Cruise hell onboard the Boudicca

A luxury cruise liner has been hit by three outbreaks of Norovirus in as many weeks. A total of 519 passengers have been taken ill with the virus during three cruises on the Boudicca over winter, despite assurances from the owners who insisted the ship was free from virus.


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Fred Olsen Cruise Lines said the vessel was twice deep-cleaned, following outbreaks of Norovirus, but the virus has returned with a vengeance to plague more passengers, at least twice.

Three people also died during Boudicca´s last cruise, although the company said the deaths were unrelated to the virus.

Derek and Marina Eaton contracted the virus on the last cruise and were confined to their cabins. After being taken ill, having booked the ship´s most expensive suite for the 14 night Christmas cruise to Madeira and the Canaries, at £10,155, Mr Eaton, 70, described it as a ´cruise from hell.´
During the initial 12-day cruise to the Canaries, which departed from Portsmouth on December 6, 180 of the 800 passengers aboard the Boudicca were struck down with illness.

The firm said that when the 28,000-ton ship returned to Portsmouth on December 18, it was deep-cleaned and was free from the virus. Later that day, it departed on a four-day mini-cruise to Amsterdam and around 50 of the 827 passengers were then diagnosed with the stomach bug.
When the Boudicca returned, the company vowed to thoroughly clean the ship before the next cruise, which was the one Mr and Mrs Eaton were on, which departed for Madeira on December 22nd.

This time, 289 of the 795 passengers were diagnosed with Norovirus and gastroenteritis, and the ship - which can carry up to 900 passengers - returned to Portsmouth a day early.
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has blamed infected passengers for bringing the virus aboard.
The latest outbreak would be the seventh time in the past year that one of firm's fleet has been hit by the illness.

There was another outbreak on the Boudicca in October.
Mr Eaton, 75, a company owner, from Woburn Sands in Bedfordshire, said he and his wife had been looking forward to spending New Year's Eve in Madeira to see the island's fireworks display, which is said to be the largest in the world.

But after falling ill, they spent the night confined to their cabin and missed the display. They had to spend a total of four days in their cabin and missed three of the six islands on the cruise. Mr Eaton said: 'The management of the company should have cancelled the cruise once the first set of passengers fell ill.

'I don't believe for one second that they deep-cleaned the ship because there wasn't sufficient time.'Noroviruses - a group of viruses - are the most common cause of gastroenteritis (vomiting and diarrhoea) and affect up to one million in Britain every year. A company spokesman said it would refund passengers a day´s travel as the ship returned a day early and it also offered each passenger £100 for the inconvenience.

But there has not been any compensation paid for days lost due to sickness.
'Throughout every cruise great attention is paid on a daily basis to the hygiene and cleanliness of the vessel,' said a company spokesperson. At the end of each cruise where there were a number of gastro cases, a programme of deep cleaning and disinfection was carried out, with subsequent departures delayed as necessary.'

More than 250 passengers on another Fred Olsen vessel - the Balmoral - have also fallen ill with Norovirus. The ship left Dover for the Canary Islands on December 21 with 1,350 passengers. A spokesman said it would be deep-cleaned in one day. There were also outbreaks of Norovirus on the Balmoral last February when 200 fell ill and in September when 78 caught the virus.

If you have been taken ill onboard the Boudicca, the Balmoral or any other cruise liner, contact Farnworth Rose Personal injury Solicitors who can help you claim compensation. We are experts in travel law and we specialise in holiday illness and injury compensation claims. Farnworth Rose Personal Injury Solicitors will deal with your claim swiftly, professionally and confidentially, so call us free today on 080001 54321 or fill in the online claim form.