Posted on Oct 05, 2018
by in Cruise News
Royal Caribbean is making headlines - though not for a great reason. On a recent three-night cruise from Singapore, guests complained their dream cruise was ruined by a raucous crowd of over 1,000 partying businessmen (and their Playboy bunny-clad guests).
Kamla Pasand employees turn Voyager of the Seas into burlesque
After saving up for a cruise through the South Pacific from Singapore to Australia, some Royal Caribbean guests were understandably upset when their serenity was split by a party of hundreds of drunken revellers. Over 1,300 employees of Indian tobacco company Kamla Pasand joined the cruise in Sydney, with scantily-clad female guests in tow. On top of leaving the ship littered with pamphlets promoting their tobacco products, the partiers also took over most of the ship’s public areas, leaving families hunkered down in cabins.
‘We could not escape’
One passenger, Cassandra Riini, told Australian news program A Current Affair: “It is hard to forget after seeing all the flashbacks of these men around all the time, 24 hours a day, like we could not escape.” Some female passengers also complained that the men would use their phones to take pictures or videos of them, and that they cared little for others’ privacy. “Their doors would be open and you would walk past and be like what am I going to be looking at when I walk past this door?” Ms. Riini recounted.
Royal Caribbean quick to address situation
While for many passengers on board the Voyager of the Seas the experience was nightmarish, Royal Caribbean was quick to make amends. The cruise line quickly issued full refunds to affected passengers and assured the press it “operates with the safety of guests and crew as our highest priority.” A Royal Caribbean spokesperson added: “While we have had a long history of successful group bookings in which all guests have enjoyed their cruise, we are looking into this incident, including all guest feedback to ensure our group booking policies are suitable and that our guest conduct policy is applied appropriately.”