Cruise passengers win payout after ''atrocious'' conditions
Around 200 cruise passengers have received hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation after their dream holiday turned into a nightmare.
The passengers, who won up to £10,000 each in the out-of-court settlement, complained of vomiting and diarrhoea on the Island Escape cruise ship which took in Madeira, Gibraltar and Morocco.
Toilets were reportedly blocked with urine overflowing, food was served lukewarm and new food was added to existing food during the cruise.
Elizabeth Tetzner, of travel law firm Irwin Mitchell which represented the holidaymakers, told the Daily Echo: "A number of the passengers that suffered illness suffered from symptoms such as stomach cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting and lethargy.
"Aside from making the cruise extremely unpleasant, these types of illness can have a debilitating long term impact on their health. Some passengers had to seek medical assistance on board the cruise ship, whilst others had to seek medical assistance upon return home."
Passenger Collette Ellis, 59, of Fareham, Hants, told The Sun: "Conditions were atrocious - toilets blocked and overflowing, cabins grubby. Food was not served at the correct temperature."
The cruise holidays took place between December 2009 and June 2010.
The payouts were agreed by Sunshine Cruises Ltd and travel firms Tui UK and First Choice Holidays & Flights.
Earlier this month, around 83 people were taken ill with contagious norovirus on board a ship sailing to ports in California.
Princess Cruises spokeswoman Karen Candy said that 66 passengers and 17 crew members were sick and had to be isolated in their cabins on the Crown Princess.
The ship docked in San Francisco, when around 37 passengers were reported to be ill, and the number had almost doubled by mid-week.
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