I have the greatest sympathy for this young lady. Oddly enough, I was involved a few years ago in a similar incident, in reverse. I've managed to dig out the press cutting from the time:
"Mainly Daily", 10 March 1983
Plucky Youngster in Uniform Humiliation
A local youngster has told our reporter how he was left "shocked and humiliated" when travel officials made him change from his own clothes and put on a blue uniform before beginning a sea cruise.
TicketyBoo said the problems began well before the voyage. "I'd gone to the P&O office in Liverpool to book a relaxing sea voyage, but found them closed for lunch. Luckily I spotted the office of another shipping company a few doors away, with pictures of their cruise ships in the window. I have to say the booking process was a bit chaotic. They wouldn't take a deposit, and before the cruise you had to hang around for months in a big house in Devon."
But the problems began in earnest when Mr Boo reached the advertised cruise ship. Although smartly dressed in a tweed jacket and brogue shoes, company officials insisted he wear what they called "uniform".
"It was awful" he recalled, "nothing quite fitted, there were bits of funny embroidery sewn on, and I even had to wear a hat with the company's advertising logo on."
Our reporter asked whether the problems continued when the cruise began. "To be fair" TicketyBoo replied, "once we got to sea the cruise was great fun. The Activity Co-ordinators went to a lot of trouble to make sure all the passengers felt involved." They let passengers draw lines on maps, look at numbers on twirly machines, drop things over the side and play with fireworks. Even the food was excellent. "I have a medical condition which means I can only eat warm corned beef and cold chips." said Mr Boo. "The staff went out of their way to meet my dietary requirements every day."
So would he use this company again? "To be honest," he told our reporter, " I would have to recommend to anyone else in my position that they wait for the P&O people to come back from lunch. They may be more expensive, but you can wear your own clothes."
A spokesman for the shipping company, Mr Henry Leach, apologised: "It is clear that we did not maintain our excellent standards of customer care in this case. As a goodwill gesture, we are sending the customer a rail voucher to help him get home again, but not via London."
[Off to pub - bung this in if nothing better comes in overnight. Ed]