It was supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime: a luxury cruise to the remote, icy wonderland of Antarctica.
But for the 170 passengers aboard Swan Hellenic’s SH Diana, dreams of witnessing towering glaciers, pristine landscapes and wandering penguins were crushed when engine failure put an end to their grand voyage earlier this month.
The news was devastating for Antarctic enthusiasts who had spent between £7,000 and £10,000 on what Swan Hellenic describes as a “5-star boutique” experience.
A trip to Antarctica is not just a vacation: for many, it is the culmination of a lifelong dream. As one group of passengers put it in a letter to the luxury cruise company: ‘For most of us, this is the first time we have visited Antarctica and potentially the last opportunity for many.
‘Some guests are elderly, disabled and have already had difficulty getting to this point, only for the journey to be cut short. For many of us, visiting Antarctica is a lifelong bucket list that we want to fulfill before we die or become incapacitated,” the letter said, according to The times.
But upon learning that the company would not offer them a full refund for the trip, several of the disgruntled passengers took drastic action and went on a hunger strike in an attempt to pressure Swan Hellenic executives to relent.
Trouble began shortly after the ship left Cape Town on November 13, embarking on what was billed as a 20-night voyage to one of the world’s most remote destinations.
The ship was scheduled to make stops at iconic locations such as Elephant Island and Deception Island. Instead, an electric motor failure forced the ship to cancel the entire Antarctic leg of the trip.
Several of the disgruntled passengers took drastic action and began a hunger strike in an attempt to pressure Swan Hellenic executives to relent.
An electric motor failure forced the Swan Hellenic ship to cancel the entire Antarctic leg of the trip.
The SH Diana is now limping along at an agonizingly slow speed of 6 knots (6.9 mph) toward a port in southern Argentina.
Swan Hellenic has offered its passengers a 50% refund or a 65% “future cruise credit” that passengers could redeem on any voyage within two years.
He also promised free excursions to Ushuaia, Argentina, where the ship is expected to dock on Saturday for repairs before leaving again on December 3.
But the compensation offer has only fueled outrage.
Passengers described the response as “insulting” and tempers were boiling as the ship inched toward Ushuaia.
The situation reached a turning point when a group of passengers who The times reported as Russian displayed posters demanding full refunds and launched a hunger strike.
Swan Hellenic CEO Andrea Zito defended the company’s compensation package, saying it exceeds legal requirements.
“We deeply regret having to modify the itinerary due to technical problems,” Zito said. ‘But we believe our offer is fair. Some passengers have already accepted this and have even rebooked future trips.’
One of the passengers is pictured promoting a sign that says “100% trip refund or cash refund.”
For passengers who had spent between £7,000 and £10,000 on what Swan Hellenic describes as a “5 star boutique” experience, the news they would be missing out on Antarctica was devastating.
For other people on board, it’s not enough.
“The company needs to make a better offer,” said another passenger. “Yesterday things got ugly and they’re getting worse.”
Other passengers were more understanding, but remained upset by the situation.
One passenger told The Times: “They made the right decision not to go to Antarctica for safety reasons, but Swan Hellenic is handling it very badly.”
Zito said in a statement: ‘The initial unrest has largely subsided. A select few chose to go on a hunger strike in their protest, which is quite counterproductive. We are working to quickly put an end to this action.’
He added: “We believe we have offered a very generous compensation package, beyond what is required by law.”
The chaos aboard the ill-fated Swan Hellenic cruise ship comes weeks after passengers aboard another massive cruise ship finally set sail on a round-the-world voyage after the ship spent four months stranded in Northern Ireland.
The Villa Vie Odyssey was due to leave Belfast from May for a three-year round-the-world cruise but was delayed due to unexpected repairs.
Its passengers were effectively stranded in Northern Ireland throughout the summer, unable to leave for fear of missing the trip without knowing when the ship might leave.
Passengers wave as they board the Villa Vie Odyssey at the Belfast cruise terminal on September 30.
The Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship in Belfast Harbor on September 28 as preparations continued.
After months of waiting, the ship finally left port in early October.
But it was later revealed that some passengers considered abandoning the ship in the days after departure, when the ship’s sewage systems stopped working.
Those living on board said the stench of sewage was left “wafting through the hallways” as the ship headed to France and then Portugal, and another called the situation “third world.”
Shortly after leaving Belfast, residents complained that TV channels and swimming pools were not operational, and said the company even made a mistake by smashing the champagne bottle against the side, which took three attempts before that it broke.
When they finally reached their first stop, Brest, in France, the passengers were trapped on the ship because there were not enough dock workers to install a gangplank.
Things soon went from bad to worse, when all water was cut off and residents found themselves with no way to flush their toilets, supposedly because the wastewater tanks were not installed properly.
While this was fixed later that day, the hot water did not return until the second day in Bilbao.
A passenger named Joe Rhodes who has been writing about his experiences aboard the cruise ship: ‘Most residents didn’t realize this (the closure occurred in the middle of the night) until AFTER they had made deposits, so to speak. Yes, we woke up to the faint smell of shit marinating in a hundred unflushed bowls, wafting through the hallways, gently mixing with the ocean breeze.
Mr. Rhodes said The telegraph: ‘Things have been much better since Bilbao. No more problems with hot water or flushing toilets.
‘The food has improved exponentially and everything is going quite well, much closer to what we had anticipated the cruise would be. But the beer is still terrible.