cruiseclues Posted July 24, 2014 #1 Share Posted July 24, 2014 (edited) Here's the news link Globalnews.ca Cruise Line Bars Hamilton Ont Woman After Asking Whether She’s Pregnant RCI does it again. I guess I misspelled pregnant in the title. Edited July 24, 2014 by cruiseclues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novicetraveller Posted July 24, 2014 #2 Share Posted July 24, 2014 She could have lied and said no. But on the same token, It's a poor show from RCCL. Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mycraft Posted July 24, 2014 #3 Share Posted July 24, 2014 But it clearly stands on a webppage or in the documents...pregnant women need a note from a doctor...me and my wife cruised last year with RCCL out of Rome...she was visibly pregnant...with a note it was not a problem at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tagsalong Posted July 24, 2014 #4 Share Posted July 24, 2014 But it clearly stands on a webppage or in the documents...pregnant women need a note from a doctor...me and my wife cruised last year with RCCL out of Rome...she was visibly pregnant...with a note it was not a problem at all... “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. “The girl at the counter said ‘any chance you’re pregnant?’ And I was taken off guard and said ‘yes, I found out a few days before we left’ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boulders Posted July 24, 2014 #5 Share Posted July 24, 2014 What about a woman who takes a pregnancy test the morning of departure? Is she supposed to have a doctor's note? They're going to have to rethink how this policy is worded and implemented. If you read further down the article, the woman was able to get a doctor's note - which RCCL did not accept. This is definitely a black eye for the cruise line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marleycruiser Posted July 24, 2014 #6 Share Posted July 24, 2014 That is totally ridiculous on RCl's part. RCL cheerleaders stand down from this particular situation. I understand having to protect the company from lawsuit on someone that is pregnant who may not be in a safe condition to travel, and that is why RCL carries the "24 month" policy, but for someone that just found out, thats ridiculous and shame on you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couple_cruisers Posted July 24, 2014 #7 Share Posted July 24, 2014 That is totally ridiculous on RCl's part. RCL cheerleaders stand down from this particular situation. I understand having to protect the company from lawsuit on someone that is pregnant who may not be in a safe condition to travel, and that is why RCL carries the "24 month" policy, but for someone that just found out, thats ridiculous and shame on you. "24 WEEKS"... 24 MONTHS is a long time to be pregnant! But got your point lol Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted July 24, 2014 #8 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Tagsalong, You have to quote the full text... "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." So, when you have entered the 24th week of pregnancy you´re not allowed to travel. When you prior to that date you need a doctor´s "Fit to Travel" note stateing the week of pregnancy and that you´re fit to travel. She didn´t have the note. steamboats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare A&L_Ont Posted July 24, 2014 #9 Share Posted July 24, 2014 We have had two baby moon cruises and both times it was with Princess. We had our doctor note weeks prior to our sailing. Both times my DW was 18 weeks and just showing. The cruise lines have these rules across the board. Each line would have handled it the same as they do not want to get themselves in a neonatal delivery situation. No one ever said babies or cruising were cheap. The added costs of a island hop to Nassau, a couple extra taxi rides and a doctors visit and note could have been saved had she got the doctors note at home the days prior to departure. In Ontario it does take a while for a regular Dr visit but if they are signing a note, which they get paid a fee, they will see you the same or next day. They have sailed 7 times and have two children, they should be familiar to how things work on both aspects. The agent asked, and it is in the contract. They followed the rules. The good thing is she saw a doctor in Florida and was able to catch up to the ship the next day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare A&L_Ont Posted July 24, 2014 #10 Share Posted July 24, 2014 If you read further down the article, the woman was able to get a doctor's note - which RCCL did not accept. This is definitely a black eye for the cruise line. I don't think you read the entire arrival as they did get on board. “My husband, my two children and I were stuck,” said Ligori, adding the family had to stay at a hotel, take taxi rides and then board a flight to the Bahamas at their own expense to catch up with the cruise ship. The family missed two days of the vacation and has not received compensation from Royal Caribbean, except for a $250 goodwill credit towards a future cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BillOh Posted July 24, 2014 #11 Share Posted July 24, 2014 That is totally ridiculous on RCl's part. RCL cheerleaders stand down from this particular situation. I wasn't going to comment till I read this ridiculous post. To the person just taking the test that morning, I have no problem lying in this case. I'll get flamed for that. My daughter found out she was pregnant 2 weeks before her NCL cruise and had a note from her doctor as she read the rules, but she didn't look it. The only reason she took the test before the cruise was to know whether she could drink or not. IF your visibly pregnant, know the rules and be prepared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Tyler Posted July 24, 2014 #12 Share Posted July 24, 2014 She wasn't exactly barred if she caught a flight o the next port and boarded there after getting a medical note. Bad situation though, would suck to get to check in and find out you needed a note. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illyria Posted July 24, 2014 #13 Share Posted July 24, 2014 To the person just taking the test that morning, I have no problem lying in this case. I'll get flamed for that. No flame from me. I'd totally lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare S.A.M.J.R. Posted July 24, 2014 #14 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Sorry, I'm siding with the woman on this one. Those of you who say she should have gotten a doctor's note... 1) How many of you knew RCI's policy before this story came out? 2) How many of you have been asked/heard other cruisers asked if they might possibly be pregnant when checking in? If RCI is going to enforce pregnant women having a doctor's note (regardless of how far along they are), then they need to ask EVERY woman at check in if they might be pregnant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare A&L_Ont Posted July 24, 2014 #15 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I just watched the video that was also embedded in the article. The news story stated that this happened in February, strange that it takes until July to be a news story. It is an unfortunate story, as it was further elaborated that she miscarried a few weeks after coming home. It was also noted that they had cruised 7 times and that they did not read the cruise documents and encourages other to. Hopefully their next cruise adventure goes smoother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuterMonkey Posted July 24, 2014 #16 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I wonder what led the employee to ask about her pregnancy status in the first place. I'm of normal reproductive age with a young child and no one has asked us that question. Unless she looked visibly pregnant, it's a very odd request. However once she admitted the pregnancy, the rules are the rules :( They can't go making exceptions on the doctor's note just because it's early on, or else everyone could go making that request. Should've just said No. If it's early enough you haven't even seen a doctor, technically, there's no ultrasound proof that it's a viable pregnancy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare S.A.M.J.R. Posted July 24, 2014 #17 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I wonder what led the employee to ask about her pregnancy status in the first place. I'm of normal reproductive age with a young child and no one has asked us that question. Unless she looked visibly pregnant, it's a very odd request. However once she admitted the pregnancy, the rules are the rules :( They can't go making exceptions on the doctor's note just because it's early on, or else everyone could go making that request. Should've just said No. If it's early enough you haven't even seen a doctor, technically, there's no ultrasound proof that it's a viable pregnancy. The bolded is what sticks with me also. If it's a standard question, then every female (older than ~16) should be asked the question. The other thing I don't get, why didn't they let her see the ship's medical staff? Isn't that what would happen if someone said they were nauseous or otherwise not feeling well? Assuming the quote is right and the clerk asked "is there any chance you're pregnant?", wouldn't (almost) any female who has had... umm... "relations" in the last couple weeks have to answer "yes". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxHadleyxx Posted July 24, 2014 #18 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Sorry, I'm siding with the woman on this one. Those of you who say she should have gotten a doctor's note... 1) How many of you knew RCI's policy before this story came out? 2) How many of you have been asked/heard other cruisers asked if they might possibly be pregnant when checking in? If RCI is going to enforce pregnant women having a doctor's note (regardless of how far along they are), then they need to ask EVERY woman at check in if they might be pregnant. I knew about the policy, even though I had older kids and no intention of ever having more when I first set foot on RCI. It shows up in all the paperwork and if you read things at all you would not miss it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akcruz Posted July 24, 2014 #19 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Sorry, I'm siding with the woman on this one. Those of you who say she should have gotten a doctor's note... 1) How many of you knew RCI's policy before this story came out? 2) How many of you have been asked/heard other cruisers asked if they might possibly be pregnant when checking in? If RCI is going to enforce pregnant women having a doctor's note (regardless of how far along they are), then they need to ask EVERY woman at check in if they might be pregnant. I knew about the policy, even though I had older kids and no intention of ever having more when I first set foot on RCI. It shows up in all the paperwork and if you read things at all you would not miss it. Agree here, there have been so many stories of women being denied boarding due to pregnancies (usually after the 24 weeks however) that it would make me think before getting on a ship if I knew I was pregnant. As NH says above, I was past the time I would be expecting to be pregnant when we started cruising with our kids and I knew about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsFanCruiser Posted July 24, 2014 #20 Share Posted July 24, 2014 This is just silly on RCCLs part....common sense must prevail in these situations...a doctor signing something that they are "fit to travel" in the first few weeks of pregnancy????....My wife didn't even see a doctor until about week 12 during her pregnancy....There is very little chance that a doctor will be able to even assess a "high risk pregnancy" that early.... Sometimes common sense must be used......companies can't follow a script for every situation that comes up...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eriksgarden Posted July 24, 2014 #21 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I guess I'll get flamed for this, but so be it. People are making it sound like RCL targets and discriminates against pregnant women. Over the years, how many times has RCL been sued by pregnant guests? Companies have to protect themselves, especially in these sue-crazy days. I don't feel like we've been given enough information to judge either way on this example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denamo Posted July 24, 2014 #22 Share Posted July 24, 2014 (edited) Most unusual situation for this cruiser. Wonder what prompted the agent at check in to ask the pregnancy question? One interesting aspect of the story is how the family chose to handle the situation. They decided to get the needed doctor's permission and meet the ship at the first port. Actually had the same thought as the poster who mentioned getting flamed about companies' policies and being sued. Lots of "what if's" if a pregnant guest has complications while on board. Knowing this cruiser unfortunately did have a miscarriage later, what if this had been on board with complications? Companies have policies borne out from past experiences, and this policy undoubtedly substantiates those experiences. Just makes me realize that even though like this family, we are seasoned cruisers, it never hurts to look through all of that legal mumbo jumbo in the cruise docs from time to time. ;) Edited July 24, 2014 by denamo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Tyler Posted July 24, 2014 #23 Share Posted July 24, 2014 (edited) This is just silly on RCCLs part....common sense must prevail in these situations...a doctor signing something that they are "fit to travel" in the first few weeks of pregnancy????....My wife didn't even see a doctor until about week 12 during her pregnancy....There is very little chance that a doctor will be able to even assess a "high risk pregnancy" that early.... Sometimes common sense must be used......companies can't follow a script for every situation that comes up...... I get what you're saying, but where do you draw the line? 12 weeks, 13 weeks, 14 weeks? It unfortunately has to be a one-size-fits-all policy. I hope they enjoyed the cruise when they met up with it. It's a very unfortunate situation. Edited July 24, 2014 by Canadian Tyler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare S.A.M.J.R. Posted July 24, 2014 #24 Share Posted July 24, 2014 This is just silly on RCCLs part....common sense must prevail in these situations...a doctor signing something that they are "fit to travel" in the first few weeks of pregnancy????....My wife didn't even see a doctor until about week 12 during her pregnancy....There is very little chance that a doctor will be able to even assess a "high risk pregnancy" that early.... Sometimes common sense must be used......companies can't follow a script for every situation that comes up...... Exactly. I'd still like to know why the ship's medical staff couldn't see her. To me, this is also another example of why it's good to get to the port early. If they were checking in before noon and ran into this, they should have had time to jump in a cab, go to an urgent treatment center, get the doctor's sign off (as someone said, you won't be able to diagnose a "difficult" pregnancy that early), then get back to the pier and board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_G Posted July 24, 2014 #25 Share Posted July 24, 2014 (edited) That is totally ridiculous on RCl's part. RCL cheerleaders stand down from this particular situation. Why? Because there's a possibility that there's another side to the story? :D I'm not sure which are worse the cheerleaders or the brow beaters who call people cheerleaders. :rolleyes: Not everyone who disagrees with your point of view is a cheerleader. Edited July 24, 2014 by Big_G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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