Cruise To Hell - Stranded In Paradise (in a wheelchair)

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 2

Review summary

On day 5 of a 16 day cruise (which we had saved up for a long time), I collapsed in our cabin. My wife (a Stage 4 Huntington’s patient) tried for nearly 20 hours to awaken me. Frantic that I was dying, she called the shipboard 911. They responded and took me (on a gurney) and her (in her wheelchair) to their infirmary where they did a covid test on me (only). Finding me positive, they demanded from my distressed wife my medical card. I only have MediCal/Medi-Care. They told her they don’t take either and demanded our credit card (which she gave them under the pressure – see note at end). They then put me in an ambulance, rushed her in her wheelchair back upstairs, packed up our cabin, and put her off the boat on the island of Hawaii to fend for herself with our luggage and instructed a taxi to take her to the Kaiser Emergency Room which is where I had been taken by ambulance. The taxi was gracious enough to accept her $100 bill (which I had thankfully hidden in my wallet) to get her from Pier 9 to Kaiser Hospital, cause cabbies on the island only take cash)… It was a freakish experience for me - and a long story. I almost died and she was out of her mind that she would lose me. Stranded on an island alone. Unable to use a cell phone and her husband whisked off in an ambulance to a hospital. When we finally both got home (I was in the hospital for a week – my daughter had managed to get my wife hoe via airline through caretakers) I discovered that Princess Cruise Lines had charged us $2400 for that covid test. Oh HELL no! We had no travel insurance. Over the course of a 23 year marriage I had managed to take her on 4 previous cruises - but never the Big One she had dreamed of her whole life (jus cheapies at tax season). Every time we went we had a fabulous time with no hitches whatever. Why would we start now? We had saved up for a year on fixed income to go. We really didn’t have an extra $300 (or whatever it was) to spend on that - we’d never needed it before. Little did we know… Getting her and I home cost three times as much as the trip did. Job #1 was refusing the Crown Princess bill for $2400 for the privilege of a Covid test and throwing us off the boat (which Discover card initially agreed to refuse to pay, then a week later reversed their decision without contacting Princess Cruises at all after the ‘signature authorization’ document surfaced *see below). I cannot adequately express how angry I am, even 8 months later. I tried many times to talk to somebody in the Princess organization, but it never got anywhere. I finally got through to somebody outside the organization who knew who to talk to and the wheels finally turned. We were graced with a 6 month ‘investigation.’ At the end, we learned that Princess had committed fraud by badgering Pam into signing documents she had no business signing – including ‘authorizing’ charges on our Discover card, when she wasn’t even an AUTHORIZED USER. Their last correspondence with us (informing us they had ‘found no evidence of fraudulent behavior’) they stated: * “July 5, 2024 We acknowledge your concern regarding the unauthorized charge on your Discover card, which you believe may involve a forged signature from either you or your wife. This is indeed a serious allegation. After a thorough review of all documents signed by your wife, we have found no evidence of fraudulent activity. Enclosed, you will find a copy of the “Medical Records Consent and Expense Payment Agreement” from Princess Cruises. This agreement confirms the commitment to cover any and all expenses incurred, irrespective of whether the patient is a family member, traveling companion, or minor child. On the second page of this agreement, your wife, Pamela Hendrix, signed the consent form on your behalf. The signature on this form closely matches the one authorizing payment. In addition, we do have another form signed by your wife, and again, closely matches the signature used to authorized the Discover credit card. We understand that this has been an emotional time and there may have been an oversight. However, medical services were rendered and subsequently charged. We hope this clarifies any misunderstanding regarding the medical payment. Sincerely, Elishevah-Elsa Torres Legal - Risk Management // Adjuster” To which I replied: “There’s no misunderstanding at all. My wife was under extreme duress and was demanded “We need your credit card to treat your husband!” You did NOT in fact, ’treat’ me at all, but threw us both off the ship. No mention was made to her of the potential costs - she was inherently threatened “If you don’t let us charge your credit card, we won’t treat your husband!” (this she clearly recalls) Only one problem that your folks onboard never bothered to check - whether or not Pam was AUTHORIZED to sign for use of the card. In their haste to charge us before they threw us off the ship, they didn’t bother to check if she was. She was not. If they had bothered to check with Discover, they would have found she was not on the card - they just assumed she was. I have had Power of Attorney over HER the past few years because SHE is NOT authorized to sign anything. She’s a Stage 4 Huntington’s Patient. That was why we had the Handicapped Stateroom in the first place. They badgered a frantic S4 HD patient who had no idea what she was signing before they threw HER off the boat.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

San Francisco, California

Hilo, Hawaii

Honolulu, Oahu

Nawiliwili, Kauai Did not visit port

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Ensenada, Mexico

Disembarkation