Passengers launch protest as cruise ship fails to stick to itinerary

Hundreds of passengers have staged a demonstration on-board a cruise liner, with one saying “all hell broke loose” on the luxurious ship.

It was supposed to be a 14-day dream cruise for thousands of passengers on-board the luxurious Norwegian Spirit. But instead, the voyage has reportedly turned into a “nightmare” with many demanding their money back.

Setting sail on September 27, the luxurious cruise liner departed Southampton in England for a stunning adventure that would take passengers to ports in France, Amsterdam, Norway and Iceland.

But instead, some passengers said “all hell broke loose” within moments of boarding the ship, with management making changes to the itinerary before the cruise departed the first port.

The Norwegian Spirit cruise ship had 2000 passengers on-board.

“The first port was supposed to be Amsterdam,” a passenger told Cruise Radio. “But they cancelled it before we boarded and switched it to Le Havre.”

Passengers became even more outraged when the high winds on their sailing route prevented the vessel from docking at other ports, including the new destination of Le Havre.

“It really was bad,” the guest said.

Footage shows hundreds of passengers protesting in the ship's grand atrium amid chants of ‘shame on you’, ‘we want refunds’ and ‘get us off this ship’.

“Then, after stops in Bergen and Flam, they announced they were not going to make it to (our next port of call in) Iceland because they felt they might catch Hurricane Lorenzo on the way back to Ireland.”

According to some passengers, the ship eventually docked at a “deserted” Norwegian town that was closed to tourists before moving on to Greenock near Glasgow because Iceland was also stripped from the itinerary. But again, the ship was denied access and moved on from Greenock to Belfast, resulting in three days at sea for the angry passengers.

Passengers on a luxury liner staged a mutiny after their cruise turned into ‘the holiday from hell’.

“We couldn’t get into Greenock because of high winds,” said the passenger who spoke to Cruise Radio. “I wish I took pictures of the pilot boat leaving. It was bouncing all over!”

Passengers on-board took to Twitter to vent their frustration about being stuck at sea, claiming toilets stopped flushing and everyone was given three-day-old food to consume on-board.

According to some reports, passengers paid up to $10,000 for the two-week cruise and, instead of refunds, were offered a 25 per cent voucher towards a future cruise by management.

Video posted to Twitter shows passengers protesting in the ship’s grand atrium, chanting “shame on you”, “we want refunds” and “get us off this ship” before demanding to be taken back to London.

Two thousand passengers were on-board the ship.

It is understood the ship ran into bad weather caused by Hurricane Lorenzo, which barrelled in earlier this month from the Atlantic before hitting Britain.

The storm produced significant swells, high waves and storm surges that led to some coastal flooding and damage, especially along the western and southern coasts. It was the largest recorded storm to have made it so far east in the north Atlantic.

The dramatic demonstration on-board resulted in the ship docking in Belfast, with many returning to London on their own rather than boarding the ship again.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, one passenger said the trip had been a “nightmare”.

“There are a lot of angry people on this ship, and the lack of adequate explanation as to what’s going on almost caused a riot this morning,” the 48-year-old said.

The apology given to passengers.

“It’s been a nightmare of a holiday, and now many of the toilets in the cabins are overflowing with sewage.

“It’s really not my idea of a luxury cruise break.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line said the ship was forced to cancel the docking at Greenock due to weather conditions “as well as a delay caused by a departing navy vessel that experienced a technical malfunction”.