go have a look at it, because it’s called a ‘nightclub’, but at about 10.30-11 o’clock at night we found about ten 12-year-olds doing the macarena on the dance floor with their families,’ Mr Hasler said with a laugh.

The pair got off the ship at the first stop and flew home from Vanuatu.

Mr Hasler said they’d each lost ‘about $5000’ on the venture.

And he wants his money back.

So far, the company is refusing to pay.

‘They haven’t responded with anything,’ he said.

‘They’ve pretty much turned their back on us.’

LISTEN: Mathew Hasler explains what happened on 3AW Drive