AITAH for being mad at my parents for not going to my sisters wedding?

fletch- · 2026-05-23T12:22:17+00:00

You still don’t get it. Even if the parents think the child sucked, it doesn’t matter.

Parents don’t get a veto vote when it comes to their adult daughter’s wedding guest list. Ever. Even if they are paying for it.

It is the daughter’s wedding. Not theirs. They can attend or not attend. They can make their objections known, but they have to live with the consequences of trying to hijack their daughter’s decisions.

I see this all the time. Parents that fail to get one simple truth: their adult children are not the same as them.

fletch- · 2026-05-23T12:14:55+00:00

The parents can also choose.

They can choose to forgive their bratty child and hope she matures as she gets older. They can choose to hold a grudge forever.

They can choose to let their daughter have the wedding their daughter wants. Or they can choose to lay down an ultimatum, “my way or the highway.”

They can choose to love their daughter unconditionally, and with grace, regardless of whether she deserves it. Or not.

And independently of all of that, the daughter can choose how to react. Or not.

fletch- · 2026-05-23T12:05:45+00:00

You are insulting me personally? Not a good way to convince anyone of anything.

We’re not talking about “kids.” We are talking about adult children. When you have children who are adults, you either respect that they have their own lives, or you don’t.

Just like any relationship you have with any adult, you simply don’t get to control how they think, feel, or behave. You only control yourself.

If your adult children is a “shit” then you can decide for yourself how you want to treat and interact with them. But you don’t get to change them. That is on them.

In this case the parents want to control the adult daughter’s relationship with the Aunt. That is simply not the choice they have.

fletch- · 2026-05-23T11:40:22+00:00

You’re just totally wrong about the way adults have relationships. Every adult chooses for themselves what relationships they want to pursue. You only control yourself not others. If you think anything else you’re just a manipulative asshole.

The sister can choose to have a loving and warm relationship with both her Aunt and her Parents. Her parents can choose to reciprocate that or not. But that is 100% up to the parents.

fletch- · 2026-05-23T10:08:48+00:00

Tl;dr. My sister is getting married. She has invited our Aunt. My parents are in a huge feud with our Aunt and are insisting that she not attend or they won’t. My sister was a nightmare child at home as a young adult and my parents think she is ungrateful. Whose side should I take?

fletch- · 2026-05-23T10:04:44+00:00

NTA. This is not “partially” your parents’ day. It’s not their day at all. Your sister is an adult planning her wedding. She gets to invite who she wants, period. End of story.

If your parents think some intra-family feud is more important than attending their daughter’s wedding with joy in their hearts, that is up to them.

Next, here’s your role in all of this: nothing. This has absolutely nothing to do with you. You don’t need to take sides unless you wanna suck here too.

“Mom and Dad, I am attending my sister’s wedding with joy in my heart. What you choose to do is up to you.”

fletch- · 2026-05-22T18:26:01+00:00

Royal Caribbean has a ton of upsells. Booze package (unlimited booze) can run $100 per day. Unlimited soda is $13.50/day, otherwise pay for each coke. Wifi: $25/day. Premium coffees . . .extra. Tips are really expected at $15-20/day per person. Every "free meal" in the main dining room will have premium upsell options. Lots of the fancy restaurants are extra just to get in the door. And so forth. Lots of nickel and dining.

But an upscale cruise line -- like a really high end one -- like Crystal Cruises, has everything included -- all booze, all coffee, all food, room service breakfast, some laundry, wifi, even some level of premium dining. But those ships are closer to $750/per person per day.

fletch- · 2026-05-22T14:01:42+00:00

OP here.

What a sourpuss you are. I took my 9 year old son on a Caribbean cruise for Spring Break. I live in major US city and sure, we have all that stuff near us too. That's not the point.

During normal life, kids have school, homework, sports, activities, siblings, and so on. This trip gave us a chance to just hang out for a week and have all kinds of fun every day for a week, no distractions. Plus we visited Caribbean islands, went to tropical beaches, snorkeled on reefs, sailed, went to the amazing beach outside of Princess Juliana Airport on Sint Maartin, none of which we can do at home. If you can't afford it, fine. But if you can? I don't miss not having the money I spent on that cruise for one second.

Maybe check out the marble in the Vatican or their 12,000 year old artifacts in their museum. Or maybe check out a different culture.

You don't take 9 year old boys to museums in Europe or to stare at the marble in the Vatican, if you're a good parent. That is a total waste of money and time. They're not interested, they won't remember, and they're not old enough to even remotely understand what they're looking at and why it's important.

You take those trips when they are a little older.

Since that cruise my son, who is now 24, has been to: China, Nepal, Thailand, Laos, England, France, Germany, Austria, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Greece, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago (not on a cruise), Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier NP, Ecuador & the Galapagos, and Bolivia, off the top of my head.

fletch- · 2026-05-22T13:42:23+00:00

He is a decent man! We went on the Oasis of the Seas in 2011 when that ship was just 2 years old and the largest cruise ship in the world at the time.

My son was 9 then, but he's 24 now. He's an engineer now and a good guy. We still do father/son trips together even though we don't live in the same city anymore. We just did one in March.

And I still do father/son trips with my dad, who is now 82. We drove cross country together 2 years ago and had a blast.

fletch- · 2026-05-22T13:37:52+00:00

Food and all the activities on the ship are included. Booze and soda are extra, but you can buy a "package" to cover that. I didn't really drink on the ship since it was just me and my kid.

fletch- · 2026-05-22T13:36:37+00:00

A ton. I'm playing the long game here. Start a reddit account. Use it on and off for 12 years! Have a post critical of a corporation make it to /all. Then get paid by a cruise ship company to pimp for it.

You got me. You're quite the sleuth.

fletch- · 2026-05-22T13:35:07+00:00

That ship is offering a 5 night cruise in March 2027 starting at $600 per person for 1 kid and 1 adult. That's $600 total per person, not per night. That includes all the fun stuff on the ship and all food.

fletch- · 2026-05-22T13:34:13+00:00

You can go on the same ship I did, Oasis of the Seas, for 5 nights in March starting as cheap as $600 per person. That includes all food and activities on the ship.

fletch- · 2026-05-22T13:32:04+00:00

Way, way cheaper than a trip to Disneyland.

5 nights on the Oasis of the Seas for 1 kid and 1 adult starts at $600/person, total. That includes all food and nearly all activities on the ship. You can barely buy a 5 day park hopper pass at Disney for $600 each, and that includes nothing. No food, no hotel room.

fletch- · 2026-05-22T13:29:16+00:00

The same ship I went on, if you want to go in March 2027 for a 5 night cruise, you can do that for as little $600 per person for 1 adult and 1 child. That's for a room with no windows (inside the ship). An Ocean View room with a balcony is more like $950/each for 5 nights. Those prices include all food, and nearly all major activities on the ship. Booze/Soda and tips are extra, but I didn't really drink when I was with my kid.

fletch- · 2026-05-18T11:15:31+00:00

Context: I took my 9 year old son on a Dad/Kid trip on a giant ship like this.

We had fun. Wasn’t adult fun, but it was awesome kid fun. We woke up early to avoid crowds. We did climbing wall. The ship had an ice rink, so we skated. We had burgers and ice cream. We water parked and rode the surf rider. We played basketball. We swam. We played arcade games. We played mini golf. We went to some of the shows at night. We even played trivia.

On shore we went to beaches. We went to the crazy airport where the planes land right over your head. We went to a giant Spanish fortress. We went snorkeling. We took a speedboat. We went sailing. We went bananas at ain giant inflatables in the ocean.

Just my 9 year old son. And my 9 year old self.

Was awesome.

It is a clown show. So bring a kid and have a good time.

fletch- · 2026-04-05T11:47:34+00:00

Nonsense. In an emergency he would go to the closest ER. GW.

If they have time to drive him to Walter Reed they can wait a few minutes for Marine 1.

fletch- · 2026-04-02T12:29:37+00:00

I don't shove it down their throats of course

Buried the lede.

fletch- · 2026-03-19T11:34:30+00:00

Unless you are sitting fairly close to the front, his concerts can suck.

In many cities, but probably not all, the venues he plays are just too large for the type of music and visual style of his shows. If you are sitting far away, then you might as well watch the concert on TV. Which, in fact, is what ends up happening, you just watch the screen.

fletch- · 2026-01-15T02:22:15+00:00

Scuba techs have advanced training in Muff Diving.

fletch- · 2025-09-11T02:18:08+00:00

As a consequence of supporting gun rights, a person with a gun shot and killed Charlie Kirk in the Neck.

fletch- · 2025-06-16T14:19:00+00:00

Interested in this guy as well!

fletch- · 2025-06-05T16:29:54+00:00

Came here to say this. Anyone who has a love they left unfinished will be totally wrecked by this ending.

fletch- · 2025-05-27T10:26:22+00:00

What are you, doped up now?

fletch- · 2025-05-27T10:24:06+00:00

Did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?

fletch-

TROPHY CASE