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Fiascos and Fixes
Distraught cruise ship passengers often contact Consumer Rescue and ask our team to mediate their complaints directly with the cruise lines. These news reports cover passenger issues from all of the major and minor cruise lines, including Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), Royal Caribbean (RCCL), Carnival, and Princess, among others.
Today Aurora Expeditions’ Vantage Explorations turns one year old. In honor of this milestone, the cruise line is announcing new routes, a new ship, and a $3,000 booking bonus.
Here’s what’s next for Vantage Explorations and Aurora Expeditions.
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?
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.
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.
Over the years, I’ve mediated hundreds of requests for help from distressed cruise line passengers. Many of these cruise fiascos were the result of passenger mistakes and could have been avoided by following some simple guidelines. With wave season just beginning, now is the perfect time to review Consumer Rescue’s ultimate guide to planning a cruise.
Here’s all the information you need to know about planning and taking a cruise.
Consumer Rescue had a bonanza of wins for Vantage Travel customers as we sprinted to this year’s finish line. Since early November, our advocacy team has retrieved nearly $100,000 for victims of the Vantage Travel bankruptcy.
Here’s some good consumer news to end 2023.
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© 2025 Consumer Rescue / Michelle Couch-Friedman
