A group of travellers are seeking justice after suffering from serious illness whilst on board a Thomson cruise.
The passengers were on a voyage aboard the Majesty cruise ship between December 2014 and January 2015.
They are claiming that Thomson is responsible after a number of people fell ill with gastric symptoms and chest infections during their cruise.
The group reported concerns regarding the cleanliness on the ship, stating that sometimes the table linen and utensils within the restaurant were dirty.
Passenger also alleged that the food served on board had sometimes been left out for long periods time or served lukewarm.
Some cruise travellers have claimed that staff serving the food did not wear gloves.
There were also reports of people waking up to soaking wet carpets and little was done to deal with the issue, except for providing air blowers, which passengers claimed did very little and made the cabin smell of damp.
Others claimed that on the day of disembarkment, black soot could be seen flying around and even burnt a hole in one person’s blouse.
Tracy Owen, from Holborn,Southampton is one of the passengers seeking justice from Thomson.
The 44-year-old said she had gone on the cruise with her son to take her mind off the fact it was the anniversary of her father’s death. But on boxing day she began suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea and claims she continued to suffer more than 12 months afterwards.
She said: “Billy (her son) was already suffering with the symptoms when I fell ill and it was absolutely awful. I also suffered stomach cramps and a fever, but was only given some medical advice from staff on board as we were due to disembark.
“It is disappointing that over two years later Thomson is still putting up a fight after our ordeals on board the ship. Hopefully it can now be sorted as quickly as possible.”
“We are disappointed to have had to issue court proceedings as we had hoped to agree a settlement out-of-court, but the tour operator has left us with no choice,” said Jennifer Downing, personal injury lawyer from Irwin Mitchell who is representing all the group of passengers.
“We heard a number of worrying first-hand accounts from a number of passengers who fell ill on the Thomson Majesty cruise ship across this two-month period.”
Jennifer added: “The seriousness of illnesses of this nature should never be downplayed, as we see many cases in which people develop long-term health implications as a result of such problems.
“All of our clients are desperate for answers regarding how their illnesses emerged, as well as reassurances as to what steps if any can be taken to prevent others from facing the same problems in the future.”
A spokesperson for Thomson told Express.co.uk: “We’re sorry to hear of the customers’ experience on their cruise.
“As this matter is now subject to legal proceedings it would be inappropriate to comment at this time.
“We’d like to reassure customers that we regularly audit all accommodations we feature in respect of health and safety, including hygiene.”
The story comes after Pakistan International Airlines deny claims that too many people were allowed to board a flight and then forced to stand in the aisle.
