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!

what does a cruise line owe passengers for itinerary changes, canceled ports of call, compensation for cruise itinerary change, NCL Baltic Sea cruise problems.

These cruise itinerary changes ruined my trip! Shouldn’t I get a refund?

February 21, 2025October 1, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

The cruise itinerary changes on Iris Fennel’s recent Baltic Sea journey completely ruined her trip. She says Norwegian’s Breakaway sailed right past three out of five of its scheduled ports of call. Based on that ratio, Iris has calculated the cruise line should give her a 60 percent cash refund.

But does the cruise line owe Iris anything for these changes to the itinerary?

This tale is a harsh reminder of the reality of cruise schedules. These itineraries can be as fluid as the seas the cruise ships sail upon. In fact, the captain can change course for a plethora of reasons with little to no notice to the passengers. And if you’re curious as to what the company owes you if your cruise makes a giant deviation, read your contract. The surprising truth is there.

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

August 15, 2025September 22, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

What if you don’t want to tip on your cruise? Or maybe you’re not against cruise gratuities but prefer to give on a person-by-person basis. Can the cruise line force you to pay a set amount for the crew’s bonus?

That’s the question Laurie May wants to be answered. She says Oceania recently blindsided her by adding $320 to the cost of her 10-day European cruise. The reason? Automatically added gratuities.

Now she wants our advocacy team to retrieve the crew bonus and put it back in her wallet. But is that something we can do?

This family got left at the pier. Is the cruise line responsible?

This family got left on the dock! Is the cruise line responsible?

September 7, 2025September 18, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

If you show up with the wrong ID to board a cruise, you’ll get left behind on the dock as the ship sails away without you.

Unfortunately, Charishma Motwani and her family experienced this awful scenario firsthand. As a result of documentation confusion, they missed their much-anticipated Alaskan cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Bliss.

Charishma says Norwegian Cruise Line is responsible for the mistake that caused her family to miss their voyage. She believes the cruise line owes her a do-over or a refund for their lost vacation.

And once you hear the facts of her tale, you just might agree.

These NCL passengers pushed their luck when they decided to fly to Alaska on the same day as their cruise began.

Here’s why you should never fly on the same day as your cruise

September 7, 2025September 15, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Maybe you’ve chosen to fly on the same day as your cruise, and things went off without a hitch. But for Marcelino and Julieta Bautista, that’s a gamble they lost.

They redeemed a free Norwegian Cruise Lines “Casinos at Sea” cruise through the Alaskan glaciers. But they pressed their bets too far when they flew into Anchorage on the same day as embarkation. Although their flight arrived as scheduled, something went terribly wrong and the ship left without them.

As a result, that freebie cruise turned out to be no bargain at all. The couple was forced to pay thousands of dollars to catch up with NCL’s Jewel. Bautista says that the cruise line made the mistake that caused the ship to leave without them. He wants reimbursement for all their extra expenses, and he wants our team to help get it.

The second place winner of NCL's Giving Joy contest died suddenly before he and his family could take the cruise he won.

Norwegian Cruise Line has a heart. Here’s how I know (update)

September 20, 2022September 14, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

In May 2021, even as the cruise industry remained paused, Norwegian Cruise line began its NCL Giving Joy contest. The competition, launched to coincide with Teacher Appreciation Week, would honor 100 of the top educators in the United States. The nominees would vie for giant cash prizes for their schools. The cruise line would also award 100 dream cruises to the winners.

In August, after months of voting, Norwegian Cruise Line announced those winners in a joyful Facebook live stream event.

David Sowerby, an orchestra teacher from Caledonia, Mich, was shocked to discover he had won second place in the contest. His win meant that NCL would donate $15,000 to the middle school where he’d taught for the past 17 years. Not only that, but David and his wife, Rebecca, were awarded a dream cruise to Alaska.

In his thank-you speech, David explained that the money would buy new instruments for his school’s orchestra. He felt on top of the world.

But things took a sad and unexpected turn soon after NCL’s festive award ceremony.

You can cruise without a passport, but you shouldn't. This is what can happen if you miss your cruise and don't have a passport with you.

This is what happens when you miss your cruise without a passport

July 4, 2025September 13, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Maybe you’ve taken an international cruise without a passport and it was smooth sailing all the way. But you might want to consider Earl Wentzel’s troubling tale before booking your next maritime adventure.

Earl’s case should serve as an eye-opener to anyone considering taking a cruise without a passport. When you cruise with no passport, you’re putting yourself in a precarious position that could cause you to miss your vacation completely — no refund included. Or worse. You could even find yourself stranded in a foreign country.

This cruise ship passenger says he was forced to buy jewelry during his cruise. Here's a warning for consumers.

You should not buy jewelry during your cruise! This is why

March 26, 2025September 10, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Should you ever buy jewelry on a cruise? Well, if you’re Charles Onufer, the answer is no. But he came home from his last Regent cruise with over $9,500 of unwanted gems from Diamonds International. He says that during a port stop in Mexico, salespeople intimidated him into buying all of that unwanted jewelry. The jeweler says no such hard sell occurred and that this is a simple case of buyer’s remorse.

Norwegian Cruise Line denied boarding to this child. Mom says it was the cruise line's mistake. Can we find out what went wrong?

My child was denied boarding our cruise! Can NCL refuse my refund request?

July 9, 2023September 6, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Anakarina Alvarez has a highly unusual story to tell — one that includes lots of confusing twists and turns. She says her family had been eagerly looking forward to a tropical vacation aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines’ Gem. Unfortunately, those plans ended abruptly at embarkation when the cruise line denied boarding to her 11-year-old child. To add insult to injury, NCL refused the family’s $4,000 refund request, too.

Azamara made a pricing mistake with this traveler's cruise-- a big one. Does it have to honor it? This passenger thinks so.

If a cruise line makes a big pricing mistake, should you book it?

July 28, 2025September 4, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

If a cruise line makes a huge pricing mistake, is it required to honor it?

Patrick Gendron thinks so. He recently found an incredible deal for a suite on a 10-night cruise through the Mediterranean on Azamara’s Pursuit. So he quickly booked and paid for not one, but two suites. But the cruise line soon slammed him back into reality — the deal was a $30,000 pricing mistake. And the erroneous rate would not be honored for this cruise.

Now Patrick wants to know if we can force Azamara to give him the two suites for what he paid. But is his request reasonable?

This case brings up the controversial topic of “fat-finger fares” or “gotcha rates.” Those are too-good-to-be-true offers erroneously displayed on companies’ websites. Some consumers believe they should be entitled to these bargains regardless of the value of the pricing mistake.

But no matter which side of this debate you support, you’ll likely have an opinion about Patrick’s experience.