Cruise passengers are furious after finding out their South Pacific island getaway now wont leave Australian waters.
Six disappointed travellers spoke out about Choose Your Cruise, a family-owned business based in South Australia ahead of the upcoming voyage.
The Flashback cruise originally was advertised as an eight-night escape with three stops in scenic New Caledonia on top of onboard entertainment headlined by Human Nature and Marcia Hines singing hits from the 1980s and 90s.
Instead, the cruise will leave Sydney on October 30 and travel up the east coast to Willis Island - an external territory of Australia off Far North Queensland, along with another stop in the Port of Brisbane.
The company has cited ongoing civil unrest in New Caledonia as the reason for the cruises sudden itinerary change.
Retirees David and Terry and their wives from Brisbanes north paid $4,000 each on top of flights to Sydney for the much-anticipated cruise.
But instead of white sand and coral reefs, the couples have spent thousands to stay in Australian waters.
I booked a cruise to go to three South Sea Islands and were not going to any South Sea Islands, David told A Current Affair.
The itinerary for Choose Your Cruise upcoming Flashback trip changed from a trip to the Pacific Island to a quick stop at the Port of Brisbane with customers offered no chance of a refund (stock image)
Adding insult to injury, passengers wont be able to disembark at Willis Island.
Mother and daughter duo Kylie and Georgia have labelled the new itinerary as a scenic cruise around a weather station.
The pair, as well as Kylies mother, paid $6,000 each to travel from their home on the Gold Coast to the Pacific Islands.
As the itinerary change was announced after the date to cancel and receive a refund, Choose Your Cruise will not offer refunds.
Instead, passengers will receive a $50 voucher to spend onboard and additional The Elvis Era performances.
While Choose Your Cruise is known as a music festival cruise, passengers who spoke to A Current Affair said they booked the trip for the destinations promises rather than on-board entertainment.
Georgia, 21, added she doesnt know most of the musical acts, including Human Nature.
Mother and daughter duo Kylie and Georgia (pictured) described the new itinerary as a scenic cruise around a weather station
Commenting on the addition of Elvis impersonators on the ship, she joked theres only so much Hound Dog you can listen to.
The two elderly couples said they never would have booked the cruise had theyd known its only stop would be in their hometown.
Were flying to Sydney to go up the coast of Queensland, back to Brisbane and then back to Sydney, Terry said.
No one would book a trip from Brisbane to do that.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade recently updated its travel advice for New Caledonia, urging to Aussies to avoid unnecessary travel to the French archipelago as arson attacks and carjackings continue amid civil unrest.
Violence in New Caledonia, a French colony, erupted in mid-May following Paris plans to reform voting eligibility to allow French nationals who have lived on the island for more than 10 years to vote in local elections.
The move angered the Indigenous Kanak people, who make up roughly 40 per cent of the nations population, who feared it would put them in a permanent minority and crush any hope of future independence.
Although riots between independents and French loyalists ebbed from mid-July, they were reignited on New Caledonia Day on Monday- which marks the day France declared sovereignty over the island.
Brisbane retirees David and Terry (pictured) and their wives, Sandra and Laree (pictured together) are gutted they spent $4,000 each to cruise to their hometown
Choose Your Cruise said the inclusion of its high profile musical guests required it to stop at a port with a nearby airport.
Due to the limited availability of ports in the South Pacific and because we have a jam-packed entertainment schedule featuring 40 music acts, some requiring access to an airport, Brisbane was the only viable port option for this voyage, to ensure the integrity of the entertainment program, it said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Choose Your Cruise for further comment.