Couple win case over cruise that was frozen out
Two pensioners have won an £80,000 court battle after their Arctic cruise through the Northwest Passage was scrapped because the weather was too cold.
Nicholas Sherman, 76, and his wife, Rosemary, 75, had their sights set on a cruise through the waters of Arctic Canada, made famous by Captain Sir
John Franklin’s doomed
19th century navigation attempt, which featured in Michael Palin’s bestseller Erebus: The Story of a Ship.
But the September 2018 trip was derailed when a cold snap created sea ice that forced the ship to spend most of its time around Greenland.
The disappointed couple sued Reader Offers Ltd, through which they booked, for the price of their £20,000 ticket – but their claim was rejected by a judge at Winchester County Court, who also ordered them to pay £60,000 in legal costs.
The Shermans, from Sixpenny Handley in Dorset, appealed against the ruling and had the verdict overturned in their favour at the High Court in February last year, with the decision confirmed by Court of Appeal judges last week.
Three senior judges sent the case to the county court for an assessment of the amount in compensation the Shermans are entitled to. The decision means they could be due about £20,000 and will not have to pay the £60,000 court bill they were initially handed, with Reader Offers having to cover its own legal costs. Speaking after the judgment, Mr Sherman said: “To be honest, this case has nothing to do with the money.” He said it was about “principle” and protecting travellers in similar circumstances in the future.
The judge said that the couple “went to none of the places and saw none of the things they had most wanted to experience”.
The holiday firm’s lawyers argued that the “basic itinerary” – touring part of the Northwest Passage – had not been significantly altered.
Ms Lindqvist, from Dorchester, made a Doctor Who sculpture last year featuring a likeness of Ncuti Gatwa as the new Time Lord.
New displays will be added during the season and there are daily workshops for families to try to make their own three-dimensional art.