Was even a regular customer

Aida shipping company bans Styrian from cruises

Daniel S. is disappointed. Instead of sitting on the ship in the Canary Islands, he is now at home and has to take legal action against the shipping company.

(Bild: zVg, Sepp Pail, Krone KREATIV)

When travel dreams fall through: Almost 30 cruises have taken Daniel S. from southern Styria to some of the world's oceans. When he allegedly complained once too often about shortcomings and poor treatment on board, the shipping company Aida banned him from contact and travel without further ado.

Daniel S. is a talkative person. And extremely friendly. But what has now happened to the man from southern Styria has left even him speechless. For many years, S. has preferred to book cruises due to an illness: "It's a way for me to get away from everyday life. And I love the salty sea air." However, the quality on the ships has declined in recent years, he explains in an interview with the "Krone" newspaper.

Washing-up liquid instead of water, a bitten-out tooth
This led to several unfortunate incidents and unpleasant occurrences. In December 2023, for example, he was promised a shipboard credit, which he only received when the ship was already at its port of destination. Which made it worthless. He bit his tooth out on a piece of contaminated bread. Far worse: during another stay, Daniel S. was treated incorrectly. Instead of distilled water, he was given washing-up liquid. So there were plenty of reasons to complain.

Daniel S. is angry about the way he is treated as a loyal regular customer.

(Bild: Sepp Pail)

"I didn't do anything wrong"
When the man from southern Styria booked his trip to the Canary Islands and the associated flights in January, he was in for a rude awakening. Aida issued S. with a house ban. One day later, he was even banned from making any contact. "I didn't do anything wrong," S. rightly complained, also via his lawyer Manuel Novak. Nevertheless, the lawyer's requests led to Aida agreeing to refund the costs a few days before the start of the original trip.

The company's response to demanding customers and their wishes and complaints is simply to ban them from the premises.

Rechtsanwalt Mag. Manuel Novak

Styrians still open to dialog
However, Daniel S. does not think this goes far enough. After all, he had made fixed plans for the vacation, but is now sitting at home instead of on the Canary Islands. In any case, he doesn't understand why Aida no longer wants to talk to him. "I am still open to dialog. But I can't do more than reach out," says S. sadly.

The shipping company only responded to an inquiry from the "Krone" with a reference to data protection.