A former county council leader who tried to sue Thomson Cruises and booking agent Thomas Cook over the “distress” of a 3.30am wake-up call one morning has lost his case.
Ex-Derbyshire County Council leader David Bookbinder, 71, said he and his 86-year-old brother had to get up at 3.30am one day while on board Thomson Cruises’ Celebration ship, which he claimed “ruined” their holiday and was because the cruise line wanted to sell excursions.
Bookbinder decided to sue the two holiday firms for the whole cost of the seven-day cruise, around £1,500, after the ship’s crew asked passengers to be ready by 5am on the morning the vessel was due to call at Israel’s Eilat port so they could be interviewed by Israeli immigration officials before being allowed into the country.
He argued that the immigration procedures could have been held at a “more acceptable” time, but Thomson Cruises told Travel Weekly the 3.30am call was because of Israel’s strict immigration policy and denied it had anything to do with excursion sales.
The Derby Telegraph reported that at a small claims court in Derby, district judge Malcolm Davies ruled in favour of the holiday firms, and ordered Bookbinder to pay 50% of Thomas Cook’s legal costs, £568.80, saying that his case was built on “not so much very thin ice but no ice at all” and that there was “simply no contract between the two parties”.
However, the newspaper said Bookbinder did not have to pay Thomson Cruises’ legal costs because the district judge ruled he had not acted “unreasonably” in bringing the case against them.
The court heard that the early wake-up call was made when the ship was diverted away from Egypt in February, where it had been due to stop, because of political unrest, and a replacement stop in Israel was arranged instead.
According to the Derby Telegraph, the district judge said: “A cruise holiday such as this can be marred by unexpected events. It was not unreasonable for the first defendant (Thomson Cruises) to change the itinerary given the situation and the advice of the foreign office.
“The crux of the matter is whether it was reasonable for the first defendant to arrange to dock at 5am. I consider yes, it was reasonable.”
The district judge told the court that it was clear some passengers on board wished to go on the excursion trips, and that for them to be sold in time, a 5am check-in was acceptable.
“It may have been inconvenient for other passengers but it was not a breach of contract,” he added.
Bookbinder said he had “no regrets”, according to the newspaper, adding: “I feel the money I now have to pay is well spent. This shows people what can happen and I feel the general losers will be the tour operators, as people will take this ruling into account when deciding whether to book a cruise holiday.”