What could have been a dream cruise turned out to be the most horrifying experience for dozens of families from Australia, thanks to the employees of Indian tobacco firm Kamla Pasand. About 1,300 employees of Kamla Pasand, described to be on a "wild work bender", "hijacked" the three-day September cruise on the Voyager of the Seas, creating ruckus and "taking over the ship’s pool decks and bars—blocking shocked passengers from many parts of the 140,000 tonne vessel".
Families had to take refuge in their rooms when the group went into a frenzy as burlesque dancers and scantily clad women dressed as Playboy bunnies were brought on board by the “pirates of the Royal Caribbean”. The situation was so bad that Royal Caribbean International had to hand out apologies and refunds to "distraught passengers", reports Australian website 9News.
Passengers even accused the men from Kamla Pasand of filming young girls on their mobile phones. “It is hard to forget after seeing all the flashbacks of these men around all the time, 24 hours a day, like we could not escape. Cameras everywhere—everyone had a camera in their hand,” the report qouted a passenger as saying.
According to 9News, the ship's giant outdoor screens, meant to play movies for the passengers, featured videos from Kamla Pasand.
Reportedly, there was hardly any of the much-coveted buffet left, courtesy the Kamla Pasand employees who accounted for more than a third of the ship’s capacity of 3,000 passengers. As a result, the Royal Caribbean staff had to usher many guest families into other restaurants on board. "The workers also brought “crates and crates” of their own food onto the ship which underwent extensive refurbishments in 2014," reported 9News.
Royal Caribbean International has apparently launched an investigation into the same. “During (Voyager of the Seas') three-night sailing on September 6, a group onboard caused complaints to some of our guests. We were quickly made aware and provided them with a satisfactory solution,” said managing director of Royal Caribbean Australia and New Zealand, Susan Bonner. “We operate with the safety of our guests and crew as our highest priority, and are currently looking into all guest feedback regarding this incident to ensure it does not happen again.”
