P&O Cruise: 'Disaster' for pensioner amid norovirus outbreak
Patricia Carter, 86, booked a luxury cruise with her friend to travel around the Canary Islands for two weeks, setting off on the P&O Ventura on May 9.
The holidaymakers took a coach from Swindon to Southampton, but before they could even board the ship, they were warned by other passengers who had been on the Ventura that norovirus was "rife".
"It was really bad", Patricia said. "When we got to the ship, there were sick bags."
"Sunday was alright, in the early hours of Monday the sickness and diarrhoea started and we were confined to the cabin for four days of the holiday. It was an absolute disaster."
Patricia added: "There was one lady we were talking to on the first day, we didn't see her for another week. She'd been in the hospital on the ship for six days and it cost her £2,800.
"I would have come home if I was allowed off the ship."
The excursion set Patricia back by £1,400 and she said she doubts her and her friend will have the opportunity to go again.
She said: "If it had been nice it would have been well worth it. I have been on a cruise before but it took a lot of saving up. My friend's aim was to go to Madeira and we were disappointed, we had to sit and look out the window."
Although Patricia was given a letter from P&O to confirm she had been confined to her cabin with norovirus, she was told she would have to claim on her travel insurance if she wanted to get any of her money back.
But Patricia has since been informed by the insurance company that the policy only covers illness or accidents, not a bug such as norovirus, and she has been left feeling concerned that herself and other passengers have not been offered any form of compensation.
The Adver has also reported on another norovirus outbreak on a different P&O ship - Aurora - after a Hampshire couple were confined to their cabin on March 19 during a 12-night trip to Norway.
They said it was a "cruise from hell" and turned their £5,000 dream holiday into a nightmare.
P&O Cruise has been approached for comment about Patricia's case.
