COMPENSATION CLAIM:A CRUISE COMPANY has begun an appeal against an award of almost €25,000 in damages to a couple over noise in their cabin on a luxury cruise.
Terence and Cynthia Milner booked a €72,000, 15-week trip aboard the maiden world voyage of Cunard's Queen Victoriaexpecting the "holiday of a lifetime". But when the ship left Southampton and hit heavy seas in the Bay of Biscay the metal floor of their cabin began to flex loudly, Britain's court of appeal was told this week.
From then on they were moved between cabins, and the couple, who are in their late 60s, suffered illness and finally left the liner in Hawaii, returning home six weeks later on the Queen Elizabeth II.
The couple’s lawyer said that the first alternative accommodation after the ship left England, in January last year, was an inside cabin that suffered from constant engine noise.
Later they were moved to another suite but were worried how long they could keep it, as it had been booked by other passengers joining the cruise later. “They felt unwell and Mr Milner suffered from mouth ulcers and Mrs Milner from breathing difficulties,” said their lawyer, Sarah Prager.
Mrs Milner had spent €4,750 on 21 gowns for the ship’s formal dining nights but was unable to wear any of them. They had now become “an unwelcome reminder of the cruise”.
Cunard accepted that the couple were not able to sleep on the first two nights of their voyage and said it provided them with another suite, which was upgraded for some of the cruise. It told the court that the vessel was designed to flex in bad weather, as a safety feature.
In the decision that is being appealed, a county-court judge had awarded Mrs Milner €2,200 for the wasted clothing costs, together with €8,300 each for distress and disappointment and €2,750 each for the loss in value of the holiday.
The Milners have also been refunded almost €53,500 of the €65,000 they paid for the cruise, after a 10 per cent discount. Cunard has asked for the damages to be reduced to between €2,200 and €3,300.