Cruise due to sail from Avonmouth cancelled and liner detained by authorities
A CRUISE that was supposed to take hundreds of passengers from Avonmouth to see the Northern Lights was cancelled after the ship was detained by authorities.
The MV Discovery was originally due to leave for the cruise to Norway from Avonmouth on Thursday, but was re-routed to Portland due to weather conditions.
-
MV Discovery
Hundreds of passengers were bused from Avonmouth to the Dorset port and put on the ship only later to be told the cruise was cancelled.
A spokesperson for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: "Following inspections the Maritime and Coastguard Agency issued a Detention Notice on the passenger ship Discovery, preventing the vessel from sailing.
This week's delicious £5 5 O'CLOCKTAIL is a refreshing Tequila Sunrise. Available everyday from our Bar for only £5 between 5pm & 7pm.
Terms: £5 cocktail applies to the cocktail of the week.
Contact: 0117 2448281
Valid until: Monday, May 27 2013
"This will remain in place whilst the owners and crew undertake revisions to their safety management system."
Cruise and Maritime Voyages, which operates the cruise ship, have offered a full refund to passengers, as well as £250 compensation and 40 per cent off their next cruise.
A spokesman said: "Due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control and notwithstanding the recent dry docking, the vessel has encountered technical problems which prevent her from sailing. We have been unable to resolve these technical issues to enable us to continue with the cruise on time and further works will have to be undertaken to ensure all issues are fully resolved.”
5 Comments
by higgslane
Saturday, March 09 2013, 11:21AM
“Next cruise is supposed to be on 15th March to Northern lights from Avonmouth.
The ship is still in Portland. I wouldn't get on it even if it passes it's safety checks.”
by Daveborges80
Saturday, March 09 2013, 2:14AM
“What is happening as of now. is the vessel sailing? when is the next cruise from which port.”
by higgslane
Thursday, March 07 2013, 10:13PM
“Well we were glad to get off the Discovery last Saturday. Although we enjoyed some good food and entertainment, we experienced dirty sheets, cold showers, a tv similar to one i had recently thrown away and an atmosphere of total abandonment by the staff who appeared to know nothing about what was going on with the ships inspection. Drinks when you could one were expensive and they expected £5 pp per day for gratuities paid up front.
If the ship had just had a refit there was certainly no signs of it. We have rebooked on P&O for northern lights next year. Never again to venture onto small old ships.”
by FromMendip
Tuesday, March 05 2013, 9:51PM
“That was very bad luck for you and I'm sure everyone sympathises. In case you are not aware flights often take place from airports around the country to view the 'Northern Lights' and Bristol has certainly had a good number in recent years. It might pay you to make an enquiry if that interests you.
It won't be like a cruise obviously but at least you'd have a pretty good chance of seeing the Lights.
As for the cruise ship there has to be some concern that the vessel was apparently considered to meet all regulatory requirements by the owners but the UK authorities thought differently.”
by carol_peter3
Tuesday, March 05 2013, 10:57AM
“It was very sad that the cruise was cancelled as the staff we came into contact with were very helpful and could not have done enough for us and our observations were that the logistics of taking everything and everyone from Avonmouth to Portland was a huge task and 'someone' was clearly doing an excellent job. The other person who should be praised was Richard - the musical director- who kept all our spirits up and entertained to the highest degree. However the lack of information by managerment is hopefully a lesson they need to learn, all they needed to do as PR was to announce during the day that they were working with the port authorities, instead just kept putting off announcements, leading to a lot of speculation. The Captain was clearly very upset when he finally announced the cruise had ended before it began.
We have been assured that we will receive a full refund and a bit of compensation, but compensation is not what we were after, and the 40% off another trip on MV Discovery needs to be booked by 30th April 2013, so we will miss out on this offer as their next sailing for the same trip is due on 15th March from Avonmouth and it was fully booked. We were on that particular cruise, our first, having booked to celebrate our 40th wedding in July. The cruise to hopefully see the Aurora Borealis, was a long held ambition and planned for months. Apparently the satistics predict that there was more chance to see the Aurora Borealis this year than any other year due to the pattern of sun spots and weather conditions over the last 2-3 years. Hopefully one day we may see the 'Northern Lights' and it may be with Cruise and Maritime Voyages, who can say. Carol and Peter”