In the general category of you can’t make this stuff up, in early hours of Friday morning, a mass brawl broke out on the P&O Britannia, in which passengers used furniture and plates as weapons, according to witnesses. Six people—three men and three women—were treated for bruises and cuts sustained in the melee. The ship was returning from a week-long cruise to Norway’s fjords. The brawl reportedly followed an alcohol-fuelled afternoon of “patriotic” partying on the ship’s deck.
Here is where things get really odd. Early reports from multiple witnesses report that the brawl was triggered by the arrival of a man wearing a clown suit at a party in an upper deck restaurant on the ship.
The Guardian reports, that Richard Gaisford of ITV’s Good Morning Britain, who was on the cruise, said he was alerted to the incident when a 2am emergency tannoy announcement called for security to rush to the 16th-floor restaurant.
Gaisford tweeted on Saturday: “‘There was blood everywhere’. Violent late-night brawl in the buffet onboard P&O Cruises’ 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.”
He said that, after hearing the tannoy, he went to the restaurant where he found “shocked” passengers. “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. This upset one of their party because they’d specifically booked a cruise with no fancy dress. It led to a violent confrontation,” he wrote.
He added: “Britannia left Bergen at 14.30 on Thursday, the violence occurred 12 hours later after a black-tie evening. It followed an afternoon of ‘patriotic’ partying on deck, with large amounts of alcohol being consumed by many guests.
One wonders exactly what is being referred to as “fancy dress” if there was a black-tie party. Black-tie on this side of the Atlantic might be considered as “fancy dress.” In any event, several witnesses indicated that a man in clown suit set off the melee.
P&O Cruises, however, is now saying that the “mass brawl” was not caused by a clown. The company’s statement was corroborated by Hampshire Police, whose officers met the Britannia when it docked in Southampton.
Two people, a 43-year-old man, and a 41-year-old woman, both from Chigwell, Essex, were arrested on suspicion of assault.
And what of the reports of a man in a clown suit? Who knows?
Rick after all my years in cruise ships I am amazed at this level of violence. We of course had far less people aboard and perhaps this is a reason so many people so packed together fueled by alcohol. They now build these vessels as floating resorts Disney and other parks are finding that their level of aggressive behavior is also rising. One can always find something to blame things on such as “The Donald” and now “The Boris” but it is a general problem in current society. Perhaps education levels against monies available to people to do things is were the trouble lies. Glad I am retired !!
Good Watch
My, my. Thanks for the update. In the US “fancy dress” means formal or black tie. But in the UK it means costume party dress. I have occasionally thought about taking a cruise because the ship or route was interesting. But I’m over 60 and crutch-bound, it’s not going to be so much fun. I don’t have the patience to be around people who feel entitled, they’ve paid money to do what they want and throw a fit when things don’t go their way. Like those who sue because weather interferes with vacation plans. As large as the floating apartment block ships are it is still too small an area for the type of people it draws. Wonder if non-anglo passenger lines have the same issues.
Why name the manufacturer by name?
“Tannoy Ltd is a British manufacturer of loudspeakers and public-address (PA) systems. ”
A clown costume is not “fancy dress”!
When I’m out for drinks, I go home before dark, not at 2am starting or getting into fights!
You can take the girl out of Essex but you can’t take Essex out of the girl 🙂
Tannoy were/are much respected makers of Hi-fi speakers, mine are 16″ diameter. They are also known for fog horns around the coast of Britain and on light-ships.
As both of these item lines are obsolete I suppose that PA systems were a natural path for their field of excellence.
We also call vacuum cleaners Hoovers in the UK and there are probably other appliances where the manufacturer’s name has become a generic term for the product but as I have just been tasting the bottle of Talisker Skye single malt that my son bought me for my Birthday my brain is a tad fuzzy.