A grieving daughter is furious after 'finding her mum's room on a round the world cruise had been sold to another passenger - within days of her death'.<br /><br />Florence Goldwater died in a Guatemalan hospital in January after falling ill while travelling on the Arcadia. She was 86.<br /><br />Rebecca Williams travelled ashore with her mum to help her get treatment and, after consulting with family, decided to continue with the 100-day trip.<br /><br />But when she reboarded in Hawaii she was shocked to find Florence's room had been sold on - and her belongings "dumped".<br /><br />She described the whole ordeal as "distressing" and says P&O Cruises are profiting off her loss.<br /><br />Rebecca, Stratford-upon-Avon, West Mids., said: “I feel like the company is profiting off my mother’s demise - it’s all been so distressing.<br /><br />“We’ve not heard anything back from P&O - we’ve emailed and emailed, and nothing.<br /><br />“When we’ve managed to speak to a general manager in person, he told us he was very sorry, but it’s company policy to sell on a room that isn’t being used.”<br /><br />Rebecca's husband Andrew, 64, paid £66k for two rooms on Arcadia.<br /><br />They boarded in Southampton and the trip was due to last from January 6 to April 15<br /><br />But Florence caught bacterial pneumonia just two weeks in and they had to disembark.<br /><br />Rebecca, a director of a facilities management company, said: "We took her to the sick bay in a wheelchair - the doctor examined her and said she’s poorly enough to need hospital treatment - but she’s not critical. <br /><br />“The medical staff put her on an antibiotic drip and gave her a chest X-ray. They concluded she had bacterial pneumonia on both lungs.<br /><br />“Before we disembarked, I went to reception and asked, if she makes a proper, full recovery - can we get back on the ship? <br /><br />“It’s a 14-week cruise and we were only two weeks into it.<br /><br />“The young guy on reception asked the manager - who came back and said, ‘absolutely. You’ve paid for those rooms, they’re yours.’<br /><br />“Of course - we didn’t know what was going to happen.”<br /><br />The ship docked in Guatemala on January 24 and the couple disembarked to take Florence to hospital. <br /><br />They spent an extra £1,300 on the ambulance ride alone.<br /><br />Florence’s hospital stay, along with accommodation for Rebecca and Andrew and a flight to the ship's next stop in Honolulu came to £18k in total.<br /><br />Florence’s condition continued to worsen and she died on January 25, three days before her 87th birthday. <br /><br />Rebecca said: “It was very, very upsetting. I didn’t think she was going to pass away within 24 hours of us being there.<br /><br />“We consulted the rest of our family - and Florence’s sister, Jill, who is 89 years old herself - and everyone said she would’ve wanted us to continue on with the cruise.”<br /><br />With permission from the general manager on board the Arcadia, Andrew and Rebecca re-boarded the ship in Honolulu, Hawaii, 10 days later. <br /><br />But when they got to their room they found Florence’s belongings had been “dumped” in there. <br /><br />After querying it with the general manager Rebecca says she was told that “someone else is in there now” - meaning Florence's room was occupied.<br /><br />One month on, the family say they haven’t heard back about a refund, or been provided with an explanation as to why the room was sold. <br /><br />Rebecca said: “We’ve been back and forth, back and forth - and nothing. <br /><br />“We’re literally still on the cruise, and can’t even speak to anyone. All we’ve been told is that it’s a matter for ‘post-cruise’. We just don’t know where to turn.”<br /><br />A spokesperson for P&O Cruises said: "We are so sorry that Ms Williams' mother died during the trip and our thoughts and prayers are with her and the family. <br /><br />"We follow very strict procedures in such cases to ensure that all personal effects and belongings are dealt with carefully and with the greatest respect. <br /><br />"As such they were moved for safekeeping to Ms Williams' cabin."
