P&O plans crackdown on passengers

Hi All,

The below report appeared on the www.news.com.au website. I must have gone to bed too earlier each night cause I don't recall that many problems on my cruise. Then again I am also a non drinker so don't tend to frequent the bars & discos!!

Just a warning for those planning on playing up while on their cruise the below policy is expected to come into effect from the next cruise departing this Friday!!

Cheers,

Chaz:)

P&O plans crackdown on passengers

28-06-2006

From: AAP

PASSENGERS caught engaging in "excessive behaviour" on board P&O cruise ships will be kicked off at the next port of call, the company has said.

P&O released the new policy statement today, just days after an inquest investigating the cruise ship death of Brisbane woman Dianne Brimble heard claims that nudity, streaking and sex in public were common on board its ships.

Mrs Brimble died while on board the P&O-owned Pacific Sky cruise ship less than 24 hours after boarding on September 23, 2002.

She died of an overdose of the date rape drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or fantasy, while on a holiday with family and friends.

Eight Adelaide men are considered of interest to investigating police.

Kathleen Ann Taylor, who was the P&O night shift manager on board the Pacific Sky when Mrs Brimble died, this week told the inquest that nudity, streaking, and sex in public were common on board ships and happened up to 15 to 20 times an evening.

But a statement released by P&O Cruises Australia today said that sort of behaviour would no longer be tolerated.

"We accept that, in the past, the conduct of a small minority of our passengers and crew has clearly been unacceptable and our response on occasion has been inadequate," the statement, which was tendered as evidence to the inquest, said.

"This does not represent our company's values and therefore, with immediate effect, we have introduced a policy to take strict action against excessive behaviour.

"Under this policy, any passengers who engage in such behaviour will be disembarked at the next port of call and will not be refunded their fare."

P&O Cruises said its on-board code of conduct had been re-emphasised to staff and that the policy was in addition to other safety and security improvements made since Mrs Brimble's death in 2002.

Lawyer for P&O Cruises Philip Biggins told Glebe Coroner's Court the policy was expected to apply from the next departing cruise, which leaves this Friday.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19615662-29277,00.html

I thought they already did that. Each cruise we have been on people have been put off the ship for bad behaviour and on our last cruise 4 passengers 2 crew and the pianist were put off at vila. Well, the pianist wasn't put off, he jumped ship. And, I think some teenagers were put on lock down. The horrible ones that lived in our corridor weren't seen for about 4 days. It didn't take them long to start misbehaving once they got onboard and the parents obviously weren't interested in their behaviour. The silly stuff doesn't just happen in the bars, it is the gangs of kids or others, not letting people back to their cabins, harrasing other kids, stuffing up the lifts so they dont' work etc etc. All those problems were sorted quick smart.

And here all of us in the US thought Carnival was the worst when it came to party time. Dozens of naked streakers:D . Yowsuh !!!!

Indeed they have been doing this for some time. I guess they just want to formalise it a bit and put it out there so that potential passengers who watch Today Tonight and believe everything they see will think that that all is ok.

Speaking of Today Tonight - they re-used some of the hidden camera footage the other night - so we finally got to see some of the footage taken on our cruise. And yes, it was our cruise as we recognised some of our fellow passengers in the footage - but most of the footage was used completely out of context with a voice over which really didn't back up the story they were trying to tell. Some footage of the PJ party, and some of a party around the Lido Pool early in the cruise. At least they didn't use the footage from the bar in Vila and claim it was onboard again.

Kym

Nudity? Streaking up hallways? Damn, I must have missed it all, not like my cruise at all. Ah well, next time.

Howsthis. That's what you get for going to bed early. :p

Yes, I'm begining to think I've spent the entire 29 days that I've spent on cruise ships in the last 2 years walking around with my eyes closed, or maybe in a parallel universe, because I've seen none of this sort of behaviour.

Kym

I was on one of the ships last year when there were a lot of travel agents on for a freebie. Late on the last night one of their drunken boyfriend/husbands tried to getup and play the drums in the pub. Apparently he used to be a drummer but nobody remembered the one-hit wonder band he used to be in which he brought up at every opportunity. Anyway, after being turfed out the pub he went in to the theatre, managed to get backstage, turn on the working lights, raise the main curtains and then proceeded to bang away on the drums with the only "sticks" he could find - a pair of screwdrivers. Needless to say he ruined all the heads on the drums causing a couple of hundred pounds worth of damage. The night manager caught him doing it and called security. All of them saw him playing the drums with the screwdrivers but the next day he was allowed to get off scot free without paying for the damage as the Purser said he didn't have it on video and couldn't prove it. Our wannabe drummer denied it was him that caused the damage and it was his word against about 8 people who clearly saw him doing it. The holes in the drum heads were clearly made by the screwdrivers.

It was lucky that the next day we were in port and new drumheads were delivered. They did have a spare set on board which were put on the drums and the new heads put away as spares. It is very unusual for their to be anything more than a couple of snare drum top and bottom heads as spares on board a ship. If we had a few days at sea after this idiot had caused all the damage then we would have lost a drummer in one of the venues as someone would have had to move one of the drumsets into the theatre to replace the vandalised one. It really annoys me though that he was allowed to get away with it though when he was so clearly guilty as charged with lots of witnesses.