Social media users are calling for a family to be banned from ‘all cruise ships’ after a shocking photo showed two children sitting on a railing with their legs appearing to dangle over the edge.
While it has not been confirmed which cruise liner the children were pictured on, it is believed it may have been a vessel owned by Royal Caribbean – a brand based in Miami known for its gigantic luxury ships.
The image was posted on the Carnival Cruise Line Miami Blog Facebook group, with the caption: “Where are the parents?”
Robert Dempster, who said he was travelling on a separate ship close to the vessel pictured, claims he saw the passenger on his boat taking the photograph.
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He said the youngsters had been on the Royal Caribbean ship 'Serenade of the Seas'.
“This was taken a week ago today at CocoCay,” Dempster said. “The kids were on Serenade of the Seas and the photo was taken from someone on the cruise I was on, on Oasis of the Seas.
“Unbelievable, but thank goodness it didn’t end in disaster!”
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According to Royal Caribbean’s conduct policy, ‘sitting, standing, laying or climbing on, over or across any exterior or interior railings or other protective barriers, or tampering with ship’s equipment, facilities or systems designed for guest safety is not permitted’.
Anyone found to be in breach of the rules may have to face ‘law enforcement’ or ‘removal from a ship at the next port of call’.
After the picture surfaced online, many people couldn’t help but feel shocked by the scenes – although it’s important to note that the photograph may not represent the full picture, as there is no context as to whether or not there was any area beneath the balconies in the image, for example.
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One person commented: “Them and their parents should be banned for all cruise ships.”
Someone else said: “Holy moly! My anxiety just went out of control seeing this.”
A third wrote: “Oh my gosh! They will be banned for life if Carnival figures out who they are.”
A fourth added: “I’m freaking out just looking at this photo!”
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A Royal Caribbean spokesperson told Tyla guest safety is of top importance to the company and that all passengers must abide by their guest conduct policy.
“The safety of our guests and crew is our upmost priority at Royal Caribbean International. To ensure the safety of everyone on board, we have a guest conduct policy that all guests must adhere to. We remind all guests of this policy, and we take any violations to this policy very seriously.”
Topics: Travel
Jess Hardiman