Carnival lifts lifetime ban on family

MIAMI, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Carnival Cruise Lines said it has lifted a lifetime ban it had imposed on a family because of scrapes on a dresser in their cabin.

Chris Harvey said he and his family were kept aboard the Carnival Freedom when it docked Aug. 23 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., by ship employees who claimed small scrapes on a dresser in their cabin had been caused by the family on the final day of the cruise, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Thursday.

"They kept talking about damage we'd not done," Harvey said. He said photographs taken during the cruise clearly show the scratches were on the dresser for longer than the workers claimed.

Harvey said he argued with the employees for about two hours before agreeing to accept a lifetime ban from Carnival Cruise Lines vessels.

Harvey, chief executive of online travel insurance company Squaremouth.com, detailed the incident on the Web site Wednesday, and officials at Miami-based Carnival apologized and agreed to lift the ban after being contacted by the St. Petersburg Times.

"Senior management wants to take a look at it to find out what happened and if anything internally needs to be clarified," Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz said.