A traveller was left in “total despair” after a piece of check-in luggage cost them a $22,000 holiday to Antarctica. Cruise tourist Valerie Coleshaw was departing from the United Kingdom for Ushuaia, Argentina where she was set to join a Hurtigruten Expedition to the seventh continent.

At Manchester Airport The Independent reported that Coleshaw was asked if she would mind checking her carry-on case “as the plane was extremely full.”

KLM told the traveller she would have it returned to her during a layover in Amsterdam, before catching her next flight to Buenos Aires.

“I have heard of this happening before. So after checking several times that I would pick it up in Amsterdam, I agreed,” she told the newspaper.

But to her horror, it never turned up on the belt. While KLM offered her a flight the next day, she realised without her carry-on it would be a big problem. Inside her bag was a prescription nebuliser for her asthma; worse still, she had no way to get in touch with her cruise line.

“I could not contact Hurtigruten as all the paperwork was in my hand luggage,” she said.

Instead of a trip to the great southern continent, Coleshaw was given a hotel voucher and a flight back to the UK.

The Dutch carrier says that when travellers are asked to check cabin luggage into the hold, they are advised to remove valuables, medicines and items needed during the flight.

“If we know in advance that there won’t be enough space in the overhead bins, [travellers will be asked] to check in hand baggage at the check-in desk,” reads the KLM advice on hand baggage allowances.

“Of course, this is free of charge. We advise you to pack any travel essentials such as medicines in your smaller bag, just in case.”

However, Coleshaw says this advice was not given to her ahead of the 80-minute flight to Amsterdam.

The luggage mishap saw her miss a $22,000 Hurtigruten Expeditions tour of Antarctica, Photo / Thomas Bywater

She told The Independent she departed on what she expected to be the “trip of a lifetime”, instead she was back home in time for breakfast the next day, “without luggage and in total despair.”

The cruise company issued an 80 per cent cruise credit of £8500 ($17,600) to Coleshaw which the traveller has not been able to use.

However, she described the credit as “honourable but not usable”.

After Hurtigruten cancelled a West African cruise itinerary she had tried to book with the credit, Coleshaw says she is no longer in a position to be able to travel.

Personal injury and the deteriorating health of her 95-year-old mother have meant that she may never use the credit. Instead, she has insisted on asking for a full refund.

A spokesperson for the company said that they were “disappointed” to not have resolved the situation satisfactorily.

“Following a thorough review of this booking, we offered a ‘Future Cruise Credit’, equivalent to the value of the sailing and available for use on all our itineraries around the world. This amount far exceeds our standard cancellation policy and was provided by our team as a sincere goodwill gesture,” read a statement from Hurtigruten Expeditions.