Phantom ferry leaves passengers stranded
Police and fair trading officials are expected to probe a phantom New Year’s Eve cruise on Sydney Harbour which left people stranded on the dock.
Up to 150 people found themselves stranded on a Darling Harbour ferry wharf and AUD450 out of pocket when the boat they had bought tickets for, the MV Eve, failed to show, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Many of those who bought tickets for a champagne cruise that offered a New Year’s Eve experience "like never before" have made formal complaints to the New South Wales Police and NSW Fair Trading.
Ticket holders were told to meet at King Street Wharf by 6.30pm for a six-hour cruise that was supposed to include views of the Sydney fireworks, DJ and unlimited food and drink.
By 8.30pm the group realised their planned evening had sunk without a trace.
Repeated calls were made to the mobile phone and office numbers that Eve Harbour Cruises had supplied, but no one answered.
When TravelMole called the mobile phone number on the Eve’s website – which is still advertising Sydney Harbour cruises – it went through to an automatic answering service.
The operators of the vessel describe the MV Eve as a "three level boat that has been fully renovated".
"The under ground level is the spacious men’s and ladies toilets and powder room. The middle level is the dance floor, DJ box and laser lights, plasma and a very classy bar. The 3rd Level is an open deck area for perfect viewing of Sydney Harbour and relaxation."
But not, clearly, on New Years’s Eve.
Ian Jarrett
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