P&O Cruises has denied reports that selling cut–price holidays on Ventura led to fights breaking out among ‘chavs’ on a Caribbean cruise over Christmas and new year.
Reports at the weekend claimed that the ship descended into chaos when customers, some who had paid up to £7,500, were faced with fights over sunloungers, underage drinking and an alleged arson attack on a Christmas tree.
Other reported incidents include a brawl between two families over who wasdrinking the best champagne.
The ship, which was launched in Southampton last year, did not stop at three of its 10 ports due to bad weather. Two youths who were behaving badly were asked to leave the ship in St Vincent.
Disgruntled passengers blamed heavy discounting of up to 50% for attracting the ‘chavs’ on board and likened the cruise to “the worst days of Benidorm”.
However, Complete Cruise Solution sales director Giles Hawke insisted there had been no “drastic discounting”.
He said: “There is a misconception that prices are coming down drastically – people are paying the same as last year.”
Hawke admitted there had been 4% cancellations in the two months before the cruise and there were some last–minute offers in the market. “There would have been offers for around £900 –that’s a long way from a £99 week in Benidorm. However, we are seeing the democratisation of money. Cruising is no longer the preserve of the wealthy or middle classes,” he added.
The company has received a couple of letters of complaint and is investigating. “We want to find out exactly what happened before we take action. Our crew is always on hand to resolve problems,“ said Hawke.