Cruise ship name: MS Thomson Celebration
Date of travel: July 2014
Nature of illness: Gastric illness
Compensation awarded: £3735
A British holidaymaker from Stockport has received £3,735 after contacting YourHolidayClaims when their journey on the Thomson Celebration cruise ship was devastated by sickness. Read on to find out more.
What happened on the MS Thomson Celebration?
In the summer of 2014, Mr D Kitchen and his wife Mrs T Kitchen decided to sail off on the Thomson Celebration cruise ship to celebrate Mr Kitchens’ 50th birthday.
However, unfortunately Mr Kitchen was left feeling sea sick rather than in ship shape, after symptoms such as crippling stomach cramps, diarrhoea and a fever spoiled his experience on Thomson’s Black Sea Explorer tour.
Instead of being able to enjoy the sights of Istanbul, Bulgaria and Romania with his beloved wife, Mr Kitchen was instead left suffering from severe gastric illness symptoms for the majority of the cruise, after falling ill on only the second day.
While speaking to the experts here at YourHolidayClaims, Mr Kitchen describes a terrifying ordeal during the cruise, where he was prescribed and injected with medication despite not having any medical history taken.
Furthermore, while this ordeal was taking place Mr Kitchen was placed in an enforced isolation period for 24 hours, giving him no contact with his wife and therefore leaving them apart on the cruise.
Additionally, to worsen Mr Kitchen’s situation despite receiving this medical attention and adhering to all advice, his illness did not ease for the remainder of the cruise and he was unable to partake in any of the cruise activities him and his wife planned.
To make matters worse, astonishingly Mr Kitchens illness symptoms didn’t improve until for 3 months afterwards he suffered from the first of his symptoms.
Mr Kitchen is certain that poor food hygiene was the cause of the suffering he has had to endure, and the reason his and his wife’s cruise was ruined.
His concerns are as follows:
- Raw chicken served in the ship’s Meridian restaurant
- Dim lighting in ships restaurants make it difficult to spot if food is uncooked
- Staff on board didn’t act accordingly to the whole situation
When describing his concerns, Mr Kitchen vividly remembers the moment where he unknowingly consumed the raw chicken he believes that made him ill.
He explains “We sat down to dinner and I was served chicken wrapped in bacon with gravy completely covering the meat.
“It was quite dimly lit where we were sitting and it was only when a beam of light shone down that my wife noticed the chicken I was eating was still pink.
“We immediately made the waiter, head waiter and chef aware of the situation”.
Mr Kitchen also revealed that following this incident and as a result of his sickness, he met with a number of managers on board the cruise and was offered £180 in compensation from Thomson for what was described as a “catastrophic breakdown in the ships procedure”.
The Stockport holidaymaker declined this offer and instead decided to pursue legal action against tour operator, Thomson.
How YourHolidayClaims helped
On his return back to the UK and when he was convinced that legal action was the correct route, Mr Kitchen contacted YourHolidayClaims and experienced solicitor Tracey Stansfield was put in charge of the case.
The case was handled on a no win no fee basis by Tracey, and it was concluded with Mr Kitchen receiving a £3735 compensation pay-out for the troubles he had to endure on what was supposed to be a special occasion.
Commenting on the case, Tracey said: “I am absolutely delighted that I was able to help Mr Kitchen recoup the compensation he deserved following his ruined 50th birthday celebrations.
“Mr Kitchen’s case demonstrates that it is not always advisable to accept tour operator compensation as this can leave you massively undercompensated for the illness you have suffered.
Tracey finished by giving some advice to anyone who has had to suffer the same stresses that Mr Kitchen has.
“At YourHolidayClaims our helpline remains open to anyone who has fallen ill on a package holiday within the last three years. We will work tirelessly to ensure that you receive the compensation that is rightfully yours when tour operators fail in their duty of care”.
A final word from our client
“It feels fantastic to achieve this result after so much of the holiday and the following months were ruined by illness”.
Find out if you could make a cruise ship illness claim
If your cruise ship package holiday has been marred by illness within the past 3 years, YourHolidayClaims could assist you in recovering compensation ranging from £770 – £43890 in a successful no win no fee cruise ship illness claims.
Our dedicated, specialist solicitors have an impressive 50+ experience in travel law alongside an unrivalled claim success rate to provide you with the very best legal representation you deserve.
Its quick and easy to start your claim with YourHolidayClaims, just simply give us a call on 0330 100 2851.
If you’re unable to talk to us right now there’s no need to worry, you can start your holiday claim online here.
Don’t delay, claim today!
