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One two-month cruise through the Land Down Under is being halted days after the tragic passing of an older female passenger who was left behind by the ship on a isolated island.

The elderly woman had been trekking on the tropical location with fellow passengers from the cruise ship, but broke off from the party for a rest. The ship sailed away leaving her and came back after some time after the ship staff discovered the passenger was not present.

An extensive search operation located her person the next day.

Authorities are looking into the incident, in coordination with police and the medical examiner.

The CEO of the voyage organizer stated that passengers and staff on the ship were told that the rest of the voyage had been called off due to the "unfortunate death and earlier mechanical issues".

Through an announcement, he added that passengers would be issued a full refund, and said the company was working "to coordinate the return journeys of the travelers via private aircraft".

Regulatory bodies also released an revised statement, and said they had "issued a directive to the Commander" preventing any new passengers from boarding the vessel.

The representative said that they would attend the liner in Cairns upon its arrival.

Timeline of Occurrences

The liner first departed Cairns on October 24th, and was just two days into the voyage at the time of the elderly woman's death. Lizard Island was the opening port on the journey.

Travelers on board - who generally pay large sums of money to join the voyage - were taken there for a day trip with the option of trekking or snorkeling.

Relatives Response

The offspring of the deceased woman said that her family was "surprised and grieved that the liner left the island after an planned tour without my parent".

In her statement, she described her mother as an "energetic 80-year-old" who was a member of a hiking organization.

"From the little details we have been provided, it looks that there was a breakdown of care and ordinary reasoning," she said.

She further stated that she hoped the investigation would be able to identify what "the operator should have done that might have saved Mum's existence".

"Based on information from the police that it was a very hot day, and she fell ill on the hill climb," she explained.

"She was asked her to go back, alone. Then the boat sailed away, apparently without doing a headcount.

"During some point in that chain of events, or shortly after, mother died, alone."

Operator Position

Through an announcement, the CEO affirmed that the organization was "cooperating fully with investigators to aid their examination".

He stated that the firm was "very regretful that this has transpired" and had extended its complete assistance to the family.

Cruise Industry Standards

The liner accommodates up to 120 passengers with 46 staff, according to corporate details. It was purpose-built to enter distant regions of Australia's shoreline and is outfitted with "auxiliary vessels" - minor craft used to take individuals on land visits.

Occurrences like this are infrequent, and passenger vessels have procedures to record which passengers are getting on or leaving, according to industry experts.

"Leaving covertly or [back] on the ship just isn't an possibility," an authority remarked.

Cruise lines consider these processes with great importance and have "advanced technology in place to stop such occurrences from taking place," the specialist continued.

"This seems to be most likely a stunning - and unfortunate - one-off."