Royal Caribbean strand disabled passenger

Jim Keskeny, 66, a wheelchair user with multiple sclerosis was left high and dry by Royal Caribbean International

Keskeny, signed up for a 10 day cruise with Royal Caribbean International to visit the Caribbean. He paid $4,000 for his trip so he would have a larger stateroom whilst onboard for his wheelchair. He also paid extra to have a butler assigned to him to help since he was travelling alone

Keskeny, who travelled extensively during his career on behalf of the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation, made sure he would receive extra assistance on the cruise before he booked it and flew to Miami on February 13th to board the ship.

Keskent said “When I went through check-in, everyone was aware I used a wheelchair because it was obvious, Cruise line officials knew I paid for extra assistance, if needed. The trip was a treat to myself because I had retired”.

The ship left the Miami port Monday February 14th but the next morning, when he asked the butler to help him get his wheelchair over a non-compliant ADA lip going into the bathroom, the butler refused.

“They wouldn’t touch me,” he said. “I felt like a leper.”

After he had lunch the manager of the tour company and two cruise line officials came to his cabin.

“I asked them to sit down so we could talk at eye level but they wouldn’t and I had to look up at them,”

They said they would not touch his body or help him despite the arrangements he made before paying for the $4,000 trip

“If they had to touch me or lift me, I would be made to disembark,” he said cruise officials told him.“I was in shock and couldn’t believe it. Before I got onboard nobody raised any issue about my disability.”

On the third day of the trip, Keskeny said he had a problem in the bathroom and slipped off the toilet.

“Not one of the workers would help me get back in my chair, noting fellow passengers helped him out.

He then was taken to the ship’s infirmary, given a test and charged $200.

Ship officials wanted to drop him off at St. Barts but the sea was too rough “so they let me stay one more night,” he said.

The next morning, February 18th he was taken off the ship and left in the port of Quadalupe. Royal Caribbean arranged for him to get to the airport, but then “I had to buy my own ticket home for $700.” It cost him a total of about $1,500 to get home, he said.

Keskeny got a ticket from Air France and flew from Quadalupe to Miami with a stopover in Haiti.

“Imagine I had to sit in Haiti and I had none of the vaccinations to protect me from malaria, meningitis or cholera. When I got home then I thought about the diseases I could have caught since Haiti was under a cholera warning as a result of the January 12th 2010, earthquake. Here I was trying to reward myself for working with a great trip and ended up getting treated in a way I never would have imagined.”

“I received a lot of help from strangers and I expected superb service from Royal Caribbean because cruise lines are known for catering to their customers. I never dreamt they would treat me in such a discriminatory fashion.”

To get home, he flew from Miami to Detroit Metro Airport on Saturday, February 19th after having to spend the night at a Miami hotel at his expense.

Attorney Richard Bernstein of Farmington Hills, who is handling the case pro bono, said the actions of Royal Caribbean “placed my client in horrible danger. Once that ship left port, Royal Caribbean is solely responsible for Keskeny’s safe return back to Miami.”

However, the ticket contract that Keskeny signed requires all litigation to occur in Miami as well as requires the customer to submit to binding arbitration.

“These ticket contracts place the traveling public at the mercy of cruise lines,” Bernstein said.

“This company’s conduct is putting disabled seniors at such risk that there’s a much bigger issue at play than getting reimbursement for my client,” Bernstein said, noting that Royal Caribbean behaves like this because the current laws give them an advantage so there is no legal deterrent to keep passengers safe.

“There is absolutely no excuse for the behavior and conduct of Royal Caribbean,” Bernstein said. “How could they have left him on an island? They had full knowledge he didn’t have vaccinations which are required to travel to Haiti,” Bernstein said, noting that multiple sclerosis weakens a person’s immune system.

Keskeny said he hopes that Royal Caribbean changes its policy regarding seniors and people with disabilities.