A HOLIDAYMAKER has described the moment 50ft waves smashed into the side his luxury cruise liner in the middle of Mediterranean.

Dan Carlin, 59, a road safety officer of Sherborne Gardens, Prittlewell, and his partner Rosemary booked a ten-night cruise on board the Balmoral.

They paid £500 each for the trip, which left Dover on January 17.

The cruise was beset by storms almost immediately, but after a choppy ten days Mr Carlin has now landed safely back home.

He said: “The ceiling of the cabin and almost all the panels rattled constantly and we joined a lot of people who were so frightened they slept on the couches in the lounges on the upper decks.

“I wasn’t frightened, it was the noise which kept us awake. I have to say the captain and crew were brilliant. We were kept informed throughout and even in force ten winds they served five star meals.

“Jim Bowen from TV’s Bullseye was one of the entertainers. He joked about the storms saying ‘I’ve been paid so I don’t give a monkeys’.”

The ship was also scheduled to visit La Coruna and Bilboa in Spain, Lisbon in Portugal and La Rochelle in France.

It battled through 50ft waves and gale force winds.

Mr Carlin questioned the decision to sail when weather forecasts can predict the weather up to six days ahead.

He added: “It was too dangerous to go on deck and Tangier and Lisbon were quickly changed to Cherbourg and Antwerp as cruise destinations.”

Nigel Lingard of Fred Olsen Lines, which runs the cruise, defended the decision to sail.

He said: “The weather forecasts still cannot predict the sea state which is a combination of wind, waves and swell “The Balmoral did not set sail in conditions any worse than other cruises set sail in, but we didn’t expect the sea conditions.”