A pensioner couple have missed out on the cruise of a lifetime after the cruise operator diverted course because the weather was "too cold".
Nicholas Sherman, 76, and his wife, Rosemary, 75 took cruise operator Reader Offers to court in 2018, demanding their £20,000 in ticket costs of their cruise of a lifetime back.
The pair initially lost their lawsuit at Winchester County Court and, to add insult to injury, were ordered to pay £60,000 to cover Reader Offers’ legal fees.
However, The Times reports that after an appeal, the verdict was reversed in their favour at the High Court and was confirmed by British Court of Appeal judges last week.
The couple spent some time on the cruise at Baffin Island
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The couple first brought up their lawsuit because their tickets for the "Northwest Passage—in the Wake of the Great Explorers" was not as they expected.
Instead of sailing through the waters of Arctic Canada, the couple said they mostly just cruised the coast of Greenland, with some time at Baffin Island after a sudden cold snap created sea ice that blocked the ship's route forward.
Reader Offers offered apologies and cited abnormally cold weather and ice as the reason the trip couldn’t go on as planned.
It was noted by the judge that despite the cost of the cruise, Mrs Sherman considered it a "trip of a lifetime" to celebrate her 70th birthday.
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A general view of Winchester Crown CourtGETTYThe judge added that the cruise ultimately disappointed after "sea ice closed in" with any "hopes of an alternative westward approach … soon abandoned".
The judge went on to add that the Dorset couple "went to none of the places and saw none of the things they had most wanted to experience. It was a bitter disappointment" and ultimately ruled in the Shermans' favour.
Following the court ruling, Nicholas Sherman said the case had "nothing to do with the money" and was instead about "principle."
Sherman added that he hopes his court victory will protect other travellers in similar circumstances in the future.
