Mother and son thrown off cruise ship

An epileptic man and his mother were forced to leave a Thomson ship after he suffered a fit.

Dave Evans and his mum Jenny had decided to treat themselves to a last minute cruise holiday in the Canary Islands last month with Thomson Cruises. Unfortunately two days into their voyage Dave suffered an epileptic fit at breakfast as he had forgotten to take his tablets.

After insisting that Mr Evans went to hospital in La Palma the ship’s captain decided that both mother and son would have to leave the cruise line.

Mrs Evans noted “The gang plank was put down and we were sent off, we were on our own, a taxi took us to a hotel where there was hardly anyone who spoke English. The only flights to leave La Palma are to Manchester and Gatwick, once a week. Through sign language and broken English, we managed to get a ferry to Tenerife and catch our flight back on the Friday.”

They had paid nearly £1000 for their holiday and then had to spend a further 670 euro on hotel, taxis, doctor’s fee’s and a ferry to Tenerife. Mr Evans said they felt totally abandoned. “We were like two refugees,” she added. “I’ve written a letter to Thomson, but not had a reply yet.”

Thomson Cruises apologised to the pair but said the captain acted in the interest of the other passengers.

A spokeswoman said: “We would like to apologise to Mr Evans should he feel our decision was not the preferred option. However, our captain and crew were acting in the interests of all passengers on board as well as Mr Evans. While our ship’s medical team is equipped to be able to handle a number of medical concerns, their supplies are limited and the risk of Mr Evans having another seizure was deemed too great.”

The spokeswoman noted the company would contact Mr Evans to resolve his concerns.