Tui Travel is to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation after passengers on the Island Escape ship were struck down by a vomiting bug.
The company is reported to have agreed to pay a substantial six-figure settlement to passengers who travelled on the ship to destinations including Morocco, Gibraltar, Madeira and Las Palmas between December 2009 and June 2010.
More than 100 passengers who were struck down by illness on board. They were not warned of the risk of illness prior to boarding, Mail Online reported.
Many suffered diarrhoea, stomach cramps and severe sickness while some claim they are continuing to suffer symptoms now, four years on.
Sunshine Cruises Limited, Thomson and First Choice Holidays & Flights Limited have denied liability.
But travel law firm Irwin Mitchell has secured a settlement of “several hundred thousand pounds” in compensation.
This was for more than 100 passengers who were ill and others whose holiday was ruined as a result.
Passengers affected are expected to receive up to £10,000 each.
Irwin Mitchell is also representing 117 further passengers who have made similar claims following trips on the Island Escape in 2012 and 2013.
Elizabeth Tetzner, a travel law expert at the firm, told Mail Online: “We are pleased for this group of passengers that travelled on board the cruise ship in 2009 and 2010 that their legal battle is over and they will now receive settlements after their trips were ruined aboard the Island Escape cruise.
“A number of the passengers that suffered illness suffered from symptoms such as stomach cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting and lethargy.
“Aside from making the cruise extremely unpleasant, these types of illness can have a debilitating long term impact on their health.
“Some passengers had to seek medical assistance on board the cruise ship, whilst others had to seek medical assistance upon return home.
“Passengers have described to us how these special occasions were ruined by the illness suffered or by the experiences they suffered on board the cruise ship.
“We hope that now a settlement has been reached they will be able to get on with their lives and put the experience behind them.”
A spokesman for Tui said they did not comment on settlements.