This is one cruise passenger's problem that will never be ours. Promise. Guaranteed. The oceans will run dry before it happens.
The problem of the pregnant passenger.
Down there in the fine print of your cruise contract, it says that you will not be allowed on a cruise ship if you are past your 24th week of pregnancy — almost all cruise lines have 
the same limitation. If you are, and you paid for your cruise but not for cancellation insurance, you will lose everything but the baby.
Because cruise ships are not outfitted with personnel and equipment to deal with early arrivals of the human kind, all moms-to-be must have a letter from their physician that clears them to travel…even if they meet the 24-week rule. Presumably, that letter would also identify when the baby is due, which makes it easy for the cruise line to identify how many weeks along the pregnant passenger is.
A couple on the Carnival Fascination found out the hard way.
The woman missed the cut-off by 10 days. She and her husband had not waded through the fine print with that rule. They used a travel agent, who did not alert them. They did not purchase travel insurance. Carnival refused to budge.
That's the short story of what happened.
Who is right and wrong is not the issue — the cruise line appears to be on solid legal ground, and the moral ground shakes because travel insurance is a revenue stream for Carnival. The issue is that pregnant passengers need to be aware of the regulation…and, interestingly, need to plan their parenthood around a cruise if one is booked months in advance.
In either case, that's not us.
Holland America Zaandam
7 nights
January 19, 2013
San Diego (return): Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas
Oceanview: $599
Cost per day: $85
www.hollandamerica.com