An Australian cruise line was forced to issue an apology to passengers after employees dressed up in costumes during a recent sailing that many thought resembled the garb of an infamous white supremacist group.
According to the Daily Mail Australia, the incident occurred during a Christmas-themed sports battle event aboard the Pacific Explorer; a P&O Cruises ship that departed Melbourne on Dec. 19 for an eight-night voyage to Hobart and Bass Strait islands. The ship’s staff had dressed up as part of a tug-of-war activity, with the housekeeping crew opting to dress up as”upside-down snow cones.”
However, ostensibly with limited resources aboard the ship, the costumes likened to what one passenger identified only as “Terri” described as “offensive KKK costumes.” Terri had been on the cruise with her husband, who urged her to take video of the offending staff, who could be seen wearing white cloaks and white masks with pointed tops and cut-out eyeholes.
Terri noted that there had been a lot of “excitement” about the widely-advertised event, but everything got very quiet when the housekeeping team made their entrance onto the outdoor deck.
“Everyone was there, everyone gathered, it was advertised, there was a lot of noise and it went dead quiet, just silent,” she later recalled. “A lady sitting in front of me, her jaw dropped she was like, ‘What the hell.’ everyone was like OMG—they were calling it the ‘KKK cruise.'”
Terri said that she spoke to one of the housekeeping staff, all of whom were male, who told her that he didn’t think they had done anything wrong.
“They didn’t say they weren’t dressed as the Ku Klux Klan when I asked them but I truly believe it was an innocent mistake,” she added. “To think it was done in malice would be horrifying but I don’t think it was, the staff all seemed lovely.”
A P&O Cruises Australia spokesperson has apologized for the incident, explaining that the cruise line regrets if the recent incident offended any guests.
“Several crew members dressed up as snow cones for a Christmas family event, not understanding how their costumes could be misconstrued, the statement read. “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.”
