A horrified mother has hit out at ‘rude’ passengers who wanted to ‘drink as much as they could’ on a cruise ship which saw a mass brawl.
Families ran from the fight in the Horizon restaurant of P&O Britannia as it was making its way from Bergen, Norway, to Southampton at 2am on Friday.
Six people – three men and three women – were assaulted during the ten-minute ordeal and suffered significant bruising and cuts.
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The violence came the evening after a booze-fuelled all-day ‘patriotic’ event (pictured) on board the cruise ship as it made its way from Norway to Southampton
Families ran from brawlers in the 16th floor Horizon restaurant (pictured) of the P&O Britannia ship. the incident happened at 2am on Friday
Now, a mother who was with her son has claimed many people on the Britannia were simply there to ‘drink as much as they could’ on the ship she branded ‘Benidorm on Sea’. Pictured: A passenger’s photo of the restaurant earlier this week
A 43-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman, both from Chigwell, Essex, were taken into custody after plates and furniture were used as weapons during the black tie event.
They have been released under investigation.
Now, a mother who was with her young son has claimed many people were simply there to ‘drink as much as they could’ on the ship she branded ‘Benidorm on Sea’.
The fight saw plates and furniture used as weapons on the P&O Britannia ship (pictured on Saturday) – with families running to hide from brawlers
The violent fight kicked off in the early hours of Friday morning, before the liner docked at Southampton at 6.45am on Saturday
The pair were woken by the commotion surrounding the fight and the mother, who asked not to be named, said it would be her last cruise.
She told MailOnline: ‘From the moment we embarked on the ship we found many of the other guests to be rude, have zero manners or respect for others.
‘The boat was basically Benidorm on Sea with a me, me, me attitude.
‘We found many people were there purely to drink as much as they could with their unlimited drinks packages.
‘My son has been shoved, almost pushed on to a train track by other guests rushing to get on the P&O train trip before us and had his hand burnt by a man jostling him at the buffet with no apology or care shown.’
The passenger said she ‘pitied’ the staff on the ship who had been ‘helpful and lovely’.
The scrap was during the final leg of a week long cruise to Norway’s fjords that was en route back to Southampton
A booze-fuelled ‘patriotic’ party got underway as the cruise left Bergen just after 2.30pm on Thursday, and the fight broke out around 2am Friday morning.
The liner docked at Southampton at 6.45am on Saturday, with the suspected culprits confined to their cabin for the last day of the cruise.
Passengers and crew who witnessed the fight have revealed the bloody horror of the brawl.
The culprits in the fight were confined to their cabin for the last day of the cruise (pictured, the atrium at the centre of the ship)
GMTV correspondent Richard Galsford tweeted that there was ‘blood everywhere’.
He added: ‘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.’
The ship arrived back to its home port in Southampton this morning (pictured) and will depart on a Mediterranean cruise at 6pm Saturday
A female entertainer who works on the ship claimed: ‘There was a person dressed as a clown and this upset the other passengers.
‘Things got out of hand very quickly, people had been drinking, and there was a fight.
‘Chairs and plates were being thrown, people were very angry.
‘It was shocking to see and some of the staff and passengers were scared and had to hide.’
Another female employee, in her 20s, added: ‘There was a lot of shouting, it was very scary.’
Martin Symons, 54, from Plymouth, told MailOnline: ‘I saw four people fighting and they were pulling hair and shouting.
‘There were two men who looked like they were the women’s husbands.
‘One of the men was out of control, he had his shirt all ripped open and stuff.
‘He was actually beating up who seemed to be one of the other man’s wife.
‘They were being kicked in the head and one woman’s earrings were pulled out.’
P&O said on Sunday there was no clown on board and said this was supported by ship staff.
This was confirmed by Hampshire Police.
Hampshire Police (pictured) confirmed officers had attended the ship, with witnesses claiming there was around two dozen at the terminal when it arrived
A police van and two patrol cars were seen leaving the Southampton terminal where the ship was docked on Saturday, before it left for a Mediterranean cruise at 6pm.
Hampshire Police confirmed officers had attended the ship, with witnesses claiming there were around two dozen present.
A spokesman for the force said: ‘Officers attended after a number of people were assaulted on-board a cruise ship.
‘Six people, three men and three women were assaulted. A number of injuries were suffered including significant bruising and cuts.’
The force appealed for anyone with footage of the brawl to contact them.
One shocked passenger, who was at Southampton port yesterday for the ship’s Mediterranean cruise, said he hoped another fight would not happen on his trip.
Retired Julian Gates, 67, who was with his wife Mary, said: ‘I read about what had happened before I left in the morning.
‘It’s shocking that something like that would happen while on a cruise. I have been on a few now and it’s such a relaxing experience, you don’t want it ruined by fighting.
‘Hopefully, it won’t happen again while we are away because that’s not what you pay for.’
Britannia is the largest of P&O’s seven vessels, carrying almost 3,700 passengers at a time.
It is currently in the middle of a two month stint of cruises of the Norwegian Fjords and Mediterranean, with the former lasting seven days and the latter 14.
