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A British couple who are trying to conceive were forced to cancel their romantic Caribbean cruise after realising it took them past five Zika-infected islands, The Telegraph reported.

Kylie Bowie, 35, and partner Richard Booth, 42, were booked on a 12 night Royal Caribbean cruise whose itinerary included Haiti, Puerto Rico, St Martin, Martinique and Barbados, all of which are affected by the disease.

The pair, who booked the £4,000 cruise in August before anyone was aware of the virus, have been trying for a baby for around 18 months and this month Ms Bowie has just begun taking Clomithene, a fertility drug which stimulates ovulation.

The couple, who both work for RB Vision Ltd, a home cinema and sound system installation company, in West Yorkshire, were due to set sail on February 21.

But even though health experts are advising women who plan to become pregnant not to travel, they were told they would have to pay hundreds of pounds to transfer to an alternative destination or cancel the trip and claim back the majority of the money through their travel insurance.

The Assisted Conception Unit at Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax issued a letter saying that it was possible that Ms Bowie was already pregnant, which would have allowed the couple to claim their money back.

But it emerged this week that Ms Bowie is not yet pregnant, and the couple are now worried that they will be penalised because of their failure to conceive.

“We have been excited and making plans for this holiday since then, until I saw the news last Saturday morning on BBC News app about Zika virus,” she said. “We cancelled our cruise feeling we had little choice.

“The worst thing about all of this is the lack of information from the Foreign Office and the fact that the information is not being filtered through to the doctors as nobody really seems to know what to say,” said Miss Bowie.

“Unofficially most people say that they wouldn't risk it if they were in our situation, but they are unwilling to put this officially on paper. I am hoping to get a more positive response from my GP.

“We are extremely stressed, upset and disappointed, but to minimise risk we feel (cancelling) was our only option.”

Thomson, who the couple booked through, have said that pregnant women can rebook their holidays free of charge, but the rules are unclear for couples who have taken holidays in order to become pregnant.