Aurora cruise cancelled
The ill-fated Aurora cruise ship finally left Southampton last night on its Grand Voyage world tour – but is limping back towards the south coast port again this morning after the cruise was cancelled.
The cancellation is expected to cost the ship’s owner P&O Cruises £20 million in compensation, the BBC reported. Aurora is likely to be out of service for a month.
As reported, the cruise ship was meant to have left the UK on January 9 for a 103-day trip, taking in 40 ports in 23 countries around the world.
But, according to Sky News, P&O has said that attempted repairs had not been successful and that the ship was “limping back to dock in the Solent”.
The company is quoted as saying that the ship was not capable of reaching the speed necessary to complete the trip.
Passengers have been given free drinks since the planned start date – the Daily Telegraph reports that passengers have drunk some 9,000 bottles of wine and champagne, a similar number of beers, and more than 7,000 cocktails since January 9.
Sky reports that passengers will be given a full refund and a voucher for 25 per cent of the price that they paid, to be used against a future cruise.
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd
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