Kay Longstaff claimed she had fallen from the Norwegian Star off the coast of Croatia over the weekend as the ship was heading towards Venice.
But the 83-year-old mother of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) president, Andy Stuart, has since suggested Miss Longstaff, 46, must have jumped off the vessel - and said the incident had cost the firm $600,000.
The pensioner, who has not been named, said her son, 55, was 'annoyed' the firm was being wrongly blamed and highlighted the cost of delays, calling out the coastguard and the disruption caused to passengers.
'She didn't fall off. She jumped,' she told the Daily Telegraph. 'This has cost Norwegian Cruise Line $600,000. 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. You would have to take steps to climb over the railings. He said she jumped in the water'.
It comes as Ms Longstaff's father revealed she had been going through a 'hard time' in her personal life and as passengers claimed she leapt into the sea after a drunken row with her boyfriend.
Miss Longstaff, who survived a 10 hour ordeal in the water, was allegedly described as a 'jumper' by the captain of the Norwegian Star ship on Saturday night. The air hostess plunged from the seventh deck of the 92,000-ton Norwegian Star 60 miles off the Croatian coast.
Passengers on board the ship said it would be 'impossible' to fall accidentally fall over the chest-high railings, and insisted the only way she could have ended up in the water would be if she jumped.
Her father Ron Longstaff, 76, a retired police superintendent from Kenilworth, Warwickshire, said that she had been going through a distressing period recently, but refused to give any more details.
He said last night: 'She’s (been) going through a very hard time. She wouldn't want to be upsetting me and of course she is.'
Mr Longstaff also revealed he only discovered his daughter was at the centre of the drama after seeing her interviewed on the television news.
Passenger Eddie Palladino, who was on the cruise ship with his family, told the Mirror: 'We were woken up by the alarm bells going off and then there was an announcement from the captain.
'He said: "I'm calling to alert you now that we have a reported jumper off the ship and we're in a search and rescue mission."
'He didn't say anything about an accident and called her a "jumper."
Mr Palladino added that her shirt was found on the deck of the cruise ship.
MailOnline
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