Bedbugs turned dream cruise vacation into a nightmare, Massachusetts woman says
A first-grade teacher from Everett, Massachusetts says she went on a dream cruise to the Bahamas over Thanksgiving that turned into a nightmare.
Lynnmarie Adams says she was bitten by bedbugs on board, and when she tried to get help from ship staff, she says her complaints went nowhere.
The eight-night cruise onboard the Norwegian Breakaway, operated by Norwegian Cruise Line, left from New York City to go to the Bahamas. Adams says red marks left all over her body are not from a sunburn, but rather from bedbug bites.
"When I woke up on Monday morning is when I noticed those," she said. "And then every night thereafter there was more popping up on my abdomen, on my shoulder, on my forearm, on my knee."
Adams told WBZ-TV that she talked to the woman who cleans her room but could not connect with a supervisor at guest services.
"Anytime you tried to dial 00 it would ring so much that it would start to either re-ring busy or disconnect. But if you were standing in line at guest services with 100 other people at any given time throughout the eight nights," Adams said. "If the desk is busy, they just pick up the phone and hang it right up."
She said she didn't see a doctor on board due to them demanding payment up front, which is a common practice on cruise ships.
"I said, I'm not paying $200 out of pocket when I'm trying to bring to your attention what could be a serious matter," Adams said.
When Adams got home, she did a telehealth visit and the provider confirmed that the bites were consistent with bedbugs. She said she bought a special spray and washed all her clothes in hot water at a local laundromat. She kept her clothes from the cruise in containers in the basement for over a week.
Norwegian Cruise Line response
Adams said she tried to contact the cruise line's corporate office but said her complaints were dismissed. In a statement, the cruise line said in part, "our records indicate that this illness was never reported to our medical office or to the guest relations desk." It went on to say whenever illnesses are reported, their medical staff makes every effort to attend to it.
WBZ-TV reached out to Norwegian and in a statement they reiterated that Adams never sought treatment on board. The company also said the stateroom has no history of bedbugs and none have been found in the room since the sailing.
Adams said she is now seeing a psychologist to deal with the emotional toll that the vacation has taken on her mental and physical health.