Kay, 46, from Cheltenham, was miraculously found floating at sea 10 hours after she 'jumped from the boat' as it travelled from Dubrovnik to Venice
A BRIT woman who "jumped into the sea" off the back of a cruise ship has been labelled a "stupid woman" by the mum of the company boss.
The 83-year-old mum of Andy Stuart also claimed the delays caused by air hostess Kay Longstaff had cost the Norwegian Cruise Line £470,000.
Kay, 46, from Cheltenham, was miraculously found floating at sea 10 hours after she reportedly jumped from the boat as it travelled from Dubrovnik to Venice after a row with her boyfriend.
Andy, based in Miami, Florida, is the chief executive and president of Norwegian Cruise Line.
Andy's mum told : "She didn’t fall off. She jumped. This has cost Norwegian Cruise Line $600,000 (£470,000).
"This stupid woman. I spoke to Andrew at lunchtime. What he said was ‘this is fake news’. He said that she couldn’t have fallen.
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"You would have to take steps to climb over the railings. He said she jumped in the water.
"He is annoyed that it has been implied that NCL was at fault. He said NCL went to a lot of trouble. They delayed the progress of the ship and sent for the coastguard.
"If you think of the cost of the ship being delayed, passengers missing their connections, passengers waiting to embark. That has all amounted to more than $600,000."
Meanwhile, passenger Taralee Holt, from Kent, told The Sun Online the delays had cost her party of 13 around £5,000.
She said: "I am infuriated that everyone is pandering to Ms Longstaffs misadventures and no one has given thought to the rest of the passengers who have had or are struggling still to get home from Venice.
"Our travel agent is currently seeking to help us reclaim the money but at this given time no guarantees."
Ian Brooks, 60, from Manchester, was on the cruise with his three brothers and their wives.
He said they were due to arrive in Venice at 6am, after which they'd catch a flight back home.
But they actually arrived at 2.30pm, then weren't let off the boat until 5pm because cops were carrying out their investigation.
He said: "I'm very very angry. I'd say it cost us £1,500 plus. There were Americans that were getting charged two thousand pounds each to get back to Boston, places like that.
"They (the boat crew) said 'try claim your money back'. They weren't very helpful, it was disgraceful actually.
"This stupid woman, the affect that she's caused for a lot of people. There's quite a lot of people that didn't have any money that were phoning up (relatives) trying to get money."
Hospital director Irena Hrstic today revealed that Kay said: "What happened is what has happened, and I want to come home as soon as possible."
It comes after Kay reportedly had an "emotional and full of love" reunion with her boyfriend, expat Craig Rayment.
An Italian source yesterday said that cops are working on the theory Kay "most likely jumped" and there was no foul play.
Her dad Ron also told his daughter had been "going through a very hard time" prior to the incident.
When The Sun spoke to him yesterday, he said: "My son rang me last night and said 'it’s on the news' and that was it.
"I’m rather pleased I hadn’t heard she’d fallen into the sea. What I had heard though, was that she’d fallen in and been rescued."
Kay, who works for private jet operator NetJets, has looked after footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger, F1 heiress Tamara Ecclestone and other celebs as part of her work duties.
A friend also revealed she "loves to socialise and would never miss the opportunity for a night out or a drink".
She was reported to have lost her mum to cancer when she was a teenager, and the friend said this led to bouts of depression.
An Italian source yesterday told The Sun: "Officers spoke with the woman's partner on the ship when it arrived in Venice.
"We have seen the footage and we are happy there was no foul play involved. The partner was released and no one has been placed under official investigation.
"The footage has been viewed and you can clearly see she was there on her own when she fell. She was not pushed. The theory we are working on is that she most likely jumped.
"A file is being prepared for the local prosecutor who will decide what to do but at the moment it looks like an individual lone action.
"The boyfriend said they had been drinking and they had quarrelled. He went back to his cabin and left her.
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