HolidayTravelWatch has recently dealt with complaints from
holidaymakers, following their cruise aboard the MS Thomson Spirit,
during the Iberian Delights Cruise in May 2009. It is now of concern
that further complaints are being made about the previous cruise. This
Organisation discovered that a number of holidaymakers were ill during
both cruises, all expressing concern on the standards on board the
ship.

Here is what some of the passengers had to say about their May cruise experience:

\"A
couple of days into the holiday, I became very ill with profuse
vomiting, severe stomach cramps followed by diarrhea. I duly informed
the medical staff on board who gave me some antibiotics and anti
sickness medication and I was confined to my cabin for 3 days, missing
many of the ports I was looking forward to visiting. Once this time
passed I was allowed out again, but two days before my return the
symptoms returned. This was diagnosed as norovirus. As far as I am
aware over 200 other passengers were also affected\" (9239)

\"Rang
reception in the morning to report they were ill, they asked for the
cabin number and informed....someone from the medical centre would
attend the cabin, they did not visit the cabin until quarter past 5
that evening. Swabs were taken....there was also asked what they had
eaten and had they eaten anywhere else other than onboard the ship?
They both took Imodium. When they felt well enough....called reception
to see if it was ok to leave the cabin, he was told he could, he took
the forms he had to the medical centre to hand them in, they told him
that he should not be there he would contaminate others. They were
getting different information from different people....he signed the
forms and remarked there was a pile of forms just like his it must have
been a foot high, when staff were trying to tell them only some
passengers were ill. He said he saw many many trays outside the cabin
doors. It was only after passengers were ill that they saw the wipes
and the sprays appear, before that some used them and some did not,
when they have been on other cruises you always had to use the wipes
and sprays, he watched one member of staff cleaning down tables and
chairs, he must have sprayed and wiped 20 tables he did not rinse out
his cloth in the bucket once . They returned to the cabin one day, the
floor was soaking wet, the toilet was leaking , they came to mend it
twice, [The Holidaymaker] fixed it once himself. They sat on the coach
waiting to go on a trip and watched passengers from a returning coach
re board the ship, the driver and someone from the ship were in
conversation then men in white coats from the ship boarded the coach
presumably to clean it, the rumour was that a passenger on the trip had
projectile vomited on the coach. Everyone on their table and others had
been ill\" (9300)

\"This was their first ever cruise and it was a
treat for her 60th Birthday. 3 days into the cruise her husband became
very ill with Sickness, Diarrhoea, Vomiting & Stomach Cramp’s. They
went to the medical centre and thereafter were confined to their cabin.
They received a letter confirming that he had caught ’Norovirus’. A
nurse came to the cabin and took a stool sample and returned a result
within 24 hours as being confirmed Norovirus. When they went several
days later to the medical centre they describe the scene as being like
seeing lots of ’wounded soldiers’. She did not suffer with anything but
she was required to remain in the cabin. They missed many of the
sights. Up until that time they had not realised that so many people
were ill, many were confined to their cabins, one put a notice on her
door with the word ’Prisoner’ on it. Because she was confined to the
cabin, she began to suffer with claustrophobia and felt that she could
not breathe - one single woman came out of her cabin very distressed
because she could not take the confinement. When this holidaymaker’s
husband became very ill, they went to the medical centre and he was
told that he had seasickness and given an injection for £37. They
considered that the ship needed updating and the engines were vibrating
throughout the ship. There was a rumour going around the ship that the
problem came from the water containers in the Lido restaurant and that
before this cruise the ship had come from Egypt. They advise that at
the start of the cruise they had a letter pushed under the door to tell
them that they would probably contract Norovirus! Anti-bacterial
regimes were not enforced\" (9314)

It was no surprise to
HolidayTravelWatch to also receive complaints about the previous cruise
on this ship, the ’Pyramids & Piazzas’ Cruise, which sailed at the
end of April into May 2009.

Here is what one passenger had to say about their experience on the April/May cruise:

\"His
wife was ill on 25/4/09 this continued for duration of cruise and
after. Has photo of complaint form filled in on board. When she was ill
asked at desk if they could cancel trip and have money back, told no
only if you go to doctor pay and get letter can you have your money
back, her husband was appalled . Everything that she ate went straight
through her. On the outside deck at finish of sitting food was just
covered in clingfilm and re heated next day. Orange from post mix
drinks tasted odd. Everyone using same scoop for ice cream. Food was
just added to food, there was lipstick on cups, plates were dirty, he
remembers seeing trays outside other passengers cabin doors, he just
thought they were eating in the cabin. \"We couldn’t pinpoint the reason
she contracted this but, we did notice some unusual practices in the
restaurants that could have contributed to this. Serving dishes were
replenished with food instead of being removed and replaced with fresh.
Milk jugs were replenished, when empty, without being washed. The
porridge pot was also replenished as was the chilli con-carne dish. All
of these practices encourage the possibility of the growth of harmful
bacteria. In the Compass Rose restaurant we saw a waiter empty a water
jug and wipe it with a tea towel, that he had previously wiped a table
with, before putting the jug in a store cupboard. The quality of the
food was poor, there wasn’t enough choice and the food wasn’t hot when
it arrived at the table\". Restaurant staff not as well dressed as on
previous cruises some were quite tatty, he remarked they were sitting
in the lounge waiting to disembark ship at Ibiza, they got into
conversation with passengers that had already joined the ship for the
next cruise called \"Iberian Delights \". (9349)

HolidayTravelWatch
has commented on the recent MS Marco Polo cruise illness cases and
called for the implementation of an EU wide Ships Sanitation Program.

Frank Brehany, the Senior Consumer Advocate for HolidayTravelWatch states,

\"I
am naturally very concerned to hear that there were wider problems on
board this ship than we first believed. Given the growth in cruise
holidays it once again underlines the need for the implementation of an
European Vessel Sanitation Program. For the present we would urgently
call for the relevant Port Authorities to act and restore confidence in
this vessel, particularly in light of the already fragile travel market
- confidence needs to be restored\"

He continues,

\"I
sincerely hope that the EU Commission is closely monitoring the nature
of holiday complaints on cruise ships, in anticipation of its review of
the Package Travel Directive and the need for a Vessel Sanitation
Program. I call upon the EU Transport Commissioner to act on this
important issue\".

He concludes,