P&O cruise: How a three-day party at sea for Elvis fans on the Pacific Adventure ended in heartbreaking tragedy after it turned into the deadly cruise from hell

Passengers on an Elvis-themed cruise have described how two tragedies rocked the journey, including the death of an Australian man who fell overboard.

NSW Police received reports just after 4am on Monday that an P&O passenger had gone overboard from the Pacific Adventure ship 10 nautical miles off Sydney Heads.

A search was immediately launched before the body of a man was discovered at 10.30am.

The P&O ship was due to dock in Sydney at 6am on the final day of the three-night Elvis tribute trip, complete with theme parties, karaoke and trivia, but was delayed as police searched for the overboard passenger.

There are unconfirmed reports that the passenger fell from the seventh deck.

The tragedy occurred hours after a passenger was medically evacuated from the cruise ship and transported to shore for further treatment.

Some of the 2,600 passengers claimed the ship’s crew provided little information about the latest tragedy when they finally disembarked at the White Bay Terminal on Monday afternoon.

“They didn’t tell us what was going on,” passenger James told Daily Mail Australia

“They told us there was a man overboard and that was it.

“We were not told his name or how old he might have been.”

Lachlan added: ‘There was no communication whatsoever from staff.

‘We don’t know what happened.

“It happened at 4am and an alert went out letting us know someone had gone overboard.”

P&O Cruises declined to comment on how the tragedy unfolded while police prepared a report for the coroner.

“Our crew and guests faced a challenging and tragic day. We thank our guests for their patience and understanding,” a spokeswoman said.

The company added that the deceased passenger’s family was supported by staff on board.

It has since been revealed that another incident took place on the ship the morning before after a frightened passenger described the harrowing events on social media.

“It was announced at 6am yesterday that there was a medical episode and a helicopter was on its way,” Cecile Thompson said.

“Three decks were evacuated from their rooms in a two-hour operation.”

P&O has now confirmed the earlier incident.

“I can confirm that a guest was medically evacuated from Pacific Adventure yesterday morning, requiring medical treatment on shore.” the spokesperson said.

The ship, with more than 2,600 guests on board, was due to dock in Sydney Harbor at 6am but instead spent Monday morning searching for the missing passenger.

The cruise ship docked at the White Bay Cruise Terminal in Balmain on Monday afternoon and is expected to depart this evening on a four-night voyage to Queensland.

However, expectant travelers and families picking up loved ones claimed the terminal had run out of food.

“The passengers scheduled to depart on that same ship later this evening have been taken somewhere close by so they can get something to eat and other refreshments.” said a traveler who did not want to be named.

Parents David and Jenny, whose son Nathan is blind and has cerebral palsy, say they were in the dark about when he would be allowed off the ship.

“We’ve been here since half past ten and the port authorities and HR haven’t told us what’s going on,” Jenny explained.

“We drove here from Broken Hill and the plan is to go to Dubbo, which is another six hours drive from here.”