Cruise passengers ‘stage mutiny’ after toilets stop working and ship misses key stops
Tourists chant ‘we want refunds’ as rebellion breaks out on a two-week ‘Mystical Fjords’ trip
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Your support makes all the difference.Passengers onboard a luxury cruise ship to the Norwegian fjords staged an onboard rebellion as the ship missed out key stops and toilets stopped working.
Tourists chanted “we want refunds” during a two-week cruise that was due to sail around the Fjords and Iceland.
The 2,000 passengers on the Norwegian Spirit vessel, run by US-based Norwegian Cruise Line, were on the “Mystical Fjords” tour, with planned stops in Le Havre, Amsterdam, Norway and Reykjavik.
The ship left Southampton on 27 September, but did not dock in Le Havre and Amsterdam due to high winds, the Daily Mail reported.
The ship then sailed to Norway, where the ship docked in an empty town far from the “mystical fjords” the tour was named after. A later stop in Reykjavik was cancelled.
Instead the ship sailed to Greenock in Scotland, before heading to Belfast.
After a long journey at sea, passengers complained of three-day old food in the restaurants and a lack of working toilets.
Video, shared by social media user “NCLHell1”, shows passengers holding up placards spelling out “we want refunds” and chanting.
The same passenger shared a letter showing Norwegian Cruise Line were instead offering that passengers were offered 25 per cent off any future cruises.
He told The Independent that he disembarked the ship yesterday due to “safety and health fears”.
The 880 ft-long and 76,000-ton Norwegian Spirit has 14 restaurants including a steakhouse, a French bistro and an Italian trattoria. There is also a casino and a raft of onboard bars.
The 14-day Mystical Fjords trip to Iceland, Ireland and Norway is currently advertised with prices starting from £1,799 per person, with stops in destinations including Edinburgh, Bergen, Akureyi, Reykjavik and Dublin.
A spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line apologised for the problems.
“Unfortunately, Norwegian Spirit’s itinerary was impacted by weather conditions,” a statement said.
“While nine ports of call were originally planned for the voyage, the revised itinerary allowed the ship to call to eight ports. We are very sorry for any inconvenience and disappointment our guests experienced. As such, we made the decision to offer a 25 per cent future cruise credit.
“We always do our best to provide our guests with a truly enjoyable and memorable vacation, but our very first priority is to ensure their safety and the safety of our crew.
“We understand that it is disheartening when we are unable to call to ports that our guests have been looking forward to visiting. However, we ask for their patience, cooperation and understanding. We do the very most we can to call to ports whenever it is safe to do so. Our goal is to showcase the beautiful destinations our ships visit and to provide guests with an onboard experience that is second to none.”
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