Norwegian Cruise Line review: Exploding glass on babies then kicking us out...

During one of our final nights on the cruise, our group of 11 had dinner at Cagney’s Steakhouse. While seated, I noticed a wine glass in the middle of the table that looked unusual. It had lateral scratches or marks around the fill line. Since I was drinking wine and was curious, I picked it up to look more closely.

As I held it, the glass felt extremely flimsy and seemed to flex with the lightest touch. Then, without warning, it shattered into countless pieces. Tiny shards of glass went everywhere, covering the table, our food, drinks, clothing, and several people in our group, including our 9-month-old daughter. The staff had to replace the tablecloth, reorder food, and bring new drinks. It was frightening, especially with an infant at the table.

While this was happening, we heard comments from across the room such as, “That’s why you don’t let babies play with wine glasses,” even though our daughter had nothing to do with the glass breaking.

Later, our daughter was smiling and babbling. She was not crying, screaming, fussing, or throwing a tantrum. One of the managers came over and asked me to remove her from the dining room. I was surprised, but politely complied. We had never been told babies were not allowed in Cagney’s, and no one had asked us to quiet her down. Up to that point, the staff had been friendly and kind.

After I took our daughter out, my wife was upset and asked to speak with the manager who made the request. The explanation then changed. Instead of saying our daughter needed to leave, the manager claimed she had only suggested the baby get fresh air because it was healthy. That is not what was said to us. We were told she had to be removed from the room.

The situation escalated. My wife became emotional, my mother-in-law confronted the manager, and for some unknown reason David, our concierge, was called. Eventually, the head of the restaurants came to speak with us. His explanation was essentially that they were sorry, but we needed to understand the restaurant’s perspective and what other guests want when babies “like ours” are “throwing tantrums.”

That was upsetting because our daughter was not throwing a tantrum. She was simply smiling and babbling. We understand other guests matter and that the restaurant must consider everyone’s dining experience. However, our group followed the rules, paid for our children to dine there, and were never told our daughter was not welcome.

What is most frustrating is that after a wine glass unexpectedly shattered at our table and sent glass onto our food, drinks, clothing, and infant daughter, we were the ones effectively asked to leave. The explanation given afterward also did not match what was actually said at the time.

We are upset because our daughter was unfairly blamed for a situation she did not cause, the reason for removing her was misrepresented afterward, and the seriousness of the glass incident seemed to be overshadowed by complaints about a baby who was not misbehaving.