Christine Hensley and her family were set to enjoy a five-day Carnival cruise to Jamaica, when they were told to leave the ship, because the cruise line couldn't locate her dialysis machine.
Lillian Hensley, her disabled daughter Christine, her son and son's wife were all supposed to be on the Carnival cruise from Miami this week, but they're spending the week at home instead. They were asked to leave the ship because the staff couldn't find the daughter's dialysis equipment after they boarded.
Before the trip, Lillian Hensley had received clearance from Carnival saying that she would be able to bring the dialysis equipment needed for her disabled daughter who requires treatment nightly. Upon boarding the ship, Hensley checked the equipment with the rest of their luggage, as opposed to taking it on board with her.
Shortly after checking in, she received a call saying that the crew couldn't find the equipment. Mrs. Hensley told the staff that her daughter couldn't live without dialysis. Carnival responded by telling her to leave the ship.
"I said, 'Without everything? You're giving me, like, a death sentence for my daughter,' " Hensley told Florida's News 10.
She said Carnival called security and escorted the family off the ship, without their belongings, and told them to go to a hospital if the daughter needed treatment.
The family was left stranded in Miami with no ride back to their home in Boyton Beach, FL as the ship set sail without them, but with the dialysis machine and their luggage.
Carnival located the machine and the family's belongings on Saturday and said that they would deliver the belongings to their home when the ship returned. The cruise line later apologized and provided the family with a full refund for their cruise, as well as a credit for a future five-day cruise.
The offer still doesn't make up for Carnival causing the family such grief. Mrs. Hensley had to perform manual dialysis on her daughter over the weekend until they were able to get to a dialysis center. She contacted her lawyer and she is considering suing the cruise line.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
