North Carolina family devastated after Royal Caribbean cruise line wrongfully says teen can't board

PEMBROKE, North Carolina -- A family says what should have been an enjoyable cruise turned into heartache after they were turned away at the port.

Shannon Nutting, of Pembroke, North Carolina, said she thought she did everything right to go on the cruise, but at the port, she was still told that one of her sons could not board.

"It was a surprise for the kids," Nutting said.

It was a surprise that she had saved for and planned for more than a year.

"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.

She took time off from her teaching job and even brought along her babysitter to help with her four children. As they pulled into the cruise terminal at Port Canaveral, she took video as she told her children they were going on a cruise.

"My 9-year-old was so excited, she was speechless and started crying," Nutting said.

However, those happy tears quickly turned to sad ones as they were checking in for their Royal Caribbean cruise. Staffers told Nutting that there was a problem with her 16-year-old son's student ID.

"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."

Nutting said talking with a supervisor did not help.

"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.

Stuck at the port, the family could only watch as the ship they were supposed to be on sailed away.

"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."

She stayed in Florida while her travel agent kept calling Royal Caribbean to get answers.

"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.

That was an option that Nutting said she was not willing to do, so they made the best of it and stayed in Florida and enjoyed it there for a few days. Meanwhile, Nutting's travel agent contacted Royal Caribbean. In writing, a Royal Caribbean representative responded, "I cannot begin to apologize enough for this and am doing all that I can to rectify it."

ALSO SEE | Major cruise lines implement restrictions for young adult travelers

The cruise line did offer three options: The first was no money back, but the amount she paid for the cruise could be used as 100% future credit on another cruise, plus a $700 onboard credit.

The second option was a full refund.

And the third option was a full refund on the cruise, plus a 25% future cruise credit.

Nutting said none of the three options were acceptable.

"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.

Royal Caribbean told our sister station's reporter Diane Wilson that this was a human error by staff at the cruise port, and Nutting and her family should have been able to board as they had the right documentation.

The representative added that because of this incident, the cruise line provided additional training to staff at the port to prevent this from happening again. When Wilson asked why Nutting's expenses were not going to be covered, the representative said the full refund of the cruise would cover those. Nutting said she was not happy with what the cruise line offered.

"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 an email to Nutting's travel agent, if she didn't pick an option, they would automatically give her a full refund, and a 25% future cruise credit.

Nutting said that despite thinking she did everything right to board the ship, next time they cruise, she will make sure to get it all in writing, as opposed to just verbally being told her son's student ID would be enough.