Mom's dream family cruise trip shattered as staff deny boarding to her special needs son

A North Carolina mother’s long-planned cruise vacation turned into heartbreak when Royal Caribbean wrongly denied boarding to her special needs son.

What was supposed to be a family’s dream vacation turned into a nightmare when Royal Caribbean staff at Port Canaveral denied boarding to Shannon Nutting’s 16-year-old son, who has special needs due to an ID issue. Despite Nutting confirming in advance that his student ID would be acceptable, staff refused entry, citing the lack of a state-issued ID. Nutting explained that her son did not have one due to his special needs, but her plea was dismissed, leaving the family devastated, reported the New York Post.

The cruise line later admitted that "human error” by staff led to the mix-up.(Pexel)

Nutting, a teacher from Pembroke, had spent over a year organising the trip and had even brought along a babysitter to help. She had kept the vacation a secret from her kids, revealing it only when they arrived at the Florida port.

“My 9-year-old was so excited, she was speechless and started crying,” she told ABC 11.

Excitement quickly turned to devastation

A supervisor informed Nutting that her son couldn’t board because he lacked a state-issued ID.

“I explained to her that my son has special needs, that’s one of the reasons why he did not yet have a state-issued ID and that I called to make sure he could board without it,” Nutting said. “She said she didn’t care what he had.”

With no way to board, the family had to abandon their long-anticipated trip. Later, Nutting’s travel agent was able to reach a Royal Caribbean representative, who confirmed the family should have been allowed on the cruise. The company suggested they fly to Cozumel, Mexico, to meet the ship—at their own expense. Nutting declined, instead choosing to stay in Florida for a few days to make the most of their time off.

The cruise line later admitted that a “human error” by staff led to the mix-up. They offered several options to make up for the mistake, including a full refund. However, none of the offers covered the money the family had already spent getting to the port—something Nutting found unacceptable.

“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.”