Pregnant cruiser

[Chancec]

Will RCL allow a pregnant woman to cruise who is beyond her 24th week? The guidelines indicate no but also mention having a doctors note.

[boulders]

RCL will not let a woman who is beyond her 23rd week at any time during the cruise to cruise. For example, if it is a 7 day cruise, you cannot be further along than 22 weeks at the start of the cruise. For a 14 day cruise, you cannot be further along than 21 weeks. In addition, the pregnancy cannot be high risk and the mother must be in good health.

 

From RCL's website:

 

Q: What is Royal Caribbean's policy on cruising while pregnant?A: Royal Caribbean International cannot accept guests who will have entered their 24th week of pregnancy by the beginning of, or at any time during the cruise or cruisetour. A physician's "Fit to Travel" note is required prior to sailing, stating how far along (in weeks) your pregnancy will be at the beginning of the cruise and confirming that you are in good health and not experiencing a high-risk pregnancy. The "Fit to Travel" note should be faxed to the Access Department at 1-954-628-9622. Please contact us at 1-866-592-7225 or at special_needs@rccl.com if you have already booked a cruise or cruisetour and do not meet this requirement.

[kitty9]

You will need to show a doctor's note stating what week you're in. You will not be allowed to board the ship if you're beyond 24 weeks. The note must be presented when boarding to prove you're not beyond their rules.

[berryhappy24]

We had a free cruise in a suite with Celebrity that had to be used by the end of 08 and with our work schedules the only time we could cruise was in June when I was 29 weeks pregnant. No way was I going to give up a free cruise (we couldn't go after because our DS is only 4 months now in Dec). Thankfully I didn't really show until the end of my pregnancy, so I just wore baggy clothes (we cruised Alaska so I was always covered) and didn't mention it to anyone. My Dr. gave me a blessing to go, but couldn't write me a note because I was past the cruise limit. Flame away, but I had a great cruise, no one even asked if I was pregnant or how far along I was (I did tell my tablemates) and we were able to enjoy our free cruise.

[6rugrats]

I'm not flaming you, but IMO, you made a very bad choice and just got lucky. When did it become a good thing to brag about breaking rules that are in place for a very good reason?

 

OP has already received the correct answer and, after reading her other posts, I am hoping she did not have to ask because her DIL may not be able to cruise.

[berryhappy24]

I'm not flaming you, but IMO, you made a very bad choice and just got lucky. When did it become a good thing to brag about breaking rules that are in place for a very good reason?

 

 

Wasn't bragging, just stating that if you're not the type to sit at home with your feet up for 9 months and want to risk rejection at the gate, you can go. My doctor even thought the cruiseline rules were too strict (yes I know that there have been problems and that's why they have the rules) and wanted me to travel and get out as much as possible before delivering. I had zero problems with my pregnancy delivering one week before my due date. I would not have gone if there was any indication that things were not going well.

[6rugrats]

Well, as I always tell my kids, no one gets up in the morning and thinks they are going to get in a car accident that day.

 

Lots of times things go fine until something goes wrong! You were lucky and your doctor, IMO, was not very professional. If something had gone wrong, and he did indeed urge you to take this cruise and it had been documented in your chart, guess who would have been first in line to get hit with a malpractice suit?

[berryhappy24]

Well, as I always tell my kids, no one gets up in the morning and thinks they are going to get in a car accident that day.

 

 

 

So what you're saying is that no one should travel ever because anyone at any time could have a medical problem? If not pregnant I could have fallen and broke my leg, had a seizure, had a heart attack, or any number of things. Yes, being pregnant may have put me at risk, but so does being older, having diabetes, a heart condition, cancer...etc, and yet those people are not limited in their travels. They go on a cruise knowing that they could have complications, but cruise anyway. Why is that any different?

[Julienatul]

I cruised this past summer at 23 weeks on Carnival. Of course I had the doctors note and all the required documentation with me. I was showing but no one ever asked me for the note! Not at check-in or on-board. I was shocked because they make it seem like it is a very enforced rule but I could easily see how someone could get by without it. Not one person ever asked me if I was pregnant. I wouldnt have chanced it without a note or gone past the 24 week cutoff but Im sure its done alot more than its talked about. It's a risk you take if you decide to do it. If you go into pre-term labor on-board the likelyhood is you will deliver premature and the baby will not make it since the lifesaving equipment and medication will not get there in time. Most people will cruise with no problem but you never know when you may be that one who does have one. Im not saying its right or wrong because I think each person needs to make that decision for themselves.

[6rugrats]

So what you're saying is that no one should travel ever because anyone at any time could have a medical problem? If not pregnant I could have fallen and broke my leg, had a seizure, had a heart attack, or any number of things. Yes, being pregnant may have put me at risk, but so does being older, having diabetes, a heart condition, cancer...etc, and yet those people are not limited in their travels. They go on a cruise knowing that they could have complications, but cruise anyway. Why is that any different?

 

I am not sure how you come to this conclusion. This discussion is not about cruising with various medical problems. It is whether or not cruiselines allow one to cruise after the 24th week of pregnancy and the answer is no.

[beachchick]

Will RCL allow a pregnant woman to cruise who is beyond her 24th week? The guidelines indicate no but also mention having a doctors note.

 

They're actually not guidelines in this case, but cruise line regulations. Rather than, "We prefer you not to cruise if you're in or past your 24th week," it's "You may not cruise with us if you're pregnant in or past your 24th week."

 

The doctor's note is a separate item that is required for all pregnant cruisers. Just because someone else wasn't required to show it, doesn't mean that you won't be. You need to have it because it can be required.

 

As for sneaking in past the cutoff, I think it's irresponsible and wouldn't have done it. No matter how healthy or how good or easy a pregnancy is, there is no way to know that something won't happen. And it's not at all like "I could also have broken my leg." If you have a serious complication or go into pre-term labor, the ship's medical center does not have the facilities or capability to take care of a medically unstable mother or pre-term baby.

 

And let me finish by saying that our DD, who is young, healthy, and strong and had a basically perfect pregnancy, went into pre-term labor when her water broke 4 weeks before her due date. There was no warning at all. She didn't have pre-eclamsia or gestational diabetes or any other issue at all for the first 8 months. Out of the blue, the baby decided she had "cooked" long enough and wanted out now. It could just as easily have happened a month earlier. As it was, our DD spent 2 days in difficult labor (although she and the baby were both safe during that time) and ended up having an emergency c-section because she couldn't push her little beauty out. I shudder to think what might have happened had she been on a ship. A broken leg they can take care of; a pre-term labor or complication, they can't. (Come to think of it, I thank God now that it happened when it did and she could get to the medical center and her midwife right away. She lives in Seattle and was snow/ice-bound at home last week for several days!)

 

beachchick

[rebeccalouise]

I wouldn't run the risk of trying to cruise at 24 weeks. Some people just look fat when they are pregnant and might be away with it.

 

I looked like I swallowed a beach ball at 24 weeks. It was very apparent!

[CruisingCatherine]

I just had a little darling on 11/30/2008 so I can't help jumping in on this debate. Sorry to the OP for straying off subject.

 

At 24 weeks the baby is considered viable for the first time. This is why the cruise lines use this date as a cutoff. Prior to the 24th week, very little can be done to save a baby. (Although it can happen. I have a cousin born at 21 weeks who survived.)

 

If a baby is born prior to 24 weeks it is considered a miscarriage after 24 weeks it is pre-term labor. A ship does not have the equiptment and supplies to stop pre-term labor. A woman would most likely deliver prior to reaching a hospital with the needed medications. If an infant is born at 24 weeks it MUST have medical intervention and it must be IMMEDIATE. Waiting for hours to get to a port with a hospital is not an option. Your baby would most likely die if you are at sea after 24 weeks and go into pre-term labor.

 

To me this is not a risk worth taking. My child's life would never be worth a cruise of any kind, free or not.

[PattyW]

I actually think the 24 week cutoff is extremely conservative.

 

I know there are rules, but if it were an uneventful pregnancy, I would feel completely comfortable cruising past that time.

[RENMama]

As others have said, the ships medical facilites are not equipped to really deal with a premature baby. The cruiselines have to protect themselves legally by being very firm in stating they will not allow a pregnant person after 24 weeks gestation.

I can just see how a pregnant woman would get onboard, then something unfortunate happens and then they sue for wrongful death.

 

There are other medical issues that can arise and the medical facilites onboard are more equipped to handle them (breathing or cardiac problems). Yes time is of the essence in true emergenies but definately more so when you are talking about the life of a newborn premature baby.

 

I have a friend who was about 8 weeks pregnant on her trip to Mexico and had a miscarriage while there. She had to have emergent surgery-d&c in Mexico because she was bleeding so heavily. She was sad but knew there was nothing the doctors could do to stop it.

But if you are 28 weeks pregnant and know your baby COULD LIVE yet the doctors dont have the supplies to do anything. How do you watch your newborn baby die because you felt like you wanted a vacation?

 

You never know what will happen and life is short. Live for the now.

But just seriously think of the consequences of your actions. Its one thing to put yourself at risk, but when you put the life of a child at risk, its something different.

[6rugrats]

What happened to the OP? I believe in another thread she mentioned traveling with a 20 month old grandson and her DS and DIL. I am wondering if the DIL is pregnant and that's why OP asked the question?