Carnival Ambassador Criticized Over Injured Guest’s Care

One passenger started her Carnival Cruise off on the wrong foot – but it’s brand ambassador John Heald who is taking the heat for it online. 

An anonymous passenger reached out to Heald on his popular Facebook page to complain after her mother wasn’t provided with a free wheelchair after twisting her ankle in the parking lot of the cruise port prior to embarkation.  

Instead, the 27-ship cruise line was able to arrange a wheelchair rental at $50 per day or offered a free crutch from the onboard medical center as an alternative. 

“First of all she was offered a wheelchair at $50 per day charge. She wanted it for free. We could not provide that. And yet we were able to offer a crutch from the medical center without charge,” Heald said in a Facebook post. 

Although Heald wasn’t physically present when the incident went down, he defended the crew members who were involved for following the protocols they had been taught. 

“It does not make them rude and it does not make them a person with no compassion. The crewmember was following the guidelines we have in place,” Heald continued. 

This statement then turned the ire of some of Heald’s followers, who sided with the recent passenger, directly onto Heald. In addition to attacks on his character, some implied that the cruise personality should have paid for the cost of the rental chair himself. 

“I was a wee bit surprised that I was accused of ‘showing no compassion’ for not paying for the ladies’ wheelchair rental following her trip in the parking lot. I try so hard each day to listen, show compassion and help as many people as I can, I really do,” Heald addressed in a subsequent post, which went up about an hour after the first. 

Carnival Cruise Line maintains that the health and safety of its guests and crew members are the brand’s top priority. While they are always ready and willing to offer assistance to guests experiencing a medical crisis, as was done in this case, the solution might not always be to their liking. 

Was Carnival’s Wheelchair Rental Unreasonable?

As with the other mainstream cruise lines, Carnival does have some wheelchairs on board that can be used by medical center personnel in emergencies.

However, the supply is limited and can’t just be given out for free – both because the chairs may be needed and out of fairness to other guests since there aren’t enough to go around. 

“The general rental of a wheelchair is just not possible. We do not have lots of spare wheelchairs on the ship so again if you feel that you might need one we do recommend that you rent a wheelchair or a mobility scooter before the cruise,” Heald advised.

The brand ambassador then directed his followers to Carnival’s preferred partner for renting equipment like wheelchairs and motorized scooters, which is called Scootaround. In fact, the company serves over 20 cruise lines at nearly 50 major ports across the United States, Canada, and Europe. 

Depending on the embarkation port and cruise duration, wheelchair rentals start at $125 for a 5-day cruise and $265 for a scooter over the same time period – with mobility devices easily reserved online or through the Scootaround smartphone app. 

Read Also: How to Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Cruise Vacation

Considering Carnival also offered a free alternative in the form of crutches, this passenger and her mother weren’t stuck paying for the rented chair if they didn’t want to or couldn’t afford it. 

This is also a reminder that it’s always a good idea to pay for travel insurance – which can be used to reimburse unexpected medical care or supplies that might become necessary during one’s cruise. 

Visits to the onboard clinics are notorious for coming with hefty bills – and depending on the policy, it’s quite possible the wheelchair rental would have been covered.