Florence Goldwater, an 86-year-old British woman, tragically died just two weeks into a 100-day world cruise on P&O Cruises’ Arcadia.
The incident occurred shortly before her 87th birthday. Florence’s daughter, Rebecca Williams, and her husband, Andrew, had spent approximately $84,000 for two rooms on the cruise, which departed from Southampton on January 6. Florence developed bacterial pneumonia and required hospital treatment when the ship docked in Guatemala on January 24. Despite medical efforts, she died the following day.
The family, after consulting with relatives, decided to continue the cruise in memory of Florence.
Upon returning to the ship, they found her room resold and her belongings moved.
Rebecca Williams voiced her distress, feeling the cruise line profited from her mother’s death. The family struggled to contact P&O Cruises for further discussion, being told to address it as a “post-cruise” matter.
P&O Cruises stated they handle such incidents with strict procedures to respectfully manage personal effects. They expressed condolences to the Williams family and moved the belongings to Rebecca Williams’ cabin for safekeeping.