The insurance broker, who co-owns a Whistler radio station, said this wasn’t his first cruise and in 2015 he had even travelled solo to Alaska in 2015.
Despite his confidence travelling, Tildesley still contacted the cruise to confirm they could assist with additional needs, before booking, such as being helped between cabin and restaurant and reading printed materials.
Before booking, Tildesley said the staff confirmed they could but when he arrived, the on-board staff said that message had come from the legal team.
So, as the ship set sail for Mexico and the Bahamas, Tildesley was put up in a Miami hotel.
Soon after, Tildesley said Voyages’ senior vice president of fleet operations, Frank Weber, then got in touch.
Weber apologised for the “miscommunication” and offered him a business class flight to the ship’s next port, so he could continue the trip. He would also be compensated for the cruise and given future cruise credit.
Tildesley accepted, on one condition.
“I’ve taken it one step further in that I’ve asked Frank to invite me to speak at a corporate Virgin meeting next year to talk about accessibility and inclusiveness,” he said.
Tildesley said if a company claimed they were accessible but didn’t deliver on that promise, it was ‘false advertising’.
“If you say on your website that you’re completely accessible to people who are blind and you have braille on the elevators and in your rooms and everything, you’ve gotta walk the walk if you’re gonna talk the talk.”
Instead of bemoaning the negative experience, Tildesley said he wanted to use it as an opportunity to collaborate and improve the company.
“If something that’s happened with me can help others in the same journey [and] can help other blind people in the future, then I’d like to take the positive approach,” he said.
Posting about the incident on Instagram, he said the events showed a lot about the character of the company.
“It says a lot about a company when they can recover from a mistake,” he wrote alongside a picture of him on the ship in Roatan, Honduras.
“Today I am flown business class to Honduras to re-join the same ship, and I am enjoying drinks on the #Rockstar Deck.”
When approached for comment, Virgin Voyages explained Tildesley had been removed from the ship “out of an abundance of caution,” but were thankful they could make things right.
“We hold ourselves to the highest standard of customer service and are fully committed to creating an environment where everyone is welcome,” they wrote.
“We know that in this instance we have fallen short of this commitment and we are infinitely sorry.”
Later, Tildesley shared a photo on Instagram of a hand-written note from Richard Branson.
“Thanks for giving us the chance to make things right,” it read. “I hope you’re having a brilliant getaway.”
