When cruising around, it's nice to enjoy a cocktail, but a company that manages a Hawaii dinner cruise in Honolulu, seems to have forgotten to check ID when they served vodka to a toddler.
Three-year-old Michael Cai was on board the Alii Kai Catamaran with his parents when waiters mistakenly served him orange juice containing vodka on May 26.
The boy's mother, Army Spc. Bingyan Cai noticed her son acting odd and mumbling while his face turned red after drinking half of the supposed orange juice.
She told Hawaii News Now, "He just got really red and he just kept mumbling, 'Momma it's hot, it's hot,"' she said. "He was just so wild, full of energy and tried to run here and there but couldn't even stand straight."
Cai tried her son's drink and tasted alcohol. She also let family members and nearby tourists try the drink. They confirmed that the orange juice contained alcohol.
Cai notified the server who then notified the manager. The server told Cai to remaind quiet about the issue as to not ruin the ride for the other passengers. Her son was given a bottle of water, but no medical care.
"If he had drunk the whole 12 ounces it could have been very fatal for him at this age," said Cai.
The staff did not give her a formal apology during the cruise, however the company that manages the cruise, Roberts Hawaii, apologized in a written statement on Monday. They gave the family a refund of $300 for the cost of the dinner cruise.
"We have had an alcohol safety procedure in place for 20 years and this is the first time we have had an incident like this," said the statement from Jennifer Hill, the company's safety officer. "Once our crew realized what had happened, their immediate focus was on the well-being of our guest. We are pleased and relieved that he is OK."
They said that they are going to ensure that the issue doesn't happen again.
" We have taken a number of immediate actions to ensure such an incident does not ever happen again, including changing our beverage containers so it will be much easier to differentiate the alcoholic beverages from the non-alcoholic ones, and holding additional staff training and meetings."
Cai doesn't plan to sue the company, but she does want the issue known.
"I want to raise public attention first of all," Michael's mom said. "If you review the situation, then Alii Kai cruise will try to handle it more seriously instead of just 'hush, hush.' I want their whole server system to change."
Cai notified the Honolulu Liquor Commission and wants to see changes made to the dinner cruise so this doesn't happen again.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
