I’m ill, and it’s all your fault.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has agreed to pay £280,000 to 130 passengers who fell ill on one of its cruise ships.

The cruise operator agreed to the group settlement after holidaymakers suffered gastric illnesses on the the Boudicca between October 2009 and May 2010. Passengers’ symptoms included diarrhoea, vomiting and severe stomach cramps.

Luke Ryan 41 , from Petersfield, Hampshire, spent Christmas 2009 and New Year on the ship. Mr Ryan, 41, said:

“The cruise was cut short by a day due to the illness and, to be frank, the end could not have come soon enough. We hope this settlement will mean we can now move on with our lives.”

Move on with our lives?… How traumatic was this tummy bug?… And why will only a cash payment help him recover from what what basically a not very enjoyable holiday.

Now I’m not a lawyer, but i’m sure to be compensated it has to be proven that Fred Olsen Cruise Lines was the cause of this illness. Gastric illness is very prevalent during the winter months in the UK, so is it not possible that one or more of the passengers brought the virus onto the ship themselves? How can anyone be sure Fred Olsen Cruise Lines caused this outbreak?

It’s just yet another example of the ever increasing blame culture which is perniciously finding its way into our society these days. People get ill all the time, why does it have to be someone else’s fault? And why on earth should Fred Olsen pay people for something that wasn’t theirs?

While i’m sure the passengers will be happy of a little cash injection in the short term, all that will happen in the long term is that if the cruise lines have to pay out massive compensation packages every time someone gets ill on board, prices will inevitabley rise.

Give them something else to moan about though won’t it?