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One 60-day cruise around the Land Down Under has been cancelled in the wake of the death of an elderly woman who was stranded by the cruise liner on a remote coastal location.

The elderly woman had been hiking on the tropical location with fellow passengers from the vessel, but broke off from the party for a pause. The ship sailed away leaving her and came back after some time after the crew realised the woman was not present.

An extensive search operation discovered her body the next day.

Authorities are investigating the event, alongside police and the medical examiner.

Head of the shipping company stated that travelers and personnel on the ship were informed that the continuation of the voyage had been called off due to the "unfortunate death and previous technical problems".

Via official communication, he further stated that travelers would be given a complete reimbursement, and said the company was working "to organize the homeward trips of the travelers via specially arranged planes".

Regulatory bodies also issued an updated statement, and said they had "delivered a order to the Commander" preventing any additional guests from boarding the ship.

The representative said that they would inspect the liner in the Australian city upon its arrival.

Chronology of Events

The ship first departed Cairns on the 24th of October, and was just two days into the journey at the point of the 80-year-old's passing. Lizard Island was the initial destination on the voyage.

Passengers on the ship - who usually pay tens of thousands of money to join the expedition - were ferried there for a daily excursion with the possibility of trekking or underwater exploration.

Next of Kin Reaction

The daughter of the elderly passenger said that her family was "shocked and grieved that the vessel left Lizard Island after an organised outing without my mother".

Through her comments, she described her mother as an "active 80-year-old" who was a participant of a bushwalking club.

"From the little details we have been informed, it appears that there was a lapse of attention and common sense," she mentioned.

She continued that she desired the investigation would be able to determine what "the organization should have performed that might have saved Mum's life".

"According to reports from the investigators that it was a exceptionally warm day, and she became unwell on the mountain ascent," she revealed.

"They requested her to head down, without accompaniment. Then the boat left, apparently without doing a passenger count.

"During some point in that process, or shortly after, mum succumbed, alone."

Company Position

Via official communication, the Chief Executive confirmed that the organization was "working closely with officials to aid their investigation".

He said that the organization was "extremely apologetic that this has occurred" and had extended its full support to the family.

Cruise Industry Standards

The liner accommodates up to one hundred twenty travelers with 46 personnel, according to company data. It was specifically designed to enter remote locations of the Australian coastline and is outfitted with "tenders" - compact vessels used to ferry passengers on land visits.

Incidents such as this are infrequent, and cruise ships have systems to track which individuals are boarding or leaving, according to travel authorities.

"Leaving covertly or [back] aboard simply isn't an possibility," an authority commented.

Cruise lines consider these procedures extremely carefully and have "clever tech in place to avoid such incidents from happening," the authority continued.

"This is probably a surprising - and unfortunate - isolated incident."