Pregnant

[2 J's]

I was wondering if someone can help me clarify an issue. We just found out we are having a baby - our first. My husband and I have booked Allure for 7/24/11. My Dr. said it will be fine to travel but sometimes the cruise line has it's own limitations. I will be 23 weeks entering the cruise and 24 weeks on the cruise. When I call RCI to ask about any pregnancy policy I was told you could not be entering your last trimester. How does this work? Do I have to have a Dr.'s note? Does it have to say how far along I am or just that it's ok to travel? Is there something that has to be filled out with RCI? The travel agent doesn't think I will have a problem boarding. I don't know what to do - cancel, keep it? Any thoughts, suggestions or personal experiences are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[BabyMoon2007]

I was wondering if someone can help me clarify an issue. We just found out we are having a baby - our first. My husband and I have booked Allure for 7/24/11. My Dr. said it will be fine to travel but sometimes the cruise line has it's own limitations. I will be 23 weeks entering the cruise and 24 weeks on the cruise. When I call RCI to ask about any pregnancy policy I was told you could not be entering your last trimester. How does this work? Do I have to have a Dr.'s note? Does it have to say how far along I am or just that it's ok to travel? Is there something that has to be filled out with RCI? The travel agent doesn't think I will have a problem boarding. I don't know what to do - cancel' date=' keep it? Any thoughts, suggestions or personal experiences are greatly appreciated. Thanks![/quote']

 

Onboard Policies

 

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.

 

Ask for a an ultrasound to make sure your weeks are correct. You are so close that one week would make a difference. Tell your OB/Gyn the policy and ask their thoughts. They may tell you that you might be 22 going into 23. If you haven't had an ultrasound it might show you a different week... I was told originally Dec 17th was my due date at 14 week ultrasound the date was changed to Dec 7th as my due date. If you do go, be sure to travel with the original note just incase their was a glitch with faxing from your doctors office.

[Langley Cruisers]

Congratulations on the baby! That's wonderful.

 

Looks like you may have to either bump up the date of the cruise, or cancel and rebook later after baby comes. Some people here may say to just keep the booking and not tell RCI that you are 24 weeks along, or even pregnant at all (yes, I've seen members here write that they didn't look pregnant at 24 weeks, that it's none of the cruise line's business, etc. etc.). I will not advise you to lie and do that and your doctor certainly will not lie for you; the health and well-being of the precious baby you are carrying is far more important than a cruise vacation.

[jamscckmc]

Not to burst your bubble but as a high risk OB RN I would not go. A 24wk fetus is viable but only at a hospital with a level 3 NICU. If your water breaks or you go in to labor at sea it would not be good. Lying to the cruise line is never a good option. If you purchase the insurance in case there is a complication with the pregnancy and then you can't go and they find out you were lying about your dates the will not pay. You do need a Drs note. I do know of people who were barely showing and hid the pregnancy to cruise but I would really advise against this. That being said everyone has the right to there own decisions.

[Langley Cruisers]

The travel agent doesn't think I will have a problem boarding.

 

Came back to add this: your travel agent is not doing his/her job correctly or professionally. That's ridiculous. The policy is on the RCI site, as quoted above. Based on the dates you gave your TA, you will clearly be in your 24th week, unless your due date is off as suggested in an above post. My date was off by a week, so it certainly can happen.

 

Let us know what your plans are. Have a healthy happy pregnancy. :)

[BillOh]

Not to burst your bubble but as a high risk OB RN I would not go. A 24wk fetus is viable but only at a hospital with a level 3 NICU. If your water breaks or you go in to labor at sea it would not be good. Lying to the cruise line is never a good option. If you purchase the insurance in case there is a complication with the pregnancy and then you can't go and they find out you were lying about your dates the will not pay. You do need a Drs note. I do know of people who were barely showing and hid the pregnancy to cruise but I would really advise against this. That being said everyone has the right to there own decisions.

 

Wow, that is really good information highly related to the topic. However, I will make one exception on a barely related note. As far as the lying to the cruise line is never a good idea, in their attempt to stop outbreaks of sickness on the ship, they ask if you have vomited during the last 24 hours. My wife and I are both successful weight loss surgery patients. She had the bypass and I had the lap band. Prior to our last cruise, she ate something high in sugar the morning of the cruise. She should know better, but she ate too much of it, and had to "get rid of it" after a few minutes. I advised her not to admit to this on the check in form. We knew what had happened and knew she was in no way contagious. I had a similar experience the year before on embarkation day after my surgery.

 

Congrats to the OP, sorry to hijack this thread.

[green eyed lady]

Not to burst your bubble but as a high risk OB RN I would not go. A 24wk fetus is viable but only at a hospital with a level 3 NICU. If your water breaks or you go in to labor at sea it would not be good. Lying to the cruise line is never a good option. If you purchase the insurance in case there is a complication with the pregnancy and then you can't go and they find out you were lying about your dates the will not pay. You do need a Drs note. I do know of people who were barely showing and hid the pregnancy to cruise but I would really advise against this. That being said everyone has the right to there own decisions.

 

I totally agree with Janis (Hi Janis;)) My first son was a preemie born at 29 weeks. He's now 23 and totally fine and normal but if we had been on a cruise ship when I went into labor he would not be here today. My wonderful doctors saved his life :D Personally I wouldn't cruise at all if I were pregnant. Why not switch to a land vacation where you could be near a hospital if needed? Just a suggestion :)

[Sadie cruiser]

Hi. I would like to reinforce the message from the high risk OB nurse. I am a neonatal intensive care RN in a level 3 nursery and would definitely say not to fly or cruise being at 23-24 weeks of pregnancy regardless what the cruise line says to do. Stay close to home and near expert medical care wherever you travel by land for your own peace of mind. Congratulations and travel safe at this time. Baby comes first!

[jamscckmc]

Thanks Jen and Sadie, I did not want to come off as being bossy but was giving you the same advise I would give a friend or family member. Congrats to you!

[2 J's]

Thanks for all the advice. My husband and I have cancelled our cruise. We could cruise anytime and are looking forward to our first child. No reason to put myself or the baby at risk. Thanks again for all the input!

[Willow3006]

Hi

 

Is there any reason why you wouldn't go on the cruise if you're only 7-8 weeks pregnant?

 

Willow

[BabyMoon2007]

Thanks for all the advice. My husband and I have cancelled our cruise. We could cruise anytime and are looking forward to our first child. No reason to put myself or the baby at risk. Thanks again for all the input!

 

Now you can look forward to planning your first family cruise! :) Wishing you a healthy baby and easy delivery! You can always find a fabulous hotel near you and have a long pampered week/weekend close to home!

[Langley Cruisers]

Thanks for all the advice. My husband and I have cancelled our cruise. No reason to put myself or the baby at risk.

 

Awww' date=' sad but also happy for you.

 

You can always find a fabulous hotel near you and have a long pampered week/weekend close to home!

 

I second this! Have a fabulous weekend with a pedicure too!

 

Enjoy your pregnancy. :)

[jamscckmc]

Hi Willow, There is no safety reason not to cruise at 7-8 weeks. However thats during the prime morning sickness time for alot of pregnant women. You want to be able to enjoy all the great food. Check with MD as to what they will consider safe in pregnancy for sea sickness as being early pregnant can worsen this.

[jalehman]

This is an interesting post. Thanks for all the valuable information. We were looking at a cruise in June and then found out I was pregnant so long story short we booked the cruise for the end of May. We knew that RC's policy was 24 weeks...I will be entering my 24 week the day after we return. I had a great pregnancy with my first and so far so good with my second. This will be my first pregant cruising trip but from all the things I've read, this is a great time because most morning sickness if not all has gone away and your not as large as a house. My doctor said she would sign the form as long as she saw me before our cruise...could something happen and I couldn't be able to go, yes, but I want to enjoy the cruise with my family before kid number two rolls along. I'm looking forward to it and can't wait to go. My husband on the other hand was a worry wart and mentioned if something happened to the baby and my doc said it wasn't a viable pregnancy at that time so if I was going to lose it, there was nothing we could do about it. Yes I would be miserable if that happened but we're hoping that it won't and for the best. I think if my husband had his way I'd be stuck in a wheelchair for this whole pregnancy and camp out at the hospital. Just my two cents but sounds like you would not have been able to cruise as you would have been in your 24th week.