Skip to content

Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
RSS Feed

Welcome to Consumer Rescue

Your Fiasco Fixer

Advertiser Disclosure

Home
GET RESCUED
About us
Fiascos & fixes
Ask for help
Guides
Subscribe
Advertiser/Funding Disclosure

Royal Caribbean bans a Diamond-level loyalty club member after the passenger sues the cruise line over a car wash.

Cruise passenger sues Royal Caribbean for a $405 car wash, gets banned forever

Michelle Couch-Friedman

Chief Fiasco Fixer / Consumer reporter

October 26, 2026

A Florida man returned from his latest cruise to find his vehicle splotched with hardened sea salt at Port Canaveral. His response earned him and his wife a lifetime ban from Royal Caribbean.

Latest

Medicare beneficiaries must make sure to read their Annual Notice of Change (ANOC)

Medicare Annual Notice of Change: Here is why you must not ignore it

October 24, 2026

Some Medicare Advantage plans are going away. Consumer Rescue's registered Medicare counselor explains.

Many Medicare Advantage plans are ending: what millions of members must do now

October 18, 2026

Why is Dollar Rental Car charging this customer $1,900 in airport fees? It's 25 miles from any airport. Consumer Rescue and Michelle Couch-Friedman investigate.

An off-site Dollar Rental Car charged me $1,900 in airport fees. Help!

October 11, 2026

Consumer Rescue's registered Medicare counselor discusses prescription drug coverage.

More than 100,000 Medicare beneficiaries lost their drug coverage. Don’t let it happen to you.

October 4, 2026

Sandra O'Leary sold refundable tours to see Greenland's glaciers, but changed the terms after their cruise ship never made it to the world's largest island.

Cruise excursion operator still owes customers thousands. So why is she on Airbnb?

September 28, 2026

New Orleans porch pirates stole this Amazon delivery.

Porch pirates stole my iPad delivery. Will Amazon refund my $400?

September 14, 2026

Vantage Travel customer claims are being challenged in Boston bankruptcy court this month.

Bankrupt Vantage Travel customer claims are being challenged. Here is why

September 6, 2026

A passenger canceled his nonrefundable KLM flight to Uganda before the airline did. Is he owed a refund?

A canceled KLM flight, Ebola fears and $9,188 on the line. Can we help?

August 20, 2026

Consumer Rescue and Michelle Couch-Friedman provide free templates and examples of effective complaint letters for consumers.

How to write an effective complaint letter (free template and samples)

August 14, 2026

A travel insurance mistake in Italy almost cost a family $16,000 — until they asked Consumer Rescue for help.

A “little” travel insurance mistake cost this family $19K — or will it?

August 3, 2026

Popular

Consumer Rescue free rental car inspection checklist

Car rental inspection checklist (free printable forms)

United Airlines aircraft, sunset with United Airlines

Help! Fake United Airlines customer service charged me a $1,750 service fee

Banned from cruising, Cruise line will ban passengers, Cruise ship passengers getting banned.

These cruise ship passengers got banned forever. Could it happen to you?

Fake Verizon customer service calls, phone scammers pretending to be Verizon customer service, protect yourself and know the signs of a scammer

Verizon customers beware of phone scammers pretending to be helpful agents

Reaching scam call center easier than ever, scam call centers rising

Scam call centers are rising on the Internet. Here’s how to avoid them

Fake rental car damage charges are increasing, Investigating damage charges on a rental vehicle.

Hit with fake rental car damage charges? Here’s how to make them go away

Zelle scams often start with a phone call, This is an iphone on a tablet.

Zelle scams are on the rise. Could you fall for this one?

If American Airlines changes your flight schedule, here's how to get a refund. This article explains the flight schedule change policy of American Airlines.

If American Airlines changes your schedule, here’s how to get a refund

If you don't want to tip on your cruise, you need to let the cruise line know before you leave the ship. This cruise ship passenger thinks auto-tips are unfair.

This is what happens if you don’t want to tip on your cruise

Could a hotel charge you a smoking fee even if you don't smoke? This hotel seems to think so.

How to get a surprise hotel smoking fee reversed? Like this

If you find mice in your next vacation rental, should you get a refund? This Airbnb guest believes so.

My vacation rental has mice! Shouldn’t Airbnb refund me?

7 Simple ways to get excellent customer service and fix your consumer problem.

7 simple ways to fix any consumer problem

Read more articles

Share this article with a friend!

255Facebook LinkedIn 11Pinterest Reddit Email

266

SHARES

Search

2026 Silver Award

Consumer Rescue

Best Independent Travel Blog

North American Travel Journalists Association

What's your consumer problem?

Ask The Fiasco Fixers for help

Your Research Valet

Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
RSS Feed

Cruise Fiascos

See all Cruise Fiascos

Royal Caribbean bans a Diamond-level loyalty club member after the passenger sues the cruise line over a car wash.

Cruise passenger sues Royal Caribbean for a $405 car wash, gets banned forever

Sandra O'Leary sold refundable tours to see Greenland's glaciers, but changed the terms after their cruise ship never made it to the world's largest island.

Cruise excursion operator still owes customers thousands. So why is she on Airbnb?

11 ways Michelle Couch-Friedman and Consumer Rescue know that cruise passengers get denied board — straight from her case files.

11 ways cruise passengers get denied boarding (straight from my case files)

These cruise ship passengers were denied boarding after Costco Travel gave them incorrect visa information.

Costco Travel told us we didn’t need visas. That mistake cost us $13,000 and our dream cruise

Consumer Guides

See all Consumer Guides

Here are some of the newest and most expensive mistakes travelers are making in 2026.

4 easily avoidable travel mistakes that ruin trips and cost thousands

Could your lost bags end up at a store in Alabama, Unclaimed Baggage, Original photo of a delivery from Unclaimed Baggage, Michelle Couch-Friedman's photo

What do airlines really do with all that lost and unclaimed baggage?

A consumer advocate's comprehensive guide to American Airlines travel credit, AA aircraft at the airport, original photo by Michelle Couch-Friedman

American Airlines travel credit: How to use it before you lose it

Car rental mistakes to avoid in 2026, expert advises travelers, Michelle Couch-Friedman advises travelers

8 expensive car rental mistakes that can wreck your wallet

Summer travel scams, avoid scams this summer, sunset in the summer

Summer travel scams are on the rise. Here’s how to spot and avoid them

Travel Troubles

See all Travel Troubles

Why is Dollar Rental Car charging this customer $1,900 in airport fees? It's 25 miles from any airport. Consumer Rescue and Michelle Couch-Friedman investigate.

An off-site Dollar Rental Car charged me $1,900 in airport fees. Help!

A passenger canceled his nonrefundable KLM flight to Uganda before the airline did. Is he owed a refund?

A canceled KLM flight, Ebola fears and $9,188 on the line. Can we help?

A travel insurance mistake in Italy almost cost a family $16,000 — until they asked Consumer Rescue for help.

A “little” travel insurance mistake cost this family $19K — or will it?

Hilton increased the price of a family's hotel room six months after they prepaid for the reservation.

Hilton increased the price of our hotel room by $1,800. Is this legal?

Problematic Products

See all Problematic Products

New Orleans porch pirates stole this Amazon delivery.

Porch pirates stole my iPad delivery. Will Amazon refund my $400?

A soccer fan bought an expensive ticket to the World Cup Final on StubHub, but never received it.

This World Cup fan paid $10,767 for a ghost ticket. Here’s how we brought it to life

A $1000 unauthorized PayPal transaction, scammers convinced PayPal the charge was authorized

Help! A scammer drained $1,010 from my PayPal account

Amazon gift cards, no value on these gift cards, stolen Amazon gift cards

My Amazon gift cards are worthless! What’s going on?

News and Alerts

See all News and Alerts

Vantage Travel customer claims are being challenged in Boston bankruptcy court this month.

Bankrupt Vantage Travel customer claims are being challenged. Here is why

That Punchbowl invitation might look festive, but there's no party. It's a phishing scam.

Surprise! Here’s your Punchbowl invitation — to a scam

There's a new Zelle scam lurking on the streets of Philadelphia.

How my own daughter’s $1 donation turned into a $2,000 Zelle scam

Facebook ad scams are a problem. Here's how consumers can spot and avoid these predators.

I fell for a Facebook ad scam. How do I get my money back?

Consumer Rescue: Your Fiasco Fixer

The 2026 NATJA Silver Award winner
Best Independent Travel Blog. 🏆

100% human-created. Guaranteed. 👩‍💻📝

Categories

Consumer Guides

News and Alerts

Travel Troubles

Problematic Products

Happy Trails: Places we love

Get Free Help

What's your consumer problem?

Executive contact finder

Michelle Couch-Friedman

Resources

Legal

Advertising Policy

Corrections Policy

Advertise on this site

Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Info

© 2026 Consumer Rescue / Michelle Couch-Friedman

Home
GET RESCUED
About us
Fiascos & fixes
Ask for help
Guides
Subscribe
Advertiser/Funding Disclosure

Consumer Rescue logo

Consumer Rescue's

Tales from Consumer Advocacy Land

Real stories. Real rescues. Real advice.
True tales of travelers in trouble and consumers in crisis — told by the journalist who doesn’t just report the mess; she fixes it. Subscribe to Consumer Rescue's friendly, informative, and free weekly newsletter today.

Invalid email address

Thanks for subscribing!