(WSVN) – A Florida family’s travel plans are in limbo after learning their planned cruise ship is changing course less than a week before it sets sail.

For the Wellingtons, a cruise with Royal Caribbean sounded ideal.

“We look at her sweet 16 dress; “She ordered this, with a little puffy skirt,” Avilla Wellington said.

The family of five was planning a much-needed vacation and wanted to celebrate each other’s milestones.

“My other one is 13, my husband is 50. “We’re super excited, but now we don’t know if we’ll even be able to get off the ship,” Wellington said.

Their concern stems from a notice the family received that stated, among other things, that their trip to Labadee, Haiti, had been changed.

There has been a recent increase in violence in Haiti.

At least three commercial airliners were shot at in November, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to ban U.S. airlines from flying to Haiti for at least 30 days.

The US State Department also recommends that Americans like the Wellington family not travel to the country.

At first they thought the letter was a fake.

“I thought, ‘Yeah, right,'” Wellington said.

When they realized the letter was real, they became worried.

“Are my children being kidnapped? Will something happen on the ship? You know, other people can take advantage of this opportunity. We just don’t really feel comfortable with it,” she said.

Avilla said Royal Caribbean denied her request for a refund, leaving her family with a difficult decision.

“We have overcome so much as a family and we should celebrate that in our roots in Puerto Rico and I can’t believe Royal Caribbean gets to do that,” she said.

A Royal Caribbean spokesman said safety was a top priority, adding: “Our global security and intelligence team is continually monitoring the situation in Haiti.”

The company said the trip was being rerouted because the pier where the boat docked in San Juan was damaged.

A Coast Guard spokesman said the port was damaged in April.

But documents show the Wellingtons were informed of the change in November, on the Monday before Thanksgiving, less than a week before their scheduled departure.

“For example: ‘Too bad, so sad.’ We’ll take your money anyway.’ That’s not right,” she said.

Royal Caribbean has not yet commented on why customers were not notified sooner.

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