Costa Victoria Cruise ShipHere is something you will never see in the world of cruising: Cruise passengers so unhappy with their cruise that they won’t leave the ship!

As reported in the South China Morning Post, the Costa Victoria could not enter a port in Vietnam because a sunken ship blocked the harbor.  This resulted in a shore excursion to Halong Bay being cancelled.

The travel agency offered the 1,000 or so passengers a refund of around $40 each and the cruise line offered them $50 each.  Most accepted the offers, but over 100 passengers demanded a refund of up to 70% of their cruise fares. They refused to leave the ship and protested loudly.

The next sailing was delayed due to the protest.      

I can’t remember ever seeing or hearing about passengers picketing and protesting like this before.

A cruise line would quickly terminate and blacklist a crew member who ever did anything like this. Most disgruntled passengers just want to get off the ship, make their flight connections, and go home.  

Photo Credit: Wikipedia / HG32