Passengers have been left furious after a flagship cruise from Southampton to New York was cancelled just hours before it was due to set off.
Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 ship was set to take off from Southampton on Sunday but the 2,000 passengers were told on Saturday night that the crossing had been cancelled due to a technical issue onboard.
In a message, which some customers did not receive until Sunday morning, Cunard said that the fault was discovered on Saturday night when the ship was being assessed and would take longer than expected to fix.
It added: “You will receive a full refund and a Future Cruise Credit of 20% of monies paid.”
The luxury oceanliner, which is Cunard’s flagship vessel, completes one crossing between the UK and US every month between April and November, taking seven days to reach New York. Prices for the voyage start from £839 per person.
The technical issue means that the planned return journey from New York to Southampton will also be cancelled. The next voyage from Southampton will now depart on 7 May.
Passengers that were scheduled to travel on the liner took to Twitter to voice their anger at the late cancellation.
Lynda Hillyer posted that she was “disappointed and angry” by the cancellation.
She added: “Cunard did not explain that they have also cancelled the return flights. I was due to fly back from Boston on May 20th. To book new flights has cost a small fortune.”
New Line: Cunard said that it was arranging flights home for guests, at its expense, and are paying for all reasonable expenses.
One poster wrote: “Not angry, just sad. We just checked out of our Southampton hotel and were about to call Uber to take us to the QM2.”
Others have complained that they have struggled to get in contact with Cunard’s customer services following the cancellation.
A Cunard spokesperson said: “We apologise to all guests affected by this cancellation.
“Our customer care team and travel agent partners have been liaising with impacted guests and we are doing everything possible to provide support and make alternative travel arrangements.”