Cruise Ship Flooded With Sewage-Smelling 'Waste Water', No Refund Given
A cruise traveler from London has reported the ordeal of living in a cruise ship cabin flooded with stinking “wastewater” that smelled like sewage in a week-long journey.
Adding to the agony was the refusal of the cruise line to provide any refund for the misery endured.
According to Kass Stone from London, his family comprising wife and kids booked a cruise package of $4400 with TUI Cruises.
That brought them onboard Marella Celebration liner for a weeklong cruise. The Adriatic cruise departed from Dubrovnik on Thursday, May 23.
“My wife mentioned she smelled something and upon opening the bathroom discovered wastewater pouring out of the shower drain,” Stone told media persons.
“It was starting to spill over into the cabin,” he added.
The problem forced the family to take a public shower for the rest of the journey.
Refund request ignored
After the trip, Stone wrote a letter to the company seeking a refund. But the request yielded no response.
“The cruise was ruined and TUI/Marella has not responded to our complaint over a month later. Is this how you treat customers?” Stone asked.
Subsequently, he shared the footage of overflowing waste as a social media post. A report by Sun said the water was “raw sewage.”
The footage was clear about the presence of ankle-deep brownish water in the cabin that kept stinking for the remainder of the stay even after the attempts at heavy cleaning.
The pictures showed water bubbling up from the shower stall.
Posts cruise cabin’s video on Facebook
The Facebook video was captioned: “Our cabin flooded with wastewater,” and was taken on May 23.
In the Facebook post, he described the ill-fated vacation as “#nightmarecruise” and a “#sewagecruise.”
Kass Stone is bitter at the unhelpful attitude and poor customer service of the cruise ship.
He noted: “No alternative accommodation offered in spite of persistent stench, wet carpet, and overall unhygienic conditions especially for two young children.”
According to Stone, despite requests, the staff of the cruise ship did not provide Stone and family a new room.
Instead, they pushed in a noise-making heater to dry up the cabin’s drenched carpets.
However, Stone admits TUI made some symbolic apologetic gestures. For him, they looked “pitiful.”
He said their gesture of sending four strawberries on a big tray was laughable and pitiful.
“You expect maybe sunburn or a hangover on holiday, but not botulism from huffing fetid sewage air. It's ridiculous,” Kass Stone said in anguish.
According to Stone, the cruise crew also offered the family a 50-pound credit for their hardship and exerted “pressure” to sign a form acknowledging the compensation.
“We refused to accept what would have been 12.50 pounds ($62.42) per person — which would not have covered dinner for the family in one of the ship's restaurants,” Stone said.
A representative for TUI said the company is reaching out to Stone with a gesture of goodwill.
However, Stone said he is yet to get any compensation. In response to his Facebook video, TUI asked Stone to send a private message with a “booking-preference” for joining another cruise.
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