Parents and students at a Southern California high school are angry that they won't be able to get into Saturday's school prom because it sold out.
Some 29 students at Chaparral High School in Temecula are on a waiting list to board a Hornblower, a four-hour dinner and dance tour off in the ocean. Some of the students had already bought or rented suits and dresses for the prom and reserved limos.
"It's such a disappointment," said Kathy Walley, whose son was in line to buy tickets before the deadline when the sell out was announced.
The prom will be held on the Hornblower cruise ship that holds up to 1,000 people and is typically booked in advance for two years by the school.
Chaparral High School has 1,400 juniors and seniors, and a school spokesman said the prom has averaged around 800 students in the past. This is the first time in 10 years of using that venue that the event has sold out.
School officials said it has removed about a dozen chaperones and staff members to make room for more students. Hornblower is not able to increase the capacity for safety reasons.
Reaction on social media has been divided, with many saying the students and parents should have planned ahead, while others expressed dismay that the prom including both seniors and juniors, and being held at a limited venue.
"If you want things you gotta go early, you gotta be responsible, you should think ahead," said Alanah Dutka, a student who was able to get a ticket. "A boat has a capacity and only so many people can go."
Realtor Casey Erway heard about the dilemma and is willing to make an alternate prom happen for students who cannot make it onto the Hornblower.
"If we can pull it off in a couple days...fabulous," she said. "If they want to do it in two weeks it gives me two weeks to give them the prom that they deserve."
