Cruise Fiascos

Cruise Fiascos: Dramatic Tales and Essential Tips

Dive into the dramatic world of cruise mishaps with our “Cruise Fiascos” category. These articles from the Consumer Rescue case files recount real-life stories of unexpected and often chaotic events that have befallen cruise ship passengers. From being banned from future cruises to dealing with onboard disputes, these cautionary tales are both entertaining and educational. Alongside each story, you’ll find practical tips and guidance to help you avoid similar situations, ensuring your next cruise is smooth sailing. Learn from cruise ship passengers’ experiences and make your cruise adventures trouble-free.

If you have a problem with a cruise line that you can’t resolve, contact the Consumer Rescue advocacy team. We’ll investigate and help you, too! Our assistance is always fast, friendly, and, best of all, free of charge!

Royal Caribbean canceled these cruise ship passengers trip. What went wrong?

Royal Caribbean canceled our cruise at the pier. Why did this happen?

November 17, 2024September 30, 2024 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Cruise passengers beware: Royal Caribbean will cancel your cruise if you have any unpaid balance after your contract’s due date. That’s true even if the balance you owe is small. One unaware couple learned this costly lesson at the pier when the cruise line blocked their attempt to board Navigator of the Seas.

Not only did the stunned couple miss their much-anticipated cruise to Mexico, but Royal Caribbean kept their $842 deposit, too.

A cruise ship anchored while passengers take a shore excursion, cruise passenger excursion booking mistake

This cruise ship passenger made a big mistake booking an excursion. Can we help?

March 1, 2025September 17, 2024 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Cruise ship passengers beware: It matters how you reserve and pay for your shore excursions. A group of disgruntled cruisers recently learned this expensive lesson after making the mistake of booking an iceberg tour through a fellow passenger.

Here’s a warning about booking third-party cruise excursions and tours.

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?

May 2, 2025August 31, 2024 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Many cruise ship passengers aren’t even aware that getting banned forever from their favorite line is possible. I’m here to tell you that cruise lines are more willing than ever to blacklist troublesome customers — permanently.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines' (RCCL) Freedom of the Seas

This cruise ship passenger says he was scammed out of $9,897 in the Bahamas

January 29, 2025August 26, 2024 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

A Florida couple came home from their last Royal Caribbean cruise with thousands of dollars in unplanned purchases. They say a dangerous scam is operating out of a beauty shop in Nassau, the Bahamas. The couple is hoping that by telling their story, they can prevent other cruise ship passengers from falling prey.

But is this just an extreme case of buyer’s remorse?

Princess Cruises pricing mistake, Sun Princess wrong pricing for cruise, Princess canceled mistake fare, Cruise lines don't honor obvious fat-finger rates, Cruise pricing errors

Princess Cruises increased the cost of my trip by $10,000. Is this legal?

August 26, 2024July 31, 2024 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Princess Cruises recently accidentally published a fare for a 21-day Mediterranean sailing that was too good to be true. Literally. The mistakenly displayed price – caused by human error – rang in at just a fraction of the cruise’s actual cost.

That fat-finger rate was only briefly available on the Princess website, but word spread quickly across the Internet. That alert caused an immediate flutter of unusually high booking activity, and the cruise line noticed. For all of the elated would-be cruise passengers who snagged this dream deal, bad news was on the horizon.

Forced travel insurance for Princess Cruise refund, Crown Princess customer problem, Vacations to Go agent forced cruise passenger to buy insurance, refund wanted

My cruise agent made me buy travel insurance I don’t need. Can you help?

October 11, 2024July 24, 2024 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Your cruise agent can’t legally require you to buy the travel insurance product he or she is selling. So why does 82-year-old Marla Caplan say that is precisely what a consultant did after booking her latest cruise?

That’s the question of the day.

Carnival Cruise Line's Legend skips Greenland, canceled Greenland port stop, Cruise line cancels Greenland

Our Carnival cruise missed Greenland. Why won’t this agent refund our excursion?

April 21, 2025July 1, 2024 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Hundreds of Carnival Cruise Line passengers were disappointed recently when their ship completely missed Greenland, the main attraction. But that disappointment turned to rage when a quasi-travel agent refused to refund their canceled shore excursions to the island.

Can she really do that?

Carnival Cruise Line, a cruise ship on the horizon

Our Carnival cruise ended with a shocking roaming charge! Can you help?

November 28, 2024June 9, 2024 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Cesar Resendiz and his wife thought a Carnival cruise would be the perfect way to celebrate their anniversary. What they didn’t think about was putting their mobile phones in airplane mode during their ten days onboard the ship. That oversight led to a shocking $2,349 roaming charge they discovered only after disembarking from Carnival’s Venezia.

Norwegian Cruise Line's Viva, NCL refund problem, get passenger's money back

Norwegian Cruise Line sent my refund to my enemy. How can I get it back?

June 18, 2024April 19, 2024 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Lynette Hampton was looking forward to a trip aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Viva with her friend Gloria. That is until the two had an irreversible falling out, which caused Hampton to cancel her part of the cruise. Things only got worse between them when NCL mistakenly sent a portion of Hampton’s refund to her newly minted enemy — and she refuses to give it back. Now what?

Carnival Cruise Line's Celebration, Carnival banned a child from taking a cruise forever, Cruise news.

What if your child was banned from taking a Carnival cruise forever?

April 30, 2025March 12, 2024 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Would Carnival Cruise Line really ban a nine-year-old child from cruising for the rest of his life? The answer for one family is “absolutely.” Does the punishment fit the crime? You decide.

Subscribe For Latest Updates

Categories

Get Free Help

Legal