Teen Abandons ‘Pissed’ Parents on Caribbean Island During Cruise — Internet Applauds

The story, posted to Reddit’s anonymous “Am I the A–hole” forum, saw the teen’s parents book the family’s first-ever cruise for their graduation gift, and then proceed to not follow pretty standard cruise protocol.

By the end, they were blaming their child for everything, leaving the teen feeling miserable and regretting ever even asking for a cruise.

Read on to see the full story and how Redditors reacted.

“I graduated from high school back in December. As a gift my parents got me a cruise. It was also for my 18th birthday. It was also a family vacation. We usually stay at all inclusive resorts but I have always wanted to go on a cruise.”

OP (aka the Original Poster) then explained how they went out of their way to ensure their parents understood that a cruise operates a little differently than what they’re used to experiencing, with OP emphasizing “that if we went on excursions we had to follow the schedule no matter what.”

That’s when things went horribly wrong.

“It was a week-long cruise and they would not head back to the ship when I said it was time to go. They were busy shopping and bargaining with the locals,” wrote OP. “I finally said that I was heading back to the ship. My mom waved me off.”

And so, of course, the inevitable happened. “They missed the departure. By a lot. Like 45 minutes,” wrote OP, adding that their parents then reached out to them via WhatsApp and “they wanted to know why I didn’t get the boat to wait for them.”

“I wanted to scream that they were not going to inconvenience 3,998 people because two could not understand what a schedule was,” the post continued. “They ended up having to fly to the next port from there and it was expensive.”

Now, OP says, “they are pissed at me for leaving them behind. I don’t know what I was supposed to do. They literally told me that they knew what they were doing.”

“I wish I had never asked for this,” the anonymous teen lamented. “They are making me miserable because I left without them.”

OP’s concern was that they were an a–hole for “not staying back with my parents and costing them more in flights to the next port,” or “for not dragging them back when it was time.”

“I don’t know what they expect from me,” they wrote.

As expected, Redditors almost unanimously had the teen’s back, with one pointing out that staying behind might have made the parents feel better, but it also “would have been an extra plane ticket, so even more money down the drain.”

“I’ve been on a cruise. They make it crystal clear that the ship waits for no one,” wrote one commenter. “Parents f–ked around & found out.”

Most commenters were amazed that the parents thought their child should have (or even could have) held up an entire cruise to wait for them. “Even if OP had tried/asked, I highly doubt the staff would have even considered delaying departure,” wrote one Redditor. “Did OP’s parents expect him to kick down the door to the bridge and commandeer the ship until they finished shopping?”

One common thought was that the parents were actually embarrassed that their 18-year-old child was right and was the only of the three of them who acted properly — so they’re acting out. “Yep, projection is a major defense mechanism for people who never learned emotional regulation skills as children,” one commenter explained. “I messed up and can’t handle/process these feelings of anxiety, so it’s actually all YOUR fault.”

While some Redditors joked about the parents taking it up with the captain directly, one suggested showing the parents other stories of this exact thing happening. “Story after story of the same thing happening to others who didn’t make it back before departure from Port,” they wrote. “They are lucky they were able to fly to next port, many others have been stranded or worse.”

One commenter went on a full rant about the parents, penning, “What precisely do they think you could have done? Kidnapped the captain? Staged your own drowning? You didn’t abandon them, they abandoned you, don’t let them weasel word this around to being your fault in any way, shape or form!”

“I’m really sorry your parents have ruined this for you. It’s pretty pathetic of them to blame you for their extremely easy to avoid deliberate bad decision,” they continued. “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.”

Another advised the teen get an official from the ship to explain it to their parents. “I would ask the nice cruise official to explain if there was anything you could have done to prevent it,” wrote one, while another suggested, “You’re young enough to pull the ‘Oh, I feel so bad because I didn’t have the ship wait for my parents and now they are upset with me. How do I get the ship to stay for my parents at the next stop?’ Then let the official person explain.”

“Kid, show your parents this thread. Those ships wait for no one. Not even your special snowflake parents,” wrote one Redditor, summing up the forum’s take.

What do you think?