...and just to prove how evil Royal Caribbean is, this gets to be thread #3566666. Extra two sixes for extra evil.

The family told Eyewitness News on Friday that the cruise line kicked them off the ship late at night and abandoned them in the Bahamas when their 7-month-old child became sick.

Who takes a 7-month-old on a cruise??

This is reason #666 why you don't have kids.

A few years ago, there was a cruise out of Philly to Bermuda that had a very high percentage of illnesses reported. My fiends were on the next cruise and, sure enough, they all got sick. The cruise line (I think it was Royal Carribean) tried to keep them aboard, but they bailed in Bermuda and flew home. Said the whole experience was a horror.

JerseyTim: Who takes a 7-month-old on a cruise??

FTFY

I did the "cruise" thing with my family when I was 11 years ago, although it was an alternate mode of transportation (Southampton, UK to NYC), and not a multi-ports of call trip.

While I know thousands of people appear to go on these cruises without any major issues, reading about shiat like this and how the cruise lines handles these situations, makes me want to avoid cruises like the plague.

FTA: Royal Caribbean told Eyewitness News late Friday they were concerned because the child is so young and they didn't want to take any chances. The company said they will give the family a credit to use on another Royal Caribbean trip, but they will not reimburse them for the passports and plane tickets because they didn't pay for trip insurance.

Guess I won't be taking any Royal Caribbean cruises in the future.

I've never been on a cruise but I wouldn't mind trying it once. Now that I've read this, fark "Royal Caribbean" ! What a bunch of slimy bastards.

FTA:

Royal Caribbean told Eyewitness News late Friday they were concerned because the child is so young and they didn't want to take any chances. The company said they will give the family a credit to use on another Royal Caribbean trip, but they will not reimburse them for the passports and plane tickets because they didn't pay for trip insurance.

....

Cough up the money you assholes. Haven't these large corporations learned to keep these kinds of things quiet?

Their 7-month-old child, Zoie, was throwing up and had diarrhea. A doctor on the ship said she was dehydrated and had to be treated in a hospital.

A doctor at the emergency room diagnosed Zoie with a cold, not dehydration.

Anyone else out there have the vomiting and diarrhea cold? I'm glad I haven't. Dehydration would seem a logical effect, however.

If it had turned out to be something worse, I guess they could send an emergency hospital ship or jet helicopter or something out to the ship to get the kid instead. Or they just should have stayed in port in Nassau until he was well again.

SwiftFox: Or they just should have stayed in port in Nassau until he was well again.

I'm sure all the other passengers on the ship who'd arranged for return flights based on the cruise's expected end time would have appreciated that with every fiber of their beings.

I really really doubt they got kicked off the ship without their passports.

Reads to me like they missed the departure time. Too bad.

Royal Caribbean is being stupid. They should pay up, just to keep this thing quiet. The $3000 this would cost them would more than save the negative publicity they're getting now.

That said...who travels on a cruise with a 7 month old? Who travels to foreign countries without a passport in their pocket?

Both sides in this mess need to DIAF.

LaChanz: Extra two sixes for extra evil.

It's the zip code of the beast, according to prophecy.

I've taken Royal Caribbean the last 5 summers with my kid. Trip insurance is about $60 pp. I wouldn't travel without it. I think RC will get a black eye for this, but the family wasn't prepared. They begged and pleaded not to be thrown off the ship - they didn't want to take the kid a hospital? The kid had diarrhea and vomiting. You dont want that shiat on a cruise - it spreads fast. What if they stayed onboard, the kid might feel better the next day and spend time in the pool. Eeew. I think RC was watching out for the other passengers. What other good would it do to throw a family off a ship?

FTFA: "Everyone was crying and pleading that they wouldn't throw us of the boat, begging them if we could stay," Luis Cortes said.

I don't buy this. If I went on a cruise and some asshole brought a 7 month old baby on board that's spewing shiat and vomit, I would probably volunteer to throw the whole family into the ocean. And why was this kid even on a cruise ship?

"Hooray, we've just successfully shiat out a child but it's a vomit and turd volcano."

"Awesome, let's take it on a cruise ship and share our shiat and puke geyser with everyone on board!"

jmmsmile

Maybe RC was looking out for other passengers, but these guys got farked over. Sorry, but you shouldn't have to pay up so that they don't leave you stranded in a foreign country because your baby was sick. That bullshiat. RC should be liable for every cent they had to pay to get back, and their refusal to pay only makes them look like huge assholes. I smell a lawsuit.

Durendal
I don't want to appear a RC apologist, but why are they liable for their trip back? I paid insurance of $120 to avoid such unplanned expenses, but you think RC is compelled to cover them because this family goes on and off the ship unprepared? I think RC looks like assholes, but RC wouldn't be in business if they had to cover every issue their passengers overlook.

jmmsmile:
I don't want to appear a RC apologist, but why are they liable for their trip back? I paid insurance of $120 to avoid such unplanned expenses, but you think RC is compelled to cover them because this family goes on and off the ship unprepared? I think RC looks like assholes, but RC wouldn't be in business if they had to cover every issue their passengers overlook.

Well, in their defense, RC kicked them off. RC didn't even give the mother the chance to change out of her pajamas -- perhaps they were too distraught to remember to grab their passports.

ExJerseyGirl
Ahem, RC didn't give the mother a chance to get out of THEIR pajamas. Perhaps there was some shenanigans going on, and were told to GTFO.

;^)

JerseyTim: The family told Eyewitness News on Friday that the cruise line kicked them off the ship late at night and abandoned them in the Bahamas when their 7-month-old child became sick.

Who takes a 7-month-old on a cruise??

Entitlement moos who don't care if their screaming farktrophy/crotchfruit ruins the trip for everyone else?

How would you even get on the ship without a valid passport? It's required to get back into the US now from just about everywhere. If you go to Bermuda, you need a US passport to get back to the US -- a drivers license doesn't work.

xtex: How would you even get on the ship without a valid passport? It's required to get back into the US now from just about everywhere. If you go to Bermuda, you need a US passport to get back to the US -- a drivers license doesn't work.

Apparently on cruise ships it is not a requirement.

CarolynLibrarian: Who takes a cruise??

Well, yeah. That, too.

ExJerseyGirl: xtex: How would you even get on the ship without a valid passport? It's required to get back into the US now from just about everywhere. If you go to Bermuda, you need a US passport to get back to the US -- a drivers license doesn't work.

Apparently on cruise ships it is not a requirement.

It was 3 1/2 years ago.

They bought their tickets...they knew the risks

I say, let them swim..

Babies don't belong on cruise ships.

//flame on.

dj_bigbird: Who travels to foreign countries without a passport in their pocket?

Holland America, when I sailed on them, required passengers to surrender their passports on embarkation, and gave them back at the end.

jmmsmile: Durendal
I don't want to appear a RC apologist, but why are they liable for their trip back? I paid insurance of $120 to avoid such unplanned expenses, but you think RC is compelled to cover them because this family goes on and off the ship unprepared? I think RC looks like assholes, but RC wouldn't be in business if they had to cover every issue their passengers overlook.

I think that's an excellent point. And if I were a betting man, I'd bet there's another side to this story that would change the entire context.

Something doesn't smell right with this story, which is told only from the family's perspective. I suspect that there are details that are being left out.

/Loves cruising

I see nothing wrong with taking a 7 month old on a cruise. The cruise lines tout the quality of their doctors. There is no reason for a 7 month old to be any worse than any of us for getting a last minute cold or virus or whatever.

And yes, little kids with colds do vomit, it's because they don't know how and/or won't blow their nose so alot of mucus fills their stomach and up it comes.

Who the hell tosses a family with a 7 month old off a cruise ship due to the kids' illness? RC deserves shiat tossed at them.

That said, who takes a cruise who is not in a wheelchair? (Well, I did once, but it was completely free and it was a two week cruise of Alaska, but otherwise, who takes a cruise to Alaska, take the Alaska Marine Highway (Ferry) instead.)

LIFETIME BOYCOTT AGAINST THE CHILD HATERS!

/ Why does Royal Caribbean hate sick children?

Farkomatic: jmmsmile: Durendal
I don't want to appear a RC apologist, but why are they liable for their trip back? I paid insurance of $120 to avoid such unplanned expenses, but you think RC is compelled to cover them because this family goes on and off the ship unprepared? I think RC looks like assholes, but RC wouldn't be in business if they had to cover every issue their passengers overlook.

I think that's an excellent point. And if I were a betting man, I'd bet there's another side to this story that would change the entire context.

No matter how thin you make a pancake there is always two sides.

The cruise lines tout the quality of their doctors.

I wouldn't count on a cruise doctor for anything serious. They're contract employees, and if they screw up and amputate your head, the cruise line isn't responsible, legally or financially.

JerseyTim did scribe: Who takes a 7-month-old on a cruise??

Anyone who wants to take their kids on a cruise. Come on, those boats are floating luxury hotels. Every pleasure, activity, amenity, and necessity any creature of any age needs is provided for, for a price. Disney has an entire cruise line dedicated to kids.

That being said, Satan will be riding a snowboard before I travel on one of those things. Because you're in a floating luxury hotel, you're also subject to the whims of the hotel staff and other clients, good or bad. No thanks, I'd rather venture out on my own, with my own itenerary, my own plans, my own car, bike or two feet.

RoyBatty: I see nothing wrong with taking a 7 month old on a cruise. The cruise lines tout the quality of their doctors. There is no reason for a 7 month old to be any worse than any of us for getting a last minute cold or virus or whatever.

And yes, little kids with colds do vomit, it's because they don't know how and/or won't blow their nose so alot of mucus fills their stomach and up it comes.

Who the hell tosses a family with a 7 month old off a cruise ship due to the kids' illness? RC deserves shiat tossed at them.

That said, who takes a cruise who is not in a wheelchair? (Well, I did once, but it was completely free and it was a two week cruise of Alaska, but otherwise, who takes a cruise to Alaska, take the Alaska Marine Highway (Ferry) instead.)

I think the other hundreds of people probably do not want your little hellspawn around. Children should not be allowed anywhere where I have to pay to be.

/would pay extra for child free businesses
//Never gone on a cruise.

omnibus: dj_bigbird: Who travels to foreign countries without a passport in their pocket?

Holland America, when I sailed on them, required passengers to surrender their passports on embarkation, and gave them back at the end.

Did you ever exit the ship? I wouldn't want to strut around in a foreign country without my papers.

Who the hell takes a baby on a cruise? I refused to take either of our kids on a plane until they were old enough to deal with such. I didn't want to be stuck dealing with a small child on a plane and I didn't want to be the assclown who forced everyone else to deal with it.

It still sounds a bit odd that they got booted in their pj's and the crew wouldn't even round up their stuff and toss it off the boat.

FarkinFarker: ExJerseyGirl: xtex: How would you even get on the ship without a valid passport? It's required to get back into the US now from just about everywhere. If you go to Bermuda, you need a US passport to get back to the US -- a drivers license doesn't work.

Apparently on cruise ships it is not a requirement.

It was 3 1/2 years ago.


I remember hearing somewhere that they recently dropped the passport requirement for the Caribbean. Could be completely wrong, though.

Cruises are retarded.

Good thing to know that they have adequate medical facilities on board which can offer treatments such as "walking the plank" and "marooning".

No passports? you can take somebody's passport for being ill?

Let me exhort this family to break their lawyer's foot off in RCCL's ass.

The problem with cruises: the other people on the boat.

Every time we have been on vaca in the Caribbean and a ship comes in, the IQ drops and the damned cretins take over the island. Rude, loud, disrespectful of locals and their customs, even the cab drivers told us they don't like people from cruises.

reveal101: The beautiful thing about people like that is that they won't breed, so hopefully we only have a few generations left to suffer through them.

Eh, I'd bet that most do have kids eventually. There's a disproportionate amount of 14 year old "eww, sex is icky" folks on the various LiveJournal childfree communities.

Forget these cruises people! Why be stuck with a bunch of annoying people when you can just charter your own boat in the Mediterranean? It's probably the same cost if not cheaper. There's no casino or pool, but you have your own captain, your own cook, you eat on the boat, sleep under the stars. Amazing.

/Of course, you have to fly to the Mediterranean.
//Not sure if chartering a boat in the Caribbean is possible without spending a lot.
///It's rough with the dollar, ain't it?

Better ONE lawsuit than a THOUSAND.

Here's another way this could have played out.

Wow, that's some great customer service. How much effort would it have taken for Royal Caribbean to arrange for someone to go to the hospital with them and arrange for some temporary accommodation and transport home? I'm sure this isn't the first time this has happened.

MadKatharine: Anyone who wants to take their kids on a cruise. Come on, those boats are floating luxury hotels. Every pleasure, activity, amenity, and necessity any creature of any age needs is provided for, for a price.

Every pleasure, but apparently no pediatric ward. Like I said...

If it had turned out to be something worse, I guess they could send an emergency hospital ship or jet helicopter or something out to the ship to get the kid instead. Or they just should have stayed in port in Nassau until he was well again.

Yeah and without travel insurance that would be around $75,000 to evacuate.

Kyosuke: I really really doubt they got kicked off the ship without their passports.

Reads to me like they missed the departure time. Too bad.

Nope! you can still sail to the Caribbean with birth certificates but to fly requires passports.

RCCL did the right thing, a child so young if were seriously sick, and in the middle of the ocean. They didn't want the death of a child on thier hands.

I would have done the same thing.

TFA: Royal Caribbean told Eyewitness News late Friday they were concerned because the child is so young and they didn't want to take any chances. The company said they will give the family a credit to use on another Royal Caribbean trip, but they will not reimburse them for the passports and plane tickets because they didn't pay for trip insurance.

I'll take a lawsuit with punitive damages for $5,000,000, Alex.