Stricken cruise ship stranded in Palma docks

Island Cruises, operated by the British tour operator First Choice, has this week apologised to hundreds of clients after its new cruise ship has been left stranded in Palma. As a result of what Islands Cruises described as “technical issues,” the cruise ship which arrived in Palma early Tuesday morning and was due to leave that evening, is now not expected to set sail until May 21. It appears that the ship suffered problems with its sewage pipes and over 1'000 guests have been forced to either return home and receive a complete refund, continue their holiday at a three star hotel on Majorca or continue on the cruise, but receive a 50 per cent refund. There were no passengers left on the ship yesterday, just the crew. Islands Cruises said that it took the decision to cancel the Mediterranean Spirit cruise because of the delay which meant that had the ship set sail on Thursday, passengers would have only visited two of the five port destinations included in the itinerary. Island Cruises said that it “sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused.” The Island Escape was only unveiled as First Choice's new ship at a gala presentation in Palma last April.