South Yorkshire Nan and Granddaughter and Coventry Couple On Silver Wedding Anniversary Holiday Among Group Wanting Answers

A number of cruise passengers have instructed lawyers to investigate after being struck down with gastric illness linked to a luxury cruise.

The passengers, who fell ill with vomiting and diarrhoea during and after a cruise on MV Ventura, have now instructed specialist international serious injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate and secure them answers.

Granddaughter quarantined and given and ECG to monitor her heart

They include a husband and wife from Coventry marking their 25^th wedding anniversary, and a retired nan and her granddaughter from South Yorkshire. The granddaughter, a nurse, was so ill that she was quarantined, placed on a drip and given an ECG to monitor her heart due to chest pains.

Irwin Mitchell has years of experience in supporting holidaymakers who have been impacted by similar illnesses on cruises and in resorts throughout the world. The firm, which represents victims of personal injury and illness, has successfully represented thousands of cruise passengers caught up in illness outbreaks on vessels such as TUI’s Marella Explorer 2, the MV Island Escape and the MV Thomson Dream, and other P&O liners such as the MV Oriana.

The passengers “ordeal” follows reports of hundreds of other passengers being forced to isolate following a reported outbreak of norovirus on Ventura in May. P&O, which operates the cruise liner, confirmed ‘enhanced’ sanitation procedures had been put into effect following passengers being struck down with gastric illness but didn’t confirm numbers involved.

Jatinder Paul is the expert international serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell supporting the passengers.

Expert Opinion

“All of our clients were very much looking forward to their cruise but their first-hand accounts regarding their illness and the impact it had on them all are concerning.

“What’s even more worrying is that after their holidays, other cruise passengers are said to have being struck down with similar symptoms and this reflects the growing number of passengers we’re now hearing from.

“Norovirus is a particularly unpleasant illness and can be very serious in some cases. In this latest outbreak, reports speak of some on board being taken to hospital in Spain with sepsis and kidney failure.

“We’re under no illusions about how serious these cases can be and we’re now investigating further to secure our clients the answers they deserve on how they came to fall so ill.

“If during our investigation any issues are identified, it’s vital that these are acted upon and lessons learned to reduce the risk to future travellers.

“We would be interested in speaking to any others who have experienced similar illness on this vessel which will assist us with our investigations.” Jatinder Paul

A special family holiday: Jessica Bird and Cynthia Davies’ story

Jessica Bird, 27, a nurse from Thrybergh, Rotherham, and her retired grandmother, Cynthia Davies, 86, from Sheffield, joined the MV Ventura in Southampton for a family 10-day voyage that would include stops in Santander and Lisbon.

The cruise, departing on 20 April, was meant to be a last, special family holiday together due to Cynthia’s mobility.

Six days in, Jessica, a nurse, fell ill with vomiting and diarrhoea. Jessica recognised the risk to Cynthia from being in the same cabin and arranged for her nan to be moved.

Jessica placed on a drip

Jessica was so ill that she was quarantined and placed on a drip on board. She was also given an ECG to monitor her heart because of chest pains. She remained ill on her return home and was forced to take three days off work until she recovered.

Cynthia advised to go to hospital

Cynthia began to feel unwell the day after their return home and was advised to go to hospital but felt too poorly, so a nurse remained in contact and advised her to be admitted if her condition worsened.

Both Jessica and her nan believe others fell ill while they were on board and both had concerns when they boarded the ship. Other than ‘sneeze guards’, they did not notice any proper guards in place to protect food and, a few days into the trip, staff stopped serving food altogether, they said.

There was no noticeable increase in cleaning until after an announcement of illness onboard, rather staff were just getting guests to sanitise their hands before entering the restaurant.

Jessica said: “This was meant to be such a special trip for our family and I can’t believe it turned out the way it did. Nan’s been struggling with her mobility so we wanted to take a special family holiday together in case this is the last time she can make it abroad.

“We were concerned by some of the precautions in place when we came onboard. We were always very careful when getting food and sanitising but it didn’t prove enough. I’m just thankful it was me who fell ill first rather than nan.

“I’ve never felt so ill, and when I developed chest pains it was a frightening experience. Nan relies on me to an extent when we’re away, but there was no choice but for me to move away from her for fear of passing it on. When we returned home I thought we had made it, but then nan fell ill the next day.

“I realise that this could have been so much worse but this wasn’t the cruise of a lifetime that we were expecting and it’s one event we won’t be looking back on with fond memories.

“I think the least we can expect is answers and an explanation of what happened.”

A cruise to mark their 25^th wedding anniversary: Jill and Andrew Bond’s story

Jill Bond, 67, a part-time admin assistant and husband, Andrew Bond, 59, joined the MV Ventura in Southampton on 11 May for a two-week cruise around the Canary Islands. They booked the cruise to mark their 25^th wedding anniversary on 8 May.

The couple were concerned when they received an email from P&O the day before departure to advise them to arrive 90 minutes later than planned due to the need to clean the ship, although there was no option given to cancel or rearrange.

Jill started to feel unwell with “constant” sickness and diarrhoea on 16 May.

Andrew fell ill two days later.

The couple reported their symptoms to staff and then stayed in their cabin until their symptoms improved after around five days.

Andrew said: “This was meant to be a special holiday for our wedding anniversary but we didn’t expect what followed. The email delaying our departure due to cleaning the ship was a concern, and then when we boarded we had to wait in the lounge with hundreds of others as the cabins weren’t ready.

“We’ve been on cruises in the past but this was definitely the worst in terms of hygiene.

“Jill and I fell ill one after the other, which is just as well, given how ill we were. The first two days of sickness were the absolute worst I’ve ever felt. The symptoms were constant before they calmed down.

“It appeared lots of other people were unwell and it was a real worry when you can see cabins being closed off as the cruise went on, trays left untouched outside doors and lots of food being ordered but not eaten.

“It seems that P&O were aware of problems before our departure and we feel that there are questions to answer in allowing people to board a ship under these circumstances. The whole experience was a nightmare.”

Find out more about our expertise in helping holidaymakers and their families affected by serious illnesses at our dedicated illness abroad section. Alternatively, to speak to an expert contact us or call 0808 291 1468.