Family Quarantined on Disney Cruise — Internet Says It’s Mumps

The COVID-19 pandemic ruined a lot of things for people, cruise ships included. I now have this fear that my family and I, should we decide to cruise, might get quarantined in a tiny cabin with nothing to do, feeling like we’re on the verge of death if anyone gets sick.

Lately, though, I found myself daydreaming about being on a cruise, soaking up the sun, and enjoying not having to cook or clean. But that little fantasy was clouded once again, this time by a story from @themomladytm on TikTok.

After spending thousands of dollars on a Disney cruise, she and her family were quarantined for days after medical staff initially said her daughter had a viral infection (only to later change the diagnosis). On top of that, she says the staff were super persistent about having the family leave the ship mid-trip and fly home.

It’s a wild story, to say the least, and one you should be aware of, just in case you were considering going on a cruise.

So let’s start from the beginning. @themomladytm took to TikTok at the end of February 2026 to document what sounds like nothing short of a nightmare trip. In her video, recorded while she and her family were quarantined, she explains that two days earlier, her daughter had been at the kids club while she and her husband were off the ship. Later, her daughter wanted to come back to the room, so her godmother picked her up from the kids club.

Her daughter eventually told @themomladytm that she had fallen at the kids club and pointed to the side of her face where she felt pain, but no staff had mentioned the incident, and nothing had been recorded. That night, around 2 am, her daughter woke up in pain and said she wanted to see a doctor. So, they trekked up to the deck to see the doctor, and after a quick assessment, said she had a viral infection and prescribed amoxicillin.

But something didn’t sit right with @themomladytm, so she went to guest services to ask about the kids club incident and requested to speak with whoever had been watching her daughter. It seems she was concerned that her daughter’s pain might be from the fall, not a viral infection.

Things got even more confusing the next morning when she got a call from the medical team, saying she needed to come back. They now had a new diagnosis and said the family needed to isolate for five days. How, if no swabs or tests had been done? To make things even weirder, she said the medical team was very persistent about having them leave the ship and fly home, even offering to cover expenses and cancel paid excursions. But no one addressed the incident at the kids club.

While looking at flights, the family realized they couldn’t get enough tickets, so they decided to stay on the ship rather than split up. In her final video, @themomladytm says that three days after being told to isolate, doctors came to reassess and finally released them from quarantine.

Now, here’s where the mumps rumor comes in. According to @sipteawithbrittney, misinformation began spreading after the story went viral. People started claiming the mom was lying and that guests on the ship had received letters warning mumps was going around on the ship.

Naturally, some connected the dots to @themomladytm because she never disclosed her daughter’s final diagnosis. Since mumps can cause swollen glands and, according to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, patients must isolate for five days after swelling begins, people assumed that’s what her daughter had.

But if we go solely by @themomladytm’s story, her kids are vaccinated, and no tests were done to confirm any illness. Now, an alleged guest on Reddit said they never received a letter, but their kids weren’t in the Oceanee’s Club (the kids club), though they “heard others did.”

With so much information going around, some of which hasn't been confirmed, some people are taking the mom’s story for face value while others are simply forming their own theories.