More than 130 tourists whose holidays onboard the Boudicca cruise ship were ruined by an outbreak of gastric have taken their battle for justice to court, their lawyers confirmed today.
Travel experts Irwin Mitchell said that the cruise holidaymakers were struck with a range of symptoms including diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pains and fever on board the luxury liner. This was not an isolated incident, with over a hundred passengers onboard a staggering nine voyages being affected. The bouts of illness are reported between October 2009 and April 2010
Now the law firm, who is also representing nearly two dozen distressed passengers who experienced illness on the same ship this year, have issued legal proceedings on behalf of the 134 holidaymakers after cruise operator Fred Olsen Cruise Lines Limited refused to take responsibility. Despite serious concerns raised by passengers over hygiene standards onboard the ship Fred Olsen have refused to accept that they could have done taken steps to protect those onboard.
Some passengers claim they were served undercooked food. Others say their cabins were not cleaned properly and that dirty bed linen was left out in the corridors. The majority of those taking legal action complain that they were informed of the previous illness outbreaks onboard before boarding and that this presented a risk of further illness.
Clive Garner, Head of Irwin Mitchell’s Travel Law team, said: “Including the victims from the most recent outbreak of illness on this ship we are now representing more than 150 passengers who travelled on thirteen different cruises on the Boudicca stretching back as far as October 2009. What is of particular concern is the consistency in the complaints of those onboard in relation to food and hygiene standards, and the similarity of symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting.
“Fred Olsen has refused to take responsibility for the illnesses suffered by our clients’ on nine different cruises taken between October 2009 and April 2010 and we have had no choice but to issue legal proceedings on their behalf.”
Garner confirmed that with regards to the most recent voyages, in 2011, Fred Olsen is yet to respond in respect of liability. He also revealed that one passenger who had travelled on the cruise in April this year has been diagnosed with Campylobacter.
Garner said: “The pattern of illness outbreaks on board the Boudicca is a matter of great concern to us and our clients. It is highly unusual for us to see repeated illness outbreaks of this kind cruise after cruise and the accounts of many of our clients' experiences on board are alarming.
“Often illness can have devastating, long term impact on victims. Some of our clients are still suffering symptoms as a result of their illnesses even now. Cruise operators owe legal duties to ensure reasonable standards of hygiene and safety and they have a duty to warn passengers if there is a clear risk of them contracting illness on board. We are calling on Fred Olsen to work with us so that all of these claims can be dealt with swiftly and amicably.
"Cruises topped the list of sources of illness complaints our team received last year. More needs to be done by the industry and the authorities to tackle this problem and significantly reduce the risk of illness being contracted on board cruise liners.
Derek and Eileen Bird, of Wootton Bassett, Swindon, had booked a cruise onboard the Boudicca ship to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary and Derek’s recovery from a previous medical condition.
They set sail on November 8, 2009, but within days Derek had become ill suffering from diarrhoea, vomiting and flu like symptoms and upon return home he had to be admitted to hospital as his kidney function was found to be impaired and he had elevated potassium levels due to dehydration. He also lost half a stone in weight. He now suffers from an altered bowel habit and his energy levels and appetite have still not fully recovered.
Derek, 67, said: “This was supposed to be the holiday of a lifetime for us but it was ruined. When we got back to the UK I was hospitalised for ten days and it was a month before I could even eat properly again. My energy levels and appetite have not fully recovered and I’m devastated our dream holiday ended like this.”
Luckily Eileen, 66, remained in good health but she spent the trip taking care of Derek.
She said: “This was a holiday to celebrate Derek recovering from a previous illness. This was an expensive holiday for us and it was just horrible."