A multi-passenger brawl broke out on the P&O Brittania, injuring six people and forcing crew to confine the suspected instigators to their cabin for the final night of the cruise.
The violent fight found passengers using dishware and furniture as weapons when the brawl broke out at 2 a.m. in the ship’s 16th-floor restaurant
The Britannia was returning to its home port in Southampton, England, after a week-long cruise to Norway.
Richard Gaisford, a passenger on the cruise and the chief correspondent for Good Morning Britain, tweeted about the brawl and said he encountered many shocked passengers.
“There was blood everywhere”. Violent late night brawl in the buffet onboard @pocruises Britannia left staff who intervened injured, as passengers used furniture and plates as weapons. Witnesses told me they were so frightened they had to hide, as family groups fought.
— Richard Gaisford (@richardgaisford) July 27, 2019
Gaisford switched from vacationer to journalist and tweeted that his interview revealed that one passenger was upset when another dressed as a clown for the final night’s traditional formal, black-tie dinner.
Apparently, the man who was upset had specifically booked a cruise for his family that did not have what the Brits call “fancy dress,” or those who dress up in costume. Words were exchanged, and all hell broke loose.
“Witnesses told me they were so frightened they had to hide, as family groups fought,” Gaisford said.
The people suspected of being behind the violence were confined to a cabin for the last day of the cruise. Gaisford tweeted that “the buffet area was immediately sealed off as medical teams went to help the injured. Staff told me they’d never experienced anything like it and those behind the violence were confined to a cabin for the last day of the cruise, waiting for police here in Southampton.”
A P&O Cruises spokesman issued a statement that read: “Following an incident onboard Britannia on Thursday evening we can confirm that all guests have now disembarked and the matter is now in the hands of the local police.”
