A COUPLE from Whitegate who were allegedly given out-of-date currency by a travel agent say they have endured part of a seven-day sea cruise penniless.

Adam Murphy, 30, and his fiancee Amy Pollard, 22, who live in Whitegate, were on the cruise aboard the luxury Crown Princess, which docked back in Southampton on Saturday morning, after sailing to Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Fitness instructor Adam told the Guardian: “I bought this cruise as a Christmas present and part engagement celebration for Amy but the problems we have had because of the currency has caused us an absolute nightmare.

“We booked the cruise through Thomas Cook in Northwich but were then advised what currency we would require and were told to get the Euro, the Swedish krona and the Norwegian krone plus the U.S. dollar.

“Part of the cruise took us to Bruges where we used our Euros and we then headed to Copenhagen and on to Helsingborg in Sweden where we came ashore and bought a bottle of water from a shop before going next door to get something to eat.

“While we were sat in the cafe, the owner of the shop came in and told us we had paid with an out of date Swedish currency, which was also rejected by the cafe.

“The whole incident left us highly embarrassed and anxious but also without any means to pay for anything in the town.

The couple said to the Guardian that even when they tried to use their Norwegian currency in Oslo it was also rejected by shopkeepers who claimed that was also out of date.

Adam explained: “I have made at least a dozen calls to Thomas Cook to ask them to rectify this situation but all that they told me was to go into their shop in Winsford on our return, that is simply not good enough because it now leaves us high and dry without any money.”

A Thomas Cook spokesman said: “We have apologised to Mr Murphy and refunded him for the Swedish and Norwegian Kroner he bought from us. While the Norwegian Kroner was valid, we acknowledge that on this occasion a mistake was made with the Swedish Kroner which was out of circulation. Our teams receive regular training and we will work with them to address how this error was made.”