Cruise liner holidaymakers may seek compensation

People who have contracted a virus while on a cruise liner may be set to launch legal action in a bid to secure compensation.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines - a firm with roots tracing back to 1848 - has admitted that one of its luxury vessels has been plagued by outbreaks of the winter vomiting virus.

According to the firm, three passengers were in isolation on the ship, while a total of 305 individuals have been affected.

Due to the problems, the company has had to cut short the trip.

Those involved are suffering from sickness and diarrhoea.

Boudicca was on the final leg of a cruise to the eastern Mediterranean, but it has cancelled two stops in Malta and Lisbon so that it can dock early in Liverpool.

It will undergo a deep cleansing and fumigation before it heads of on its next voyage, although there are concerns about possible further outbreaks.