A FIVE star cruise around the Mediterranean turned into a ‘Titanic’ disaster, three disabled Runcorn women have claimed.

Maureen Higham, aged 68, and Margaret Halfpenny, aged 67, booked two weeks on Thomson’s luxury liner, Dream, to celebrate their friend, Janet Parry’s 50th birthday.

A putrid stench of raw sewage overwhelmed them as soon as they set sail from Palma, on May 25.

Mum-of-three Janet, of Hallwood Park, said: “It was horrendous.

“It made me heave, it was so terrible.

“We ended up with bad tummies, sickness and diarrhoea. I have irritable bowel and this has exacerbated my condition. It is worse than ever now. My tablets are not working.”

The women, who all use walking aids, had to trudge around the ship, searching for toilets that worked as their cabin’s en-suite facilties were blocked.

Janet, said: “None of us can walk very far. We were too tired and too ill to visit any of the ports.

“We spent most of our time trying to find out which toilets were working.

“Raw sewage dropped through the ceiling onto one lady as she was about to go into a posh restaurant.”

The trauma ruined Janet’s birthday.

She added: “It was a milestone birthday. My kids had given me banners but they stayed in my case, I was so disheartened.

“We couldn’t afford to jump ship and go into a hotel or fly home.”

Maureen, of Hallwood Park, said travel agents told them it was a brand new ship. It was nearly 30 years old.

She said: “They called it a Dream, but it was a nightmare. It was 1,000 times worse than a sewage farm.

“We were gagging, the smell was so bad. I’m still ill now.

“When you’ve paid nearly £4,000 for a holiday, you expect luxury. This was like The Titanic.

“It was frightening. You could see water coming up through the floor.”

Law firm Irwin Mitchell is fighting for compensation for them and 140 other passengers.

Clive Garner, head of travel law, said: “There have been massive failings in health and safety on the Thomson Dream.

“Many fell violently ill. Thomson needs to hold its hands up and offer every passenger who fell victim an apology.”

A Thomson spokesman said: “Thomson Cruises is sorry to hear that these women were unhappy with their cruise.

“While on the ship, our customer services team endeavoured to resolve any issues raised by the party.

“We welcome the opportunity to discuss further, however, as they have decided to take their case to a legal firm, we are unable to talk to the party directly.”