One mom has gone viral on social media after sharing her experience while quarantined aboard a Disney cruise ship over a suspected case of the mumps.
Over the past couple of days, TikTok user @themomladytm has documented her time aboard the Disney Wonder, sailing from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Vancouver, Canada.
Unfortunately, what began as an exciting family vacation turned into a nightmare when her three-year-old daughter shared that she had fallen in the kids' club, resulting in a late-night visit to the ship's medical center to examine the swollen jaw.
"The doctor comes in because she was on call...She comes in, and she assesses my daughter. They take her temperature. She has a slight fever, but it's not too high. My kids just run hot, especially at night," she explains in the video.
After completing the medical exam, the doctor said that her daughter had an infection and prescribed her antibiotics. While they thought that was the end of the situation, they received a phone call early in the morning asking them to return to the medical center.
They were then informed that their daughter had a suspected diagnosis of mumps — a contagious viral infection that's caused by the mumps virus and usually affects the parotid glands, which make saliva, on each side of the face — based on the symptoms she presented hours earlier.
The family was given two options. First, they could disembark the ship and fly home to San Diego, California — or they could remain on board in quarantine for five days. After assessing the available flight options, they opted for the latter.
Throughout her quarantine, which she was eventually released two days early from, she continued to post on TikTok, sharing updates on how her daughter was feeling, as well as her own thoughts about the situation.
"[W]e had a conversation with two doctors on board, our doctors, and everyone is giving us different information. They want to check our immunization records, but our immunization records don't even mean anything, even though everyone in our family is fully vaccinated against everything," she says.
"None of this is making any sense. I am beyond upset and, really, all I have...is this phone to document my mom journey and talk about it. Things have to change...[My daughter] is still a human; she still has rights, and the only person who can advocate for her right now is me," she adds in one of the follow-ups.
Read more: Parent says cruise line tried to kick them off after child fell ill on board
"This mother’s story makes no sense"
Social media forums quickly filled with comments criticizing how the mother handled the situation. Some questioned how a fully vaccinated child could be quarantined under such confusing circumstances, especially when the mother had time to share the story on social media but not vaccination records with the medical team.
"They were able to post on TikTok but not able to get vaccine records sent? This feels like possible fraud, clearly trying to just get a free cruise. Your kid got sick on the cruise, it’s your job to handle it. The cruise ship is looking out for the safety of other passengers and they should be applauded," Aggressive_Sun_9586 wrote on one Reddit post.
DefectorChris added, "Ugh, I want to be on this mom's side but it's kind of wild to me to have a doctor say 'your kid is showing symptoms of a contagious illness' and have the parent come back with 'ah but did you ever consider that my child fell down in a minor incident that I also did not witness,' as if the doctor would be responsible at all to use that as a basis for potentially exposing the other passengers on the ship to mumps."
"I trust the medical professionals. [This mom seems] to think [their] daughter falling down is some golden ticket to a free cruise. Kids fall down, get over it," said billdizzle.
Disney Wonder cruise ship
Disney Wonder is Disney Cruise Line's second-oldest ship. Coming in at just over 84,000 gross tons, she's a far cry from the line's new massive Disney Adventure. However, she's still filled with magical experiences from bow to stern — ranging from the immersive Tiana's Place restaurant to dazzling stage shows, deck parties, character meet-and-greets, and more.
Through early May, the 26-year-old vessel will operate short cruises to Baja Mexico from San Diego, California, before relocating to Vancouver, Canada, for her typical seasonal Alaska stint. She'll return to California in Oct. 2026 and continue offering primarily 3 and 4-night Baja Mexico cruises — though she will sail on a few longer voyages to the Mexican Riviera.
Read more: Disney Ships by Age: Newest to Oldest
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Having sailed on over 30 cruises across different lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, Margaritaville at Sea, and Princess, she loves sharing her insight and expertise on all things cruising!
In addition to writing for Cruise.Blog, Elizabeth has bylines in Business Insider, Royal Caribbean Blog, and Cruiseshipfood.com.
