A NORTH Yorkshire couple claim their experiences abroad have brought new meaning to the term "holiday from hell".

Sue and Tony Hall, who run the Black Bull pub at Escrick, near York, say they were driven to the brink by a startling series of mishaps that blighted their dream break, touring paradise islands on a luxury cruise ship.

The couple, who paid £3,000 for the holiday, claim they suffered hours of plane delays, had their luggage lost twice at airports, and were put in the wrong cabin once on board the cruise ship.

They say their flight home was even turned back because of a mechanical fault, leaving them stranded in Atlanta for two days.

Sue, 54, said she booked the week-long cruise to the Hawaiian Islands with Norwegian Cruise Line almost a year in advance and had been planning it for years.

They are now seeking compensation from the firm, as they claim to have spent more than £1,000 in extra hotel bills, lost earnings and phone bills.

"Everything that could have happened to us did happen," Sue said. "It took us a long time to recover."

The couple claim their catalogue of holiday catastrophes included:

Flights from Manchester changed at the last minute, forcing them to set off five hours earlier and change at Paris. But delays at Manchester meant they missed the connecting flight from the French capital to San Francisco

Luggage lost on arrival in Honolulu and could not be returned to their hotel before the cruise ship set off

Hours of phone calls and delays meant they joined the ship nearly a week later than planned, in a lower standard of cabin than previously booked, which was above the engine room and without windows. Sue suffers from claustrophobia. They were eventually moved the next day

Their Manchester flight from Atlanta turned back after 40 minutes because of a mechanical fault. They were stranded in a hotel there for a further two days

Their eventual flight back to Manchester was changed to Gatwick at the last minute, forcing them to get a connection to Manchester

They arrived in Manchester two days later than planned only to find their luggage had again been lost in transit

They eventually got the cases - which were new - and discovered they were torn during the flight.

"It was a catastrophic holiday - the worst two weeks of my life," Sue said.

"The least we expect is to be reimbursed for the money we spent trying to sort everything out."

NCL spokeswoman Emma Reynolds said the matter was being investigated by their customers services team.

She says: "NCL takes passenger complaints extremely seriously and as a consequence we are eager to see the matter resolved as swiftly as possible, to the satisfaction of all parties.

"We had been made aware previously of Mr and Mrs Hall's claim and are very sorry for any inconvenience they experienced. As a company we aim to give our customers the best possible experience and we are currently reviewing this case."

Updated: 10:32 Friday, February 13, 2004