Widow of pensioner killed when cruise ship window smashed in storm is offered a 25% discount off future holidays

• James Swinstead, 85, died 'almost instantly' as wave struck in Channel
  
• Freak wave hit a cruise ship, killing a pensioner as he dined with his wife
• Wife Helen says she has been offered 25% off if she wants to sail again
• 'I don't think that would tempt me back' says widow, 82
• 14 other people on board were injured, and one woman airlifted to hospital

By Lucy Crossley

The window of a pensioner killed when a freak wave hit a cruise ship during a storm in the English Channel has said she was offered a 25per cent off her next holiday as compensation.
James Swinstead, 85, died 'almost instantly' after water rushed on board the British cruise ship Marco Polo as it was battered by waves during severe storms.
His wife Helen was dining with her husband when water crashed through a window, injuring him and a number of the 735 passengers on board the 22,000-tonne vessel.
Mrs Swinstead has claimed the 'badly maintained' vessel was regularly painted to hide rust, and that she was offered a 25per cent discount by cruise ship owners Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV) if she chose to sail with the company again.
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Bereft: James Swinstead's widow Helen says she was offered a 25per cent off her next holiday as compensation

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Tragedy: James Swinstead (pictured with Helen), 85, of Colchester, Essex, was killed when a huge wave crashed into British cruise ship Marco Polo during severe storms on Friday

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Terror: The Marco Polo cruise ship docked at Tilbury in Essex after the father-of-two from Colchester died 'almost instantly' after water rushed on board the vessel during severe storms

'I don’t think that would tempt me back,' Mrs Swinstead, 82, told her local newspaper the Colchester Gazette.
'At least not until that ship is up to standard.'
A CMV spokesman would not comment directly on Mrs Swinstead’s claims.

 

Mrs Swinstead, from Colchester, Essex, was dining with her husband on the sixth floor of the vessel when a freak wave struck, blowing out four windows.
After the ship docked, Mrs Swinstead called for compensation to be awarded by CMV, her comments coming just hours before the ship was cleared by police and port authorities to sail again after inspections.
'I think the shipping company should give some sort of compensation. The ship was badly maintained. Four windows blew,' she said.

Widow of ship passenger who died in Valentine's Day storm

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2562839/Widow-pensioner-killed-cruise-ship-window-smashed-storm-offered-25-discount-future-holidays.html

 

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Workers: Crew members on board the ship, which was battered by storms in the English channel on Valentine's Day

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Disembarked: An elderly passenger is helped from the liner. Some 14 people were treated for minor injuries after the storm

'There's so much paint on the outside you can't see the rust, they just slop some more on when they get to port.'
The couple were heading for the ship's home port of Tilbury in Essex at the end of a 42-night voyage when the incident happened on Valentine's Day, but father-of-two Mr Swinstead died on board.
A female passenger in her 70s was airlifted off the ship, while 14 people were treated for minor injuries.
Speaking in Tilbury after the ship docked, Mrs Swinstead said: 'I think it killed him almost instantly.'
She added: 'It was quite dreadful. I was sitting next to him and this window came in and the sea with it.
'We were all very, very wet. I think a woman was taken to hospital and my husband was going to get on the helicopter but he died before they could get him on it.
'He's never made headline news. He'll be sitting on his cloud chortling.'
Mrs Swinstead said she was worried about how she would afford to get her husband's body home so she could plan his funeral.

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Return: The Marco Polo, pictured returning to Tilbury, Essex, last night after it's ill-fated Amazon cruise

'With our insurance I think I'm entitled to £2,000, which won't even cover getting him home to Colchester,' she said.
'I said to my husband, because my father used to make paint, that's going to leak because there was a rusty puddle on the window sill. I expect to hear from the Marco Polo.
'He was a lovely husband'.
The wave caused damage to the ship's Waldorf Restaurant.
The vessel, which has been to the Amazon in South America and to the West Indies, arrived back at Tilbury and passengers began disembarking the ship from 7am yesterday morning.
It left Tilbury last night for a 14-night Norway and Northern Lights cruise with a full complement of around 790 passengers on board.
CMV spokesman Paul Foster said: 'Police and Port Health Authority people came on board yesterday and conducted their own investigations.
'They had the power to detain the vessel if they considered it was unseaworthy or if regulations were not being followed.'
He went on: 'The next cruise is under way. We had two senior CMV directors as well as representatives from the owners (the Global Maritime company of Greece) greeting passengers.
'Some passengers needed reassurance but no-one has cancelled and there have been no cancellations for the next two cruises which are also 14-night Northern Lights voyages.'
Mr Foster said the damage to the vessel had been limited to four smashed windows and carpet damage.

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Terror: Vast seas snapped by a passenger aboard MS Marco Polo, left, on which an Mr Swinstead died as a freak wave hit the ship on Friday

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Devastating: Mr Swinstead was in the restaurant of the 22,000-ton ship when the gale whipped up a giant wave

Passenger Allan Cooper said: ‘Furniture was beginning to shift,  so people were holding on to tables and chairs. Suddenly there was a very loud “bang” and the daylight  in the room reduced as a wall of  seawater covered most of the starboard windows.
‘The bang was the breaching of a window. Furniture was thrown around and water jetted in. Pandemonium broke out.’
It is not known exactly how Mr Swinstead died but he was pronounced dead on the ship.
An inquest into his death is due to open this week.
Following the incident, CMV said: 'CMV regrets to advise that earlier today their cruise ship m/s Marco Polo, en-route to her home port of Tilbury from the Azores, was hit by a freak wave during adverse sea conditions in the south western approaches of the English Channel.
'One elderly passenger has died and a further passenger has been airlifted for further shore-side medical assistance. The vessel sailed from Tilbury on January 5 and is carrying 735 mainly British passengers and 349 crew.
'Our thoughts are very much with these passengers and their families during this difficult time.'