Cruise Refunds and a Drunken Backstreet Boy?
We receive a lot of weird emails and telephone inquiries from cruise passengers about all types of things. Can we get our money back because the waiter was rude? Can we get a free cruise because the weather was bad and we missed a port, etc . . . etc. . . . etc.
I'll be honest. I hate these type of inquiries. They are a waste of everyone's time.
Last month we received one of these type of complaints. Passengers on some type of music fan cruise on a Carnival cruise wanted us to help them obtain a refund because they claimed 
that some of the band members were drunk and disrupted their enjoyment of the cruise. We couldn't help them. Bad cruise experiences (not involving a serious injury) like this have no place in our legal system. The passengers we talked to agreed with us after a few minutes.
This weekend one of the passengers emailed me a link to the TMZ web site (not something I read everyday), joking about their experience. TMZ gossiped about one of the members of the Backstreet Boys becoming so intoxicated that many passengers wanted a refund. Its turns out that the Backstreet Boys had a fan cruise in December on a Carnival cruise ship leaving from Miami to Cozumel and back. TMZ claims that A.J. McLean (who I learn is a Backstreet Boy) "was so hammered and rowdy on a BB fan cruise last month, that several passengers lodged complaints ... with some even demanding a refund . . . one cruise staffer tells us A.J. and his crew acted like 'drunken fools' for the entire five-day trip."
Drunks during a Carnival cruise? Sounds like business as usual on the Carnival "fun ships."
Photo credit: TMZ
Jim Walker is a maritime lawyer who has attended seven Congressional hearing on issues of cruise ship crime, passenger disappearances,
sent several emails to icarecarnivalcruise since 11/16/11 and each time I receive an automatic reply saying I would hear in 7-10 days for resolution
2010 There was mechanical problems w/airplane I could not make connections to Yearly World Bingo Carnival Cruise from NY
201 Weather problems in Philadelphia caused a 3 hour delay after being deferred to Bradley for 2 hours for me to get connections to Yearly World Bingo Carnival Cruise
Bingo Bugle cannot refund me my money for the tournaments I signed up and paid for til Carnival confirms giving me my refund for the cruise I initially paid for in full in 2010
I would appreciate a courtesy reply saying this matter is being investigated and what to expect timewise for a resolution and refund