Disgruntled passengers onboard a luxury Antarctic cruise went on hunger strike last week after the ship was forced to turn back from sailing to the South Pole. After 14 days at sea, the SH Diana was forced to sail to Argentina early after one of the ship’s two motors malfunctioned.
SH Diana had been sailing from Cape Town, South Africa, to Ushuaia, Argentina, as part of a 21-day trip that included three days in Antarctica. However, two weeks into the trip one of the ship’s two propulsion motors malfunctioned, reports Cruise Trade News.
As a result of the electric motor failure, operator Swan Hellenic elected to skip the stop in Antarctica and head to the end point of Ushuaia early so that the vessel could be repaired. Despite offering passengers a 50 percent refund on the trip as a result of the issues, some cruisers weren’t satisfied with the offer and went on hunger strike to try and get a better deal, reports Business Insider:
Swan Hellenic offered passengers a 50% cash refund, which Zito said was above the legal requirement of 30%. Alternatively, passengers could take a 65% “future cruise credit.”
However, some people on board weren’t pleased with the offer.
“A select few chose to stage a hunger strike in their protest,” [CEO Andrea] Zito said. He added that it was “rather counterproductive.”
“We are working towards a swift end to this action.”
The cruise was meant to spend three days in Antarctica, but instead passengers have been treated to an extra three days in Argentina where the company will put on additional excursions to fill the time before everyone flies home.
Despite this, some passengers aren’t happy with a 50 percent refund on their tickets, which started at around $8,000 per person and rose to more than $12,000 depending on cabin choice, as Cruise Trade News added:
Zachary Morgan, a passenger onboard the ship, told Cruise Trade News: “We have been offered a mere 50 per cent refund when we have missed the entire continent of Antartica.
“As a result, passengers have been going on a hunger strike. Right now there is a group heading up on four days without food, sleeping in the lobby, with signs demonstrated. I’ve seen other passengers around the ship with signs around their neck demanding a full refund.”
While going hungry, the disgruntled passengers are calling for a 100 percent refund on the cost of their tickets, as they say they only boarded the ship for the “trip of a lifetime” to Antarctica. Having fallen short of this goal, they’re not happy with Swan Hellenic’s offering.
This isn’t the first time cruise operators have promised the world and missed passenger expectations. A round-the-world cruise that was meant to keep passengers entertained for three years stranded them in Ireland for three months and passengers on a crossing from Portugal to Miami were left clinging for their lives earlier this month when a freak storm hit the ship.