A family is speaking out after what should have been an exciting vacation turned into an emotional nightmare when they were turned away at the port, unable to board their Royal Caribbean cruise.
Shannon Nutting, from Pembroke, North Carolina, had carefully planned the trip and was confident that everything was in place for her family to set sail. However, when they arrived at the port, she was informed that one of her sons would not be allowed to board the ship.
“It was a surprise for the kids,” Nutting said.
It was a surprise that Shannon had worked hard to arrange, planning for more than a year. Her excitement for the family vacation had been building for months, and she had saved up every penny to make it happen.
“I started planning in November of 2023 and making payments then, and finally paid it off, I believe in April of last year,” Nutting said.
To ensure everything went smoothly, Shannon took time off from her teaching job and even brought a babysitter to help with her four children. As they arrived at the cruise terminal at Port Canaveral, she began filming a video of the moment, telling her children about the exciting journey ahead.
“My 9-year-old was so excited, she was speechless and started crying,” Nutting said.
But those joyful tears quickly turned to sadness. As the family went through the check-in process for their Royal Caribbean cruise line, they encountered an issue with the documentation for her 16-year-old son.
“He said, unfortunately, you’re not going to be able to board today because the school ID is not acceptable,” Nutting recalled. “So, I explained to him that we had talked to Royal Caribbean, and they had assured us that the school ID was valid, and I was upset by that point, crying, so I asked could I speak to a supervisor.”
Even after speaking with a supervisor, things didn’t improve.
“Explained to her that my son has special needs. That’s one of the reasons he did not yet have a state-issued ID, and that I called to make sure he could board without it. She said she didn’t care what he had, and we couldn’t board, and she just walked away,” Nutting said.
Left stranded at the port, the family watched as the ship they had been so eagerly awaiting sailed off without them.
“All that year of saving and paying on it, everybody was just heartbroken and devastated. Everybody was exhausted,” Nutting said. “I did not want to get on the road for eight hours and travel back I-95 with four kids by myself and my babysitter.”
Staying in Florida, Shannon’s travel agent tirelessly worked behind the scenes to get answers from Royal Caribbean. The cruise line suggested an option to fly to Cozumel and board the ship two days later, but this was far from ideal for Shannon and her family.
“They told her that we should have been able to book. At that point they wanted us to fly to Cozumel. For us to pay to fly to Cozumel and board the ship two days later,” Nutting recalled.
Not willing to accept this, Shannon chose to stay in Florida and make the best of the situation. They spent the next few days enjoying their time there while her travel agent continued to push for a resolution. Eventually, a Royal Caribbean representative responded in writing, saying, “I cannot begin to apologize enough for this and am doing all that I can to rectify it.”
The cruise line offered three options to resolve the issue. The first option was to apply the full amount of her payment as future credit toward another cruise, plus a $700 onboard credit. The second option was a full refund of the cruise, and the third offered a refund along with a 25% future cruise credit.
Nutting said none of these options were acceptable to her and her family.
“We wanted the money for the cruise back and the expenses. The expenses that we had for traveling to Florida while we were there for meals, gas, the lodging, and all of that,” she said.
In a statement to the media, Royal Caribbean cruise line acknowledged that the incident was caused by a human error at the port, confirming that Nutting and her family should have been allowed to board with the proper documentation. The cruise line also stated that they had provided additional training to staff to ensure such errors wouldn’t happen in the future.
When asked why Nutting’s additional expenses weren’t being covered, the representative explained that the full refund for the cruise would account for those costs. However, Nutting felt this was inadequate.
“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. “I made sure we had our documentation. Everybody’s birth certificates were certified. The people who needed IDs had IDs, and I just feel like them offering a refund of the cruise price is just unacceptable.”
According to a follow-up email sent to Nutting’s travel agent, if she didn’t select one of the offered options, the company would automatically provide her with a full refund along with a 25% future cruise credit.
Despite feeling like she had done everything right to ensure a smooth boarding process, Nutting vowed that the next time her family cruises, she will make sure all details are in writing, especially concerning her son’s student ID.
“We’ll make sure we get everything in writing next time,” Nutting said. “I trusted that everything was in order, but I learned a hard lesson.”
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