| Porthole 10 Dec 25

PASSENGERS aboard P&O Cruises’ Iona in the United Kingdom recently had their departure delayed by a day after more than half a dozen containers of bananas fell off a nearby cargo ship.

Sixteen containers were lost from a vessel in Southampton, near where Iona was docked, on Sat night local time.

Eight of them were carrying bananas, while two held plantains, and one avocados.

The issue caused Iona to become stuck in port for around 24 hours while the mess was cleaned up.

It was an inauspicious start to the cruise in more ways than one, with bananas famously considered bad luck in maritime superstition.