P&O has issued a 'horrified' statement after members of its cruise ship staff were accused of wearing Ku Klux Klan (KKK) fancy dress costumes during one voyage.
The incident was reported onboard one P&O Cruises Australia vessel during a recent holiday during the Christmas period towards the end of 2024.
Originally a sister company of P&O Cruises in the United Kingdom, it is now run by parent company Carnival Corporation & plc, which also runs Carnival Cruise Line.
But passengers on board the P&O Cruises Australia ship were left wide-eyed after staff dressed up in all-white boiler suits and pointed white masks while on board the P&O cruise ship Pacific Explorer which was on an eight day trip from Melbourne with 2,000 passengers.
'Offensive KKK costumes'
A KKK march in 1925 (Getty Stock Images)
One passenger spoke to MailOnline about what happened, describing the outfits as 'offensive KKK costumes' that made 'everyone go quiet' as soon as they were revealed on the top deck.
"I (requested) a please explain and have received no response,' the passenger, called Terri, said.
"This is not tolerated in this current environment and education is desperately needed."
The costumes had eye holes for people to see through, with many since on social media comparing the outfits to the worrisome robes and hoods worn by the far-right, white supremacist hate group.
Founded back in 1865, the KKK is recognised by historians as the USA's first terrorist organisation. It's violent history has seen members involving in lynch mobs, where violent individuals would kidnap, torture and then hang black people from trees.
P&O Cruises Australia statement
The outfits that shocked passengers (X)
Speaking about the incident on Wednesday (22 January), a spokesperson for P&O Cruises Australia said staff had 'no idea' about the image they were portraying.
P&O communications director Lynne Scrivens told 2GB radio: “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."
The Pacific Explorer cruise ship (Jenny Evans/Getty Images)
A statement from P&O Cruises Australia also apologised for any offence caused, reiterating the point that staff did not intentionally dress up as something representing a KKK uniform.
"The crew members were horrified and extremely apologetic when they learned of the distress their outfits could cause," the statement said.
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