Princess Cruises express their sincere apology for cultural insensitivity after workers dress in Maori garb

One of the well-known cruise line companies issued a statement of apology for its cultural insensitivity after the photos of their non-native staff spread all over the different social media pages who were dressed in Maori garb. To give you an idea, Maori are indigenous people living in New Zealand.

One of the Facebook users who saw the photos said that it caught his attention as the workers are trying to copy and portray the Maori dress and even make-up at a Princess Cruises tent currently on the Port of Tauranga. He also added that normally, a cruise line company hires local Maori cultural groups to perform, either sing or dance, to welcome passengers on board.

In the situation being seen on social media, the cruise line company makes use of its staff. They just apply some scribbles on their faces and are wearing skirts that do not even mimic and portray Maori local culture. The majority of the people who’ve seen this said that the situation is a disgrace. Other people also described the situation as a shameful cultural appropriation. What’s worst is that it seems that workers were just ripping off or scamming their guests with their insensitive actions. Before portraying or doing something of culturally significant, a deep evaluation, understanding, and sensitivity are needed. People need to weigh in the possible pros and cons of doing such actions. With that, Princess Cruises issued a sincere swift apology to the public.

According to the spokesperson of Princess Cruises, after being aware of the situation, they immediately pull out the crew members from the area to prevent any more possibility of cultural insensitivity. Negin Kamali further added that no offense was ever intended and sincerely apologize for that.

The Princess’ Ruby Princess cruise was currently in Tauranga followed by the Golden Princess and Sea Princess. This incident happened at Port of Tauranga which is located on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island. It is the popular gateway to the famous geothermal wonderland of Rotorua.

The Maori haka ceremonial war dance is greatly known around the globe. Various sports fanatics may have witnessed the versions of the said dance before some tournaments or competition in the area of rugby, soccer, and even football. One best example is the haka performance of the Hawaiian Jason Momoa at the Aquaman premiere last year.