Royal Caribbean International, which operates the cruise, was forced to apologise to its passengers and offer refunds after more than 1,000 Indian men “hijacked” the ship for a work bender.
Sydney: It was supposed to be a peaceful, relaxing cruise for the families on board the ‘Voyager of the Seas’ but it soon became a stuff of nightmares for them - thanks to 1,300 Indian men. The men, belonging to a popular gutka or tobacco company, allegedly threw wild work parties with women dressed as ‘Playboy bunnies’ and burlesque Bollywood dancers on board the ship, causing inconvenience to the families.
Royal Caribbean International, which operates the cruise, was forced to apologise to its passengers and offer refunds after more than 1,000 Indian men “hijacked” the ship for a work bender. The employees of the gutka company had boarded the cruise to attend a conference just before it had left the Sydney dock last month.
Much to the passengers’ horror – many of whom were travelling with families – the men ended up taking over the ship’s pool deck and bars where they partied with burlesque dancers and scantily-clad women. The antics of the men and the sleazy parties on the deck forced other passengers to seek refuge inside the ship, a few passengers told Australian media outlets.
Passengers also complained that a few men filmed young girls on the cruise on their mobile phones and harassed other passengers, the reports said. 20-year-old Tahlia Riini, who was holidaying with her family on the ship, alleged that she felt uncomfortable after a few men began filming her on their phones,
Australian Nine Network'
s ‘The Current Affair’ quoted her as saying.
(Passengers were forced to hide inside as 1,300 Indian men allegedly held wild parties on pool decks. Pic credit: Representation pic/BCCL)
"It's hard to forget after seeing all the flashbacks of these men around all the time, 24 hours a day like we couldn't escape," she reportedly said. “Cameras everywhere – everyone had a camera in their hand,” Riini told the Australian outlet.
Describing the ‘distraught’ passengers’ ordeal, Riini’s mother – Cassandra - told the media outlet, “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?”
Reports also suggested that typical social events such as bingo and trivia nights were cancelled, purportedly due to lack of interest among passengers who were more inclined to attend the cabaret.
Passengers rued that the cruise company did not inform them beforehand that such a large group had also booked their tickets, as the men ended up creating quite a ruckus on board. Christine Weyling, another passenger, told
The Newsweek, “It was crazy…little Playboy bunny outfits, you know this is a family boat. I think that they should have notified us that there was a big group that had been booked and had booked the pool deck out…everyone on that ship should have been notified.”
Facing backlash, Royal Caribbean International has reportedly issued full refunds to passengers.
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