Family holiday ruined by cruise liner hit by illness for fifth year in row

A Welsh family whose holiday was ruined when they were hit by a sickness bug onboard the luxury cruise liner The Independence of the Seas, were shocked to discover that this is the fifth year in a row that the liner has been hit.

Wales Online reports that policeman Mark Hughes, his wife Kathryn, and their sons Benjamin, 16, and Ross, 13, were looking forward to their 11-day cruise around the Canary Islands, but it turned out to be a huge disappointment.

They had been handed leaflets when they boarded the ship, warning passengers about an outbreak of gastric illness, and believe that they should have been warned about it in advance.

Although their holiday started well, six days in Mark developed vomiting and diarrhoea.

He told Wales Online: "It lasted for about three days and I missed out on the ports in Tenerife and Madeira."

Kathryn fell ill on the last day of the cruise but, fortunately, neither of their sons caught the bug. However, this meant keeping them well away from their dad, with Mark spending much of his time on his cabin's balcony.

Mark said: "My son has type one diabetes so we were very worried about him contracting any type of illness. If we'd known about it a week before we would have had the option to opt out and get a refund through our insurance."

Mark was treated by a doctor onboard the ship but said the illness was "rife", with yellow magnetic stickers placed on the cabin doors of people who were ill.

He said: "We would walk up the corridor and see all these yellow stickers. From our cabin to the lifts we must have seen between 12 and 15 stickers without walking around the rest of the ship."

The family booked their trip through operator Royal Caribbean International, and are now seeking legal advice from law firm Irwin Mitchell.

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