had to cancel due to pregnancy guidelines

I had to cancel three reservations in one cruise after finding out two days later that our daughter would be 27 weeks pregnant when we sail. RCCl policy is that the pregnancy must be before 24 weeks at the conclusion of the sailing. We reserved one room for me and my husband. Another room for our 23 yr old daughter and 21 yr old son. And a third room with our oldest daughter, husband and their 4 year old son. If we cancelled yesterday, we would have received 100% refund since we booked under 24 hours. Our cruise is 40 days away and we would only get 50% refund. All three reservations cost over $3,000 After calling RCCL and speaking with a resolutions agent and him speaking to his supervisor, the best they could do is give us a letter of credit that has to be used for each of us within two years. If we were to wait for the baby to be born, he has to be at least 6 months old. I feel like we struggled to find time for our family of seven now that we will have a more challenging time to use this credit. I'm so disappointed with RCCL for not making an exception for a full refund when we were less than 24 hours from meeting their policy or giving a full letter of credit in my name only since all three reservations were paid by me. I am an Emerald level Crown and Anchor member and never consider any other cruise line. Does anyone have any words of encouragement or other avenue that was not thought of?

:/ That sucks. However there are rules for pregnant women getting on planes after a certain month of pregnancy too, which I always thought was pretty common knowledge.

This is probably a controversial recommendation, but since it's already booked and it's affecting so many people, maybe she can just say she's a few weeks less pregnant. When I was 25 weeks I was barely showing at all, so depending on how big her belly gets, they may not even notice or ask.

The other option is that the pregnant daughter misses out and everyone else goes. Parenting is a sacrifice and you spend a lot of years having to miss out or make concessions in life, we all go though that phase, it just comes with the territory of deciding to have children. But everyone else shouldnt have to suffer and sacrifice and plan around her pregnancy. I get it that the whole family wants to go together, but it sounds like everyone but her can go, as it screws you up for several years. Let her have the certificate and take her trip a couple years down the road. I wouldn't change my plans because someone else is having a baby. I did my time already...so did you...sounds like it's her turn.

The other option would be to change the name on the reservation and have one of your other kids bring a friend.

Sorry to hear that! Why cancel the entire trip? See if you could get credit for the third room and sail with her when your new grand baby has arrived.

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I agree. it's not if she were approaching her due date and you might miss out on the birth.

rules are there to be followed. if they were to make concessions on this, they might as well make concessions on everything, hence no reason to have the rule. your reason for cancellation is no more or less important than anyone else's, elite diamond on the emerald status or if you were a first time ever cruiser. had you had cancellation insurance, you wouldn't have to worry about anything. for the mere fact that you had this issue, it leaves the door open to guess than you didn't.

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I am delighted for you that they bent the rules so that you do not lose your money. That was generous of them.

You have received a lot of advice on how to handle this situation. I would advise against having your pregnant daughter go anyway and risk getting turned away or having a complication on board and having a bad pregnancy outcome. The risk of it happening is extremely low, but the results can be awful. The odds of Russian Roulette aren't bad either, but I still wouldn't play....

Having a family very similar to yours I appreciate how difficult it is to get this all coordinated. I hope you can find a time that all 8 of you can celebrate together.

I thought the pregnancy policy was listed on the confirmation email and I went to look at mine and it is not. You may want to argue that fact. The reason they have the policy in place is that if there are complications the ship medical facility is not equipped for neo-natal care

You can also try corporate office and one of the executive reps at 800-256-6649 X11760

Did you happen to talk to someone in Resolutions? This FAQ answer recommends it:

CAN I CRUISE WHILE PREGNANT?

Other than that, I agree with the others. Have her save the certificate for another time, and the rest of you take the cruise. Or wait to all use it together.

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This is probably a controversial recommendation, but since it's already booked and it's affecting so many people, maybe she can just say she's a few weeks less pregnant. When I was 25 weeks I was barely showing at all, so depending on how big her belly gets, they may not even notice or ask.

Not to start a debate at all - but please do not do this. The reason the guidelines are set is because if a woman goes into preterm labor, if a hospital with a specialized NICU is easily accessible there is a chance that baby could survive. Any delays in treatment could impact the outcome. Personally, I had what everyone would consider a perfect pregnancy until at 28 weeks 5 days I PROM'd ( premature rupture of membranes). I was admitted immediately to the hospital, received two steroid shots for the baby's lung development and IV antibiotics and was on hospital bed rest for 37 days at which time I delivered our daughter at 34 weeks gestation. She did need to go to the NICU FOR 11 days but fortunately is now a very healthy 14 year old. Unexpected things can happen very quickly during a pregnancy and quick access to specialized medical care can make a huge difference in the outcome. Again, not trying to start a debate or offer medical advice - just giving another perspective on why the cruise lines have set a cut off date for cruising.

I'm sorry you and your family need to change your travel plans. I hope you can find a good alternative that will work in the future.

Thanks jonj. I may try that route. I work for a college and appeals are brought forward for reconsideration of rules we make all the time. Sometimes families have compelling stories that allow exceptions. I am heartbroken that our family could not have this time together. For anyone out there that has a close family like I can only relate to keeping the family together for a family vacation.

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Thank you 2specialkidsforme. I respect your story and am happy you have a happy ending to a difficult time. I would never want my daughter to go on the cruise knowing the guidelines that are to be met. We merely were not aware of them until 36 hours after we booked. Had we known we would never considered going. Airlines restrictions are for women further into their pregnancy. I never imagined a cruise line being more strict.

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I totally understand why RCCL will not make an exception. Everyone thinks they should make the exception 'for me' but they don't think about how many 'me's there are.

I feel bad for the situation however look on the bright side. Your going to have a grandbaby and isn't that much more important in the scheme of things? Sure, you could try and lie your way onto the ship but how horrible would you feel if something bad were to happen, I think that is the worst idea you could consider. There are reasons for the limits and while we don't always see them, trust me, RCCL would rather have you sail and keep all your money than have to give you any back. Plus, its not their fault your daughter will be past the sailing allotted time.

Good luck with what ever you do. I like the idea of still going with the group who are able and maybe doing something all together at a later time.

I'm surprised they extended a letter of credit to use in 2 years. Take them up on that. That's a pretty good deal. Not understanding why everyone canceled though if only one party could not go. And yes, have been in almost identical situation.

not worth the risk.I agre with others go now and with her later

I'm sorry you can't all vacation together but I would go with your younger children and see if you can change the names and invite friends to vacation with you.

Personally I would not risk cruising that late in the pregnancy in case I needed urgent care that the ship could not provide. It is a shame you didn't question if it would be ok for your daughter to cruise at her stage of pregnancy.

I wish your daughter the best for her new arrival.

take your cruise...........then book another in a couple years with the daughter..

That's awful on RCs part. I'd keep at it. Write the CEO, and keep going. It's the hospitality industry-rules are more like guidelines and if they don't bend them shame on them for being greedy.

I have found that Royal is pretty good at guest service when everything is normal or minor things come up. However, they flat out suck at guest recovery. When abnormal things happen it's like they can't figure out how to fix it, they panic, and fall back on "it's the rules." Having worked for Disney they pride themselves on guest recovery and it's really pretty simple stuff.

Does Disney have rules in place at their theme parks? Absolutely. You know how many times I "broke" the rules? Too many times to count-every single day! And I was encouraged/empowered to do so by management. The thinking is simple, sure you are going to take a small hit in the short term, but you will gain big time in the long run. So I give away a free ice cream treat because a family's favorite ride broke down. That costs Disney $1. However, that family is going to stick around and spend more, or better yet return for another trip because of how we went above and beyond for them.

So to the OP, don't give up. Keep going up the ladder!

You will have plenty of time in the future to cruise with a healthy child.

How did you hit Emerald without remembering the health questionnaire question about if you're pregnant and how pregnant you are?

I feel like we struggled to find time for our family of seven now that we will have a more challenging time to use this credit.

For anyone out there that has a close family like I can only relate to keeping the family together for a family vacation.

You're either close and you can figure this out, or you can't figure it out and you can be close at home but let each individual family within the extended family vacation on their own.

They have bent their rules even though IMO you should hvae known this already. Take that.

Airlines can allow people onboard who are more pregnant because the passengers will be *on a plane*. That plane can be diverted to all sorts of different places *quickly* to get care if the 27 week baby shows up. (terrifying in my family and DH's...DH was born under 9 lbs at 44 weeks, and DS showed signs of prematurity at 42 weeks 3 days...can you imagine how fast either of them would have died if born at 27 weeks?)

But when you're in the middle of the ocean, that ship gets *nowhere* quickly. They have to wait for the aircraft to show up to get people somewhere in a hurry.

I'm so disappointed with RCCL for not making an exception for a full refund when we were less than 24 hours from meeting their policy or giving a full letter of credit in my name only since all three reservations were paid by me. I am an Emerald level Crown and Anchor member and never consider any other cruise line. Does anyone have any words of encouragement or other avenue that was not thought of?

bluntly, it was YOUR responsibility to make sure everyone in the party met conditions before booking, and sorry but the pregnancy restrictions have not only been in place for years, recently they have been brought to the forefront due to Zika. they actually did not even have to issue you the credit at all, so you have already gotten an exception to policy.

This is probably a controversial recommendation, but since it's already booked and it's affecting so many people, maybe she can just say she's a few weeks less pregnant. When I was 25 weeks I was barely showing at all, so depending on how big her belly gets, they may not even notice or ask.

 

the cruise line can demand a doctor's note proving that she is under the cut off and is safe to travel. and how would you feel if something hit the fan and the baby was compromised or worse? especially with Zika being so prevalent in many ports.

Are you travelling to Caribbean? I wouldn't want my pregnant daughter travelling into areas with Zika.

I would either travel without her and her family, or accept the future credit. Can just her family accept a future credit and the rest of you travel? I see you have already spoken with resolutions or I would have suggested that.

I think that going forward, resolutions is going to be tough with pregnancy cancellations, ie follow policy and not make exceptions. There are just too many people who are going to be affected by Zika. And as we have seen by recent posts here, it is not just the pregnant woman who wants a refund; entire families want refunds. For this particular reason, I don't see them making exceptions.

bluntly, it was YOUR responsibility to make sure everyone in the party met conditions before booking, and sorry but the pregnancy restrictions have not only been in place for years, recently they have been brought to the forefront due to Zika. they actually did not even have to issue you the credit at all, so you have already gotten an exception to policy.

I agree. The rule is not a secret. How did the OP just find out?

How did you hit Emerald without remembering the health questionnaire question about if you're pregnant and how pregnant you are?

 

 

The pregnancy question is no longer on the health questionaire. I cruised last week on Enchantment and the question was not there. It was also missing from the form back in October when I cruised.

My words are not going to be of encouragement. I also canceled 2 cruises (two other cruise lines) for pregnancy and Zika Virus. I was within the 50% penalty period and was given 50% refund to my credit card and a future credit with the other cruise line, good for 2 years.

I do not find Royal Caribbean to have done anything wrong to you. They actually bent their policy to give you the credit when they didn't have to because you yourself are not pregnant.

I understand you may be upset, but they did what every other cruise line has done in this Zika situation.