Pregnant Mom Says Disney Cruise Line Denied Family, Used Armed Guard Escort
A pregnant mother’s story has gone viral after she said her family, including two small children, were poorly treated while being denied entry to a Disney cruise.
A family of vloggers who call themselves the Jackson Hive posted videos of the incident to their YouTube channel, which occurred late last week. The mother, Emily Jackson, was not allowed to board the ship, which was docked in Miami, because she was too far along in her pregnancy.
Disney Cruise Line's website states that women who are at least 24 weeks pregnant or will reach that marker during the length of the journey “will be refused passage due to safety concerns.”
“Neither a doctor’s medical statement nor a waiver of liability will be accepted,” according to the cruise line. “In addition, Disney Cruise Line cannot be held responsible or liable for any complications relating to pregnancy at any stage.”
The 24-week rule is common in the cruise industry. Carnival, for example, does not allow women to board if they are nearing the end of their second trimester or will reach that stage during the trip.
“Forget the policy, that is not my issue,” Jackson said. “We just wanted to get our luggage and leave. What our problem is how they treated us after that point.”
Jackson said she was 25 weeks into her pregnancy and had traveled from St. Louis to Miami with her family for the cruise. After being denied passage, the trouble grew because the family’s luggage was already on the ship and it had to be retrieved.
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“I’m mad because they made my two babies under 2 [years old] wait outside with no water in the heat and get red-faced,” she said. “The fact that they felt they needed AR-15s to escort us out when they knew we had no weapons because we had been through security.”
A spokesperson for Disney Cruise Line did not immediately return Newsweek’s request for comment.
