SOUTHHAMPTON, England, May 14 (UPI) -- British cruise passengers heading to the Mediterranean for some sunshine were forced to fly home because of broken toilets on board.
The BBC reports that the problem on board the Thomson Celebration became evident a couple of days into the cruise from Southhampton to France, Portugal and Spain. Many passengers discovered that their toilets could not flush.
A spokeswoman for the cruise line said that the problem was fixed temporarily but the toilets broke down again, and the company decided to cut the cruise short. About 600 passengers flew home from Lisbon while about 500 with working toilets remained on board for the return to Southhampton.
The ship is 21 years old but had just joined the Thomson line.
Rachel O'Reilly, Thomson's head of public relations, told the BBC that all passengers would receive a full refund plus a 25 percent discount on their next Thomson cruise.
