An unexpected pregnancy nearly cost one couple their New Year's cruise — until Royal Caribbean's CEO came to the rescue.
The soon-to-be father shared the story on the r/royalcaribbean Reddit thread. In a post titled "Unexpected pregnancy is keeping us from a cruise (already purchased) over New [Year's]," JTH2014 explained that he feared he and his wife would lose out on their $1,500 vacation.
"My wife and I had booked a cruise at the end of next month. We just found out a couple [of] weeks ago that she was already 18 weeks pregnant with our first child (she swears she didn't feel any different), meaning she will be past 23 weeks by our sail date, meaning they won't let us onboard," he wrote.
Continuing, the expectant father said he called Cruises.com (presumably the third-party they had booked through) to figure out what options were available to them since they did not have travel insurance.
Initially, while they were told they couldn't get a refund, they could reschedule their cruise to a later sail date due to the medical issue. However, their relief didn't last long.
"I called [Cruises.com] again yesterday with the new cruise I had picked out six months after my wife's due date. Royal Caribbean is apparently now refusing [to] reschedule," he said.
"I contacted the cruise line myself, asking for more information. They basically said that allowing customers to reschedule for medical reasons is not an official policy, that they allow or disallow it 'at their discretion.'"
Fellow cruisers chimed in with advice in the thread. Some comments weren't helpful, advising the expectant couple to lie about how far along the mother was and enjoy their cruise anyway.
"Just lie about how far along she is. I did on one of my cruises, not a big deal. All you do is click not over 23 weeks on the health questions," suggested one individual.
Others mentioned the importance of travel insurance, though that wasn't helpful to the couple's current situation.
Experienced cruisers encouraged them to keep pushing for a medical accommodation. Someone even suggested contacting Royal Caribbean's President and CEO, Michael Bayley, to see if the company's advanced resolutions team could assist.
Read more: The 5 important Royal Caribbean email addresses you should know about
"This Sub-Reddit saved my Honeymoon"
In a follow-up post, JTH2014 happily shared that, thanks to the advice on their previous thread, the issue was resolved.
"I thought for sure I was out that $1500, but someone suggested I send my story directly to the CEO's public email ([email protected]). Someone from his office called me today and said I am being granted a one-year credit for that balance," he explained.
To him, that was better than the original offer. With more flexibility, he can pick any sail date, depending on how things are going with their baby.
Babies have to be at least 6 months old to cruise from the U.S.
As generous as the offer was, commenters reminded JTH2014 that Royal Caribbean has strict guidelines for traveling with younger children.
"[D]o be aware that [your] baby must be at least six months old to cruise domestically, and 12 months old for any sailing with more than two consecutive sea days," wrote crazydisneycatlady, a Platinum sailor within Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society.
With those rules in mind, the year-long credit may not give them as much flexibility as they hoped. Still, there is time to plan their first vacation together as a family of three during the last quarter of 2026 without losing the money that's already been paid.
Experienced parents in the thread shared how much they enjoyed sailing with their infants, giving them a lot to look forward to.
Haterofstarbucks remarked, "I took a [6-month-old] on a cruise. My spouse and I had a blast on the ship with the [6-month-old]. Our son’s personality really came out on the ship. He was highly alert but not in the crawling phase. We just put him in the stroller and went exploring."
Read more: 8 Things I wish I knew about taking a baby on a cruise ship
Always buy travel insurance
JTH2014's situation highlights one possible medical scenario where travel insurance could make a huge difference. Unexpected events, from unplanned pregnancies to sudden illnesses, can derail well-planned vacations — even once you are onboard.
Without insurance, you're stuck paying for any medical care received on the ship out of pocket, as cruise ships do not typically accept standard health insurance policies.
For example, one first-time cruiser was stuck paying $4,000 for treatment after she began throwing up blood and losing consciousness while sailing on a Royal Caribbean ship.
Khiali Baxter was then transported to a hospital in Costa Maya, Mexico, where she racked up over $9,000 in additional medical expenses for several different procedures to help stabilize her.
Aside from helping cover costly medical emergencies, travel insurance can also help protect against trip disruptions, lost luggage, and more.
