Compensation Culture – $21.5 million payout!

When you book your cruise you expect a delay free safe holiday but on occasion things can go wrong, most are out of anyone’s control

I often hear from guests who are disgruntled because of itinerary changes with no reason given from the cruise lines other than ‘operational reasons’

I can justify claims for passengers that have had an injury or have been confined to their cabin if they have been sick or infected by a norovirus

Others wanted compensation because sports courts were due to be closed for maintenance on Arcadia, the strangest request for compensation I have ever heard was because Queen Elizabeth’s laundry was going to be closed on the clients 10 night cruise to the Canaries and a man who insisted on a pay out because the Hermitage in St Petersburg was closed on the Monday that he was in port!

Sometimes ports have to cancelled due to bad weather and after safety concerns for passengers in Turkey this year Celebrity took the decision to cancel Istanbul from certain sailings, all of which caused passengers to ask for compensation

I have to say that some claims are unfounded, flights delays and flight cancellations are frustrating but the airlines will pay out if the delays are over 4 hours

Today the news hit the headlines that an Illinois man who suffered a minor brain injury when he was struck in the head by a sliding-glass door on a Holland America cruise ship has been awarded a staggering $21.5million in damages.

James Hausman, 61, was captured on surveillance video being hit by the closing door as the company’s Pacific fleet flagship, the M/S Amsterdam, approached Hawaii in November 2011.

In the footage, Hausman, who was traveling with his wife and daughter on the first leg of a cruise around the world, is seen wincing in pain as he is smacked in the face and the side of the head.

Holland America, however, said in court documents the passenger walked into the closing doors.

After the smash, the passenger sought help from a ship doctor and was diagnosed with concussion.

He finished the cruise with his spouse and daughter, but tests later showed that he had suffered a minor brain injury resulting in seizures, memory loss and vertigo, his attorneys told the court.

This is a record breaking payout and makes cruise history, last weekend I had passengers stuck on board a ship in Barcelona as the weather was so bad that the ship could not dock on Barcelona for 24 hours of course causing all passengers to miss their flights and onward arrangements, when given  compensation form by the cruise line the clients were planning on claiming £40 for their taxi to the airport, is this the difference between British and American compensation cultures … what do you think? have you ever had the cause to claim compensation for something that went wrong on your cruise?