Pregnancy on DCL

[katds10]

I've cruised twice before (not pregnant) and noticed some women who looked heavily pregnant so it really seems to be an honor system thing. I'm cruising in a couple of weeks and will be 22 weeks at the time and just to be safe, got a note from my doctor saying how far along I will be that week. Btw, dr asked me to avoid uncooked foods, especially salads and buffets...

 

[lrtravelsite]

I've said this before, and I'll say it again If your child is past viability (22-23 weeks) or really past 20 weeks when they can start doing medications and treatments to save a mother/pregnancy, I would not travel anywhere where you are not willing to stay for the rest of the pregnancy (and past if the infant needed to be hospitalized.) Prior to 20 weeks, there is very little/nothing that can be done to save a pregnancy btw.

It sounds overdramatic, but while pregnancy complications are rare, when they occur, they are very serious and can threaten the life of the mother and/or the child. If you go into labor and goodness forbid deliver onboard, there will be no one to save your child. There are no medications for a preterm infant onboard and the time it would take to get the baby to a facility, if the child survives, it would likely have severe neurological damage.

The rules are not made to be mean or without good reason or to screw over people who get pregnant unexpectedly. I am a neonatal nurse practitioner and I see people frequently who travel late in pregnancy and end up stranded because their child is born early or with problems and then they are stuck.

Having had pregnancy complications myself, the question I would ask is: is it worth it? If there is a chance it could mean the death of your child, would you want to risk it? Most likely, nothing bad will happen; but if it does, are you willing to accept those consequences? And the guilt?

I kinda view it like I view drunk driving. Most of the time when people drive drunk, nothing happens and they make it home safely. But the times when it doesn't happen that way, are you willing to live with those consequences? I'm not, and because of that, am very anal about alcohol and driving. I couldn't live with myself any other way.

*******************
I just want to add this is NOT only Disney Cruise Line policy, all major cruise lines have the same policy.

And all of you that have seen pregnant women on-board, I would love you have asked how they were allowed boarding...unless they only seemed pregnant

 

[k3chantal]

I've said this before, and I'll say it again If your child is past viability (22-23 weeks) or really past 20 weeks when they can start doing medications and treatments to save a mother/pregnancy, I would not travel anywhere where you are not willing to stay for the rest of the pregnancy (and past if the infant needed to be hospitalized.) Prior to 20 weeks, there is very little/nothing that can be done to save a pregnancy btw.

It sounds overdramatic, but while pregnancy complications are rare, when they occur, they are very serious and can threaten the life of the mother and/or the child. If you go into labor and goodness forbid deliver onboard, there will be no one to save your child. There are no medications for a preterm infant onboard and the time it would take to get the baby to a facility, if the child survives, it would likely have severe neurological damage.

The rules are not made to be mean or without good reason or to screw over people who get pregnant unexpectedly. I am a neonatal nurse practitioner and I see people frequently who travel late in pregnancy and end up stranded because their child is born early or with problems and then they are stuck.

Having had pregnancy complications myself, the question I would ask is: is it worth it? If there is a chance it could mean the death of your child, would you want to risk it? Most likely, nothing bad will happen; but if it does, are you willing to accept those consequences? And the guilt?

I kinda view it like I view drunk driving. Most of the time when people drive drunk, nothing happens and they make it home safely. But the times when it doesn't happen that way, are you willing to live with those consequences? I'm not, and because of that, am very anal about alcohol and driving. I couldn't live with myself any other way.

This is my little soapbox, please forgive me.

Well said and not overly dramatic.

If you have been unfortunately enough to experience trouble during pregnancy, you will quickly realize how quickly a situation can change. At 34 weeks with my second child, the doctor said that because everything looked great (my blood pressure, the baby's heart rate, etc...) he didn't need to see me for three weeks even though the standard practice at that point in the pregnancy was to be seen once a week. The night before my next appointment at 37 weeks, I knew something was 'up' (I was experiencing severe edema but figured that I had an appointment the next day.) During that appointment, they found out that my blood pressure had sky rocketed and once they drew blood and analyzed it, it became clear that I had a severe form of Preeclamsia and the HELLP syndrome. They whisked me from the doctor's office to the hospital and could barely wait for my husband to arrive before doing an emergency c-section.

With my third child, I decided to stay home instead of going on our trip to WDW that had been planned before knowing we would be blessed with a 3rd child. I learned that your blood pressure naturally rises when on an airplane, I decided not to risk it since I was around 28 weeks. The rest of my family went though and while they were gone, I again found myself in trouble and placed on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy. I was extremely thankful that I decided not to risk the trip.

So, no trip is worth your life or the life of your baby in my opinion.

 

[eyoreaud]

I've cruised twice before (not pregnant) and noticed some women who looked heavily pregnant so it really seems to be an honor system thing. I'm cruising in a couple of weeks and will be 22 weeks at the time and just to be safe, got a note from my doctor saying how far along I will be that week. Btw, dr asked me to avoid uncooked foods, especially salads and buffets...

Hi Hope you had a great cruise
Hope you don't mind me asking you what your experience was when you checked in for your cruise?
Audrey.

 

[lorenni]

Even though pregnany complications are rare after 12 weeks, there never really is a safe point. I lost my first and only child at 40 weeks after a normal pregnancy. I never thought something like this could happen to me but it did and I am now a mom to an angel. I am glad DCL has restrictions for pregnant passengers because they really are looking out for the best interst of mom and baby. I wish you a healthy and happy nine months and hope you have a safe and wonderful cruise.

I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[Sunnywho]

I was 16 weeks pregnant on one cruise but I looked much further along LOL
Tilted uterus, third pregnancy, weight gain from the second pregnancy not all lost. Embarrassing!

 

[dreamyear]

We board the Dream on October 20. This is my first cruise and I will be 21 weeks. The vacation was planned before I got pregnant. We have doctors appointments and an ultrasound the week before we leave for vacation and I will be taking copy's of all my labs. I have had no problems (not even morning sickness) and feel confident that we will be just fine. Yes, I know confidence has nothing to do with it but a positive attitude does.

 

[EvaSue]

We board the Dream on October 20.

Ha! I am cruising the same date and the same weeks pregnant. I got a lot of fancy testing done since I am over 30, and I've had three ultrasounds. My pregnancy looks great, I feel great, and I am not concerned. I'm not going to cancel life for myself or the other members of my family because I'm pregnant. Pregnancy is not a disease. I find my job in a busy ER more dangerous than a relaxing cruise.

 

[dreamyear]

Ha! I am cruising the same date and the same weeks pregnant. I got a lot of fancy testing done since I am over 30, and I've had three ultrasounds. My pregnancy looks great, I feel great, and I am not concerned. I'm not going to cancel life for myself or the other members of my family because I'm pregnant. Pregnancy is not a disease. I find my job in a busy ER more dangerous than a relaxing cruise.

That is awesome congrats. And that's how I felt. No need to cancel vacation. Hope you have a great time. When are you due?

 

[jjje]

I've got a history of very healthy, problem free pregnancies including twins that I carried to 39 weeks without batting an eye. So I was always pretty confident that pregnancy was easy and safe for me. Then my most recent pregnancy my water broke at 28 weeks and after three weeks in the hospital I delivered the baby at 31 weeks. All of that in spite of the pregnancy starting out great and me having the most positive attitude ever. So I'm not saying "don't cruise when you're pregnant" I'm just saying the 24 week rule is in place for everyone for a reason. Even for healthy people. Even for confident people. Even for people who've had easy pregnancies. It's just a no brainer to that this is one rule people should follow when cruising. It's not unreasonable and it's for their own good.

 

[TeamH5]

I was 16 weeks pregnant on one cruise but I looked much further along LOL
Tilted uterus, third pregnancy, weight gain from the second pregnancy not all lost. Embarrassing!

All I'm gonna say with this is, at 9 weeks right now with baby #4, I already look like I'm 4+ months along! And I don't have any extra weight being my 'baby' is 5 now! Lol Also, when I was 22 weeks with my twins, I had my maternity photo's done and could easily have looked 30+ weeks. Matter of fact I think I measured at 30 or 31 weeks when I was only 20. I measured a whopping 52 weeks when they came at just over 36 weeks gestation. I also just had a friend who flew overseas at 36 weeks and no one could even tell she was pregnant, let alone far enough that she gave birth less than a week later..

My point being no one knows just how far along anyone is unless their balsy enough to ask. No one would've ever known I was pregnant with twins if I didn't tell them.. Even with my 3rd, and singleton, I got big. My body is just to narrow to hide a baby anywhere other than OUT.

 

[EvaSue]

That is awesome congrats. And that's how I felt. No need to cancel vacation. Hope you have a great time. When are you due?

Sometime in the last week of February. My doctor keeps changing his mind by a day or two, haha. Going by my cycle, Feb 24.

 

[KaystotheKingdom]

If you book a cruise prior to finding out you’re pregnant, does Disney allow you the flexibility to reschedule without penalty? I really want to book a family cruise in the not too distant future but we have also not ruled out having one more child.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mommb]

If you book a cruise prior to finding out you’re pregnant, does Disney allow you the flexibility to reschedule without penalty? I really want to book a family cruise in the not too distant future but we have also not ruled out having one more child.

Thanks in advance!

You are able to cancel for a full refund up until the final payment date, which is typically 120 days before the cruise. So, if you book a cruise for many months in the future and then find you will be entering your 24th week of pregnancy before the cruise, you should have time to cancel or reschedule without penalty.

Also, be aware that the minimum age for most DCL cruises is 6 months (12 months for Transatlantic, Panama Canal, and Hawaii cruises) so you would need to take that into account if rescheduling for a later date.