A Carrickfergus couple are making waves after claiming that they discovered a man and woman making love in their berth on a dream Asian cruise that turned into a nightmare.

Bobby and Mary Jackson are seeking compensation after saying that they opened their cabin door to find a naked male crew member abandoning ship etiquette with a mystery woman on their bed.

The Jacksons had just embarked on their Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship when they stumbled on the intimate intruders rocking their boat and embarking on a very different journey in a state of undress in their stateroom.

The Jacksons had paid nearly £5,000 for their week-long holiday of a lifetime, expecting it all to be plain sailing from Singapore to Thailand - to Phuket to be precise.

Mrs Jackson said of the sight that greeted her in her cabin: "I was traumatised and I needed a glass of water."

Her husband said: "We are not prudes but this was ridiculous."

A report in the Daily Mail said that the cruise on the Norwegian Jewel hadn't exactly been all shipshape even before their close encounter with the sexed-up stowaways.

Mr Jackson explained that he and his wife had been forced to wait for over two-and-a-half hours in sizzling sunshine on the quayside at Singapore's Marina Bay before they were able to board the ship, which can accommodate 2,376 passengers and 1,069 crew.

The couple's first port of call on the boat was the bar for a drink to cool down but things heated up again after they were shown their stateroom.

Mrs Jackson (62), who works for the supermarket Iceland in Carrick, said: "I could see the back of a man on the bed directly facing us and it was obvious he was in the middle of having sex with a woman.

"I shut the door immediately and we went next door where my sister was staying while the staff sorted this out."

The horrified couple's cabin attendant reported the hijinks on the high seas to his supervisor but the Jacksons still didn't see calmer waters. They were told that no alternative cabins were available on the fully booked Norwegian Jewel, which was starting to lose its sparkle for the Co Antrim couple.

Mr Jackson (64) said that when he and his wife returned to their stateroom on the 92,000 ton ship the male trespasser was still there, even though his partner had vanished.

Mr Jackson said: "Two of the ship's crew in white uniforms eventually persuaded him to leave. He looked very sheepish. I asked if the crew knew him and they told me was a worker on the boat."

The Jacksons said they were offered the equivalent of £100 in compensation, which they said was "insulting".

But their troubles still weren't over. Mrs Jackson became ill with a stomach bug and she said she spent most of the cruise confined to her cabin.

She added: "I was extremely frightened because I was very sick and I was a long way from home."

The ship's doctor put Mrs Jackson on an antibiotic drip and told her to stay out of the sun.

On their return home the unhappy couple demanded compensation and they said they were offered £200 in credits for another NCL holiday which has to be taken this year.

A spokesman for the cruise company was reported to have said a full investigation had taken place and the appropriate action had been taken, with contact having been made with the Jacksons regarding their request for compensation.

However, a later statement from NCL to news outlets in America said that a review of security footage on the ship didn't corroborate the Jacksons' claims.

Belfast Telegraph