True or false?

[babs135]

It makes for an interesting story, but is it the whole truth?

 

Teenager leaves family behind on island after they miss cruise departure (msn.com)

[Essiesmom]

Well, apparently we have two facts:

1.  The parents missed the ship

2.  The son did not.

the dynamics, from the parents point of view, are missing. 
Likely we will never get the point of view of the ship.  
Now, let the speculation begin.

They sound like the people who make the tour bus wait…. EM

[leaveitallbehind]

True or false? I don't think we will likely ever know all of the facts from all perspectives - only those presented by the writer of the article.  But IMO, I'm not sure that's relevant.  What is relevant is that ships have a schedule to maintain and they will leave based on that, with or without you.  And this is nothing new.

 

I realize this is a vacation and the cruise ship is the focal part of that, in particular in terms of transportation.  But cruise ships have a schedule which must be kept and delaying that has many ripple effects including potentially incurring extra port charges for delayed departure, compromising the timing with the next port of call, etc., etc. That schedule is maintained at the expense of those who, in particular with independent shore activities, fail to responsibly return to the ship on time. 

 

Those times, and consequences for missing them, are well published and should be easily understood by all, with return times generally also providing for a 30 minute cushion prior to departure. So if they miss the ship, they are already at least 30 minutes late. It's very unfortunate for those who by failing to return on time are left behind, but it is what it is. Responsibility to be on time lies with the passenger. 

 

I realize as well that these may be argued as different situations, but airplanes, trains, and buses all leave at their appointed schedule, whether you are on board or not. JMO.

Edited June 8 by leaveitallbehind

[mnocket]

I see no reason to doubt the teenager's account as posted on reddit and reported in the media.  Perhaps you can elaborate on why you have doubts about the veracity of the story?

[babs135]

13 minutes ago, mnocket said:

I see no reason to doubt the teenager's account as posted on reddit and reported in the media.  Perhaps you can elaborate on why you have doubts about the veracity of the story?

I posted the article elsewhere and was 'challenged' as to whether it was correct. This was based on the fact that the origin of the story is Reddit. As no ship is mentioned in the article, posting it on this forum seemed the only logical way to find out if anyone knew anything.

[leaveitallbehind]

16 minutes ago, babs135 said:

I posted the article elsewhere and was 'challenged' as to whether it was correct. This was based on the fact that the origin of the story is Reddit. As no ship is mentioned in the article, posting it on this forum seemed the only logical way to find out if anyone knew anything.

I'm not sure it matters. Correct or not, true or false, doesn't change the outcome of what can and will happen to those who are late on their own for a port of call departure time.  And just to add, IMO it won't ever likely be successfully painted as anyone else's responsibility other than the passengers'.

[navybankerteacher]

57 minutes ago, mnocket said:

I see no reason to doubt the teenager's account as posted on reddit and reported in the media.  Perhaps you can elaborate on why you have doubts about the veracity of the story?

Precisely.

 

Given the (literally) thousands of cruise ship port calls every year and the known occurrence of careless passengers missing a departure, there is no reason to disbelieve the story.  Perhaps the parents might have expected their son to get off so he could share things with them, but he might not even have been aware of their lateness

[Toofarfromthesea]

Assuming, for the sake of argument, that the story is true as written, I don't understand why the parents were pizzed at him for leaving them behind.  He actually saved them money since they didn't have to pay for an expensive plane ticket for him.

 

Or is it just embarrassment that their 18 year old is more responsible than they are?

[CDNPolar]

Well, whether true of false People and other news outlets have picked up the story and are adding to the viral nature of the whole situation.  People does quote Reddit.

[sfaaa]

Look at the bright side. The parents may have missed the ship but they did get themselves some deals on those fake Made in China tourist junks.

[donaldsc]

I hope that it is right.  If so it shows that the kid is smarter than his parents.  It should also teach the parents a lesson although I doubt that the parents have the mental capacity to learn their lesson.

 

DON

[Mary229]

Legal eagles, what would have happened differently if the son was a minor?  The ship couldn’t have left, could it?  Transporting minors across international borders without parental permission is not legal. What would happen?  Just curious 

[mom says]

Mary 229, do you think parents would have allowed their minor child to return, alone, to the ship as this teen did? Or if the mimor child had been left on board, and the parents missed the ship through the same arrogance and carelessness as these parents, perhaps a case would be made for child neglect or abandonment and the ship could have CPS waiting at disembarkation. It seems the parents were able to fly to the next port at their own expense and reboard the ship.

Edited June 9 by mom says

[Mary229]

16 minutes ago, mom says said:

Mary 229, do you think parents would have allowed their minor child to return, alone, to the ship as this teen did? Or if the mimor child had been left on board, and the parents missed the ship through the same arrogance and carelessness as these parents, perhaps a case would be made for child neglect or abandonment and the ship could have CPS waiting at disembarkation. It seems the parents were able to fly to the next port at their own expense and reboard the ship.

I wouldn’t rule out parents leaving their children. Minor is 17 and that isn’t much different from 18 but legally they are oceans apart.  There have been recent reports of people abandoning their children at home to cruise.  But I wonder what the legal implications are.  The ship couldn’t sail, would they turn over the child to local authorities or what?

Edited June 9 by Mary229

[CDNPolar]

Do we actually know how old this "teen" is?  The reporting only states a "teen" returned to the ship. 

 

I guess I question if the teen is a minor, but even possibly in a separate cabin to the parents, would the ship draw a line between the teen onboard and the parents not being onboard if the teen was a minor?

 

I think that this is a Reddit story that to my knowledge has not been verified by anyone credible yet.  This could be and most probably is "click-bait" as it has been reported in Apple News for 2 or 3 days now by various sources and all of them claim Reddit as the source.

[ontheweb]

12 hours ago, donaldsc said:

I hope that it is right.  If so it shows that the kid is smarter than his parents.  It should also teach the parents a lesson although I doubt that the parents have the mental capacity to learn their lesson.

 

DON

Parenting might very well be the most important job that does not require any training or licensing. And those parents if there really were requirements would definitely not qualify.

[ontheweb]

32 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

Do we actually know how old this "teen" is?  The reporting only states a "teen" returned to the ship. 

 

I guess I question if the teen is a minor, but even possibly in a separate cabin to the parents, would the ship draw a line between the teen onboard and the parents not being onboard if the teen was a minor?

 

I think that this is a Reddit story that to my knowledge has not been verified by anyone credible yet.  This could be and most probably is "click-bait" as it has been reported in Apple News for 2 or 3 days now by various sources and all of them claim Reddit as the source.

IIRC, the article did say the teen was 18 with both a birthday and a high school graduation being celebrated, but of course we are not sure of the veracity of the story in the article.