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A COUPLE’S dream trip turned into a nightmare that cost them more than $3,000 over a suspected booking error by a travel agent.
Sandy and John Hosey have been fantasizing about a holiday for nearly a decade since Sandy suffered a stroke in 2016 and was left paralyzed from her left side.
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The elderly couple from Washington planned their special trip for over a year to celebrate their 69th wedding anniversary.
And it was when one travel agent called that the Hoseys believed their dream trip could become a reality.
“We didn’t think we’d be able to do anything,” Sandy told CBS affiliate KIRO-TV.
“It will be eight years in February, and we haven’t done any traveling since I had my stroke.”
Read more in The U.S. Sun
The travel agent informed the couple about a deal on an Alaskan Cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line.
The agent, identified only as Andre, told them the cruise was ADA-accessible.
When the elderly couple and their daughter were booking the trip, they told the agent five separate times that their stay needed to be in an ADA-complaint room.
Days before they were supposed to set sail, the couple realized their room was not ADA-compliant and would not fit Sandy’s wheelchair.
The couple called the cruise line several times to try and find an accessible room but were informed the ship was fully booked.
Unable to find an accessible room, the Hoseys were forced to cancel their trip.
The cruise line refunded them about $700 in port fees and taxes but could not return them over $3,000 in outstanding payments.
To make matters worse, Sandy’s medical condition did not meet the standards for a refund under the travel insurance the couple purchased.
It will be eight years in February, and we haven’t done any traveling since I had my stroke.
Sandy Hosey.
KIRO-TV spoke with the travel agent, who refused to answer questions about whether he booked the ADA room requested by the Hoseys.
Andre reportedly confirmed to the outlet that he worked for Norwegian Cruise Lines and worked with the couple on their booking.
“I’m not going to take the blame for it, and I’m just going to turn it over to somebody else, and I’m out of it,” Andre told John Hosey, according to the outlet.
“Andre has had such a nasty attitude whenever we would talk to him,” Sandy told KIRO-TV.
“He never said, ‘I’m sorry John and Sandy for the way this has turned out.’
“Not once has he ever apologized.”
Aon, the travel insurance purchased by the couple, told KIRO-TV they were reviewing the Hoseys’ claim.
To date, The Hoseys have not heard from anyone else about their reservation, the outlet reported.
