Teenager leaves family on island after missing cruise departure

A teenager wonders if he made the right decision to abandon his family on vacation.

In a recent Reddit post shared on the popular “Am I The A**hole?” » subreddit, the teen explained that for a combination of an 18th birthday present and a high school graduation present, their parents treated them to a cruise, which became a family vacation.

Normally, the family only goes to “all-inclusive” resorts and has been warned in advance that the cruises operate on a strict schedule that must be followed.

“Well, it was a week-long cruise and they weren't going back to the ship when I told them it was time to leave. They were busy shopping and bargaining with the locals. I finally said I was going back to the ship My mom waved me off,” the teen wrote in his post on Reddit.

Their parents ended up missing the ship's departure by 45 minutes and contacted the Reddit poster to wonder why they didn't stop the boat from leaving without them.

“I wanted to scream that they weren’t going to bother 3,998 people because two of them didn’t understand what a schedule was,” the teen continued. “They ended up having to fly to the next port and it was expensive. They're mad at me for leaving them behind. »

“I don’t know what I was supposed to do. They literally told me they knew what they were doing. I wish I had never asked this. They make me unhappy because I left without them.

After the post, many people quickly took to the comments section to share the teen's opinion and general frustration with his parents, pointing out that the two adults should have been able to return to the ship at time.

“They seriously think the ship is going to be 45 minutes late, yeah no,” one comment began. “The docks and the ship have a schedule to respect. They are adults and they must be responsible for coming back on time. This is something you figured out in less than six months as an adult. At least you won't have to go on vacation with them after that.

“Your parents are wrong,” another commenter agreed. “I don't do cruises but I have some experience in this area because I'm traveling to a place where cruise ships are common. I also thought that passengers were notified that the ship was leaving regardless of who was on board.

“You could never have stopped the cruise ship from leaving. They have a schedule and they stick to it. The ship is not waiting for anyone. It all depends on your parents. They did not respect the ship's schedule.

A third commenter even pointed out that they weren't sure what the teen could have done to stop the ship from leaving, given that the schedule is usually highlighted before the cruise itself.

“What exactly do they think you could have done?” Did you kidnap the captain? Did you stage your own drowning? You didn't abandon them, they abandoned you, don't let them say it's your fault in any way! » the comment read.

“I'm so sorry your parents ruined this for you.” It's pretty pathetic of them to blame you for their extremely easy to avoid deliberate bad decision. They owe you at least two apologies, the first for ignoring your wise advice in the first place, the second for behaving like spoiled four year olds.