Compensation for ruined cruise

[Karysa]

Do they offer in-room babysitting or a nursery? I asked this earlier but got no response. If they do, then in my opinion, the OP should have simply gone that route to be able to have an anniversary dinner with her husband and mitigate the situation.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

 

Your quick

 

Autocorrect got me. That was free babysitting like in my corrected version 1 minute post post:D

[ducklite]

Insurance would have not helped in this situation.

 

 

 

While I am sympathetic to the OP, its not reasonable to believe a cruise line should notify every booked passenger, on every cruise, on a every ship when there is a change in some policy. Just not feasible.

 

 

 

The fact that he was told he would not have a problem and then did is another matter and does point to a less than stellar opinion on their customer service.

 

 

With everything being done electronically these days, I have to disagree. I believe any time there is a material change, all booked cruisers or their agents should be notified. In other words if they change their salt and pepper supplier, it's pretty much irrelevant. But if they change the ages of various activities, the dress code, the smoking policy, the final payment date, height/weight limit on shore excursions or water slides, the itinerary (advance change, not during the cruise due to weather, etc.), embarkation port, or any major amenity (such as a pool/casino/spa/kids club/fitness center closure for non-emergency repair), major change in cabin configuration (ie changing a 2BR suite to a 1BR suite) these are all material changes that they need to notify passengers of, in advance, and allow them to determine if this change will be detrimental enough to their experience that cancellation would be a better option.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

[ducklite]

Your quick

 

 

 

Autocorrect got me. That was free babysitting like in my corrected version 1 minute post post:D

 

 

Even if they had to pay for it at $15 an hour, you'd think they'd spend the $45 for an anniversary dinner. Not doing so is simply cutting off your nose to spite your face.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

[greatam]

From what you have written, you did everything YOU could to assure that your son was eligible for the kid's club prior to sailing. Your cruise line's response, in writing, is what I would use as a basis for a short but concise letter requesting some compensation.

 

 

While a well written letter is the basis of a valid claim, until the OP posts the actual email with the question to the cruise line about the kids club and their response, you cannot in any way ascertain the OP did EVERYTHING to in fact even have a valid claim.

 

And if the claim was valid, why did the OP NOT have that very email with them on the ship or go print it out if they left it at home to validate their claim?

 

A lot of questions unanswered by the OP. Until those emails are produced (if they ever are), the basis for any compensation cannot be determined, whether on a legal basis or whether they have a leg to stand on even for a goodwill gesture from the cruise line.

 

IF there is proof that the CSR did in fact GUARANTEE that the OP's CHILD SPECIFICALLY could use the kids club via exemption, I'd start by asking for a FREE cruise for all 4 and work my way down from there. There would be legal liability if in fact there was a GUARANTEE for a SPECIFIC child and the cruise line could be sued. They would probably be handing over the vouchers for a FREE cruise for all in a hot second.

 

But without that guarantee that SPECIFICALLY the OP'S child was exempt, not much you can do. And would they really want some OBC on a cruise line they believe did them wrong? If it was NCL, it's not like you could take 7-8 different cruise lines under the Carnival brand or 4-5 under the RCCL brand.

 

To add a little levity to the situation, whoever came up with the NSA idea-THAT was pretty good!!! Where is Edward Snowden when you need him???

Edited December 21, 2013 by greatam

[swsfrail]

I see your method. You write something that isn't clever and then post it. When someone writes a witty response you change your post.

 

Your quick

 

That was free babysitting like in my corrected version 1 minute post post:D

 

Too funny! You attack me of modifying my post, accusing me of changing it after someone replied (which, it turns out, I did not), and then you go and do the same thing you accuse me of doing. Unbelievable! I am sure you will have some outlandish excuse why it's OK for you to change your posts but not for me. :rolleyes:

Edited December 21, 2013 by swsfrail

[Karysa]

Too funny! You attack me of modifying my post, accusing me of changing it after someone replied (which, it turns out, I did not), and then you go and do the same thing you accuse me of doing. Unbelievable! I am sure you will have some outlandish excuse why it's OK for you to change your posts but not for me. :rolleyes:

 

I corrected one word.

 

You added paragraphs.

[greatam]

these are all material changes that they need to notify passengers of, in advance, and allow them to determine if this change will be detrimental enough to their experience that cancellation would be a better option.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

 

According to the OP, cancellation was brought up to the cruise line rep. I still firmly believe the OP wrote something very similar to what I posted which contained all pertinent information EXCEPT her child's SPECIFIC name with regard to ship and sailing date and got the "canned" response from the cruise line rep which covered the policy on the date of the email but NOT the date of the OP's cruise. That second sentence by the CSR was either ignored or misinterpreted. JMHO

Edited December 21, 2013 by greatam

[swsfrail]

I corrected one word.

 

You added paragraphs.

 

I am an author of several dozen books and articles, many for children, but others on various topics such as etiquette, culture, and trends. My style of drafting any book or article involves reviewing and rewriting several times. I am never 100% satisfied, and continually make corrections, additions, deletions, until the last minute. In the case of my books, it is the due date it must be submitted to the publisher. In the case of an email, it is up to when I think it is "good enough". For my postings here, I often post, read my post as it appears, then make corrections, deletions, additions, often several times up to the time limit allowed for corrections. This is how I write. Nothing more sinister than that, I'm afraid.

 

It's a shame that my method of making every effort to write exactly what is on my mind to be so distasteful to you. But, in reality, I don't really care what you think.

 

EDIT: And I did it again with this post. I changed a couple of words in the first paragraph.

 

I try hard to be precise when writing my thoughts. I always thought that was a good trait to have. Apparently to you it is a fault.

Edited December 21, 2013 by swsfrail

[Karysa]

Even if they had to pay for it at $15 an hour, you'd think they'd spend the $45 for an anniversary dinner. Not doing so is simply cutting off your nose to spite your face.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

 

I agree with you. Even if the cruise line did not offer FREE babysitting to the OP I know that if this happened to my family I would have inquired about FEE babysitting.:D

Edited December 21, 2013 by Karysa

[nana541]

Well the OP is still missing in action, I'm going to officially call him a CC "one post wonder" well in his case 2 posts. He joined Cruise Critic December 20, made his Original Post at 8:59am a 2nd post on this thread at 9:06am and checked out and has not returned since 9:25am, that's less than 30 min. after stating his sad case and disappearing.

 

Not thinking we will hear from this guy again!

 

JMHO

[Blk_Amish]

Well the OP is still missing in action, I'm going to officially call him a CC "one post wonder" well in his case 2 posts. He joined Cruise Critic December 20, made his Original Post at 8:59am a 2nd post on this thread at 9:06am and checked out and has not returned since 9:25am, that's less than 30 min. after stating his sad case and disappearing.

 

Not thinking we will hear from this guy again!

 

JMHO

 

She was called a bad parent, why would she return to be called a cheating wife:eek:. No, I don't think she will return and rightfully so. Would you want her to return and show the email so those who doubted her and gave their take on her parenting skills, can sincerely apologize, if they were wrong yet again. Oh hooey, I don't think that will happen but we could hope for a Christmas miracle, maybe?.Abuse of any kind is not acceptable to some, no more than not being directly informed about policy changes . I agree the CC bunch has got another one fleeing.

 

OP- Merry Christmas

Edited December 21, 2013 by Blk_Amish

[Karysa]

Well the OP is still missing in action, I'm going to officially call him a CC "one post wonder" well in his case 2 posts. He joined Cruise Critic December 20, made his Original Post at 8:59am a 2nd post on this thread at 9:06am and checked out and has not returned since 9:25am, that's less than 30 min. after stating his sad case and disappearing.

 

Not thinking we will hear from this guy again!

 

JMHO

 

Thick skin takes time to grow here on cc. This would be a tough read for any newbie I would think.

[iheartbda]

Do they offer in-room babysitting or a nursery? I asked this earlier but got no response. If they do, then in my opinion, the OP should have simply gone that route to be able to have an anniversary dinner with her husband and mitigate the situation.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

If the OP was on NCL, which someone seemed to think they were, there is no in room babysitting.

 

The OP said their child was ineligible by just days, how many is "just days"? I'm assuming the child was not yet three, the minimum age for the Splash Academy. Just days to me means maybe 2-3. It must have been more than a week because the NCL website says children turning three during the cruise are welcome to participate in Turtles on their birthday.

[nana541]

She was called a bad parent, why would she return to be called a cheating wife:eek:. No, I don't think she will return and rightfully so. Would you want her to return and show the email so those who doubted her and gave their take on her parenting skills, can sincerely apologize, if they were wrong yet again. Oh hooey, I don't think that will happen but we could hope for a Christmas miracle, maybe?.Abuse of any kind is not acceptable to some, no more than not being directly informed about policy changes . I agree the CC bunch has got another one fleeing.

 

OP- Merry Christmas

 

Gosh that's horrible! Wanting to have some Adult time on a cruise does not = bad parenting and I won't even mention the other assertation :eek:

However to complain and run often happens on CC... OP was likely really mad(at herself most likely) for not following up on the issue of her child attending Kids Program 1. At time of final pmt 2. Getting more specifics in writing referencing her reservation and her child in particular.

 

I hope the OP really does have it in writing and not from just a year prior to sailing, something much more recent as it was a big deal to her, and Things do change! Maybe she will at least get an apology and a $50 OBC

 

JMHO - Merry Christmas to you all!

[nana541]

Thick skin takes time to grow here on cc. This would be a tough read for any newbie I would think.

 

I did not mean to insult anyone....just stated the hard facts of the OP appearance on CC. Had this poster stuck around for a few minutes we could actually of helped her to sort through the entire story and maybe offered some constructive way to handle this situation and what the OP could possibly expect the cruise lines response to be.

 

Instead the OP posted and left!

[Karysa]

I did not mean to insult anyone....just stated the hard facts of the OP appearance on CC. Had this poster stuck around for a few minutes we could actually of helped her to sort through the entire story and maybe offered some constructive way to handle this situation and what the OP could possibly expect the cruise lines response to be.

 

Instead the OP posted and left!

 

:) I agree there was some great info weaved in this thread. There also were some harsh comments directed towards the OP on this thread. Newbies tend to need to be treated in a kind and gentle manner. :)

[PTMary]

:) I agree there was some great info weaved in this thread. There also were some harsh comments directed towards the OP on this thread. Newbies tend to need to be treated in a kind and gentle manner. :)

 

Yes, but also with accurate, factual information, not opinions or guesses. I found that when I began searching CC for information, it was often difficult to weed out the biased and uninformed answers. And it still is.

Edited December 22, 2013 by PTMary

[Karysa]

Yes, but also with accurate, factual information, not opinions or guesses. I found that when I began searching CC for information, it was often difficult to weed out the biased and uninformed answers. And it still is.

 

Much of cc IS opinions. What cruiseline would you recommend for a 70 year old couple? Do you prefer the Eastern, Western or Southern Caribbean and why? What catamaran excursion would you recommend in Antigua? Is renting a car in St. Thomas a good idea? What's the best way to get to The Baths in Virgin Gorda from Tortolla. Would you pick two balcony cabins or a two bedroom suite?

 

There are no black and white answers to these questions.

 

I find that the cheerleaders are easy to pick out. Look at a thread that is negative about a cruiseline on that lines board and they will come out in droves.

 

I think the OP knew that there question about deserved compensation for their issue was going to get a variety of answers. They might have been surprised by the attacks on their parenting though.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Going back to the first post of this thread, I still don't know exactly what was written to the rep and what was the exact reply. I don't and none of you do. Perhaps the OP made a good case in a well-written email that stuck to the facts (including the date of sailing and the child's date of birth). We don't have that info -- any of it. We don't know how exact the email and the response was. We don't even know if the OP had taken the response with on the cruise and to whom she showed it. Maybe if it had been on official NCL letterhead it would have carried much weight, and would certainly help in the case of a request for some compensation. But if the response was vague in response to a vague email and just at the level of a CSR and not higher up, I wouldn't think there's validity in getting anything more than an OBC on their next cruise.

 

Here's from the original post:

You book a cruise 2 years in advance, after 1 year of being booked, they change the kids club age cut off, making your child ineligible by a matter of days.

 

I was never notified of the change by the cruise line or our cruise line rep (who works for the cruise line) but I learned about here on cruise critic. Once I heard about it, I immediately contacted our rep and asked if this was going to be a problem (I had heard that exceptions would be made). I specifically said in my email that if my son would not be allowed to attend, then we would most likely cancel our cruise. We had done a cruise prior when he was too young and it was just not worth it to us.

 

We were assured in writing by the cruise line rep that it would not be a problem as long as he met certain criteria, which he did.

 

I'm sure you can guess what happened- got on the ship and was told no, no exceptions.

 

This has nothing to do with whether she was a competent parent or not. As someone who doesn't have a competent close-by relative to look after my child, I'm definitely not in the "don't take your child on vacation until their older" school, because then we wouldn't have had our last eight cruises, all of which our daughter (now 16) has been on.

 

But given some of us have questions, it's hard to just jump on board with "oh, poor mom, you deserve a free cruise."

 

Besides someone else (ducklite,perhaps?), I too was wondering what the kids' policy is on that line (have never been on NCL, nor do I intend to, sorry) and went on their website to find these FAQs: http://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/freestyle-family-fun/youth-programs/faq

 

So no babysitting. If under 3, a parent must be with their kid while in the kids' area. Does sound like there's a ton of fees.:eek: Back when our kid was pretty young when we did Carnival, we were never charged a fee to have her there during a port stay in order to eat.

 

and that reminds me of another question: When the OP was made aware of the new policy, was this before or after final payment? If it was truly a year ahead of the cruise, it most likely before the final payment date. To me, if this was the case, the OP had some very easy choices to make, IMO. 1) change the sailing date to after the child's birthday (given that it was "days" away, whatever that means. That way, the child would be eligible under the policy in effect at that time. No problem.

2) change to a line which allows participation at age 2 -- Carnival.

3) be glad that your family is healthy and can enjoy a cruise together.

 

The fact that the older kid (and we don't know that child's age at all) didn't want to participate has NO bearing on the issue. Not a whit.

 

Again, bringing up our case, we understood that at 23 months of age, our daughter wouldn't be old enough (by exactly four weeks) for Camp Carnival. We had picked that sailing (a three-day cruise) because we wanted to see the tall ships in San Diego, which would be arriving by the time we got off our cruise. We went on a short cruise, just in case she didn't take to cruising (and nicely, she loved going on cruises -- she just wants us to save $ for her college as she's now a HS junior), and we added a short stay in San Diego, which included another first for her, a hotel stay. We weren't going to badger the staff into letting her be in the kids' area. So we didn't have "alone time." Not a big deal. We all had fun -- that was the important thing.

[Blk_Amish]

Much of cc IS opinions. What cruiseline would you recommend for a 70 year old couple? Do you prefer the Eastern, Western or Southern Caribbean and why? What catamaran excursion would you recommend in Antigua? Is renting a car in St. Thomas a good idea? What's the best way to get to The Baths in Virgin Gorda from Tortolla. Would you pick two balcony cabins or a two bedroom suite?

 

There are no black and white answers to these questions.

 

I find that the cheerleaders are easy to pick out. Look at a thread that is negative about a cruiseline on that lines board and they will come out in droves.

 

I think the OP knew that there question about deserved compensation for their issue was going to get a variety of answers. They might have been surprised by the attacks on their parenting though.

 

I can only imagine. She wanted time with her spouse, not the mailman. There is an auto trigger for some, when your kids are not the love of your life or the center of your universe. Mine only occupy apart of my world , granted an important part. Given the opportunity it would be nice to see how these situation get resolved. It will never happen so we come up with our own scenario.

Edited December 22, 2013 by Blk_Amish

[iheartbda]

Cruisin'Chick,

I answered the question about babysitting on NCL 6 posts ago.;)

[Sherlock43031]

From what you have written, you did everything YOU could to assure that your son was eligible for the kid's club prior to sailing. Your cruise line's response, in writing, is what I would use as a basis for a short but concise letter requesting some compensation.

 

I have had enormous success with brief, well-written letters of inquiry regarding refunds, etc. I write to the head of any company and include anything that documents phone calls, actions, responses, etc. I always cc my attorney on the letter and send the letter return-receipt so that I will have the date the letter was received and the name of the recipient. I would not mention the missed port in your letter as weather is not within anyone's control. Also, keep the tone businesslike; don't use emotion-based statements such as "our cruise was ruined," etc. as that is a subjective statement and discredits what is a fact, one that can be proven by the cruise line's in-writing response.

 

As to how much compensation you are due, only you and the cruise line can ascertain what is fair, or reasonable and customary in a similar situation. Yes, you signed the cruise contract but some companies still strive to maintain good consumer relations when their customer has been given incorrect information from said company's employee.

 

Good luck and please keep us posted.

 

Happy holidays.

 

that should get the shaking.. how many attorneys do you figure RCI has on their payroll? RCI are not US flagged ships so sueing them over something such as lack of baby sitting is nuts. the only person that will make out is your lawyer. all of RCI's are on salary so another suite to them is another suit,

[MermaidWatcher]

Imagine! They actually had to be with their own kids for the entire cruise. What a horrible thing to force upon parents! What awful torture they must have had to endure! What a travesty! Give them all of their money back, plus a free cruise. Forced to be with their own kids - imagine that!

The sense of entitlement some of you have is absolutely mind boggling! Gimme, gimme, gimme! :eek: :rolleyes:

 

A bit harsh, maybe ? Even though back near the beginning of this thread I said that I did not believe this was something worthy of compensation, I do believe that if the OP had a written verification that his kids would be "grandfathered" in, it should have been honored.

 

"The sense of entitlement some of you have is absolutely mind boggling! Gimme, gimme, gimme! :eek: :rolleyes:"

The OP appears to have went to great lengths to verify that his child would be allowed in the group. Seems to me that what was told to him by the company rep would be honored in the field, and that someone in the chain of command onboard would have the authority to support what he was told. Can't see how you think something as simple as planning to have a dinner alone with just your spouse as an anniversary celebration equates to something so sinister.

[notentirelynormal]

I guess I'm having problems with the OP in a few areas. Obviously we don't know about the correspondence between them and the cruise line. That info would be really nice to know.

 

Regardless of the kid not being allowed into the kid's area I find it amazing that anyone, parent or non, would say their cruise was RUINED because everything didn't go as they expected. Not amazing or even great, but ruined? How many threads have been started about bad Customer Service reps? In fairness, I can see how it wasn't super because of it but once you ask for compensation - well then you lose me. I've had toilets back up on me, wine go missing, stewards taking their tip before it was given but I've never ever consider my cruise "ruined" because of it or asked for compensation. Until reading these boards, it never occurred to me that people actually did.

 

All of you who have jumped to the defense of the OP that YES they should be compensated - where are you when people complain because they sailed with a large group and venues weren't available and the groups took over areas that should have been for everyone or there was unacceptable behavior? They expected to use a bar or area that was off limits. How exactly is this different? Ya, ya, the letter but again, remember, the OP hasn't told us what proof she has to insure the kid was allowed. Remember too, that they had an entire year to cancel.

 

Some have said how wonderful it is that the older child didn't want to go to the kid area because the sibling couldn't. Really? I guess I'm seeing a different view. I want my kids (and grandkids) to be individuals. While I think it's great that the kids bond and want to support each other, I see no reason why the OP complained her oldest didn't attend. That was his decision and his parents went along with it. How on earth could this be the fault of the cruise line? So they want to do it together but since it's not possible it ruined their cruise that their oldest kid refused to go? Remember also, that we don't know how old the eldest was. He might not even have been in the same group as the 2 YO.

 

The OP was sailing with young children. It is virtually impossible to predict perfection in any weekly life of a family. It sounds like they wanted their "together" moment and didn't get it. Suck it up Princess! You are parents now. If that single dinner on that specific night was that important to you, you should have brought someone on board with you to 100% make sure it happens. There are going to be many times in your life when it doesn't go the way you want it to because you have children and hundreds of other things that could happen. Let's say you are home and someone you care about has a medical emergency and you have to wait another day. Will you ask for compensation then? Life happens! Asking for any compensation because the situation didn't go the way you wanted is ridiculous.

 

Adapting is important in life and as a parent. In all honesty, if your anniversary is on Monday and you have to have your special moment on Tuesday (or the following week) will it really ruin your life? I've been married for a while. The MEAL isn't as important as the thought and the actual event. Dinner out is just a meal. To me, it's more important that my DH tells me he loves me and makes any kind of special gesture to show me he loves me too. Everything else is gravy. I'm just fascinated that not having dinner together on the exact date effected their life so much. Let's pretend you are on land. Your anniversary is on Monday but you can't get a sitter or the boss makes you work late or there is an accident. Would you ask for compensation from your boss or the person that had the car accident? Is your special moment ruined? No, you re-schedule. We can only hope that this couple will have many years ahead of them to celebrate their life together. What's more important? Dinner on a specific date or a life time commitment?

 

I've had a cruise where we had a special circumstance. The baby was 3 days short of the six month rule (my DD was pregnant when we booked). We contacted the cruise line and asked what we could do. There were 26 of us going on this cruise. They made an exception to the rule BUT we had major hoops we had to go through. We had to produce medical records showing she was a healthy baby when born and not premature, that there were no medical issues, get her a passport at 4 weeks old, etc. We then had to get written permission from both the ship's doctor and the Captain. It was a HUGE deal. I'm grateful for all the work everyone did but it took us two weeks to get this approval and involved many phone calls, email and documents. The approvals were in hand when we boarded.

Edited December 22, 2013 by notentirelynormal
.

[sparky-elpaso]

I guess I'm having problems with the OP in a few areas. Obviously we don't know about the correspondence between them and the cruise line. That info would be really nice to know.

 

Regardless of the kid not being allowed into the kid's area I find it amazing that anyone, parent or non, would say their cruise was RUINED because everything didn't go as they expected. Not amazing or even great, but ruined? How many threads have been started about bad Customer Service reps? In fairness, I can see how it wasn't super because of it but once you ask for compensation - well then you lose me. I've had toilets back up on me, wine go missing, stewards taking their tip before it was given but I've never ever consider my cruise "ruined" because of it or asked for compensation. Until reading these boards, it never occurred to me that people actually did.

 

All of you who have jumped to the defense of the OP that YES they should be compensated - where are you when people complain because they sailed with a large group and venues weren't available and the groups took over areas that should have been for everyone or there was unacceptable behavior? They expected to use a bar or area that was off limits. How exactly is this different? Ya, ya, the letter but again, remember, the OP hasn't told us what proof she has to insure the kid was allowed. Remember too, that they had an entire year to cancel.

 

Some have said how wonderful it is that the older child didn't want to go to the kid area because the sibling couldn't. Really? I guess I'm seeing a different view. I want my kids (and grandkids) to be individuals. While I think it's great that the kids bond and want to support each other, I see no reason why the OP complained her oldest didn't attend. That was his decision and his parents went along with it. How on earth could this be the fault of the cruise line? So they want to do it together but since it's not possible it ruined their cruise that their oldest kid refused to go? Remember also, that we don't know how old the eldest was. He might not even have been in the same group as the 2 YO.

 

The OP was sailing with young children. It is virtually impossible to predict perfection in any weekly life of a family. It sounds like they wanted their "together" moment and didn't get it. Suck it up Princess! You are parents now. If that single dinner on that specific night was that important to you, you should have brought someone on board with you to 100% make sure it happens. There are going to be many times in your life when it doesn't go the way you want it to because you have children and hundreds of other things that could happen. Let's say you are home and someone you care about has a medical emergency and you have to wait another day. Will you ask for compensation then? Life happens! Asking for any compensation because the situation didn't go the way you wanted is ridiculous.

 

Adapting is important in life and as a parent. In all honesty, if your anniversary is on Monday and you have to have your special moment on Tuesday (or the following week) will it really ruin your life? I've been married for a while. The MEAL isn't as important as the thought and the actual event. Dinner out is just a meal. To me, it's more important that my DH tells me he loves me and makes any kind of special gesture to show me he loves me too. Everything else is gravy. I'm just fascinated that not having dinner together on the exact date effected their life so much. Let's pretend you are on land. Your anniversary is on Monday but you can't get a sitter or the boss makes you work late or there is an accident. Would you ask for compensation from your boss or the person that had the car accident? Is your special moment ruined? No, you re-schedule. We can only hope that this couple will have many years ahead of them to celebrate their life together. What's more important? Dinner on a specific date or a life time commitment?

 

I've had a cruise where we had a special circumstance. The baby was 3 days short of the six month rule (my DD was pregnant when we booked). We contacted the cruise line and asked what we could do. There were 26 of us going on this cruise. They made an exception to the rule BUT we had major hoops we had to go through. We had to produce medical records showing she was a healthy baby when born and not premature, that there were no medical issues, get her a passport at 4 weeks old, etc. We then had to get written permission from both the ship's doctor and the Captain. It was a HUGE deal. I'm grateful for all the work everyone did but it took us two weeks to get this approval and involved many phone calls, email and documents. The approvals were in hand when we boarded.

 

Best paragraph in this whole post. :D I think it may be an age thing. Those of us who are a bit "older" (grown kids, etc.) grew up when we were taught that things don't always go the way we want. Sometimes you have to make lemonade out of those lemons.

 

Some younger people today have been taught that things have to be perfect and just the way they plan or it's "ruined". Any bump in the road and they fall apart.