Irwin Mitchell's ample travel team wins applause for its "legal expertise, language skills and knowledge of overseas jurisdictions." The claimant travel litigation group is spread throughout offices in London, Birmingham and Málaga and it offers vast experience of handling injury and fatal accident cases, as well as holiday illness claims. Recent work includes representing a client who suffered severe injuries in an RTA in Italy and now requires 24-hour care.
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Illness On The Queen Mary 2 Cruise To The Caribbean
Published date:
12 Jan 2011
Every effort must be made to ensure that an outbreak of norovirus on the Queen Mary 2 cruise liner is successfully contained, a leading travel lawyer at Irwin Mitchell has said.
Irwin Mitchell has become increasingly concerned after receiving requests for assistance from a number of holidaymakers who contracted symptoms of gastric illness following their voyage on board the Queen Mary 2 Cruise. The reports of illness relate to a number of Caribbean voyages undertaken during December 2010. Holidaymakers have suffered unpleasant gastric symptoms including vomiting, high temperature, shakes, sweating and continuing lethargy.
Reports in the press suggest that 29 passengers on the ship, which is on a journey to the Caribbean from New York, are displaying symptoms of norovirus and a number have been confined to their cabin. Amongst those on board the ship, which is owned by Cunard, are former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Prescott and his wife, who are both believed to be suffering from the illness.
However, the illness may be far more prevalent than reports suggest. Irwin Mitchell has been informed by holidaymakers that there may be as many as 200 unhappy customers who holidayed on the ship during December alone, and that a number of them contracted illness onboard the vessel with the remainder experiencing a loss of enjoyment of their cruise due to the poor standards and problems onboard.
The Queen Mary 2 Cruise is advertised on their website as a five-star luxury liner, being the most magnificent ocean liner ever built and is the flagship of Cunard’s fleet or liners. According to Cunard’s website, ‘her every detail harkens to the Golden Age of ocean travel’. However, reports suggest that this is far from accurate.
The quality of food for consumption onboard the vessel has raised cause for concern. It is alleged that that the food was often cold and unappetising. Food was also left uncovered and there are reports that new food was added on to existing food. Holidaymakers have even reported plastic being found in the food served at the gala dinner.
Other quality issues have been reported in particular the ship's corridors were not vacuumed on a regular basis with holidaymakers observing a layer of dust being on the carpet. Passengers state that on one occasion, they were served drinks in glasses that were cracked and served food on plates which were chipped. Mould was also seen in the shower in their cabins and there have been complaints that the level of service was poor.
Irwin Mitchell’s International Travel Litigation team has dealt with a number of cases related to norovirus outbreaks on both cruise liners and hotels, meaning its experts have seen just how the illness can ruin many holidaymakers’ valuable time away with loved ones.
Clive Garner, the Birmingham-based head of the team, said: “In the past year alone we have been approached by a vast number of people who have been keen to make claims after seeing their breaks ruined by illnesses such as norovirus or salmonella.
“For example, we represent over 80 passengers affected by illness on separate trips on the Fred Olsen Cruise Lines ship Boudicca.
“Both the norovirus and salmonella can have a significant impact on people – not just by ruining their holiday but also by leaving them with health problems which need attention over the long term.
“It is vital that an investigation is quickly and thoroughly carried out into the cause of the outbreak on the Queen Mary 2, as it is important that passengers should not be placed at any risk.”
Irwin Mitchell is eager to investigate this matter further and would urge victims of illness who holidayed onboard the vessel to contact us urgently. If your Queen Mary 2 cruise holiday was a nightmare and you have been affected by gastric illness, you may be able to claim compensation for your ruined holiday and also the pain and suffering caused by the illness.
For more advice on making a holiday illness claim, contact Irwin Mitchell on 0800 056 0066 or complete our enquiry form and we will call you back.
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We were both delighted with the outcome of our case. We were kept informed at every stage and when we had any queries there was always somebody there to answer these quickly. In the end, Irwin Mitchell managed to secure compensation of £11,500 for myself after the illness I suffered and £1,500 for my son whose holiday was ruined by the illness I suffered. We were very happy.
Mrs B, Leicester