Christian holiday firm cancels Christmas cruise to Turkey and Israel 10 days before departure citing 'political instability'... and leaving customers £2,500 out of pocket

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LivingSun Tours cancelled a Christian cruise 10 days before departure
The cruise was to take in Turkey, Greece and Israel and cost £2,490
Customers are still waiting for their refund for the 10-day holiday
The company claims it booked the tour through Thomson Cruises, but the holiday company claims it has had no dealings with LivingSun Holidays

Published: 06:46 EST, 21 November 2014 | Updated: 07:07 EST, 21 November 2014

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Customers who signed up for a pre-Christmas cruise for Christians to Turkey, Greece and Israel are still waiting for a refund after the holiday was cancelled 10 days before departure.

New Malden-based LivingSun Holidays sold a 10-day break leaving on October 13 but called it off less than a fortnight before setting off citing 'political instability' in the region for leading to a drop in numbers.

Company director Bob Fleming said the tour to iconic religious destinations was booked through Thomson Cruises who had yet to refund money paid in advance, meaning LivingSun couldn't pass on the almost £2,500 paid by holidaymakers.

The LivingSun Holidays cruise was to take in iconic religious landmarks including Istanbul's Hagia Sophia

Mosaic of the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus, flanked by Emperors Justinian and Constantine, at Hagia Sophia

However, Thomson Cruises say they have had no such dealings with LivingSun.

Thomson Cruises said: 'Thomson Cruises is extremely concerned that LivingSun Holidays has been engaging in promotional activities using the Thomson Cruises trademark, as no permission has been granted for this use.

'Thomson Cruises does not have, and has never had, any association with LivingSun Holidays and no booking for this cruise was passed to us by LivingSun Holidays.'

One customer, Gospatric Home, 81, who planned to take the trip with his wife Diana, told the Surrey Comet that he was still waiting for a refund of £2,490 from LivingSun Holidays.

'It is a crazy saga,' he told the local paper. 'The money we all paid was not held in an escrow account. If it had been, then he could have repaid it all to everyone.'

Gospatric Home, 81 (right) had planned to take the Christian cruise with his wife Diana (left)

The homepage of LivingSun Holidays website, which promises 'excellent Christian holidays'

Mr Fleming said in a letter to customers that while his company wants to refund customers it simply doesn't have the funds to do so.

The letter said: 'The cancellation of the cruise has left us in a difficult financial situation - we have considerable costs which are irrecoverable for us and while we fully accept this is our problem to resolve, it means we simply do not have enough cash at the moment to start the refund process.'

He said the company aims to pay 'about 18 people a total of £20,000' by the end of the month.

In response to the statement from Thomson, he said: 'We did successfully take a group to Israel with Thomson in April so I should be sorry if they have forgotten about us so soon.'

LivingSun's website promises 'excellent Christian holidays for people to enjoy God's creation together' and 'with no disruption from noisy non-Christian neighbours'.

Another location for the cancelled cruise was Olympia, home of the Ancient Olympic Games

'Our aim is to give you a holiday where you can be fully refreshed, mentally, physically and spiritually and we believe it is the presence of God and His living Son at the centre of our holiday operation that makes the difference,' says the website.

'We know what a benefit it is to be surrounded by like-minded people, in an environment which is safe for all. Safe for families, those travelling by themselves and anyone who is looking for a high quality and hassle free holiday.'

The company also offers 'special rates for Clergy and Church Workers'.

A page entitled Tours lists no products, but states: 'Our tours are all filling up faster than we can list them!'

Another tour organised by the company called The Lands of the Bible the ran from November 12 to 22 taking in Italy, Greece and Turkey, according the the website.