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Cloud over Andratx in Mallorca

Mallorca: P&O ship with thousands of Britons onboard collides with tanker

Cruise vessel’s mooring ropes snapped in high winds, which blew liner into nearby oil transport ship off coast of Palma

A P&O cruise ship carrying thousands of British holidaymakers has crashed into an oil tanker off the coast of Palma in Mallorca after it snapped its moorings.

The Britannia was blown by gales towards the other vessel on Sunday after a storm battered the island in the Balearics. P&O said a small number of people had sustained minor injuries.

It was understood that 321 guests from the ship will be flying home early as it heads back to Southampton with a reduced number of people on board, as required by maritime law.

Ricky Stubbs, a passenger, said he and his children had been about to disembark when the crash happened.

“We were at the stairwell next to the sunset bar,” he said. “A loud crash came from the bar and the door flung open with people running in. Within seconds there was more crashing followed by chaos as people were trying to escape the onslaught of wind and rain.

“People were being ushered in by other guests and staff. You could clearly see some had injuries due to either falling over or debris flying around, and people were distraught.

“A couple of minutes later the captain came over the speaker asking all guest to return to their rooms until further instructions.”

Stubbs said the passengers had been told they would be staying overnight while the boat was moored up so the damage could be assessed.

“Huge respect for the captain and all the staff as they managed to stay calm and keep everyone updated,” he said. “The captain made announcements every 10-15 minutes once we were back in our cabins and they did a great job in a stressful situation.”

View from onboard ship

The £473m ship, which entered service in 2015, is the flagship of the P&O fleet.

A P&O Cruises spokesperson said: “On Sunday 27 August, P&O Cruises Britannia was impacted by severe weather when alongside in Palma de Mallorca.

“Following inspections, our third-party surveyor has confirmed that one of Britannia’s lifeboats has sustained structural issues and cannot be repaired onboard.

“We are so sorry but these extraordinary circumstances mean that the ship is required, by maritime regulation, to return to Southampton with a reduced number of people onboard.

“A limited number of guests and crew on board have been advised that they will be leaving the ship and will be returned to Southampton (or their starting point) by flight and transfer. The guests remaining onboard will be able to enjoy the entertainment and activities scheduled for the remainder of their trip.”

Mallorca had been experiencing winds of 75mph and torrential rains, which caused sun loungers to be blown into the air. An amber weather alert was in place across the whole of the island and had been extended until midnight on Sunday.

The Tramuntana region and the north and north-east of the island were most likely to be affected, forecasters said.

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People injured after P&O cruise ship involved in 'weather-related incident' in Mallorca

It is reported that P&O ship Britannia, carrying thousands of passengers, crashed into a freight vessel on Sunday morning.

cruise ship accident mallorca

News reporter @Reemul_B

Monday 28 August 2023 07:42, UK

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P&O cruise ship Britannia

People have been injured after a P&O cruise liner was involved in a "weather-related incident" in Mallorca, the company has said.

It is reported that P&O ship Britannia, carrying thousands of travellers, crashed into a freight vessel on Sunday morning during severe storms.

One passenger's footage showed fierce gusts sweeping across the waves from the ship's window.

Storm in Palma Mallorca breaks it’s moorings and pushes P&O Britannia into another ship and onto rocks. Ship not compromised and being pushed back into position by tugs pic.twitter.com/0RbdQIhPRT — Stephen Marsh (@millermanuk) August 27, 2023

P&O Cruises told Sky News the ship was involved in a "weather-related incident" alongside the port in Palma, Mallorca's capital.

The company added that a "small number of people" sustained minor injuries and were being treated by their onboard medical team.

It added that it would make an assessment of Britannia, which would remain in Palma for the night with "onboard entertainment and activities scheduled".

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According to the company's website, Britannia has 13 guest decks and an operating capacity of 3,647 guests and 1,350 crew.

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  • cruise ships

It left Southampton's port on 18 August for a two-week Mediterranean cruise passing through Cadiz and Ibiza, before getting caught near Palma de Mallorca.

Videos have emerged of extreme winds catapulting debris into buildings on one of the island's many resorts.

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P&O Cruise passengers injured after 'weather-related' incident in Mallorca

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Powerful storm causes chaos at resort, cruise ship collision on Spanish island of Mallorca

The Spanish holiday island of Mallorca was slammed by a storm with wind gusts of up to 100 km/h on Sunday, causing chaos at a local hotel and caused a collision involving a cruise ship.

Video captured guests fleeing from the pool at the Sol Mirlos Tordos Hotel as sun loungers were sent flying by the powerful winds.

The storm also broke the P&O Cruises ship Britannia free of its mooring, causing it to collide with another ship in the island's capital of Palma.

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"P&O Cruises Britannia was involved in a weather-related incident while alongside in Palma de Mallorca. A small number of individuals sustained minor injuries and are being cared for by the onboard medical centre," a spokesperson for P&O Cruises said.

With files from Reuters

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Hundreds of passengers are to leave a P&O cruise ship early after it collided with another boat during severe weather in Palma de Mallorca.

Britannia reportedly came free from its mooring during the storm and was involved in a bump with another vessel on Sunday.

A small number of people sustained minor injuries and were cared for by the onboard medical centre, a P&O Cruises spokesperson said.

Inspections revealed that one of the lifeboats sustained structural issues and cannot be repaired onboard, the spokesperson added.

This means the ship has to return to Southampton with a reduced number of passengers.

It is understood 321 people will be flying home early.

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A P&O Cruises spokesman said: “On Sunday August 27, P&O Cruises Britannia was impacted by severe weather when alongside in Palma de Mallorca.

“Following inspections, our third-party surveyor has confirmed that one of Britannia’s lifeboats has sustained structural issues and cannot be repaired onboard.

“We are so sorry but these extraordinary circumstances mean that the ship is required, by maritime regulation, to return to Southampton with a reduced number of people on board.

“A limited number of guests and crew on board have been advised that they will be leaving the ship and will be returned to Southampton (or their starting point) by flight and transfer.

“The guests remaining on board will be able to enjoy the entertainment and activities scheduled for the remainder of their trip.”

Britannia departed from Palma de Mallorca on Monday and is expected to reach Southampton on Friday, the spokesman added.

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Southampton-based P&O cruise ship Britannia crashes in Spain during storm

  • Cruise ship
  • Monday 28 August 2023 at 2:05pm

A cruise ship which left Southampton earlier this month has crashed after its moorings snapped in stormy weather.

A number of passengers onboard have suffered minor injuries.

The P&O Britannia cruise ship, which was carrying thousands of British passengers, crashed into another vessel on Sunday (August 27) just off the coast of Palma.

Photos and videos posted on social media from those onboard show the vessel struggling in the stormy conditions.

Sue Roberts spoke to ITV News Meridian from her cabin onboard the Britannia about the moment the cruise ship broke free from its moorings

Mallorca had been experiencing 75mph winds and torrential rain, which caused sun loungers to be blown into the air.

Passengers were told to remain inside their cabins while being told 'this is not a drill' by the captain after they heard a loud bang and saw debris floating in the water

The captain later confirmed that there was no "structural compromise" resulting from the incident.

In a statement P&O Cruises said: "We are aware of an incident involving Britannia on Sunday morning while the ship was alongside in Palma de Mallorca.

"We are working to assess the situation. The captain is keeping all guests updated. To allow our technical teams to make an assessment Britannia will remain alongside in Palma de Mallorca tonight with onboard entertainment and activities scheduled.”

P&O added that a 'small number' of people are being cared for onboard after receiving 'minor injuries'

The £473m ship, which began sailing in 2015, is the flagship of the P&O fleet based in Southampton, Hampshire.

The Britannia set sail from Southampton on August 18 for the Mediterranean cruise including stops at Cadiz and Ibiza and had been due to leave Mallorca on Sunday afternoon.

  • CruiseMapper
  • Cruise news

VIDEO: P&O Britannia crashes into oil tanker amid Mallorca storm

CruiseMapper logo

Amidst a powerful storm on Sunday morning (August 27th), the cruise ship Britannia , operated by P&O UK from Southampton England , faced a maritime incident while docked in Palma de Mallorca . The adverse weather conditions prompted the ship to break free from her moorings, resulting in a collision with a nearby freight ship.

Passengers onboard recounted the events of the storm, describing how the vessel was pushed towards the shore by tugboats while they were confined to their cabins. Minor damage was reported on the cruise ship, primarily on deck 5 . Despite the chaos, the ship's captain kept passengers informed about the situation.

Visual documentation of the incident, captured by passengers, provided a tangible record of the encounter. The storm disrupted an ongoing emergency drill, causing the ship to detach from the dockside moorings, damaging tethering lines, water hoses, and the walkway.

In this narrative of maritime turmoil, Britannia's interaction with the storm echoed a previous incident involving Cunard 's RMS Queen Mary 2 , which also faced challenges due to adverse weather conditions . 

Britannia's current cruise is 14 days, round-trip Mediterranean from Southampton. The itinerary started on August 18th and ends on September 1st, 2023.

For more Britannia incidents and accidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page .

NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

Cruise ship sent crashing into cargo vessel as hurricane-force winds hit Majorca

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Wind batters Majorca and sends a cruise ship crashing into a cargo vessel.

Several passengers on board a P&O cruise ship sustained minor injuries when severe stormy weather sent it smashing into a cargo vessel in Majorca.

Along with its neighbours Ibiza and Menorca, the island is being battered by hurricane-force winds and torrential rain.

Weather warnings for wind and stormy seas have been extended into Monday for the Balearics and parts of Catalonia in Spain ’s north-east.

Thousands of people sailing on the P&O ship Britannia, which is based in Southampton, got a frighteningly close look at the extreme weather this morning.

Their vessel broke free from its moorings near the island’s shore at around 11am and collided with a smaller ship nearby, causing the walkway to fall into the sea.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

According to BBC News , the captain informed passengers after the incident that ‘there’s no structural compromise, but deck five has sustained a small amount of damage’.

Britannia, which can hold 6,647 passengers and 1,350 crew, will remain in Palma while a technical assessment is completed.

One Welsh passenger told WalesOnline : ‘It was panic stations, I was bawling my eyes out.

‘We went out onto our balcony and could see debris in the ocean and all the damage to the side of the boat and our lifeboat.’

Moment P&O cruise ship crashes on Mallorca - island lashed by strong winds

P&O said a small number of people had sustained minor injuries and were being cared for on board.

A spokesman for the company said: ‘On Sunday 27 August, P&O Cruises Britannia was involved in a weather-related incident while alongside in Palma de Mallorca.

‘A small number of individuals sustained minor injuries and are being cared for by the onboard medical centre.

‘To allow our technical teams to make an assessment, Britannia will remain alongside in Palma de Mallorca tonight with onboard entertainment and activities scheduled.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected] .

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P&O Britannia cruise ship carrying thousands of British passengers crashes into another vessel in Mallorca

A Welsh woman on board said: 'We were up browsing on our phones in bed and heard the big horn after the bang. It was panic stations, I was bawling my eyes out'

  • 14:30, 27 AUG 2023
  • Updated 19:54, 27 AUG 2023

cruise ship accident mallorca

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A cruise ship carrying thousands of British passengers has crashed into another vessel off the coast of Palma in Mallorca.

The cause of the crash beside the Spanish island is currently unknown, but passengers on board the P&O Britannia ship - including a family from Wales who have spoken to WalesOnline - said they believed strong winds and untypically difficult weather conditions for the island moved the vessel into another in Palma on Sunday morning, August 27. Welsh holidaymakers staying in a hotel in Mallorca captured the storm destroying part of their hotel, which you can read about here and watch in the video above.

Another Welsh passenger sent WalesOnline video of the moment the ships collided, which you can see here .

Local publications reported on Sunday morning how a storm “suddenly hit” the island with heavy rain and hail accompanied by strong gusts. The Welsh passengers, who shared pictures of the collision but did not want to be named, said the Britannia ship was anchored less than a mile from the shore following the accident. Other passengers have since reported the ship has since docked again at Palma.

Pictures sent to WalesOnline from the ship show passenger decks damaged, with tables and chairs in disarray. A small number of people onboard have also suffered injuries as a result of the accident, P&O has said. A separate video sent by Welsh holidaymakers also in Mallorca shows a storm wrecking one resort on Sunday, even turning sunbeds over and into the pool and sending loungers flying through the air.

Read more: Hundreds attend large illegal rave on Welsh mountain as police swarm the area

One Welsh family onboard the Britannia said all passengers were told to remain in their cabins, while being told, “this is not a drill”, by the captain on Sunday after they heard a loud bang and saw debris floating in the water. You can get more story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here .

The Britannia cruise ship has crashed off the Mallorca coast on Sunday morning

One Welsh woman, who is on the ship with her partner and two children, said: “We have now been told we’re allowed to leave our cabins but we can’t do anything on the ship and all the crew are in their life jackets and doing all of their emergency things. The side of the boat is battered."

cruise ship accident mallorca

“We were docked overnight in Palma and the wind was so strong our anchors broke and we blew out into another ship," she believed. "We were up browsing on our phones in bed and heard the big horn after the bang. It was panic stations, I was bawling my eyes out. We went out onto our balcony and could see debris in the ocean and all the damage to the side of the boat and our lifeboat. The captain said: ‘Everyone to their muster stations, this is not a drill.’ Lots of people were running around looking panicked.

“Then they came around again and said everyone needs to get back to their cabins. We’re still none the wiser. I can’t see how they’ll be able to sail it again after this.”

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The Britannia cruise ship has crashed off the Mallorca coast on Sunday morning

The Britannia set sail from Southampton on August 18 for the Mediterranean cruise including stops at Cadiz and Ibiza and had been due to leave Mallorca on Sunday afternoon. It can carry up to 3,647 passengers and is 330 metres in length. She has a crew of 1,398 and cost £473m.

“They’ve pulled us out to sea now after checking there were no fires on the ship and anchored us,” a passenger explained. “They’ve said we can leave the cabins now and we’re waiting for further updates from the captain. I think we’ll probably get off the ship now and fly back. I won’t be sailing back. As soon as this is over I’m getting off and looking for a hotel.”

The MV Britannia

Another passenger, Mark Beckwith, told WalesOnline on Sunday evening: "The captain has and is doing an amazingly calm job with the fantastic crew. It's very calm and relaxed onboard now and we are just redocking to collect the passengers whom were off the ship for the duration of the incident."

On the almost biblical weather on the island, holidaymaker Wendy Penson, from Wattsville, told us: “There is a small yacht opposite us and it ripped the sail off that. The Bali beds aren’t light, they’re made of steel, but the storm just took them like they were nothing."

A spokesperson for P&O Cruises said: “On Sunday, August 27, P&O Cruises Britannia was involved in a weather-related incident while alongside in Palma de Mallorca. A small number of individuals sustained minor injuries and are being cared for by the onboard medical centre. To allow our technical teams to make an assessment Britannia will remain alongside in Palma de Mallorca tonight with onboard entertainment and activities scheduled.”

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Elderly couple left stranded in Spain after breaking key cruise ship rule

Elderly couple left stranded in Spain after breaking key cruise ship rule

The norwegian cruise line passengers claimed the crew made no attempt to contact them after their departure.

Rhianna Benson

Rhianna Benson

If you like to think of yourself as a jet-setter who thrives from globe-hopping, the chances are that you'll already be well aware that many travellers have been ditching planes for cruises in recent years.

That's right, hundreds of holidaymakers are choosing the seas over the skies for their upcoming vacation, due to the mass of rules and restrictions that come with a traditional trip abroad, including seat etiquette , and luggage price politics.

What many cruise newbies don't realise until they board their ships, however, is that there are actually a handful of regulations that seafarers MUST follow whilst sailing from destination to destination.

And for one elderly couple this week, they learned that the hard way...

American couple Richard and Claudene Gorden were travelling through Spain on a Norwegian Cruise Line last week when they opted to arrange an independent excursion to the city of Grenada whilst their ship was docked in Motril.

Speaking to CNN, 84-year-old Salt Lake City -based Richard claimed: "I am a very experienced traveler and have probably been on as many as 30 cruises during my lifetime."

Despite a rainstorm, the couple enjoyed their day trip to the gorgeous Mediterranean city.

Their day ultimately ended in disaster when the dreadful weather caused Richard and his 81-year-old wife to run late for the 5.30pm return to their ship, called Viva, which was scheduled to depart at 6.00pm sharp.

"Never before have we ever missed catching a ship on time at a port. So we are not someone who abuses the system," he insisted.

The Norwegian Cruise Line ship departed bang on time. (Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

According to the duo - who booked their trip overseas to celebrate Richard's 85th birthday - they alerted a member of their family who was already on board that they were running slightly late, but believed they'd still make it back in time.

After letting a crew member know, the family member was told there was nothing they could do, and that the ship wouldn't wait.

It was only when the couple arrived to the dock at 6.10pm and failed to find their vessel that they realised it had left without them.

Richard has since hit out: "Our cruise began in Lisbon and we departed from Lisbon about one and a half hours after the scheduled departure at 4 p.m.

"Then the next night or two, at least a half-hour late from the dock, so it is clear that they do not always leave on the exact moment scheduled."

The couple's main concern was being without the belongings they'd left on the ship, including medication, glasses and a hearing aid battery.

The couple missed their departure. (Feverpitched/Getty)

Thankfully, however - with some help of their daughter back home in the States - the couple were able to catch up with the ship less than a week later, after a flight was booked for them to Mallorca.

"They picked us up at the hotel in a beautiful black BMW limousine to take us to the ship," Richard recalled.

"There we were met by the head of ship services who escorted us inside the ship to meet the general manager of the ship, then they escorted us to breakfast, then they escorted us to our cabin."

Despite their warm welcome back, the couple were not happy that they hadn't received any contact from the crew for two days after being left behind.

Norwegian Cruise Line claimed, however, that they'd attempted to get in touch with the Gordons when they missed their initial 5.30pm all-aboard time.

Norwegian Cruise Line have released a statement. (Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

"After several attempts to contact these guests with the phone numbers provided, as well as trying to phone their emergency contact, we were unable to speak to them directly," a representative told the New York post in a statement.

"However, we worked closely with the local port agents to make arrangements for the guests to rejoin the vessel."

They went on: "It is important to note that a delayed departure has the potential to impact the ship’s ability to deliver its planned itinerary and thus influence the experience for all guests onboard. While this was a very unfortunate situation, guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time."

Topics:  Travel , Life , Real Life , True Life

Rhianna is an Entertainment Journalist at LADbible Group, working across LADbible, UNILAD and Tyla. She has a Masters in News Journalism from the University of Salford and a Masters in Ancient History from the University of Edinburgh. She previously worked as a Celebrity Reporter for OK! and New Magazines, and as a TV Writer for Reach PLC.

@ rhiannaBjourno

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They missed the boat — literally.

An elderly American couple was left behind by Norwegian Cruise Line in Spain this week after they returned late to the ship and the vessel refused to wait for them — despite it routinely departing behind schedule during the voyage.

“I am a very experienced traveller and have probably been on as many as 30 cruises during my lifetime,” Salt Lake City resident Richard Gordon, 84, told CNN.

“Never before have we ever missed catching a ship on time at a port. So we are not someone who abuses the system.”

Gordon and his wife Claudene, 81, had gone on an independently booked excursion to view the city of Grenada while their ship, Viva, was docked in Motril on Monday. Due to a rainstorm, they ran late for the 5:30pm all-aboard time ahead of a scheduled 6pm departure.

The couple had been aboard the Norwegian Viva. Picture: Christian Santiago/NCL

At 5:45pm the Gordons, who were taking the cruise to celebrate Richard’s 85th birthday this week, notified a relative on board that they were running late but were nearby.

The family member was told that the Viva had to leave on time and would not wait. By the time the couple arrived at 6:10pm, the boat had left the harbour, Gordon told the outlet.

“Our cruise began in Lisbon and we departed from Lisbon about one and a half hours after the scheduled departure at 4pm,” he claimed.

“Then the next night or two, at least a half-hour late from the dock, so it is clear that they do not always leave on the exact moment scheduled.”

When the Viva set sail, the Gordons were left without their medication, eyeglasses and spare hearing aid batteries, which were on board.

Back in Salt Lake City, their daughter Marilee Baker, stayed up into the wee hours of the morning trying to book her parents a flight to Palma de Mallorca, where the boat was making its next call Wednesday morning, according to CNN.

The Gordons claim Norwegian didn’t make first contact with them until late Tuesday, and by the time they got to Mallorca, they were met with a luxury taxi service to bring them to the Viva.

Norwegian Cruise Line claim the couple ran over an hour late and were unreachable at port.

“They picked us up at the hotel in a beautiful black BMW limousine to take us to the ship. There we were met by the head of ship services who escorted us inside the ship to meet the general manager of the ship, then they escorted us to breakfast, then they escorted us to our cabin,” Gordon told CNN, adding the boat blamed the Motril harbourmaster, who they said was supposed to organise travel with the couple.

Despite their reception, Gordon said the boat’s failure to communicate with them left a sour taste in their mouth.

“The ship had not contacted us directly for two days so that doesn’t speak so well for them,” he said.

Norwegian Cruise Line disputed the couple’s account of what happened, telling The Post they were a full hour behind the 5:30pm all-aboard time, and that it tried numerous times without success to contact the couple after they were left behind.

“After several attempts to contact these guests with the phone numbers provided, as well as trying to phone their emergency contact, we were unable to speak to them directly. However, we worked closely with the local port agents to make arrangements for the guests to rejoin the vessel,” a Norwegian Cruise Lines spokesperson said.

The couple reportedly left their medication, eyeglasses and spare hearing aid batteries in their stateroom on board the Norwegian Viva.

“It is important to note that a delayed departure has the potential to impact the ship’s ability to deliver its planned itinerary and thus influence the experience for all guests on-board. While this was a very unfortunate situation, guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time.”

The Gordons are the second set of passengers to complain about being left behind by Norwegian Cruise Lines in just a month.

Earlier in April, nine passengers — including six Americans and two Australians — missed their boat in Africa and were left to fend for themselves to catch up with the boat in Senegal.

The passengers — including a paraplegic person and an elderly man with a heart condition — were left stranded on the island without any belongings like money, medicine and necessary travel documents.

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cruise ship accident mallorca

Norwegian reimbursed some costs they endured while trying to make it back onto the ship, the cruise line said.

Though not waiting for passengers late by their own doing is a common procedure on cruise ships, Norwegian has faced scrutiny in recent weeks after one of the passengers left behind in Africa had recently suffered a stroke and was sent to the hospital when the ship departed.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and has been republished with permission

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cruise ship accident mallorca

Stranded cruise passengers in Spain race to catch up with their ship

A month after eight Norwegian Cruise Line passengers were stranded in Africa when their ship left without them because they were late getting back, a US couple – ages 84 and 81 – were also left behind by the cruise line in Spain.

Richard and Claudene Gordon of Salt Lake City, Utah, were on a Mediterranean cruise aboard Norwegian Viva with family and friends and looking forward to celebrating Richard’s 85th birthday later this week.

While the ship was docked in Motril, Spain, on Monday, the pair took an independent excursion by themselves to the historic city of Granada, not organized by the cruise line. On their return, their bus was delayed for an hour by a rain storm, Richard Gordon told CNN by phone.

“I am a very experienced traveler and have probably been on as many as 30 cruises during my lifetime,” Gordon said. “Never before have we ever missed catching a ship on time at a port. So we are not someone who abuses the system.”

The pair missed the ship’s all-aboard time of 5.30 p.m. local time, for a sail away at approximately 6 p.m. Gordon said that at around 5.45 p.m. he spoke to a relative on board who raised the alarm that they were nearby and running late, but the relative was told by Norwegian Cruise Line staff that as the ship needed to sail on time, nothing could be done.

According to the Gordons, they arrived at the dock by taxi at 6.10 p.m., while the ship sailed away with Claudene’s medication, Richard’s eyeglasses and both their spare hearing aid batteries and phone chargers on board.

“Our cruise began in Lisbon and we departed from Lisbon about one and a half hours after the scheduled departure at 4:00 p.m.,” Gordon told CNN. “Then the next night or two, at least a half-hour late from the dock, so it is clear that they do not always leave on the exact moment scheduled.”

“They looked around and they looked around and no one was there,” Marilee Barker, the couple’s Utah-based daughter, told CNN by phone. They got a taxi to the police station where “the policeman helped them call back to the dock. And they said, ‘there’s nothing we can do.’ ”

The couple says they received no further assistance from Norwegian Cruise Line at that point, from the ship or on land.

No medication, no hearing aid batteries

“Luckily my dad has traveled, but he’s still 85,” Barker said. As the Norwegian Viva wouldn’t be docking again until Tuesday on the island of Ibiza, “they took a bus up to Granada and found a cute, cheap little B&B.”

Meanwhile, Barker says she and her husband were up to 3 a.m. finding flights and a hotel, eventually getting them on a plane to Palma de Mallorca, where their ship would be docking at 8 a.m. local time on Wednesday May 1.

Claudene Gordon texted her daughter late Tuesday afternoon Spanish time to say that Norwegian Cruise Line had made contact with them for the first time since the incident and had offered them a taxi from their Palma hotel in the morning to reunite them with their boat.

“We really received the royal treatment today,” Gordon told CNN after being reunited with the ship on Wednesday morning, two days they disembarked at Montril.

“They picked us up at the hotel in a beautiful black BMW limousine to take us to the ship. There we were met by the head of ship services who escorted us inside the ship to meet the general manager of the ship, then they escorted us to breakfast, then they escorted us to our cabin.

“We simply told them that we were abandoned at the dock with no one to meet us or tell us where to go, and they said they have already complained about the harbor master who was supposed to take care of things for them. But of course the ship had not contacted us directly for two days so that doesn’t speak so well for them.”

Norwegian Cruise Line said it disputed the time of the couple’s arrival at the pier. “The two guests who went ashore independently arrived at the pier approximately an hour late and missed the all-aboard time of 5:30 p.m. local time, for a sail away at approximately 6:00 p.m.,” a spokesperson said via email.

“A cruise ship follows a set itinerary with designated arrival and departure times. Itineraries are carefully coordinated and planned out well in advance of each voyage to ensure that all of our guests have the experience they are expecting,” they said. While there is a small window of time where late guests can be accommodated, they added, the Gordons arrived outside of this.

“After several attempts to contact these guests with the phone numbers provided, as well as trying to phone their emergency contact, we were unable to speak to them directly. However, we worked closely with the local port agents to make arrangements for the guests to rejoin the vessel.”

The spokesperson said that, prior to the hotel pickup on Wednesday morning, the cruise line had coordinated an airport pick-up for the Gordons at Palma de Mallorca the evening before but were still unable to contact the couple by phone.

In the similar incident last month, eight passengers were late getting back to their Norwegian Cruise Line ship on the African island nation of São Tomé on March 27. They then struggled for days to catch up with their ship as it made its way up the western coast of Africa.

In that case, Norwegian emphasized that the delayed guests were on a private tour that was not organized by the cruise line.

CNN’s Sarah Dewberry contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com

The Norwegian Viva cruise ship is seen in a November 2023 file photo in The Bahamas.

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    The Spanish holiday island of Mallorca was slammed by a storm with wind gusts of up to 100 km/h on Sunday, causing chaos at a local hotel and caused a collision involving a cruise ship.

  10. Hundreds of passengers have to fly home early after cruise ship collision

    Hundreds of passengers forced to fly home early after P&O Cruises ship collision. The P&O cruise ship Britannia collided with another vessel during severe weather in Palma de Mallorca

  11. P&O cruise ship Britannia crashes in storm

    A cruise ship which left Southampton earlier this month has crashed after its moorings snapped in stormy weather. A number of passengers onboard have suffered minor injuries. The P&O Britannia ...

  12. Cruise ship crashes off Mallorca as thousands of terrified ...

    A packed cruise ship carrying thousands of passengers has crashed into an oil tanker off the coast of the beautifial island of Mallorca after it snapped its moorings. Holidaymakers were left ...

  13. P&O Britannia cruise ship crashes during Mallorca storms

    P&O Britannia cruise ship crashes during Mallorca storms. 27 August 2023. Watch: Two ships collide as storms hit Mallorca. A cruise ship broke free from moorings and collided with a freight vessel ...

  14. VIDEO: P&O Britannia crashes into oil tanker amid Mallorca storm

    August 27, 2023 , Accidents. Amidst a powerful storm on Sunday morning (August 27th), the cruise ship Britannia, operated by P&O UK from Southampton England, faced a maritime incident while docked in Palma de Mallorca. The adverse weather conditions prompted the ship to break free from her moorings, resulting in a collision with a nearby ...

  15. Cruise ship breaks moorings as extreme winds hit Mallorca

    A cruise ship collided with a freight vessel after being ripped from its moorings during a severe storm in Mallorca, Spain.A small number of people are being...

  16. Cruise ship sent crashing into cargo vessel as high winds hit Majorca

    Winds of around 75mph have battered Majorca, and one cruise ship smashed into a cargo vessel off the coast of the Balearic island. Several passengers on the Britannia sustained minor injuries.

  17. P&O cruise ship carrying thousands of Brits 'crashes' off the coast of

    27 August 2023 · 2-min read. P&O cruise ship 'crashes' into oil tanker off the coast of Mallorca (Image: PA) A P&O cruise ship carrying thousands of panicked Brits has apparently crashed off the coast of Mallorca in Spain. The ship was said to have hurtled into an oil tanker after strong winds left those on board stranded.

  18. P&O Britannia cruise ship carrying thousands of British passengers

    A cruise ship carrying thousands of British passengers has crashed into another vessel off the coast of Palma in Mallorca. The cause of the crash beside the Spanish island is currently unknown ...

  19. Storm slams Spanish island of Mallorca, causes cruise ship collision

    A storm on the Spanish island of Mallorca broke a cruise ship free of its moorings and pushed it into another ship on Sunday.Subscribe to CTV News to watch m...

  20. Cruise Ship Collision: Guests Injured After Ship Breaks Free

    Another cruise ship collision occurred over the weekend. On Sunday, the cruise ship P&O Britannia collided with an oil tanker off the coast of Palma in Mallorca after breaking free from the dock ...

  21. People injured after P&O cruise ship involved in 'weather-related

    It's reported that P&O ship Britannia, carrying thousands of travellers, crashed into a freight vessel on Sunday morning during severe storms.One passenger's...

  22. Elderly couple left stranded in Spain after breaking key cruise ship rule

    Their day ultimately ended in disaster when the dreadful weather caused Richard and his 81-year-old wife to run late for the 5.30pm return to their ship, called Viva, which was scheduled to depart at 6.00pm sharp. "Never before have we ever missed catching a ship on time at a port. So we are not someone who abuses the system," he insisted.

  23. Couple stranded by cruise ship

    Couple stranded in Spain after Norwegian Cruise ship left without them. ... stayed up into the wee hours of the morning trying to book her parents a flight to Palma de Mallorca, where the boat was ...

  24. Stranded cruise passengers in Spain race to catch up with their ship

    The pair missed the ship's all-aboard time of 5.30 p.m. local time, for a sail away at approximately 6 p.m. Gordon said that at around 5.45 p.m. he spoke to a relative on board who raised the ...