4 days ago
Elderly couple's $22k Viking cruise of a lifetime plagued by gnats, disease and broken air conditioning
An elderly couple who spent $22,000 on a Viking River Cruise were left devastated after their 'trip of a lifetime' was plagued by disease, gnats and broken air conditioning.
John and Rosemary Kaasa were looking forward to their 15-day voyage across Europe, especially after he recently recovered from a serious health scare.
But after paying more than $11,000 each, the couple from Roswell - about 40 minutes outside of Atlanta, Georgia - went through a hellish experience.
In the midst of a European heat wave, the much-needed air conditioning system stopped working on their boat.
That major issue then led to another one - gnats swarming the area.
'They said, "don't open your door, your sliding door, because you'll get gnats in,"' Rosemary, 77, told WSB-TV.
After spending five grueling days in a hot boat, the couple and other passengers were frantically evacuated to another ship because of low water levels on the river.
But the air conditioning did not work on the new boat either, leaving them to sit in a room that reached approximately 90F, the couple recalled.
'It was 87 degrees in our cabin when we got there,' John, 78, said.
While dealing with the faulty air conditioning, the couple soon realized their cabin ceiling was leaking, prompting them and others to speak up.
'I had to hold Rosemary down,' John said of his wife.
'He did. At one point, he's like, "Sit down",' she said. 'I had more to say. I was not happy.'
Soon after complaining to the captain, the Kaasas were hit with a horrible sickness that left bedridden for the rest of their trip.
John even recalled hearing other passengers coughing all throughout the ship.
'There was no escaping it. It was miserable,' he said. 'I'd walk up and down the hall, and all you could hear was people coughing one room after another.'
To make matters worse, the husband and wife were both diagnosed with bronchitis when they got back home, Rosemary said.
After the horrid experience, she decided she wasn't just going to let the cruise company get away with what happened.
Rosemary, a volunteer with the local station's Consumer Action Center, quickly remembered advice Clark Howard, a local advisor, gave her.
'From Clark, I've learned that you go to the CEO. So I sent him a letter,' she explained.
Initially, they were offered only $1,000 toward a future cruise, but Howard's advice proved valuable as Rosemary persisted.
'You complain everywhere you can, hope that at some point they decide it's better just to get this person to go away,' Howard told the outlet.
Viking River Cruises only agreed to resolve the issue with the couple after WSB-TV reached out, per the outlet.
It remains unclear what the resolution was as they signed a non-disclosure agreement with the company.
Still, the Kaasas feel very upset about what they endured.
'I'm terribly… No, I'm beyond being angry. I'm just very, very disappointed,' John said.
