A mourning daughter has criticized P&O cruises for selling her mother’s room shortly after she passed away.
Florence Goldwater, 86, became ill with bacterial pneumonia just two weeks into her global trip.
Her daughter, Rebecca Williams, explained that the family had to leave the cruise so they could take her to a hospital in Guatemala, but unfortunately she died a few days later.
The family chose to continue the 100-day trip after saving £66,000 to pay for the two rooms on the ship.
However, upon re-boarding the vessel in Hawaii on January 24, Rebecca was surprised to discover her mother’s room had been sold and her belongings were moved to the other cabin.
Rebecca expressed: ‘It’s all been so distressing. We’ve not heard anything back from P&O – we’ve emailed and emailed, and nothing.
‘When we’ve been able to speak to a general manager in person, he told us he was very sorry, but it’s company policy to sell a room that isn’t being used.’
The family alleges that while Florence was in the hospital, they were informed by a manager that they could keep both rooms.
However, when they returned, the general manager said, ‘someone else is in there now’.
A spokesperson for P&O Cruises stated: ‘We are deeply sorry that Ms Williams’ mother died during the trip and our thoughts and prayers are with her and the family.
‘We follow very strict procedures in such cases to ensure that all personal effects and belongings are handled with care and respect. As a result, they were moved to Ms Williams’ cabin to keep them safe.’
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