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Illness wrecked our dream cruise
AFTER working hard all their lives Terry and Elizabeth Howarth were looking forward to a luxury cruise to celebrate their well deserved retirement.
But a sickness bug which swept the ship Island Escape transformed the Howarth's dream holiday into a nightmare.
The North Shore couple spent 2,500 on the Canary Isles cruise. But two days into the holiday, they were struck down with a debilitating stomach bug. It was suspected to be the infamous winter sickness bug norovirus.
Mr and Mrs Howarth, both 64, suffered horrendous stomach cramps and vomiting.
The couple say there were dozens of other guests with the same symptoms, while problems were compounded by the fact many of the ship's toilets became blocked.
Mr Howarth, a former driver and great-grandfather, said: "It was terrible. Everybody was suffering from the same thing.
"The toilets were blocked and the stench on the ship was just horrendous.
"We got ill after a couple of days. At first I thought it was maybe just eating different food, but it got worse.
"It was just an absolute nightmare.
"We've been on cruises before on that ship and never had any problems. But this time it was dirty. It was a really miserable way to spend Christmas."
Mr and Mrs Howarth are among dozens of travellers who have now contacted solicitors with a view to taking legal action against holiday firm Thomson – which owns the Island Escape.
Legal firm Irwin Mitchell says many passengers suffered norovirus.
Mark Watts, from the solicitors' travel team, said passengers onboard the Island Escape had complained about the "extremely poor quality of the ship" and described it as "very shabby and grubby."
A spokeswoman for Thomson said the symptoms of the illness indicated norovirus.
She said while the company did "everything in its power" to contain an outbreak, it was "ultimately difficult to avoid the spread."
The spokeswoman said: "Outbreaks of the illness are common, particularly within contained environments such as hospitals, nursing homes and schools. We therefore refute inferences an outbreak on a cruise ship is due to poor hygiene standards.
"At Island Cruises, the health and safety of our customers is our primary focus and we are genuinely concerned to hear of any illnesses reported on our ship the Island Escape.
"Our crew maintain a strict level of hygiene standard at all times and any suggestions otherwise are unfounded."
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Weather for Chorley
Friday 10 February 2012
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