Cruise ship passengers sue after 'hundreds' got sick with 'uncontrollable vomiting'
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images / Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
After deciding to go on a cruise, you expect that a lot of fun and happiness will lie ahead, while exploring multiple countries.
Heck, some have even decided to ditch the traditional home life to go live on a cruise ship full-time - alright for some, eh.
However, not all that board a cruise have a wonderful time - in fact, some even have a dreadful time.
So much so, around 200 former passengers could join a class-action lawsuit against against a cruise company.
Advert
Julie McLean-Phillips is representing the large group of passengers who boarded the Sun Princess ship for any of the eight P & O cruises between December 2016 and February 2017.
They are suing Carnival cruises after a norovirus outbreak caused widespread vomiting and diarrhoea among passengers.
While she may be representing all of the alleged victims, McLean-Phillips actually became sick while on one of the cruises mentioned in the suit.
In December 2016, she and her family embarked on the 13-night cruise that departed Fremantle in Western Australia, hoping to make many new memories.
Well, she did make memories that is for sure, but for all the wrong reasons, according to claims made by the passenger.
McLean-Phillips claims she was promised a 'relaxing and pleasurable cruise' when she left port in Western Australia on 5 December, 2016.
But instead, she spent the majority the two-week cruise stuck in her cabin looking after her unwell sister.
The sisters claim that they both experienced 'uncontrollable vomiting' and 'explosive diarrhoea' - which really paints an unpleasant image, doesn't it?
McLean-Phillips and her sister also said in the suit they had difficulty walking on their own after falling unwell.
The leader of the large group of passengers said she was not offered any alternative accommodation by the cruise company, despite the fact her sister fell ill just a few days into the trip.
She added that they were forced to stay in the room - the same one that had been swamped by that 'uncontrollable vomiting' and 'explosive diarrhoea' - for the duration of the cruise.
This is when she was succumbed to norovirus - something 339 passengers and 13 crew had contracted, according to McLean-Phillips.
She claims she was unable to enjoy the facilities on offer on the ship, and is seeking a full refund of the $1,609, alongside additional damages for inconvenience, distress and disappointment.
The passenger argues that Carnival are liable because it failed to tell passengers about the risks of norovirus.
It was also noted that passengers should have been informed once three people had contracted the infection.
On the other hand, Carnival argued the risk of contracting norovirus on a cruise 'would merely be an ordinary risk inherent in activities where people congregate and there is no prospect the court would find that any required warning would include detailing aspects of the norovirus.'