Carnival canceled a woman's ticket and refused to refund her because she was 26 weeks pregnant: report

• Kaylee Farrington was denied boarding a Carnival cruise as she was 26 weeks pregnant, 9News reported.
• Farrington's mom, Robyn Betts, said Carnival had refused to refund them.

Carnival barred a passenger from boarding a cruise after she was found to be 26 weeks pregnant, the Australian broadcaster 9News reported on Thursday. Her mother, who had booked the ticket, said the cruise line refused to refund her.

Robyn Betts had booked a three-day cruise around Brisbane, Australia, on the Carnival Luminosa for her daughter Kaylee Farrington as a birthday gift, 9News reported. The report didn't say when the cruise was scheduled to take place.

But Farrington was denied boarding as she was more than 24 weeks pregnant, breaking Carnival's conditions of carriage, 9News reported.

"You'd kind of think that the rules are the same for cruising as it is for flying," Farrington told 9News. Policies for flying while pregnant vary between airlines, but most airlines allow pregnant passengers to fly up to 36 weeks along, some of them requesting that a note be provided from a doctor.

"My obstetrician is giving me the all clear, and they still wouldn't let me on the board," Farrington said, adding that they were not informed of the policy at the point of booking. Farrington declined a request for comment from Business Insider.

Betts said that she spent 2,000 Australian dollars, or about $1,300, on the cruise but that Carnival told her she wouldn't receive a refund. BI couldn't independently verify how much Betts paid for the cruise.

"We nearly feel it was discriminatory toward pregnant women," Betts added. Betts didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

Another passenger, who was only identified as Mrs. Varghese, was also denied boarding for the same cruise for being more than 24 weeks pregnant, 9News reported.

Carnival told 9News the passengers were denied boarding "to ensure the safety and well-being of both mothers and their unborn babies."

"Cruise ships are not equipped with facilities to deal with prenatal and early infant care. The policy is outlined both on the Carnival website and within the cruise contract," the cruise company said. Carnival declined to comment to BI for this story.

According to Clause 6D of Carnival's conditions of carriage, Carnival reserves the right to deny boarding and cancel reservations without refund to passengers if they are 24 weeks pregnant or later at the time of the cruise.

Several passengers have had their cruise tickets canceled in recent years. In June, two blind passengers said they were denied boarding on a P&O ship "for health and safety reasons." In October, several passengers said they were denied boarding on an MSC cruise after their travel documents were rejected by the cruise line.