Luxury cruise ship passengers on hunger strike after engine failure wrecks dream polar voyage

LUXURY cruise passengers have gone on hunger strike after engine failure wrecked their dream polar voyage.

Passengers on the SH Diana protested when tour firm Swan Hellenic refused a full refund after their trip was cut short.

The 20-night trip left Cape Town, South Africa, two weeks ago and was due to make stops at points near and on Antarctica.

But the year-old ship developed a fault in one of its eco-friendly hybrid engines, forcing the liner to abandon the trip.

Passengers who paid from £7,000 to £10,000 were offered a 50 per cent refund or a 65 per cent “future cruise credit”.

Most aboard are Russian. There are about ten Brits.

A letter by passengers, de­m­anding a full refund, reads: “For many of us, visiting Antarctica is a life-long bucket list.

“Some have struggled ­al­ready to get to this point, only for the trip to be cut short.”

Swan Hellenic said “a select few” had gone on hunger strike — but defended its offer as being better than the legal requirement of a 30 per cent refund.

The wrangling went on last night as the ship crawled to Ushuaia, Argentina, for repairs. It should arrive in a week.