Elderly couple kicked off the Celebrity Millennium. Your thoughts?

[Jason]

A Cruise Law News reader from Australia alerted me of a newspaper article published on Thursday discussing how Miami-based Celebrity sent an elderly couple packing from the Millennium cruise ship a month ago.

The Cairns Post reports on the disturbing story of Celebrity kicking 78 year old cruise passenger Adry Arnold and her husband off the cruise ship while it was docked at Yorkeys Knob, Queensland, Australia.

The newspaper states that when Mr. Arnold returned to the cruise ship, he was not allowed back on the ship. Celebrity allegedly told them that their cruise was over "because the doctor did not think they were the kind of people who should be on the cruise ... if she was left alone." The article suggests that Ms. Arnold may have had dementia and that's why Celebrity sent them involuntarily from the ship.

The Arnolds are pensioners and paid over $12,000 for the cruise.

The couple's nephew told the newspaper "this is a disgusting way to treat anybody, let alone an elderly couple, without even trying to resolve the issue at hand."

The Celebrity passenger ticket drafted by the cruise line's defense lawyers states that the cruise line can disembark passengers for any reason. However, from a public relations point of view, I would think that the couple should have been provided with a full refund rather than left behind at a port with no transportation back home.

Celebrity said that it would provide a "pro-rata refund" for the remaining nine days of their sailing. But as of the time of the newspaper article, Celebrity had not issued the refund.

A mean corporation versus a nice, elderly couple? Should the husband have stayed with his wife? Should the cruise line have treated the retirees nicer including getting them safely home?

Have a thought? Please leave a comment below, or join the discussion on our Facebook page.

December 7 2013 Update: The popular cruise on line community x has comments about the story on its board under the topic "Bad Publicity for Celebrity." As usual, the x cruise line supporters defend Celebrity's callous conduct and blame the passengers. x is best known for being exposed as a paid cruise line cheerleader shilling for Royal Caribbean on its reviews and message boards.

By Jim Walker, Cruise Law News

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Re-posted on CruiseCrazies.com - Cruise News, Articles, Forums, Packing List, Ship Tracker, and more

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[Karen55]

Sad if you ask me... Trust me if I paid $12,000 for a cruise they would be paying me back with interest... Maybe they couple should not have gone on the cruise, but that is not Celebrity's call... Their money was green and it was good enough to book the cruise... so... it should have been good enough to keep them on the cruise or at least get them better service back to their home port. Bad move on Celebrity's part, in my opinion...

[Jan115]

There are 2 sides to every story, and here is the cruise line's take (according to what Celebrity told "Travel Weekly"):

"Elderly, disoriented passenger forced to disembark Celebrity ship," By Tom Stieghorst (Travel Weekly)

A 78-year old passenger was disembarked early from the Celebrity Millennium in Cairns, Australia, after she was found alone and disoriented in her cabin.

The cruise line said it took the step because was it concerned for the safety and well-being of the woman, identified as Adry Arnold.

Arnold’s husband was on a shore excursion at the time and couldn’t be reached.

In a statement, Celebrity said it carries thousands of guests every year with pre-existing medical conditions. "However, for their own safety and the safety of others, these guests must be able to care for themselves,” the statement said.

Arnold’s nephew criticized Celebrity, saying its response was “a disgusting way to treat anybody, let alone an elderly couple,” according to a report in the Cairns Post.

Cynthia Martinez, a spokewoman for Celebrity parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., said a member of its care team arranged transport to a local hospital for the couple, and that they would get a prorated refund for the unused part of their nine-day cruise.

She said a care team member contacted the Arnolds at the hospital, but that they requested no further contact be made."

I think there's more to this story than what's been printed.

[Shari2]

It does sound like Celebrity could have done this in a better, and nicer way. Why didn't they just tell the husband he had to stay with his wife and care for her, and not leave her side...I suppose they are worried about law suits if something should happen to her. Can't imagine why the husband would leave his wife alone knowing that she had dementia. Also agree that there's probably more to the story. Reporters tend to tell the part of the story that they think will sell the news, and not always the whole story. I do think that they should give them their whole $12, 000 back though. If for anything, for the shock of being kicked off the ship.

[jacketwatch]

A full refund would be a nice gesture. I can see from a safety POV that someone confused could cause harm unintentionally to themselves or others so it seems that removal, sadly, is in order. However as Jan said we don't know the whole story.

[DebbieandJerry]

Interesting article. Even more interesting topic of discussion.

[Sarge6870]

As someone that works in an "ALF"(Assisted Living Facility) where we have residents with Dementia and Alzheimer's, I would like to reply to this. First off, Dementia or Alzheimer's does not happen overnight. Both diseases are of a very slow progression. The husband had to be aware of his wife's condition. Can you imagine being taken on a cruise if you were blind and not familiar with your surroundings? This is what these diseases impose on their victim. The afflicted are not familiar with their surroundings and panic. Depending on the level of progression his wife was in, there may have been a reason for them to have an escort for their cruise to care for the wife ESPECIALLY if the husband planned on leaving her alone on the ship and in the cabin. Why would a couple on a cruise not venture together especially if one is of failing health? I can absolve the cruise line completely of their approach to this situation. She wasn't sailing alone and they had no reason to question as to the safety of the wife. Because they decided to take the cruise was their own discretion with the health issue being what it was. It is NOT the cruise lines responsibility to correct a poor mistake made by it's passengers. Cruise lines are NOT babysitters! If you or someone you are sailing with is ill, it is YOUR responsibility to make a rational decision. God forbid the ship had to be evacuated. It seems that the husband would have been as helpless as his wife since his reasoning if not commonsense is faulty. Just IMHO!!