A Long Island couple booked a European dream cruise to celebrate a medical milestone — but the travel agency took their $23,000 and cruised right out of town, a report said.
Grandparents Pat Policastro and Val Policastro’s dream vacation turned into a nightmare when they found Crafty Getaways in Miller Place was completely vacant in February, four months after they paid for the cruise in full, the couple told NBC 4.
“I’m very hurt and I’m very upset and it’s something that will live with me forever,” Pat Policastro told the outlet.
Long Island grandparents Pat and Val Policastro lost $23,000 after a travel agency they used to book a European cruise vanished. NBC 4 New York
The couple paid Crafty Getaways in Miller Place to book their dream vacation in August. NBC 4 New York“It’s just amazing how they got up and disappeared,” he added.
His wife, Val, had just recovered from medical issues and their planned August cruise to Europe “was to be a celebration of her getting better.”
The inside of the abandoned travel agency. NBC 4 New York
A sign inside of the Crafty Getaways agency. NBC 4 New YorkThey paid the agency in October, but their calls to representatives there went unanswered, he said. Their cruise line and hotels also confirmed no reservations were made in the couple’s name.
An investigation has since been launched by the New York attorney general’s office, and the Policastro family has also filed a complaint with the Suffolk County Police, according to NBC 4.
“It has soured me on people in general and that’s sad. I have lost my trust,” Policastro said.
The route of the trip that the Policastros were planning. NBC 4 New York
An email to Pat Policastro from a hotel confirming that no reservation was ever made for the couple. NBC 4 New York“What they’re doing, I don’t know how you live with yourself, to do something very hurtful.”
