A FAMILY’S dream cruise trip was abruptly yanked from them after a worker cruelly banned a disabled teenager from boarding the ship.
Shannon Nutting had diligently put money aside for more than a year to treat her family to a Royal Caribbean cruise. However, their long-awaited vacation hit a major roadblock due to a “human error” that prevented her son from boarding the ship.
Upon reaching the port in Florida from their home in North Carolina, Nutting received the disappointing news that her 16-year-old son was not able to embark due to an identification issue.
She was planning on using his school ID to fill our some paperwork. Because he has special needs, he doesn’t have a driver’s license.
Before she got to the port, Nutting called Royal Carribean and was ensured there would be no problems at the gate.
However, despite telling the worker this, she was given zero options.
Heartbroken, Nutting begged to speak to the employee’s supervisor.
“I started crying,” Nutting told ABC local affiliate WTVD.
“I asked to speak to a supervisor, but when I did, she just said she didn’t care and walked away.”
Nutting had just surprised her four kids with the announcement, and put them in the car to go to Florida.
“My 9-year-old was so excited, she was speechless and started crying,” Nutting said.
Stranded at Port Canaveral, the Nutting family stood helplessly as their cruise ship departed without them, leaving them heartbroken over the missed opportunity that was meant to be the highlight of their year.
The family was stranded in Florida with no clear answers from Royal Caribbean.
“We had saved up for this, we made sure everything was in order,” Nutting said. “Everyone was heartbroken.”
As Nutting’s travel agent scrambled to find a solution, Royal Caribbean suggested the family fly to Cozumel to board the ship two days later, a suggestion Nutting quickly rejected.
Nutting refused to do that and instead stayed in Florida and made the best of it.
In the meantime, Royal Caribbean acknowledged the mistake.
“It was a human error,” a company representative said, adding that Nutting’s son should have been allowed to board.
Despite the company’s apology, Nutting felt unsatisfied with the offers presented.
Royal Caribbean offered three options: no refund but a 100% future cruise credit with a $700 onboard bonus, a full refund, or a full refund with 25% future cruise credit.
None of these options were acceptable to Nutting, who was also seeking reimbursement for the additional travel costs incurred.
“We wanted the money for the cruise back and the expenses,” Nutting said.
“The expenses that we had for traveling to Florida while we were there for meals, gas, the lodging, and all of that.”
Royal Caribbean stated that the full refund would cover her expenses, but Nutting wasn’t convinced.
“If I made the mistake and they offered me anything, any kind of refund, then I would think that would be gracious of them. But I didn’t make any mistakes,” she said.
The cruise line’s representative also said that additional training would be provided to staff to prevent similar issues in the future.
After weeks of back and forth, Nutting was told she would be automatically given a full refund with 25% future cruise credit if she didn’t select one of the other options.
Nutting expressed her frustration, saying she would make sure to get everything in writing before their next cruise.
Royal Caribbean didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by The U.S. Sun.
