Royal Caribbean slammed for “disgraceful”, “absolutely outrageous” treatment of disabled passenger

Nassau, BAHAMAS - October 15, 2016: Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas from the Coco Cutter II boat shutelling people to the Coco Cay private island

Cruise giant Royal Carribean has been left red-faced after stopping a disabled passenger from travelling on one of its ships right before boarding.

Cell biologist and Motor Neurone Disease (MND) sufferer Justin Yerbury took to Twitter yesterday to slam Royal Carribean’s decision to deny him and his family a holiday, which they had been planning since November last year, because of his disability.

Royal Carribean tried to take the conversation away from the public eye, but Yerbury was having none of it.

Yerbury received a wave of support from his followers, who labelled Royal Caribbean’s actions “disgraceful”, “absolutely outrageous” and “very disappointing”.

In a statement to Travel Weekly, a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said: “Regrettably, a male guest was unable to take his planned seven-night cruise to the South Pacific onboard Explorer of the Seas, which departed Sydney on Sunday 10 March 2019.

“Upon presenting to the terminal for boarding, a decision was taken by the ship’s doctor to deny boarding on the grounds that the ship would be unable to provide the level of care required in the event of an emergency at sea.

“Royal Caribbean is assisting the guest to make arrangements to return home and refunding his cruise fare, as well as the fares of his travelling companions.”

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