- Woman denied entry to cruise ship
- I was 26 weeks pregnant at the time.
- I didn’t read the terms and conditions.
- READ MORE: Inside the adults-only cruise
A woman revealed she was stopped from boarding a cruise ship because she was pregnant and didn’t read the terms and conditions.
Gold Coast woman Kaylee Farrington, who is 26 weeks pregnant, arrived at the terminal to start a cruise on the Carnival Luminosa for a family birthday celebration, but was turned away.
The three-day cruise, which features several bars, a grill, a comedy club and a spa, remained in Australian waters off the coast of Brisbane.
But Ms Farrington was unaware that passengers cannot be more than 24 weeks pregnant at the time of boarding, as stated in the company’s terms and conditions.
“In fact, at first we thought they were joking,” he said. 9News.
Kaylee (right) and her mother (left) said the policy was “discriminatory against pregnant women” and said it should have been expressed more clearly.
Gold Coast woman prevented from boarding Carnival Luminosa cruise ship
“You think the rules are the same for sailing as they are for flying.”
Clause 14 of the terms and conditions, also found on Carnival’s website, says: “We cannot accept any guests who have entered their 24th week or later.”
Farrington said the policy was “discriminatory against pregnant women” and said it should have been stated more clearly.
‘Not receiving any notice at the time of booking is crazy; she added.
His mother, Robyn Betts, now has an outlay of $2,000.
‘They said ‘oh no, there will be no refund.’ “They said it’s their terms and conditions and it’s our fault we didn’t dig deep enough to find them,” Ms Betts said.
Farrington wasn’t the only pregnant passenger booked on the same cruise who was caught having her period and turned away.
Another woman told The Nine when booking the cruise that being pregnant would not be a problem.
“Before we made the payments, we settled for the pregnancy…so we are trying to get the recording,” he said.
Carnival told Nine the policy, which is outlined on the website and in the cruise contract, was “designed to ensure the safety and well-being of both mothers and their unborn babies”.
“Cruise ships are not equipped with facilities to provide prenatal and early care for babies,” a company spokesperson said.
Daily Mail Australia has approached Carnival for further comment.
Carnival’s policy is in line with most other cruise companies around the world, which typically do not allow women who have entered the 23rd week of pregnancy to board.
The three-day cruise, which featured several bars, a grill, a comedy club and a spa, remained in Australian waters off the coast of Brisbane (file image of the cruise).