Teens abandon ‘upset’ parents on Caribbean island on cruise — online applauds

The story, posted on the anonymous Reddit forum “Am I the A-hole,” saw the teenager’s parents book the family’s first cruise for their graduation present and then proceed to not follow fairly standard cruise protocol.

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

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

“I graduated high school in December. As a present my parents bought 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 always wanted to go on a trip.”

The OP (aka the Original Poster) then explained how they went out of their way to make sure their parents understood that a cruise works a little differently than what they’re used to experiencing, with the OP emphasized “that if we went on field trips, you had to follow the schedule no matter what.”

That’s when things went horribly wrong.

“It was a week long cruise and they wouldn’t come back to the ship when I said it was time to go. They were busy shopping and haggling with the locals,” OP writes. “I finally said I was going back to the ship. My mother waved me off.”

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

“I wanted to shout out that they wouldn’t bother 3,998 people because two couldn’t figure out what the schedule was,” the post continued. “They ended up having to fly to the next port from there and it was expensive.”

Now, the OP says, “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 for this,” lamented the anonymous teenager. “They are making me miserable because I left without them.”

The OP’s concern was that they were an a-hole “not to stay with my parents and spend more on flights to the next port”, or “not to drag them when it was time”.

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

As expected, Redditors almost unanimously had their backs on the teenager, with one noting that staying behind might have made the parents feel better, but it also “would have been an extra plane ticket, so even more money in water”.

“I’ve been on a cruise. They make it clear the ship doesn’t wait for anyone,” wrote one commenter. “Parents rushed in and found out.”

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

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

While several Redditors joked about parents taking it straight with the captain, one suggested telling parents other stories of this happening. “Story after story of the same thing happening to others who did not return before leaving the Port,” they wrote. “They are lucky they were able to fly to the next port, many others have been stranded or worse.”

One commenter went all out on the parents, writing: “What exactly 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 weave you into anything way, shape or form!”

“I’m so sorry that your parents have ruined this for you. It’s so pathetic that they’re blaming you for their incredibly easy decision to avoid being intentionally bad,” 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 teenager to get an official from the ship to explain to their parents. “I’d ask the good 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 too bad because I did it”. I waited for the ship to my parents and now they are upset with me. Then let the official explain”.

“Kids, tell your parents about this thread. Those ships wait for nobody. Not even your special snow parents,” wrote one Redditor, summing up the forum’s sentiment.

What do you think?