He should have known better…I hope this is only in the newspaper as a lesson to others and NOT as some sort of a plea for assistance. Next time book an Eastern Caribbean Cruise with another Cruise liner

I too am a cruise passenger of Carnival.They should do the right thing and offer this gentleman an alternate cruise.IT would not take anything off them to be more humane.Regardless of company policy,common sense should prevail.LET THIS MAN ENJOY HIS CRUISE.Like I said I cruise youe line,and it is not the only one out there.
Bajan in Florida.

Rules are rules I think this guy will be out of pocket. Unfortunately it was his fault he should of made sure his documents were in order

WOW! Taking someone’s money for a service you have not provided, or the person has not received. This man’s behaviour was not malicious and any company who cares about its customer should respond better. Carnival Cruise Lines only cares about getting this Barbadian’s “Free Money.”

If we are intelligent people then we have to show it. We choose to ignore rules and dislike reading contracts. The Cruise line would have made provisions to accommodate this gentleman and they delivered. We assume there is no loss to them to simply provide for him again. Is there a standby list that his void could have been automatically filled at boarding time (similar to the airlines)? It is true that sometimes information can be misleading as Mr Atherley is claiming, but could anyone not know the American policy on entry into its ports? Although it seems hard, I think he has to accept his loss like ‘a bad day at the races’.

I have often used Travel House , and I can assure you that this would never happened with a Travel House passenger. They take care of every little details and assists in obtaining the necessary tavel documents.

That guy should contact Carnival main office and the better business burea in the US if the ship is registered in the US.

Carnival is full of it. Just 2 weeks ago my brother-in-laws passport expired and he left Boston to Fll to pick up a cruise, he realized it had expired uppon arrival at the ship, he couldn’t travel of course, but they offered him another cruise. So CARNIVAL STOP Being such JERKS and do the right thing.  Refund the man his $$$ or give him an alternate cruise. You"re not losing anything but you’ll gain a loyal traveler.  Bajan in Boston

Though I am sorry about this gentleman’s plight, I must agree with Carnival in this respect. All their paperwork and documentation states the individual is responsible for obtaining all necessary visas. It’s the same with airlines etc. If he went to the airport without a visa to the USA he couldn’t get on the flight. Airlines may be more flexible if their rules allow but in cases of charters this is not an option and I have seen this instance numerous times. It should also be noted that Going Places and Carnival issue paperwork to speed up check-in and this asks for details of visas etc. To be honest the mistake was by the lady who gave the wrong advice and as such she should be the one made to reimburse Mr Atherley. As harsh as it may seem it is the reality.

But isn’t it amazing that a Bajan with a Barbados Passport on a cruise ship is allowed to land in “unfriendly” Russia without a visa, and yet cannot do so in neighbouring “friendly” Unites States territories.

The travel agency should be responsible for refunding this gentleman’s money! They should have checked his documents to see they were in order.You can not get on board a plane going to the U.S without the appropriate documents and any agency worth it’s salts would have explained that to Mr.Atherly. I don’t think he has a case against the cruise line but travel agency should be held responsible.

This is squarely on the agency that took his money and did not check to verify that he had documentation. He paid a service fee by booking through them. If he had booked online, it wouldve been on him. However, he paid someone who was supposed to offer timely professional advice and guidance. It’s not on Carnival. It’s on Going ‘Nowhere.’

This was not a trip to St. Lucia. It is time when we need the answers to questions we seek out the right source and stop depending on word of mouth. This is how rumors get spread when you take it as gospel from a layman. seek out the one who knows for sure. I am with Carnival on this one.

This man should be reimbursed a another ticket or the FULL money he paid. Companies should not take advantage of citizens like this. Infact, they should help their costumers to getting the right travel documents.

Oh try and give d man an alternative date.  This is ridiculous.  What type of customer service is this.  The man aint win d trip, he paid for it with his money and because of a mistake you all cant make an alternative.  People need to stand up together and fight injustice cause d same way it could happen to him it could happen to anyone else.

it amazes me how big people (self included ) talk so much nonsense , how can the policies of a boat or plane company rival the laws of Barbados when it was clear in the law that we can have a refund ! These companies do business in this island and SHOULD be subject to the the laws that protect the customer. He should be given back his money . We have the same thing going on with Liat where they hold your money and want to use it for further travel saying about their policies . What about mine ? It is time we get a better body to represent the consumer. Until bajans get the suing mentality, we will be subject to this ridiculous behaviour from these big corps. The man aint even went out the port and they want to keep his money for what ? These companies want boycotting and let them see that business is a partnership between the seller and buyer .

For argument sake, let’s say Mr A had a pending date for his visa application which would have been PRIOR TO the date of the cruise, but he went ahead and paid for his cruise. He was subsequently denied a visa. Whose fault is it? Should the cruise line be held responsible for his putting the cart before the horse.

Although sympathetic Michael is soley at fault common sense tell you if you are going on holiday you make sure all papers are in order ask questions find out if you need a visa to visit after all if he was going to mainland USA he would have made sure he required his visa. There is no injustice here.

I think the travel agency should be responsible in doing their job and they should know that you can not enter a U.S state without a visa and should have informed the person booking the cruise, it seems like they only interest was in getting the money. Also the woman that did the booking knew that if you didn’t have a visa you would be given a permission slip to enter what ever state there was, if that’s the case common sense will tell you that you do need a US visa or you won’t be able enter. What is so wrong with giving him a new cruise date and be done with the mess.

I feel sure the cruise line would be more humane in dealing with Mr. Atherley.  Has the travel agency even communicated with the cruise line about getting Mr. Atherley an alternative travel date?  This is a country with many poor people and not with the highest of intelligence either.  Posting a policy on a website does not absolve the travel company of its responsibility to inform the intended traveller of what he must do.  Afterall, is the lay person going to look up a website?  Not everyone has internet or knows how to use a computer.  What a rip off.