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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!
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.
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 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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
While jewelry shopping aboard Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, cruise passenger Robin White purchased a beautiful pair of earrings. The gems were to be shipped directly to her home in time for her wedding day, which was just weeks away.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and White walked down the aisle in an alternative pair of earrings. So what happened to the $1,600 baubles that she bought?
Gabriele Fehr and her husband planned to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary in the Caribbean aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Spirit. But in the end, they missed that special Carnival cruise and only their luggage took the $2,402 voyage.
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© 2025 Consumer Rescue / Michelle Couch-Friedman
