Teen's Birthday Cruise Takes Turbulent Turn As Parents Get Left Behind On Island Despite Repeated Warnings To Stay On Schedule

“Thousands of passengers can’t possibly wait forty-five minutes for you guys to finish your shopping!”

Jesse

• Published in Interesting
• June 12, 2024

The breeze of high school freedom was as sweet and fresh as it was liberating—and one recent high school grad felt it in full blast. To top it off, their parents gifted them a cruise for their eighteenth birthday.

It was the ultimate celebration – part graduation present, part milestone birthday, and part family vacation. Typically, our narrator’s (Original Poster’s) family favored all-inclusive resorts, but OP had always dreamt of the high seas.

They eagerly explained to their parents that cruising was a whole different beast. Regarding excursions, sticking to the schedule was crucial – no exceptions. This wasn’t the leisurely beach lounging they were used to; this was a well-oiled machine with thousands of passengers depending on punctuality.

Sadly, OP soon discovered their warning entered one ear and went right out the other. Fast forward to the first port of call. OP reminded their family that time was ticking. But the allure of local markets and the art of haggling was too strong for Mom and Dad. 

They were knee-deep in bargains while OP kept a wary eye on the clock. OP’s mom waved them off, probably assuming the boat would wait for their royal return. Spoiler alert: it didn’t.

OP soon received frantic WhatsApp messages from the stranded duo, asking why the boat hadn’t waited forty-five minutes for them. OP felt a scream bubbling up but held it in—explaining that 3,998 passengers couldn’t be inconvenienced for two latecomers seemed futile.

Mom and Dad had to cough up a small fortune to fly to the next port, and their vacation budget took a significant hit. They were livid and blamed OP for leaving them behind.

Was there really anything else OP could’ve done in such a situation?

The story in detail

To celebrate her graduation and birthday, OP’s parents gifted her a cruise. However, OP’s parents wanted to come along and she told them to be on schedule no matter what.

At the end of the cruise, OP’s parents went shopping, not minding that the ship was about to leave. Unfortunately, they missed the ship and blamed OP for not waiting for them.

Her parents had to take an expensive flight to the next port to meet up with the ship, which made them furious.

OP’s parents blamed her for not stalling the cruise ship even though it was their fault for not sticking to the schedule.

We gathered the highest upvoted comments from the Reddit community:

“This is ALL on your parents.. They didn't respect the ship schedule.”

“Cruise ships have a schedule to keep, and there was no way they would wait for just two passengers without knowing where they were.”

“They owe you at least two apologies, one for ignoring your sage advice in the first place, the second for behaving like spoiled 4 year olds.”

“You saved them having to pay out for a third airline ticket. They were warned, thought they knew better, now are facing the consequences.“

“They have the nerve to blame you for not magically having the authority to override all of the ship's policies?”

“They didn't take you seriously or understand the consequences of missing the departure time.”

And just like that, the dream vacation had turned into a nightmare of guilt trips and family tension. Redditors weren’t exactly sure what the anger was about, considering OP had saved their parents the expense of a third ticket.

Next time, maybe OP will stick to resorts. At least there, you can’t miss the boat.

What do you think about this story? Let us know in the comments.

Jesse