Ruined holiday

Milner and another v Carnival Plc (t/a Cunard) [2010] EWCA Civ 389; SJ 27 April p2

The claimant husband and wife paid £60,000 for a three-month round-the-world maiden cruise of the liner Queen Victoria. Mrs Milner had gone to great trouble to choose a wardrobe of 21 formal gowns at a cost of £4,300 for the regular formal dinners on board. Banging noises in the couple’s Princess Suite during bad weather had ruined what they hoped would be the holiday of a lifetime and Mrs Milner was too upset ever to go on a cruise again. They left the cruise in Honolulu after only a month and returned on another cruise ship at their own expense. They received a refund of £48,300 but claimed over £76,000 damages, including £8,500 for diminution in value, £50,000 for distress and disappointment, £4,300 for the wasted expenditure on dresses, and £13,440 for the cost of the return voyage. They were awarded £22,000 in damages, including £5,000 for diminution in value, £15,000 for distress and disappointment, and £2,000 for the unused gowns. Carnival appealed.