Matt and Abby Howard share their lives on social media, appearing as the picture-perfect parents as they raise their young sons: 2-year-old Griffin and 1-year-old August. 

The famous couple has 5.3 million followers on TikTok, 7.34 million followers on their family YouTube channel, and an additional 715,000 followers on YouTube for the “Unplanned Podcast,” which the couple has hosted for the past year. 

But despite their wholesome online presence, the couple has come under fire for their parenting decisions during their recent cruise onboard Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas. 

The Voyager-class vessel is currently operating a series of 7-night sailings to Ensenada, Mexico, out of the Port of Los Angeles in California – although it’s unclear which specific sailing the influencers were on.  

Near the end of the sailing, it seems the couple became frustrated with taking their kids with them to the main dining room for dinner each night. Their solution was to leave their allegedly sleeping toddlers behind in their stateroom and head to dinner without them. 

“We ended up taking them for 5 nights and it became apparent that they weren’t enjoying it and therefore we weren’t either,” Abby shared in a now deleted Instagram story.

“So then we switched our dinner time to after their bedroom and FaceTimed the monitors while we ate,” the influencer wrote.

Abby had previously shared how her baby monitors wouldn’t work onboard unless she was within 10 feet of the devices, which created a serious hole in that plan that other social media users were quick to pick up on. 

In another now deleted story, Abby shared that the couple wasn’t able to reserve slots for their children in the onboard nursery, which necessitated this plan.

“You need to book ahead if your child is under 3 and pretty much all of the dinner slots were already booked before I could get to the nursery (an hour after boarding),” Abby posted.

This story was likely meant to head off the large amount of the criticism that came from surprise that the influencers would choose the markedly less safe option of leaving a baby and toddler unsupervised for potentially hours at a time rather than taking advantage of the award-winning childcare services offered by the family friendly cruise line. 

Abby even went so far as to complain about the activities for toddlers onboard in a third story, in which she said there wasn’t anything for her boys except a “small section of the splash pad.”

The Howards Face Backlash for Cruise Parenting Decisions

Indeed, the response to the Howards’ decision to leave their sleeping children in their stateroom has not been kind across social media platforms. The general consensus is that the famous parents are selfish and planned poorly. 

“It’s obvious at this point that they’d rather risk the safety of their kids so they can continue with their lives,” one person wrote on Reddit.

Other commenters thought that the Matt and Abby planned to leave their kids behind in the stateroom all along, which is why they brought the baby monitors in the first place.

“The fact that they even PACKED the baby monitors and brought them onto the cruise ship shows this was a premeditated backup plan in case they could not handle the kids during dinner time. They literally “thought” this plan through. So crazy!,” another person wrote on Youtube.

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The resounding sentiment was that the kids were much too young to be left alone safely, and the parents should have adjusted their own plans in order to put the wellbeing of their children first – or left their children at home with a trusted babysitter if they wanted a break from parenthood.

For example, maybe Matt and Abby didn’t need to eat a formal dinner at the main dining room each night. If their toddlers were fussy, the couple could have dined at a more quick and casual venue onboard, such as the Windjammer buffet, or ordered room service. 

Additionally, past Royal Caribbean guests advised that the parents should have re-checked with the nursery if all the slots were pre-booked on embarkation day, as more spots often open up in the Royal Babies & Tots Program later in the voyage.

Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas only recently entered service in July of 2024, but the Oasis-class vessel is already getting some complaints on the internet. 

One recent guest, who was just onboard the 5,668-passenger ship, took to Reddit to anonymously vent about smoking onboard. 

Considering the post went up on September 12, 2024 and the guest states that the post was written while onboard, this implies the cruiser and his family were onboard for the 4-night round-trip Bahamas sailing that embarked from Port Canaveral (Orlando), Florida, on September 9, 2024. 

Before disembarking on September 13, 2024, the 236,860-gross ton vessel called on Nassau, Bahamas, and Perfect Day at CocoCay, the cruise line’s private island destination in the Bahamas.

But despite the family friendly fun onboard and a great itinerary for a quick getaway, the Redditor couldn’t get past the rampant smell of smoke onboard. 

“I am so frustrated by the smokers. We are on Utopia so I assumed it would have the whole smoking section thing figured out. But putting it in the middle of the pool deck?,” wrote the Redditor. 

The Redditor claimed that he could smell smoke while playing with his young child at the pool, as well as other parts of the ship, which he deemed unacceptable. 

“I am severely asthmatic and don’t think it is ridiculous that when I am with my kid at the splash pad I shouldn’t have to run away from smokers?,” asked the Redditor.

“Security doesn’t do anything about people smoking outside of the casino, in their rooms, at the kids splash pad?! I had to leave dinner early from the [Main Dining Room] because the smoke is coming in from the casino,” continued the post.

The rule on Royal Caribbean ships is that guests may only smoke in designated areas – which usually include the adults-only casino and a small area on the pool deck.

On Utopia of the Seas, the outdoor smoking section is tucked between two pools, but is still out of the way.

It’s possible that the guest was smelling smoke from the outside smoking area, especially if it was a windy day, and perhaps encountered some noncompliant guests before the 2,290 crew members did.

Is Smoking a Problem on Cruise Ships?

None of the major cruise lines ban smoking, but do limit the activity to designated areas to avoid bothering non-smokers. 

According to Royal Caribbean’s current policy, smoking is only permitted in designated outdoor areas and in part of the casino (Casino Royale). Another part of the casino is designated as smoke-free to allow for the enjoyment of all guests. 

Aside from a couple designated locations, smoking is not permitted anywhere else onboard any of Royal Caribbean’s ships. Smoking is never allowed in spaces like kids’ play areas, the theater, dining rooms, cruise cabins and private balconies, bars, lounges, and fitness spaces. 

On the Oasis-class vessels (Utopia of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas, and Wonder of the Seas) the Central Park and Boardwalk neighborhoods are also smoke-free zones. 

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In the comments of the Reddit post, recent cruisers who have also already sailed onboard Utopia of the Seas during her approximately two months of service reported that they were not bothered by smoke – perhaps indicating that the redditor’s experience was a one-time occurrence. 

“I was on Utopia in August, I didn’t notice many smokers and I knew to avoid one of the sides of the ship near the pool but they definitely weren’t in the middle of the pool deck,” wrote one commenter. 

According to Royal Caribbean’s website, smoking violations are taken seriously. For example, guests who are caught smoking in their stateroom will be charged a $250 (USD) cleaning fee at best, and could be subject to more serious penalties per the “consequences section” of the guest conduct policy.

If cruisers are particularly concerned about smoke exposure, it may be prudent to do research in advance of booking a cruise to see where the smoking sections are on the ship in relation to popular areas, such as theaters, dining rooms, and the pools.

Every ship is a different, and typically, there are deck plans online. A little bit of research may enable prospective guests to pick a ship with a smoking and non-smoking layout that is less likely to bother them.

Cruisers who were getting ready to board Rhapsody of the Seas in just about two day’s time got some bad news from the cruise line.

The Vision-class cruise ship had to cancel her 7-night Southern Caribbean cruise for some passengers who were supposed to embark from San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 15, 2024, due to a damaged lifeboat. 

It’s unclear what caused the damage to the smaller vessel, which doubles as a tender boat, but it must have become apparent that the boat could not be fixed or replaced in time to set sail. 

“On our previous sailing, there was damage to one of our tender boats, which also serves as a lifeboat. This leaves the ship over capacity for the number of available lifeboat seats in the event of an emergency for our next sailing,” reads a letter from Royal Caribbean to impacted guests.

“We must have a seat on a lifeboat for every guest onboard. Unfortunately, this means we’ll be unable to welcome you onboard our September 15, 2024, Rhapsody of the Seas sailing, and we must reschedule your cruise,” continued the letter.

Indeed, maritime law is quite strict about lifeboat guidelines to ensure the safety of both guests and crew should an emergency occur.

According to the current regulations, which are enforced by Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), there must be lifeboats available on both sides of the ship with enough vessels to be evacuating 37.5% of the people onboard simultaneously. This accounts for 75% of the ship’s capacity – and the remaining quarter can be rescued using life rafts. 

Even though an emergency is unlikely to occur, cruise ships are not allowed to continue sailing if they do not have the capacity to evacuate all guests should an emergency arise. 

Safety Comes First – But Guests are Compensated Well

If the 2,416-passenger ship was able to sail as planned, the round trip voyage would have called on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; Basseterre, St. Kitts; Castries, St. Lucia; and Bridgetown, Barbados. 

It’s unclear if Rhapsody of the Seas’ subsequent sailing – another 7-night Southern Caribbean voyage scheduled to embark on September 22 – will be impacted. That said, this cancellation gives the family friendly cruise line a week to make repairs or replace the damaged lifeboat. 

While the last-minute cancellation is understandably disappointing, Royal Caribbean has to always put safety first. That said, the cruise line is compensating the guests with a full refund and future cruise credit to help soften the blow.

“We will be providing you with a full refund and a credit for a new cruise. We know this news is disappointing and we’re terribly sorry for the impact to your vacation plans,” wrote Royal Caribbean.

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The cruise line will start by refunding guests the total cost of the sailing within 14 business days. If the cruise was paid for using a future cruise credit, passengers will be provided with a new certificate that will be valid for one year from the date of issuance. 

Also in the next two weeks, passengers will receive a 100% future cruise credit via email that can be used on any Royal Caribbean International sailing that embarks on or before September 13, 2025. 

While there are many exciting ships in Royal Caribbean’s fleet, guests might want to take advantage of this credit to be among the first to sail on the second Icon-class cruise ship, Star of the Seas, which will debut in August of 2025. 

Lastly, guests are invited to submit their travel receipts to Royal Caribbean for reimbursement of non-refundable, pre-purchased transportation change fees. The cruise line will cover up to $200 per guest for domestic changes, or up to $400 per guest for international adjustments.