Saying that “there are two sides to every story,” Carnival Cruise Line has responded to accusations made by guests who claim they were not only stuck in an elevator aboard the Carnival Inspiration but that they were disrespected by the crew.

What The Passengers Claim Happened

A posting on the Facebook page of Jacob Burrola read, “Carnival Cruise Elevator Line snaps while crew members mock passengers and take video, meanwhile passenger faints inside. Crew tells passengers another 45 minutes won’t kill anyone after being stuck for over an hour with sick passengers on board.”

Later, the passengers in question were reportedly given a letter, signed by Capt. Crescenzo Palomba, stating that “you will be disembarked from the vessel and not be permitted to sail onboard any Carnival Cruise Line vessel in the future. This decision was based on your actions on the current cruise, which was a violation of the ship rules, interfered with the safety and/or enjoyment of other guests on the ship or caused harm to Carnival. Your attempt to book a future cruise will result in cancellation and a possible loss of deposit monies.”

The letter concluded, “You will be responsible for all travel expenses incurred and an invoice will be sent to your home address for payment.”

In a response to his initial posting, Burrola wrote, “We did nothing wrong other than not sign their waiver for release of liability. We didn’t even know that we were banned until the final departing day when we walked off the ship.”

Carnival’s Response To The Claims

“There are always two sides to every story,” says Carnival Cruise Line in a statement. “We had a group of guests stuck in one of our elevators last week for approximately 30-40 minutes. Our onboard team was summoned to provide assistance. Unfortunately, because of the extensive damage to the elevator doors and cabling caused by the guests, the work took longer than expected.”