Carnival lifts family's lifetime cruise ban over disputed scratches
By Steve Huettel, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Thursday, September 3, 2009
A cruise with Carnival ended with a lifetime ban for Chris Harvey, 44, his wife, Brodie, 38, and their sons, Jake, 4, and Cody, 8, after Carnival employees claimed they had damaged their cabin. The company has apologized and lifted the ban.
As other passengers left the Carnival Freedom in Fort Lauderdale to head home from their nine-day Caribbean cruise, Chris Harvey and his family were required to stay on board.
The reason: small scrapes on a dresser in their cabin that ship employees insisted weren't there the day before. They demanded he take responsibility for repairs but never said what it would cost. "They kept talking about damage we'd not done," said Harvey, chief executive of an online travel insurance business in St. Pete Beach.
Two hours later, he consented to the only option they offered: a lifetime ban from all Carnival Cruise Line ships. "It seemed they didn't have the option of us being innocent," he said.
On Wednesday, Harvey described the Aug. 23 incident on his company's Web site. After inquiries from the St. Petersburg Times, Carnival called to apologize and lifted his banishment.
"Senior management wants to take a look at it to find out what happened and if anything internally needs to be clarified," said Jennifer de la Cruz, a Carnival spokeswoman. The cruise line "will ensure that guidelines for what warrants this type of action are clearly defined on the vessels," she said.
Banning customers for bad behavior or property damage is rare, Carnival says. A form letter Harvey signed stated that he had violated ship rules, interfered with the safety and/or enjoyment of other passengers or caused harm to Carnival.
That morning, Harvey, his wife, Brodie, and two young sons had left the cabin and were waiting to leave the ship. Crew members summoned her to the cabin. A housekeeper pointed out the scratches and suggested someone used the edge of the dresser to open a beer bottle left in the room.
"We didn't notice it, they were so small," Harvey said of the scratches. "We put it down to wear and tear — it's a Carnival boat." After more than an hour of back and forth with employees, he agreed to the lifetime ban, and they left to prepare the paperwork.
The family tried to leave when no one returned after 20 minutes. But when they swiped their ship ID cards at the exit, security guards directed them back to guest services. They finally were cleared to go after Harvey signed the ban letter, also signed by the ship's captain and two witnesses.
Back home in St. Pete Beach, Harvey was still steamed. Photos dated on the first and third day of the cruise showed his son next to the dresser, the scratches clearly visible, belying the cruise line's contention that the Harveys caused the damage on the last day of the cruise.
Harvey put a news release on his business' Web site, Squaremouth.com, with his story and advice for Carnival customers to protect themselves.
"When you get in the room, treat it like a rental car — take a few photos first," Harvey said. "It seems like you shouldn't need to, but our experience says otherwise."
Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3384.
News
