Cruise ship sets sail

Hundreds of cruise ship passengers are on their way to Scandinavia for a Northern Lights Cruise many feared wouldn't happen.

Their ship, The Discovery, was impounded last week after concerns were raised over it's safety management systems. Hundreds of passengers missed their holiday then and were refunded.

Thankfully, it's a different story for those on board tonight, as David Woodland reports:

A cruise ship which was impounded at Portland last week because of safety fears is preparing to sail from Avonmouth later today.

More than six hundred passengers were sent home from the MV Discovery when their cruise to see the Northern Lights was cancelled.

The ship has now passed a number of safety checks and is expected to set off from Avonmouth this evening.

A Cruise Ship that had been due to sail from Avonmouth last week has been impounded in Dorset, leaving hundreds of passengers without a holiday. The Discovery should have set sail for Norway with travellers looking forward to seeing the Northern Lights.

But the vessel has been detained by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency. Passengers have contacted us to express their anger. Richard Payne reports.

Passengers on a cruise ship due have been offered full refunds after their trip was cancelled without warning.

Seven hundred people were on board the Discovery ahead of a 15-day cruise to the Northern Lights when they were told the ship would not be leaving.

The vessel was originally due to leave from Avonmouth, but was re-routed to Portland.

The company has released a statement on its website following the cancellation of its two-week Northern Lights voyage aboard the Discovery cruise liner.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has issued a statement following its inspection of the Discovery cruise liner in Portland, Dorset.

It says that the vessel will stay put until safety issues over drills and training have been addressed.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has told us that officials went on board the Discovery at the end of last week as part of a routine inspection, and found a number of issues with 'safety management systems'.

This related to crew familiarisation of the ship and training.

The MCA ordered that the vessel should remain in place until the owners had made a number of improvements.