Ailing 89-Year-Old Birthday Boy Booted From Cruise

wcsh6.com

(NBC) -- Jack Clevenger didn't feel that bad. But Carnival Cruise Lines put the 89-year-old Florida man ashore on a Honduran island anyway, saying he'd be better able to get medical care there than on the ship Legend. Clevenger was on a birthday cruise out of Tampa with his family. He never did seek medical care on the island, saying he heard from a ship's nurse that the hospital might not be up to his standards. Instead, he and his son, Roy, 63, scrambled to find a cab, a motel and then a way off the tourist island of Roatan. They learned expensive lessons: Be careful what you complain about to the ship's doctor. And buy travel insurance...The father and son spent $2,500 and two days hopping three flights to get back to Tampa.Clevenger, who so enjoyed cruising for his birthday he did it six times in a row, said he has had a change of heart after his shortened Caribbean adventure."That was probably the last one," he said. "Forever."Clevenger said he feels fine and the minor bleeding that took him to the ship's infirmary had stopped... "We regret that the family's vacation was interrupted and we do hope Mr. Clevenger is doing well," de la Cruz said. "However, he was asked to disembark the vessel for his own well-being."Clevenger disagreed."It's a dirty, lousy trick to put us off like that," he said.
-NBC-