A Christmas cruise turned “into a nightmare” when dozens of passengers apparently suffered “gastroenteritis.” Everything happened when he was traveling aboard a Costa Toscana (Costa Crociere) boat, as reported by Ivano Giacomelli, national secretary of Codes, a citizen rights center.
“According to the testimonies we collect, numerous cases of gastroenteritis have been recorded during the holidays planned for the Christmas period,” said Giacomelli, according to the Italian media. .
Some passengers who boarded on December 20 said they had not received prior information about the situation on the ship. Only upon boarding did they find a statement from the captain, dated December 17, reporting the cases of gastroenteritis. The staff were wearing masks, showing the seriousness of the situation. Despite the management’s assurances, the virus would have affected many “cruise passengers,” the note reads.
“There are those who spent Christmas isolated in their cabin, who had to give up extra luggage without receiving any type of compensation. We are examining the matter further to understand whether the company did everything necessary to address the health situation, quickly inform passengers of what was happening on board and the options available, provide the necessary assistance and guarantee the different forms of compensation provided for in these cases by the Tourism Code,” he adds.
Thus, from the reports received so far, some critical issues emerge for which they consider it necessary for Costa Crociere to recognize “a refund and compensation for the damages caused by a ruined vacation,” they state.
“The health of our guests and crew is the top priority for Costa Crociere. On board Costa Toscana, as well as on all other ships in the fleet, we adopt advanced measures to ensure the highest standards of hygiene and health safety. Controls are constant and the health and food safety procedures are rigorous and widely applied, in accordance with the regulations in force on the ground and in compliance with the provisions of the competent authorities,” declared a spokesperson for Costa Crociere.
He added: “In the second half of December 2024, some passengers on board the Costa Toscana reported symptoms of a mild gastrointestinal illness to the onboard hospital. According to protocol, as a precaution we quickly intensified hygiene measures. Finally, “It is important to underline that within Costa Toscana’s scheduled itineraries, maritime health authorities have always given ‘free practice’ to the normal continuation of cruise operations, disembarkation and boarding of guests.”
