EVERY one is the perfect holiday destination.

The sub-tropical temperatures of Madeira, the pretty coral reefs off St Vincent in the Cape Verde Islands and the white-sanded, palm tree-lined beaches of Recife in Brazil.

But a voyage around the Isle of Wight is the farthest the 1,752 passengers on board the Southampton-based liner Aurora have got after a problem with the vessel's electric motor prevented it setting sail last Sunday as planned.

Now the holidaymakers who have paid up to £42,000 each for a three-month round the world cruise have been offered some of Southampton's top attractions to fill the next five days before setting sail.

Southampton's Tourist Information Centre recommended in ascending order a free guided walk in the old town on Sunday morning at 10.30am. It leaves from the Bargate, takes one and a half hours, is a mile long and involves climbing one flight of steps.

That day the passengers, many of whom are celebrating golden weddings or expecting their own trip of a lifetime, should have been at sea heading for South America.

Among other ideas put forward was a trip to the city's maritime museum.

As well as Southampton's maritime history, the first floor of the attraction is devoted to Titanic which famously sunk on her maiden voyage on April 11, 1912.

The worst peacetime maritime disaster ever recorded claimed the lives of 1,500 people on board including 500 from Southampton.

The city's Archaeology Museum, boasting Roman, Saxon and Medieval artefacts, is also recommended.

That's enough to fill today - when passengers should be making their way from their last stop in Madeira to the Cape Verde Islands. They were due to dock tomorrow at St Vincent, one of the ten islands off Africa's Atlantic coast.

Instead they could visit the city's Solent Sky Hall of Aviation Museum tracing Southampton's aviation history.

On Sunday, when they should be setting sail for Recife in Brazil, passengers have a choice of Southampton City Art Gallery or a walk through the central parks of the city to see The Engineers' Memorial in memory of the Titanic dead.

No more suggestions were offered to fill Monday and Tuesday, apart from leaving Southampton altogether and heading for Winchester's historic cathedral, Portsmouth's naval dockyard or the New Forest.

Passengers will wake up on Tuesday in Southampton when they should be in Recife, dubbed the "Venice of Brazil" because of its picturesque waterways.

A P&O spokesman said: "Nothing has changed since yesterday. The earliest anticipated departure date for Aurora's Grand Voyage will be next Tuesday."

The company is running a shuttle service into Southampton city centre every day.