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P&O Cruises Australia has said that pointed white hoods worn by cruise ship staff at a Christmas costume party were “upside-down snow cones” not the Ku Klux Klan.
To the horror of travellers, staff believed to be housekeeping, appeared dressed in all-white boiler suits and pointed white masks at a December event onboard P&O’s Pacific Explorer.
A passenger who photographed the controversial costumes told Daily Mail Australia that shocked onlookers started calling the voyage the “KKK cruise” after the staff members were spotted on the Lido deck.
The Ku Klux Klan is a far-right white supremacist hate group in the US – members are recognisable by distinctive all-white robes and pointed masked hoods.
A spokesperson for P&O Cruises Australia claimed that staff “had no idea” and were “horrified” that the outfits resembled the KKK uniform.
P&O communications director Lynne Scrivens told 2GB radio on Wednesday (22 January): “Our crew are from different cultures all over the world. They’re young, and they had just never heard of that organisation or what their outfits could symbolise.
“They live and work on a cruise ship. They’re not going to Spotlight to buy a bunch of materials for fancy dress.
“They’ve got to make do with what they’ve got. And they were wearing their cleaning uniforms, and they’ve put something on their head that looks like a snow cone – an upside-down snow cone.
“They had no idea, they were horrified when management said to them, please take those outfits off.”
Around 2,000 guests were onboard the Pacific Explorer in December when the Christmas-themed tug of war for crew took place.
Videos and images shared of the eight staff members on Facebook showed the group holding a “housekeeping” sign and dressed head to toe in white while competing in the event.
The ship was mid-way through an eight-day voyage from Melbourne to Hobart, Tasmania and the Bass Strait islands that had departed on 19 December.
P&O Cruises Australia said in a statement: “We regret if a recent incident on a Pacific Explorer cruise offended any guests.
“Several crew members dressed up as snow cones for a Christmas family event, not understanding how their costumes could be misconstrued. They were only in public view for a short time before management acted quickly and had them remove the costumes.
“The crew members were horrified and extremely apologetic when they learned of the distress their outfits could cause.”
For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast
