Two more stories Royal Caribbean won’t like
#1 Elderly couple left in Turkey by cruiseline after husband breaks hip on board ship
By: Sarina Fazan From abc Action News
TAMPA BAY – A local elderly couple is stranded in Turkey.
Dodge Melkonian’s wife Jill said her husband fell and broke his hip on a cruise.
Now they’re stuck in a foreign country and facing a life-threatening medical situation.
Jill Melkonian spoke to ABC ACTION NEWS from Turkey, she said this is heartbreaking.
She is afraid for her husband’s life.
She said she feels they’re abandoned in a foreign country where she doesn’t even speak the language.
The couple loves taking cruises, they’ve been on nearly 30.
But on their last trip in April–they said their cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean caught fire.
As a consolation, Royal Caribbean offered them a free trip, they went on an Azamara Cruiseline, owned by Royal Caribbean through Turkey.
Never did they imagine bad luck would strike again.
“Dodge got up and he fell. He basically broke his hip and I don’t know if he would have survived,” said Jill.
Jill praised the doctors on board, but she questions the people in charge.
“I think Royal Caribbean needs to be held accountable,” said Jill.
“They have to revamp policies for international accounts.”
She said that’s because the ship left them in Bartin, Turkey at a hospital where no one spoke English, and because of strict cultural rules, women weren’t allowed inside.
“The hospital was so dirty and I was worried about infection,” she said.
Jill said she bought insurance through the cruise line and tried to get her husband transferred.
She said the cruise line told her to file a claim first. Desperate, she reached out to the owner of her travel agency. Tammy Levent of Elite Travel hasn’t slept trying to get them help.
“The man could be dying his is 89 years old with a broken hip,” said Levent.
“You have insurance shouldn’t it cover you? They drop you in a hospital that’s not capable of even doing the surgery.”
Tammy said, they managed to reach an English speaking tour guide, Okan Kutla with Turkey Tourist Specialist.
Levent has used the tour services in Turkey.
Jill said Kutlu has been a savior. She said he even called the US Embassy and got help transferring Dodge from Bartin to Istanbul a six hour trip.
Once again, Jill said they reached out to the cruise line.
“He (Kutlu) tried to arrange transport yesterday, but Royal Caribbean insurance company told them to cancel it,” she said.
We took the Melkonians plight to US Senator Bill Nelson.
“Royal Caribbean has a responsibility to take care of their passengers, even when they have to put them in a foreign hospital,” said Senator Nelson.
After ACTION NEWS told the Senator about the Melkonians, his office reached out to the family.
A spokesperson from Nelson’s office also told ACTION NEWS, they have contacted the embassy to make sure the family is taken care of.
Levent said but the family has more problems. Dodge needs blood for surgery. Blood the tour guide donated. She just hopes it’s enough.
She also concerned, It’s not over yet. How are we going to get him back? Are we going to wait until he does rehab in Turkey for 6 months in Turkey?” Levent asked
ACTION NEWS called and e-mailed Royal Caribbean Cruiselines numerous times and we have not yet received a response.
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Related story:
#2 9-Year-Old Boy needed emergency brain surgery after being injured in game on Royal Caribbean Ship, family says
By Willard Shepard NBC South Florida
Leo Tao’s family is suing the cruise line. It says it sympathizes with his injury but says it could have happened anywhere.
It was supposed to be a fun family cruise, but Desiree Tu says her family had to leave a Royal Caribbean ship so her 9-year-old son could be rushed to the hospital for emergency brain surgery.
The family says it did something that many families do at sea, as it took Leo Tao to the ship’s entertainment zone for kids. But what happened there has forever changed him, the family says.
Tu said the family set sail out of Port Miami on the Monarch of the Seas, and they trusted Royal Caribbean to organize safe activities for their son when they took him to the area for kids on the vessel.
But after Leo ended up having emergency brain surgery in Nassau, the family is now suing Royal Caribbean in federal court, claiming a game that was organized on the vessel for kids to play and supervised by the cruise line staff caused his injury.
Two cruise staff members threw balls trying to hit the children from the side, as the kids ran to avoid them, Tu said.
Leo – who is now recovering – collided with another child and struck his head on a hard surface, according to the lawsuit.
“He was projectile vomiting and thank God he was still in port,” family attorney Spencer Aronfeld said.
He added, “We believe that it was unreasonably dangerous to put this child in this situation.”
The cruise line said it sympathizes with the child’s injury but said it could have happened anywhere.
“We regret that a young guest that sailed onboard Monarch of the Seas was injured. A vacation is supposed to be filled with fun, rejuvenation and relaxation, and it is regrettable that this family’s vacation was interrupted by their son’s injury,” said Cynthia Martinez, the director of global corporate communications for Royal Caribbean Ltd., in a statement. “However, Royal Caribbean believes that while this unfortunate incident happened on board a cruise ship, it is not unique to a cruise ship, and could happen at any school, playground, or daycare.”
The cruise line denied any wrongdoing and said it is not at fault in any way because of what happened on the ship.
Medical reports NBC 6 examined indicated that Leo’s test done at Miami Children’s Hospital showed some dysfunction in one area of his brain.
Tu said she is concerned about the aftereffects for her son, which she said could last his entire life because had to have surgery on his head.
“For sure I think the cruise ship, the Royal Caribbean, should be responsible for this thing done to my kid,” she said.
Tu said she is worried her son may have epileptic-type seizures.
