A cruise line has issued an apology and insists its staff donned fancy dress as 'snow cones', not the Ku Klux Klan.
Travellers were reportedly left reeling in shock after staff aboard a P&O Cruises ship walked across the deck wearing all-white boiler suits with matching white cones over their heads and white gloves in apparent fancy dress for a Christmas party.
Only their eyes were visible through the masks that had been cut out, with many drawing comparisons to the likes of the 'robes' and hoods worn by the racist white supremacist Ku Klux Klan group.
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The Australian cruise liner has since spoken out and insists employees had made a fancy dress error and are 'horrified' to have caused distress.
The incident took place as the Pacific Explorer, with 2,000 guests onboard, was making its way back to Melbourne after an eight-day vacation to Hobart and the Bass Strait islands that had departed on December 19.
A passenger told Daily Mail Australia that the cruise liner had planned a themed 'sports battle day' and while there was a lot of 'excitement' in the lead up to the event, the Lido deck 'went quiet' when the team, believed to be the ship's housekeepers, walked out.
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The woman, who only gave her name as Terri, said: "Everyone was there, everyone gathered, it was advertised, there was a lot of noise and it went dead quiet, just silent.
"A lady sitting in front of me, her jaw dropped and she was like 'what the hell', everyone was like OMG - they were calling it the 'KKK cruise'."
When she approached a staff member in fancy dress, he reportedly told her they didn't think they had done anything wrong.
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She continued: "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.
"To think it was done in malice would be horrifying but I don’t think it was, the staff all seemed lovely."
P&O Cruises Australia has since apologised for the blunder, claiming the crew had dressed up as ''snow cones' for the festive-themed event.
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A spokesperson told UNILAD that the outfits were not chosen intentionally to cause offence.
The spokesperson said: "P&O Cruises Australia acknowledges an incident of inappropriate dress onboard Pacific Explorer has caused distress and wish to be clear this was not the intention of crew.
"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."
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Their statement added: "The crew members were horrified and extremely apologetic when they learned of the distress their outfits could cause.
"We sincerely apologise for any offence this caused passengers and the broader community.
"Staff have been counselled around this incident and we will ensure this does not happen again."
P&O communications director, Lynne Scrivens, also told 2GB radio that its staff members come from 'all over the world' and from 'different cultures'.
"They're young, and they have never heard of that organization 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", reports The Independent.
Topics: Australia, Racism, Social Media, Travel, World News
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