Cruise Line Screws Over Family of 5-Year-Old With Cancer
A cruise line is sticking to its "no refunds" policy after a family had to back out of a scheduled cruise because they discovered their 5-year-old son had cancer.
The Colucci family told New York's Fox 5 they had booked a Nickelodeon cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line for June 1, but learned on May 19 that 5-year-old Nicolas would need emergency surgery to remove a large tumor. He lost 60 percent of his liver, as well as parts of his gallbladder, diaphragm and lymph nodes.
Understandably, the Coluccis wanted to rebook the $4,000 cruise for a later date. Norwegian's policy, though, calls for a 100 percent cancellation fee within 14 days of a cruise. There are no exceptions.
"After reviewing the request of the Colucci family, we spoke with the family and explained that while we could not make an exception to our policy, we would assist them when they were ready to re-book their cruise," the company said in a statement.
They also comforted the family by reminding them that they should have bought travel protection insurance.
Nicolas's mom, Tara, thinks Norwegian should make an exception for such extreme circumstances.
"It's not like our son got the flu or a cold and we couldn't go," she said. "This is a major situation."
Since the story made it to TV, the CEO of "another popular cruise line" has anonymously contacted the Colucci family and offered them a free cruise, Fox 5 reports.
Nicolas is still undergoing chemotherapy.
