‘It was our dream vacation and it lasted 18 hours’: Versailles woman shares story for other travelers

VERSAILLES, Ky. (WKYT) - After his retirement, Rick and Barbara Smith spent their years traveling. This May, the two set out on what was supposed to be an eight day American Cruise Lines river trip starting in Idaho.

“It was our dream vacation and it lasted 18 hours,” Barbara Smith explained.

Rick woke up that first night unable to breathe. He would spend the next six days in a hospital in Washington where he learned he had a leaky heart valve.

“My husband was absolutely the best. A sweet, kind, caring man.”

Rick became stable enough to be flown to UK Hospital. He came through his open heart surgery, but died 24 hours later. While her husband was fighting for his life, Barbara was battling the cruise line company.

“I appealed to their good will. I appealed to their mercy, and 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. And they didn’t.”

Barbara said she understands the two didn’t have travelers insurance.

“That’s a bad thing. But we were always healthy. We never thought we needed it.”

Barbara said she never asked or expected her money back. She asked the company for help rebooking new flights, finding hotels or just some type of response, acknowledging her pain.

“I’m still getting questionnaires about how was our trip. I’m still getting brochures in the mail from them for future trips. It’s like everything I wrote about Rick to them just went down some black hole. I can’t get mad at anyone because Rick died.”

But Barbara is disappointed in the lack of empathy shown to a woman who just lost her best friend.

“People ask us how long we’ve been married. I say not long enough. It could have gone a lot longer.”

WKYT did reach out to the cruise line for a response, and had not heard back yet.