You would think that it would take a pretty serious infraction to cause a cruise line operator to ban you for life — pushing the annoying commerical guy overboard, for example, or dumping soap in the water slide pool.
But surely not for getting a few scratches on your dresser. According to one Mr. Chris Harvey who took a cruise docking into Ft. Lauderdale this summer, however, that’s what got him and his family the boot. In addition to that, Mr. Harvey claims that the scratches were there long before the cruise says that they existed, suggesting that the staff falsely accused them of causing the damage.
In the end, Harvey signed a document accepting a life time ban from the entire cruise line, the only alternative to coughing up some cash for the damages. You can read about his experience at his website.
Since the ban, however, the plot has thickened. Harvey was able to produce a few photos showing that the dresser was already damaged before the cruise claimed, and now that his story has gained traction on his site, Carnival is reversing the ban.
In the end, the moral of this whole fiasco is to check your room before you move in. Like a rental car, you’re liable for any damage during your stay.
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