A widow whose husband died during their ‘dream vacation’ is grappling with grief compounded by insensitive follow-ups from the cruise company they booked through. Barbara and Rick Smith, from Versailles, Kentucky, embarked on an eight-day trip with American Cruise Lines in May—a trip they had always dreamed of.
Their journey took a tragic turn after leaving Idaho. In the middle of the night, Rick, 78, woke up struggling to breathe. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors discovered he had a leaky heart valve. Despite undergoing open heart surgery, Rick passed away on June 5, just 24 hours after their vacation began.
As Rick fought for his life, Barbara informed the cruise line of her husband’s medical crisis. Despite this, she continued to receive promotional mail and requests for reviews about their trip.
“I’m still getting questionnaires about how our trip was. I’m still getting brochures in the mail from them for future trips,” Barbara told WKYT. “It’s like everything that I wrote about Rick to them just went down some black hole. I can’t get mad at anyone because Rick died.”
Initially, Rick was taken to a hospital in Washington after experiencing breathing difficulties on the cruise. Doctors identified a leaky heart valve, and once he was stable, Rick was transferred to the University of Kentucky Hospital, closer to home, where he later died.
Barbara expressed frustration over the lack of empathy and support from American Cruise Lines. “I said my husband is in the hospital, his health is deteriorating. I don’t know how I’m going to get home. Please just consider us with compassion and sympathy and respond… but they didn’t,” she said. Despite reaching out for help with re-booking flights and hotels, Barbara never received condolences from the company.
The couple did not have travel insurance, which Barbara acknowledged as a mistake. “That’s a bad thing but we were always healthy, we never thought we needed it,” she said.
Rick Smith was born in Toledo, Ohio, and attended Baldwin Wallace University in Berea. He worked as a high school teacher and sports coach before moving into human resources. His career included positions at Long John Silver’s, Rally’s Hamburgers, and Golden Corral. He retired as an Executive VP of HR and Training at Piccadilly Restaurants in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Rick was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.
“My husband was absolutely the best. A sweet, kind, caring man,” Barbara said. “People ask us how long we’ve been married. I say not long enough. It could have gone a lot longer.”
