NEARLY 500 holidaymakers headed home today after being “held hostage” in Madeira for two days at the end of a three-month cruise.
Passengers on the MV Van Gogh – including eight from Huddersfield – were in the Portuguese island port of Funchal from Tuesday as a result of a legal dispute.
They got under way on the last leg to the UK on Thursday after the boat’s owners reached agreement with administrators.
A spokesman for Van Gogh Cruises said the boat arrived back in Falmouth, Cornwall, at around 8pm last night.
“The report from the ship was that passengers were in good fettle,” he added.
“They were happy to be coming home and they have had a wonderful time.”
The cruise liner set sail on January 4 for a round-the-world trip costing its 460 passengers anything up to £9,000.
It took in the Mediterranean, Egypt, the Caribbean, Sydney, Mauritius and Cape Town.
