My mother and her friend, both in their seventies, booked a Rockies/Alaska cruise with Titan HiTours at a cost of £2,230 each.

When, due to illness, my mother had to cancel less than a week before departure, her friend decided to continue with her trip. The operator imposed a 100% penalty charge on my mother, which we accept.

However, we are outraged and perplexed that the company also levied an £800 supplement on her friend. We feel this is blatant profiteering.

As my mother had still paid for her holiday, surely Titan would not incur any additional costs and would probably have made savings. Titan can claim it’s all in the small print but, to us, its position is morally indefensible.

Steven Coulton, Bovey Tracey

Titan HiTours replies: “In such circumstances, the remaining passenger does have the option to cancel their own holiday, subject to their insurance policy. Mrs Coulton’s friend [Mrs Nicholls] decided to continue, and the single supplement of £1,260 became applicable. We reduced this to £800 as a gesture of goodwill. The single supplement — identified in booking conditions — is passed to us by other suppliers.”

The Sunday Times found this response disappointing. Had Mrs Nicholls originally planned to travel alone, she would have paid £2,230 plus £1,260 for single occupancy, a total of £3,490. Titan HiTours had already received £4,460: it was not out of pocket. It seems just plain greedy to claw an extra £800 from Mrs Nicholls.

So we asked the cruise line NCL, at whose behest Titan said it had levied the single supplement, to explain why she should pay the extra.

It replied: “Mrs Nicholls was made aware of the supplement by the tour operator when she altered her booking and she chose to proceed.”

Not surprising, given that Mrs Nicholls faced Hobson’s choice — as her insurance did not cover her for cancellation, she could either pay another £800 or lose £2,230.

Can I suggest that instead of making staff redundant, travel companies save money by cutting down on their paper waste. Most brochures are flicked through once, then binned. After you book, you are bombarded with useless booklets on your destination, health and safety, and so on ­— a complete waste of money.

Audrey Jones, Birmingham

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