P&O Cruises Burned at the Stake After Crew Dons Outfits Resembling KKK

Posted on: January 22, 2025, 02:51h. 

Last updated on: January 22, 2025, 03:22h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

P&O Cruises Australia, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, is playing defense this week after a video posted online showed what look like crew playing dress up as members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

P&O Cruises Australia KKK costume
Crew members aboard a P&O Cruises Australia vessel dress up for a Christmas-themed family event in December 2024. The cruise line says the workers were unaware that the costumes resembled what KKK members in the hate group wear. (Image: Facebook)

A video recently surfaced on Facebook from a passenger who was aboard a Christmas-themed cruise in December. The voyage was on P&O’s Pacific Explorer and traveled from Melbourne to Hobart, Australia.

During the cruise, at least eight members of the ship’s housekeeping team emerged on the pool deck wearing their white cleaning uniforms but with special white pointy caps with eyeholes. The costumes closely resembled that of what KKK members wear during functions of the hate group that emerged in the United States South after the abolition of slavery.

Is this appropriate for 2024?” the person who uploaded the video to Facebook asked.

P&O Cruises Australia said the housekeepers were unaware that the costumes looked like outfits associated with the white supremacy organization. The company said the costumes were supposed to resemble “upside-down snow cones.”

We regret if a recent incident on a Pacific Explorer cruise offended any guests,” a P&O official said. “Several crew members dressed up as snow cones for a Christmas family event not understanding how their costumes could be misconstrued.”

Hundreds of comments posted in response to the Facebook video questioned how the cruise line could have been so irresponsible. Some also rejected the company’s explanation by questioning how the outfits even look like upside-down ice cones.

Cruise Line Criticism

P&O Cruises has been in the news recently for all of the wrong reasons.

Last May, Casino.org reported that a 50-year-old man vacationing with his mother committed suicide by jumping overboard the Pacific Adventure after losing nearly AU$10K (US$6,300) at the ship’s casino. The tragic news resulted in many P&O customers raising alleged complaints about the cruise line’s predatory practices inside its casino. A proposed class-action lawsuit has since been levied.

The Pacific Explorer casino offers slot machines, live dealer table games, including blackjack and roulette, bingo, and scratchers. Cruisers who sign up for the P&O Players Club are incentivized to play more with free and discounted cruises and onboard hospitality benefits like free drinks elsewhere on the ship and upgraded dining options.

Last month, P&O Cruises Australia reached an agreement with Resorts World Cruises to sell the Explorer. The sale, to be completed effective February 18, will result in the ship being rebranded to Star Scorpio once it undergoes a $50 million renovation. It’s expected to begin sailing from Singapore later this year.

Resorts World Cruises is owned by Malaysia’s Genting Group, one of the world’s largest hospitality conglomerates that is heavily invested in gaming. Genting owns and operates integrated resort casinos in Malaysia, the United States, the Philippines, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

KKK is Unknown in Many Parts 

While many Americans might be dumbfounded as to how a major cruise line might have allowed crew members to dress in such despicable attire, the KKK isn’t nearly as known around the world as it is in the United States. Aside from Canada, attempts by the KKK to establish chapters outside of the US have largely been unsuccessful.

As such, the infamous white costumes have far less notoriety around the globe, including Down Under in Australia.