Thursday, January 20, 2005
The holiday of a lifetime
Fancy a world cruise? It wouldn't be my cup of tea but 1,752 people paid up to £41,985 each for a 103-day, 23-country trip aboard the ill-fated P&O liner Aurora. The journey from Southampton began ten days ago but had reached only as far as the Isle of Wight before "propulsion problems" brought a premature end to the proceedings.
385 lucky passengers had already left the ship when the technical problems became apparent. But the majority of passengers were less fortunate. The BBC reports that P&O decided to add insult to injury.
Those who remained were treated to free drinks and entertainment from comedians Jimmy Tarbuck and Tom O'Connor, magician Paul Daniels, and singer Elaine Page, while the ship was stuck in port.
Anyone sailing from Southampton to the Isle of Wight would be better advised to take the ferry.
