I was delighted to read in my local paper of Bill and Elly Clough, who have returned home after their world cruise on board P&O’s ill-fated Aurora.
For I met them 11 years ago on a world cruise on board Fred Olsen’s Black Watch. I joined the ship for a short segment from Hong Kong to Singapore; they were in the cabin next door, and hosting bridge classes for passengers.
Their latest voyage was interrupted when the Aurora developed propulsion problems and spent six days in Auckland, New Zealand, awaiting repairs.
Mrs Clough, 70, told the Basingstoke Gazette, they were upset at the protests organised by some passengers. “I can’t praise P&O highly enough. We stayed on the ship and have been wonderfully looked after and given free drinks.
“It’s been very distressing the way people have gone round forming committees and having signings and going around with yellow ribbons – passengers are literally revolting over it. As far as we are concerned, we are happy with everything P&O have done for us. We have loved every minute of it.”
Now they are back home, Bill and Elly are no doubt planning how to spend their Aurora compensation on another next cruise. I hope so.
About the Author: John Honeywell
John Honeywell is a travel writer specialising in cruise ships and cruise travel. Winner of CLIA UK's Contribution to Cruise award 2017.
Well the Clough’s might be happy, but many others weren’t. Although I didn’t join the action group, it shouldn’t be taken by P&O that those who didn’t, are happy with the level of compensation offered. I understand around 900 of the passengers joined the group.
I joined the ship in Brisbane to cruise to Southampton. I lost almost 50% of my advertised ports of call. Whilst I am yet to see my precise offer, I believe P&O offer 100 pounds per missed port. I feel nearer 50% of the cruise price would be more appropriate. At what point does a cruise become just a voyage? I simply would not have taken the cruise had I only been offered the ports actually visited.
I would also say that this problem was entirely foreseeable, being caused by lack of correct maintenance or an in-built manufacturing defect. It is a myth that these ships are complex. What halted the Aurora in Auckland was a simple mechanical fault. I suggest someone choose to ignore the symptoms until a catastrophic failure occurred. Thank goodness they don’t work in the airline business.