P & O Aurora's exciting trip around the Solent

[Iain Stuart Yardley]

I tried to copy and paste the story but the website wouldn't let me so I'll paraphrase the article.

On Sunday 9th January, the £106m Aurora was due to embark on a 103-day, 40-destination world cruise. Instead, the Aurora is still in Southampton three days later and the furthest the 1,769 passengers have been is a day trip to the Isle of Wight!

Seven passengers have disembarked and the rest are apparently enjoying free drinks on board until the Aurora is ready to depart on a shortened world cruise after developing technical faults.

The passengers have all paid between £9,800 and £41,985 for their cruise. A trip to the Isle of Wight normally costs £9.40.

Things have gone wrong for Aurora since Princess Anne failed to smash a bottle of champagne in the naming ceremony in 2000. She (Aurora, not Anne) broke down on her maiden voyage and in 2003, over 1000 people became ill due to a virus.

 

[Iain Stuart Yardley]

Well, the Aurora is finally underway, heading towards Madeira after leaving Southampton yesterday. Overnight propulsion tests proved satisfactory and some 1,360 passengers (385 jumped ship in the 10 days laid up in port) are now on a shortened world cruise, missing out some of the 40 planned destinations. The Aurora will head back to Southampton via the Suez Canal and not the Panama Canal as originally scheduled.

Cheers,

Boz

 

[Iain Stuart Yardley]

Or so I was led to believe. The cruise has been abandoned. P & O will have to fork out a FORTUNE in compensation on this one.

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Hi Boz,

What a huge disappointment this is for the passengers and after all the money they spent for the cruise. P & O will definitely have to dig deep in their pockets for a large compensation. I give them a lot of credit for bending over backwards for the passengers, while they were in port.

Hopefully for P & 0's sake, she won't be out of service for too long. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Best regards,

Jason

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Sounds to me that with all the troubles this ship has been having, there's going to be an expensive refit in the works somewhere to make things right. Question is: Who's going to pay for it?

Only the laywers know for sure!

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Remember what I said about lawsuits earlier? Well, if If This Article Posted On The BBC Website is any indication, it's the passengers who are getting the ball rolling!

 

[Jerry Nuovo]

But since P&O will give the passengers a full refund and a discount for a future cruise, I do not think that the passengers suing P&O really do have any justification suing P&O.And I predict that these passengers will not win their lawsuit.That there are problems with one of the Aurora's electric propulsion motors,well unfortunately sometimes things do brake down.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

The jury may decide otherwise, Jerry. You may be right but I suppose we'll find out soon enough. On the other hand, the whole thing may well be settled in the usual fashion: Out of court to make it go away.

 

[Inger Sheil]

I remember the evening she began her maiden voyage in 2000. We were staying at a friend's holiday home by the Solent, and we stood outside on the little pebbly beach, watching the fireworks over Southampton. Then she appeared as a great big mass of light, and we watched her progress towards the sea. Pity she seems to have had a few problems ever since!

 

[Noel F. Jones]

As Jerry has intimated, the Aurora passengers stand to be compensated in accordance with their contract of carriage with the shipowner.

Mindful of their valued clientele, P&Q may consider an ex gratia payment over and above the compensation due under the contract.

Considering that such contracts invariably invoke the gamut of navigational contingencies I doubt any court would perceive or recognise a cause of action. The present manoeuvreings amount to mere bluster.

Noel