CRUISE NEWS - Page 6 of 7 - Consumer Rescue

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

June 23, 2024September 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

February 6, 2023September 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.

Is there a way to fix this cruise fiasco?

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?

January 6, 2024September 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.

This is everything you need to know about getting a refund from a bankrupt cruise line.

How to get a refund from a bankrupt cruise line

March 22, 2024September 2, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

If a cruise line goes bankrupt while holding a customer’s cash, does the money just go down with the ship?

Why did Norwegian Cruise Line force this couple to stay in their cabin for the entire cruise?

Norwegian Cruise Line made us stay inside our cabin for four days! Is this legal?

February 4, 2024August 30, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Norwegian Cruise Line forced a triple-vaccinated husband and wife to stay inside their cabin without reprieve for four days. And when the ship finally returned to New York, two burly NCL crew members inexplicably continued to prevent the couple’s escape. How is this possible? That’s what the bewildered COVID-negative duo wants to know.

Kelly Cotto and her husband had never taken a cruise before their bizarre experience. But after what they endured aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Gem, they likely never will again.

This Royal Caribbean passenger bid on an upgrade so how did he end up with a $4,200 downgrade?

Royal Caribbean accepted my $4,200 upgrade bid for a downgraded cabin

May 31, 2023August 29, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Royal Caribbean offered Stan Fernald and his wife the opportunity to bid on an upgraded cabin for their upcoming cruise. So they did. Then just days before the Liberty of the Seas set sail, the cruise line accepted their $4,200 RoyalUp bid. But this wasn’t welcome news for the couple. Not at all. By that time, they had paid Royal Caribbean thousands of dollars to switch to one of the largest suites onboard the ship.

The cabin Royal Caribbean awarded the couple through RoyalUp was actually a RoyalDown.

These friends took a cruise without their luggage. How did this happen?

My luggage went missing on the way to the cruise. I want a full refund!

September 12, 2023August 28, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

If your luggage goes missing on the way to your cruise, should you get a full refund? Pamela Shane thinks so. She says her pre-cruise hotel failed to deliver her suitcase to the dock in time for the ship’s departure. Now she wants $7,000 in compensation for the mistake that left her without her own clothes for the entire cruise.

But wait! There’s a plot twist here. The hotel says it doesn’t even offer such a luggage delivery service.

Carnival denied boarding of the Mardi Gras cruise ship to this passenger by mistake.

My Carnival cruise ended at the pier! Why was I denied boarding?

February 17, 2024August 28, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Stephen Delisle is a seasoned traveler with a proven track record of successfully navigating the globe – even during the pandemic. But Carnival Cruise Line put an end to that success streak. His family planned to celebrate Thanksgiving aboard Carnival’s newest ship, the Mardi Gras. Unfortunately, they never made it past the pier on the day of embarkation. That’s where Delisle was summarily denied boarding the cruise by the boat’s medical personnel.

Delisle says the crew members made an awful mistake when they refused to let him board the Mardi Gras. That error caused his family to miss their much-anticipated Carnival cruise.

To add insult to injury, Carnival firmly rejected Delisle’s refund request for the missed cruise. Now he’s asking us for help. He wants our advocacy team to properly investigate and prove this was the cruise line’s mistake, not his.

Can we do it?

MSC Divina left several passengers behind in Cozumel. Can they get a refund?

My MSC cruise ship left me behind in Mexico! Will I get a refund?

December 31, 2023July 6, 2022 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

During her recent cruise, Natalie Durflinger got a terrible shock when the ship left her behind in Mexico. She says the MSC Divina weighed anchor nearly 5 hours ahead of schedule, stranding her in only a bathing suit and flip-flops. Now she’s asking the cruise line to explain how this happened and to refund the vacation she missed when the ship sailed away without her.

But did MSC allow its cruise ship to sail away without warning leaving its passengers abandoned in a foreign country? That’s the question of the day.