A family is reeling after planning a surprise Royal Caribbean cruise for their kids — and then their teen was denied boarding due to a mistake from staff members.
Shannon Nutting of Pembroke, North Carolina tells The Independent she was shocked when Royal Caribbean staff members told her 16-year-old son he couldn’t board a cruise in January after he brought his student ID as identification.
The denial came after Nutting’s travel agent spoke to a Royal Caribbean representative who assured her his student ID would be sufficient to board.
When staff denied her son’s ID, she asked to speak with a supervisor, who she said wasn’t helpful either.
“I was like, well, he doesn’t have a state-issued ID, he is special needs,” Nutting said. “We also don’t have passports because you don’t need passports for closed-loop U.S. cruises. [The supervisor] is like, ‘I don’t care what he has, you can’t board.’”
Nutting, a teacher, had been planning the cruise for a year as a surprise for her four kids. She took time off from her job and even hired a babysitter to help with care while on board.
The incident made her 16-year-old feel terrible, Nutting said.
“He’s like, ‘It’s all my fault.’ And I was like, ‘No, it’s not your fault.’”
When she contacted the company, Nutting was given three options: a full refund as Royal Caribbean credit towards her next cruise plus a $700 onboard credit; a full refund; and a full refund on the cruise plus 25 percent credit.
Nutting doesn’t want any of these options, she said, and instead wants to also be reimbursed for the expenses incurred as her family traveled to Port Canaveral, Florida.
“I am a single mom who adopted all four children who have special needs…I had been saving for it and surprised them,” she said.
Nutting says Royal Caribbean also offered to have her family board the cruise in Cozumel — but she wasn’t comfortable with the idea.
“At that point, they want us to fly to Cozumel, two days later, to board the ship, but for us to pay for it,” she said. “And I was like, I’m not paying to fly to a foreign country to board a ship you wouldn’t let me board in the United States.”
Nutting and her children went to a Disney resort instead. She said they enjoyed the visit, but it still didn’t make up for the cruise.
Nutting last contacted Royal Caribbean on Monday afternoon looking for more refund options. She said she hasn’t heard back yet.
“Of course, on social media, there’s crazy comments,” she said. “And I had to tell my sister and one of my co-workers, ‘You just have to ignore crazy people.’ They’re saying, ‘You’re trying to get a free vacation.’ But I’m not.”
The Independent has contacted Royal Caribbean for comment.
A spokesperson for the cruise company told ABC 11 that Nutting’s son should have been allowed to board and the incident stemmed from human error. The staff at the port have since undergone further training, the spokesperson said.
Source: independent.co.uk
