Carnival blocks pregnant woman from boarding ship; company cites 26-week cutoff rule

An Australian woman was turned away after trying to board a cruise ship because she was 26 weeks pregnant, 9 News in Australia reported.

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Kaylee Farrington, 26, said she tried to board the Carnival ship Luminosa for a three-day cruise off the coast of Brisbane. Farrington was turned away at the terminal, she said.

The cruise line’s policy states that its ships are “unable to accept any guests who will have entered their 24th week (of pregnancy) or later.”

Farrington told Australia’s 9 News that she thought “they were joking” when she was told she would not be going on her relaxing getaway.

“My obstetrician is giving me the all-clear and they still wouldn’t let me on board.

Farrington’s mother paid $2,000 Australian dollars (about $1,300 U.S. dollars) for her to go on the trip, and asked for a refund since her daughter was denied entry on the cruise.

She said she was told she would not get a refund.

“They said ‘Oh, no, there will be no refund’ and said this is our terms and conditions and it’s our fault we didn’t dig deep enough to find them,” Robyn Betts told 9 NEWS.

The report didn’t say when the cruise was scheduled to take place.

Farrington complained that the rule should have been made clearer at the time of booking.

“To not be prompted at the time of booking is wild,” she said.

A spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Lines told The New Zealand Herald that the company maintains a strict pregnancy policy.

“This policy restricts travel for pregnant women beyond their 24th week of pregnancy and is designed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of both mothers and their unborn babies. Cruise ships are not equipped with facilities to deal with prenatal and early infant care,” a spokesperson said.

“The policy is outlined both on the Carnival website and within the cruise contract,” the spokesperson said.

The company’s policy reads:

… Any guest who has entered, or who will at any time during the cruise enter, the 24th week of estimated gestational age in her pregnancy, agrees not to book a cruise or board the ship. Due to limitations of medical care, both on board and in various ports of call, women who have entered or exceeded their 24th week of pregnancy, at any time during the cruise, will not be allowed to board or sail with the ship. Accordingly, I hereby acknowledge and agree that I will not enter my 24th week of pregnancy before or at any time during my cruise. I understand and agree that any pregnant woman who tries to board the vessel, who has or will enter her 24th week of estimated fetal gestational age at any time during the cruise, risks denial of boarding and/or disembarkation without compensation or refund.

According to 9 News, a second mother, identified only as Mrs. Varghese, was also turned away when attempting to board the ship. That woman said she was told that her pregnancy wouldn’t stop her from going on the cruise.

“Before making payments, we did confirm about the pregnancy … so we’re trying to get the recording,’ she said.

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