Here’s an $11,504 travel insurance mistake you won’t want to make
Travelers beware: Sometimes a travel insurance mistake isn’t fixable – no matter how much money is at stake. But what about this one?
Consumer Rescue’s tagline is Fiascos and Fixes, and that’s because we receive tons of requests for help solving mishaps that travelers have encountered during a vacation. These tales are the most dramatic of the bunch and contain tips and guidance so that you can avoid a similar vacation fiasco.
Travelers beware: Sometimes a travel insurance mistake isn’t fixable – no matter how much money is at stake. But what about this one?
You’ve likely seen the video of the Carnival passengers brawling in the Galveston, Texas, cruise port this week. Sadly, that footage, which shows a large group of cruisers assaulting each other as they disembarked from Jubilee, is not particularly shocking in 2025. Unfortunately, egregiously bad behavior among cruise ship passengers is becoming more commonplace. Should you be worried that the bad behavior of fellow passengers will ruin your next cruise?
Several weeks before her family’s American Airlines flight to Portugal, Ashley Macus learned there had been an aircraft change. That switch left the family of six without the assigned seats together Macus had confirmed months earlier. Most disturbingly, her two little boys, ages 7 and 8, no longer had any seats at all.
As Sherry Warren and her husband prepared for their upcoming Celebrity cruise, she bought a colorful passport case. The little wallet was stylish and protective, with Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) blocking features. It would be the perfect way to carry their passports, Warren thought.
And it surely would have – had she not forgotten the wallet with their passports inside when they left for the cruise.
UTOvacation sold Shih (Richard) Liu and his wife a once-in-a-lifetime trip to China and Japan. But Liu, like many other customers of this particular tour operator, now says he’s the victim of a scam. Nearly a year after collecting full payment from the Lius, the company changed the contract and added new fees.
The couple maintains that the tour operator pulled this bait and switch without any notification or follow-up. But worse than that deception was what UTOvacation did next – also without informing the couple.
Cruise ship passengers beware: Never use Zelle to pay for a cruise, excursion or any other part of your vacation. If you do, you could end up like L. Williams, a former Carnival Cruise Line customer.
A scammer pretending to be a cruise consultant tricked Williams into paying for her last cruise with Zelle. That set off a chain reaction that left her $3,556 in debt – and banned indefinitely from the cruise line.
The recent LA wildfires temporarily displaced Rahul Kapur’s family and pets from their home. The Kapurs temporarily relocated to an Airbnb rental in nearby Marina Del Rey. They reserved the unit for two weeks and hoped to return home after their stay. But as the fires continued to burn, it became clear that wouldn’t be possible.
They were displaced again when that apartment wasn’t available beyond the original contract. However, the good news came when an Airbnb rental in the same condominium became available. The family migrated to the new unit and settled in.
Kapur and his family are still reeling from what happened next.
Since January 8, 2025, United States citizens need an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) to visit Great Britain. The ETA costs about $13, and the online application process is fairly simple. But like lightning, scammers have hit the internet, with official-looking websites aimed at victimizing unaware ETA-seekers.
After United Airlines canceled Tamra McIntyre’s flight home from Iceland, she requested EU 261 compensation – around $622. In response, the airline “awarded” her just 8,000 United Airlines Mileage Plus points, the equivalent of about $108.
Final answer, says United Airlines.
McIntyre, unwilling to accept that answer asked the Consumer Rescue advocacy team to investigate. United Airlines says her flight cancellation doesn’t qualify for EU 261 compensation. She says it does.
Who’s right? You’re about to find out.
If you hate your next shore excursion and the cruise line refuses your refund request, don’t expect a credit card dispute to save the day. It won’t. Joseph Campo can tell you.
After a salmon-fishing excursion in Alaska went all wrong, Campo asked Princess Cruises for his money back. When that didn’t happen, he filed a chargeback with his credit card company — and won. So he assumed that settled the matter.
It didn’t. Not even close.