Posted on 05/31/2024 9:37:10 AM PDT by Red Badger
A Kentucky family’s $15,000 Carnival Cruise vacation they had been planning for a year was canceled just two days before the ship was set to sail after they accidentally shared their booking number online in a case of identity theft.
Tiffany Banks was devastated to learn that her trip aboard the Carnival Celebration ship with her husband and their four kids was canceled without her knowledge the day before the family was going to fly to Florida to leave on the boat.
Banks said in a series of TikTok videos that she had no idea their vacation, for which they had already paid in full, was trashed until she got an email about off-ship excursion cancellations and called to investigate.
A Carnival customer service representative told her that she had canceled her $12,000 reservation for the ship’s largest room — the Excel Presidential Suite — through the online system.
The mom and nurse practitioner said she went into “a full-blown panic” and she and her four kids were all in tears.
“We have nearly $15,000 tied up in for this vacation including excursions. The room itself was I think $12,000 or $13,000, and then we’ve got a few grand tied up in excursions, and actually with almost $2,000 for flights,” she said in a May 12 TikTok video.
Banks said she never canceled the trip and wondered if it was a system glitch.
Carnival said the room they had booked was now reserved by another customer and offered the family two interior rooms — the cheapest on the ship — instead, but the mom did not feel it was an adequate replacement.
Carnival also refused to offer a full refund as its cancellation policy states that no money will be returned within 15 days of the cruise date.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Never had fb account......Instagram either for that matter and yet my life goes on just fine.
Much like covid shots, I know what social media was intended for but somewhere along the line it morphed into something a bit too dangerous to suit me.
I never implied or "thought" any such thing, but thanks so much for the presumptuous lesson. It absolutely could be the case. Duh.
First of all, stop using FaceButt and secondly, the cruise line needs to make this whole.
15K is a great sum of money for a vacation.
A Carnival customer service representative told her that she had canceled her $12,000 reservation for the ship’s largest room — the Excel Presidential Suite — through the online system.
Something is wrong right there. Cruise lines usually disable the ability to cancel a cruise on line weeks out from the sailing date and you need to call them if you choose to cancel
The company offered her future cruise credit for $10,404 contingent on the mom posting on social media “something to the effect of Carnival has now resolved the issue.”
But Banks said she wasn’t interested and questioned the ease with which someone was able to take over her booking with no verification process.
So tell me. When is the best time to shop for bargains on cruise ships? I would think it’s 2-3 weeks before departure as unsold cabins need passengers. That’s what I get out of this post as this woman saw the slim pickens available the day before.
Cruises are the playgrounds of serial killers.
It looks like some criminal cancelled it simply for the sick pleasure of doing so.
Never divulge personal data. You would think that everyone would know this by now.
Social media stupidity. why don't they sue Mark Zuckerbucks?
“inferred” or “implied”? Crap, which is it? I’m gonna a visit from that pedantic “Regards” guy now.
“”DON’T USE FACEBOOK””
Agreed - but be ready to be called an “old fossil.” Hey - I earned that title and wear it proudly.....
There are some here who will tell you that FR is SOCIAL MEDIA and I dispute that. Do we see people posting such nonsense on FR - vacation plans with details????
I never put that sort of information out in the public for just this kind of reason. At the same time, I would never book a cruise on Carnival, either.
Been an old fossil for many years now. :-)
“Why should Carnival get paid twice for the same cabin? “
Why one should read the article ...
We had a balcony cabin on our first and only cruise a year ago. Half of the view was ruined by an enormous LIFEBOAT outside our room. If you sat on the chairs on the balcony, pretty much all you saw was the lifeboat. If you stood up, you could see the sea and land by looking over that lifeboat.
That really hacked me off. One deck up and you wouldn’t have seen it. It was a Royal Caribbean cruise on their Ovation of the Seas ship. Ugh.
“Think about it....What makes you think the “prankster” isn’t the same person that ended up booking it?.....it’s possible”
If you read the article you would know that wasn’t the case.
Only if you want an inside cabin in the worst possible location. The good cabins are gone as much as six months out.
“First of all, stop using FaceButt and secondly, the cruise line needs to make this whole.”
Third, read the article.
A lot of variables really.
Some people use a travel agency that can negotiate on your behalf.
I know people that keep a bag packed and try to do what you said, but not 2-3 weeks prior, more like 2-3 days prior. Idea being the cruise line would rather have a cabin booked for some profit rather than empty all together....that can entail being flexible on trip itinerary as well.
We live in Florida so it’s possible to do that because several ports are within driving distance.
We liked the Caribbean so we avoided hurricane season.....our rule of thumb is no cruise later than June.....preferably April or May. Those months are considered peak but it’s better than experiencing rough weather.
Best cabin we ever had was arranged by a travel agency provided by my employer free of charge. The travel agent booked the cruise but didn’t reserve a cabin as he was angling for an upgrade.....a week before the cruise he called and sure enough we were upgraded to a balcony suite complete with king bed, jet tub, a sitting area large enough for a couch and chair and a wet bar. The balcony was large enough to accommodate two full size lounge chairs ....that was without a doubt the best cabin we ever had. 😏
Don’t use FB at all.
So she had to be bragging up her trip and now she’s paid.
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