There was nothing we could do except get on with the party

Chris Russon, passenger

She added: "They told us at about 10am yesterday morning. It was quite unbelievable and I went off to pack straight away but there was nothing we could do except get on with the party and have some of the free drinks they were offering."

Patricia Blow, 70, from Blairgowrie, Perthshire, travelled alone on the cruise, which cost her �3,000. She said: "It is one of those things and there's not very much that you can do about it.

We can't speak more highly of the way we've been treated

Beryl Farmer, passenger

"The company has been wonderful. I've travelled to the Himalayas before and something like this is not going to put me off."

Mrs Blow said that she was aboard P&O's Oriana when the cruise liner had to return to port with engine problems in November 1995.

Beryl Farmer, 63, from Spalding in Lincolnshire, was travelling with her husband and son on the luxury cruise. She said: "We were obviously very sorry at what happened and we were very sorry for the captain of the ship, but we can't speak more highly of the way we have been treated by P&O.

"Most of us on board are old people who have travelled regularly and I think to be honest we just don't get fazed by anything untoward."

The Aurora left Southampton on Monday just days after being formally named by the Princess Royal in a glittering ceremony.

'Gutted'

Gwyn Hughes, managing director of P&O Cruises, told a news conference at the Mayflower Cruise terminal in Southampton: "We're gutted. We're obviously disappointed, but not as disappointed as the passengers who were on board."

Captain Steve Burgoine: "Very disappointing"

Captain Steve Burgoine, master of the Aurora, added: "Embarrassing is the wrong word, but it is very disappointing."

It appears that a propeller shaft bearing overheated, making it impossible for the 76,000-tonne ship to continue her two-week cruise of Mediterranean resorts.

The 1,800 passengers had paid prices ranging from �2,295 per head for a basic cabin and �7,825 per head for a penthouse suite.

P&O is set to pay out around �6m in refunds even before working out a compensation package.

The company said it expected the Aurora to be back in service for its second cruise - a 12-night trip to the Canary Islands starting on 15 May.

It has already left for the German Blohm and Voss shipyard to establish the cause of the problem.