CRUISE operator P&O Cruises now acknowledges 60 cases of gastric virus on the Pacific Eden, but passengers still believe the real numbers were considerably higher.
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Dubbed a “floating disaster ship” by one passenger, the trials and tribulations of passengers aboard the vessel’s Christmas cruise have become a public relations nightmare for P&O Cruises and its parent company, Carnival Australia.
The vessel berthed in Sydney on Monday morning and staff were photographed at the White Bay Cruise Ship Terminal cleaning and disinfecting the ship after passengers departed.
P&O had previously acknowledged a much smaller number of gastro cases, but revised the total on Monday to 60 from about 1500 passengers.
It described the illness as a “self-limiting stomach bug” and said the “falling number of new cases day to day [is] testament to the effectiveness of the on-board health measures.
“While we are naturally disappointed there may have been a few guests who feel differently, we are confident in the ship's appeal to the majority of our guests,” P&O said.
“The complaints of a few are at odds from what we heard from other passengers who spoke of having a fantastic holiday.”
Newcastle publicist and Liberal Party identity Jaimie Abbott was the most high-profile complainant but she was far from the only person to complain about the cruise.
Sydney woman Cherie Butcherine, travelling with her family, told Fairfax Media “we were just devastated to have to stay on board”.
Ms Butcherine said the gastro outbreak was a problem from the start of the cruise and her 11-year-old daughter fell sick two days before Christmas.
“The captain keeps making announcements about the importance of washing our hands due to the outbreak and making it sound like it's all our fault,” Ms Butcherine said on Boxing Day.
“I don't believe it's the passengers, it's the food and condition of the ship that's making people sick. Our cabin bathroom was covered in mould!
“There's heaps of people who have been sick.”
Ms Butcherine said she was demanding a refund because Pacific Eden had been promoted as a new luxury boat but was “anything but”.
Speaking on Monday, Ms Abbott said she could not fault the friendliness of the staff but whole situation was overwhelming.
After emailing P&O about the many problems on her voyage, the company apologised for a delay in responding, saying it had “been receiving unusually large volumes of emails lately”.