Expert Travel Lawyers Issue Legal Proceedings Against Tour Operator

Nearly 100 distraught passengers are taking legal action after many of their cruises on board Thomson’s Island Escape ship last year were ruined by gastric illness – the fourth year in six that the lawyers have received complaints about the ship.

Expert travel lawyers at Irwin Mitchell have issued legal proceedings after being contacted by passengers who travelled on board the all-inclusive cruise liner between March and November 2013 after the Defendant has failed to admit liability.

The cruise ship offers trips around the Mediterranean and the current claimants include a couple who were celebrating their honeymoon, a couple celebrating their 10^th wedding anniversary and a couple celebrating a 60^th birthday.

Travel law experts at Irwin Mitchell say they have received numerous complaints from passengers including reports that some of the food was on occasions served lukewarm and undercooked, as well as occasions where fresh food was placed on top of old food on the buffet. 

Passengers have also raised concerns that the cutlery and plates were often dirty and that the communal toilets were unclean at times. Many of the passengers who were affected by illness were reported to be confined to their cabins for days after suffering symptoms including diarrhoea, sickness, fever and dehydration.

Irwin Mitchell has now represented more than 300 passengers who have travelled on board of the vessel in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. 

Expert Opinion

"The large number of people who have instructed us to investigate their complaints about this cruise ship is very worrying. Some of these passengers suffered from severe gastric illness symptoms whilst on board the cruise ship when they should have been relaxing and enjoying themselves.

“Any reports of illness on board cruise ships or at holiday resorts across the world are a concern, but of particular concern that is that this is the fourth year in the last six that we have been asked by passengers to help them following episodes of illness on board this particular liner.

“Guidelines are in place for cruise ship operators to follow and we are working to determine what the Defendant has done to investigate and resolve any underlying issues following the problems experienced in recent years.”
Amandeep Dhillon - Partner

Newlywed couple Colin and Lynsey Young, from Livingston, West Lothian, were meant to be celebrating their start to married life in style, but instead they both suffered with diarrhoea, vomiting and severe lethargy during their honeymoon.

Lynsey, 26, said: “Our honeymoon was ruined – Colin fell ill before I did. He started to suffer with diarrhoea and vomiting and he spent the rest of the week feeling very lethargic and suffered with dehydration.

“As I tried to care for my husband, I also suffered from severe vomiting and diarrhoea. At one point, I was trying to get to the bathroom as I felt sick but I had to vomit in a bin as I couldn’t make it in time. I was experiencing agonising abdominal pain along with hot and cold sweats.”

Lynsey reported that both she and her husband were visited by members of the on-board medical team who gave them injections and hydration sachets to try to ease the symptoms. It took 9 hours for her husband to be attended to by a member of the medical team.

She added: “This was meant to be a relaxing and luxurious break for us to start our married life and spend some quality time together as a couple. But instead our honeymoon was a disaster as we were largely confined to our cabin after the start of our illnesses which meant that we missed two ports, Naples and Rome, which we really wanted to visit.”

Maureen and Frederick Brotherton, from Droylsden in Manchester, were onboard the cruise ship to celebrate Frederick’s milestone 60^th birthday which was booked for him as a surprise by Maureen and members of their family.  Unfortunately the holiday was spoilt as Maureen fell ill.  She continues to suffer with ongoing symptoms.

Commenting on her case, Maureen, 57, said: “We were both so excited about going on the cruise – the family and I organised the holiday for Frederick’s birthday as we wanted to surprise him with a ‘once in a lifetime’ cruise so we could really celebrate in style.

“Thankfully Frederick didn’t fall ill, but 3 days into the holiday I suffered severe illness which ruined the remainder of our holiday. Frederick was so worried about my deteriorating condition that he telephoned the ship’s doctor who came out to see me and prescribed some antibiotics and gave me an injection to try and help with the symptoms. We just wanted to go home and put the nightmare behind us.

“Since we arrived back home, I have continued to experience problems with my bowels and I’ve lost a lot of weight because of this. The experience was a nightmare and I hope now with the help of our legal team at Irwin Mitchell that we can obtain justice.”