Clown gatecrasher sparks cruise ship brawl
‘Blood everywhere’ at buffet on ‘family friendly’ trip as passenger in fancy dress joins black-tie party
and
A PASSENGER who dressed up as a clown and “gatecrashed” a black-tie event triggered a “mass brawl” on a P&O cruise, it was claimed yesterday.
Families were forced to flee to their cabins or hide as apparently drunken passengers hurled furniture and plates at one another as a buffet descended into violence.
It is believed a passenger at the black-tie party took exception to the arrival of a fellow passenger who was dressed as a clown at the formal event on the 16th floor restaurant.
Britannia, a P&O Cruises ship, was en route from Bergen, Norway, to Southampton at the end of a week-long cruise when the fight broke out in the early hours of Friday morning.
A series of announcements were made summoning staff and paramedics to the restaurant from around 2am.
One witness said “there was blood
Deathly pallor
everywhere,” adding that the antics of a few “drunken idiots” had spoiled an otherwise enjoyable cruise. Hampshire Police, who met the ship after it docked at Southampton yesterday morning, said six people were assaulted suffering “significant bruising and cuts”.
Two people, a 43-year-old man and 41-year-old woman, both from Chigwell, Essex, were arrested on suspicion of assault.
A female entertainer, who did not want to be named but works on the ship, said: “There was a person dressed as a clown and this upset the other passengers. Things got out of hand very quickly. People had been drinking, and there was a fight. Chairs and plates were being thrown. People were very angry.
“It was shocking to see, and some of the staff and passengers were scared and had to hide.”
Passengers suspected of being involved in the violence were apparently confined to their cabins until the ship docked at Southampton.
Richard Gaisford, a reporter for ITV’s Good Morning Britain show, was on the cruise and tweeted how he was alerted by an announcement summoning help. “One witness, part of a group involved in the trouble, explained to staff that things kicked off when another passenger appeared dressed as a clown,” he wrote. “This upset one of their party because they’d specifically booked a cruise with no fancy dress. It led to a violent confrontation.”
Mr Gaisford said P&O Cruises staff claimed that they had never seen any thing like it.
Another passenger said: “I was in my room when the security tannoy happened at 2am.
“Just to clarify, the majority of those on board were perfectly civilised and nice individuals. It was just ruined by a few drunk idiots.”
A P&O spokesman said a clown was not the cause of the fight, but refused to say what was. She added: “We don’t tolerate disruptive behaviour. Following an incident on board Britannia we can confirm that all guests have now disembarked and the matter is now in the hands of the local police.”
The Britannia cruise liner, which is described by P&O Cruises as “family friendly, and offering a “truly memorable trip”, can accommodate 3,647 guests, who would have paid around £1,000 for the trip.