Posted on 03/29/2006 4:00:13 AM PST by Sam's Army
After waiting more than 10 hours to board a celebratory cruise, Nathan and Jennifer Leslie were stunned when the ship's captain kicked them off the ship Sunday and left them stranded in the Bahamas.
Their crime?
Complaining about the bevy of problems they had experienced with Carnival Cruise Lines' Sensation, which began when they were locked inside a Port Canaveral terminal Thursday, waiting because the ship failed inspections. Cruise officials say they were aggressive.
The Winter Haven couple, who were celebrating their recent wedding anniversary and Nathan Leslie's return in October from serving in the Iraq war, arrived in the Bahamas on Sunday to learn their shore excursion had been canceled because the ship arrived too late.
That was the last straw for the Leslies, who with six others complained to the ship's captain and asked for full refunds. The couple said they paid $800 for the cruise.
That meeting put an end to their vacation.
Carnival Cruise Lines spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz said six of the eight passengers were removed from the ship because they were "extremely, extremely verbally aggressive and abusive."
But Nathan Leslie said Monday that there was nothing abusive about their complaints. He told the captain he had gotten sick from dinner the previous night, and his wife had really been looking forward to swimming with the dolphins. There was no yelling or cursing, he said.
The Leslies left the meeting with the captain and ate lunch in Nassau on Sunday, hopeful that when they returned, the problem would be resolved.
But when the couple tried to get back onto the ship, they were told they were being disembarked for the safety of the other passengers.
"I was just in shock," Leslie said.
The couple, who were vacationing with Leslie's two sisters and their husbands, were allowed to pack their items before security guards escorted them off the boat.
They had to sit outside and were guarded "to make sure we didn't cause a scene," Leslie said.
Sarah Hawkins, also of Winter Haven, said she was shocked when she saw her brother and sister-in-law standing outside as she returned to the ship from an excursion.
"My poor sister-in-law is bawling her eyes out," Hawkins said. "They were told they could not talk to us."
After waiting outside the ship for several hours, an employee came outside and told the Leslies about a hotel they could spend the night at, but they would have to pay for the room.
"I feared for my life," Leslie said, because he was in an unfamiliar city. "I feared for my wife's life."
De la Cruz said cruise passengers being removed from a ship is rare at Carnival.
"A guest's behavior has to be quite extreme to be ejected from the vessel," she said.
De la Cruz said Carnival would reimburse the six removed passengers for their airfare. But the Leslies want their cruise fare refunded, as well. The Leslies said in addition to the $800 for the cruise, they spent $600 on airfare and $150 on a hotel room in Nassau after getting kicked off the boat.
Leslie said their vacation was full of problems that began before they even boarded Carnival's Sensation.
The cruise ship -- one of several Carnival superliners used as temporary housing during Hurricane Katrina relief efforts -- was stuck at port Thursday because it failed a U.S. Coast Guard inspection.
Coast Guard officials said they found several deficiencies, including problems with water-tight doors, fire-safety screen doors and fire-station valves.
At least 2,000 passengers were forced to stay at the terminal, many of them more than 10 hours, while repairs were made. No one was allowed to leave the terminal, passengers said.
Hawkins said they felt like "refugees" while they were waiting in Port Canaveral and went hours without food or water.
Carnival offered passengers a $50 on-board credit and a 25 percent discount off a future cruise for the delay at the port.
But that's not enough for the problems they encountered while aboard, said passenger Wanda Carlson of Tulsa, Okla.
Not all of the elevators were working properly, cabin telephones didn't work and the buffet food wasn't kept hot, passengers said.
"I couldn't have been more disappointed," Carlson said.
To get back on track, that is.
Welcome to reality- the captain makes the rules at sea!! You ain't in Kansas anymore...
About time loud rude tourists were slapped down.
They must have been truly horrible and obnoxious. If I were on the cruise I would probably be glad they were thrown off.
There seem to be a lot of people whining about the cruise industry's problems, but those problems are found anywhere you find people.
It takes a lot to piss off the Captain of any ship, but he is the law of the sea, and definitely the lord of his ship. I doubt these people were as nice as they claim, and sincerely doubt the ship was that bad. They were ready to get back on to it.
I am sure the New Orleans connection didn't help this ship, though.
Carnival is a joke...
They're lucky they weren't thrown overboard by the other passengers.
And that has been proven factual because......?
"Coast Guard officials said they found several deficiencies, including problems with water-tight doors, fire-safety screen doors and fire-station valves."
these are the more disconcerning issues. if the coast guard didn't find these issues, this ship would have been floating around dangerously. i wonder if the company was slapped with a fine. nothing talks like losing money.
That'll make a great advertising slogan for Carnival Cruise lines, won't it?
What fun!
What have you heard about the Disney cruises?
It is not "rude' to complain about bad food, and all the other incompetence these people endured. When it becomes "dangerous" to complain about really bad service, we are in trouble. I hope these people sue and sue.
The more I hear about cruises in general, the less I intend to ever go on one. Even if there were no such thing as Norwalk viruses, friends who have taken them, and forced us to endure videotapes, all seem to indicate that "The only difference between a cruis and a prison is that you can drown on a cruise". The other is that no one seemed to ever leave a cruise with very much money, for whatever reason.
This ship should have been inspected long before vacationers stepped on board. This is a trip of a lifetime for many and the couples had a right to complain. No Carnival for us.
Because the friggin captain threw them off the firggin boat!
Do you really think he would have done that otherwise? Just because they smelled bad?
These cruise ship captains I am sure get a ton of complaints and deal with some bad people. These guys would have had to have set off some serious alarm bells to lead him to take a decision like that.
You can provide another remotely plausible scenario that would have led him to kick them off?
I wouldn't take a cruise on Carnival unless A. It was Free B. I was being paid $3 grand so that when it was over, I could take a real cruise on Royal Carribbean.
Even on RC, I was always amazed when I walked past the Pursors desk and hear the trivial complaints. The funniest was one couple complaining that their closet door doesn't close all the way. What it ultimately turned out was their kid had dropped some candy or something in the track and it wouldn't slide closed the last 1/2 inch or so. Let me tell you, they were extremely upset about this! They weren't gonna take it any more! :rolleyes:
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