Family-of-six is left heartbroken after $15k cruise vacation is canceled at last minute after they made simple mistake that exposed them to online scammers
A family’s cruise vacation in Kentucky that they had planned a year in advance was canceled just 48 hours before departure after the mother became a victim of identity theft.
Tiffany Banks, along with her husband and four children, were all planning to set sail for the Carnival Celebration when disaster struck.
The day before their flight to Florida for the cruise, Banks received an email about canceled shore excursions.
When she called Carnival to investigate, she was given the shocking news: their entire trip, which was already fully paid for, had been mysteriously canceled.
In the email, a Carnival representative told her that she had canceled her $12,000 reservation through their online system. She and her family would stay in the Excel Presidential Suite, the largest room on the ship.
Tiffany Banks, along with her husband and four children, were ready to set sail for the Carnival Celebration when disaster struck.
The day before their flight to Florida for the cruise, Banks received an email about canceled shore excursions. When she called Carnival to investigate, she was told the shocking news: their entire trip, which was already fully paid for, had been mysteriously canceled.
“We’re stuck with almost $15,000 for this vacation, including excursions. The room itself cost I think $12,000 or $13,000, and then we have a couple thousand dollars in excursions, and actually almost $2,000 in flights,” Banks said in a May 12 TikTok video.
She said she and her children were in tears as she claimed she never canceled the trip, praying it was just a system error.
The cruise line also informed her that the Excel Presidential Suite had been taken by another customer, so all they could offer her were two interior rooms (the cheapest on the ship). She rejected their proposal because she felt it would not suit her entire family.
Carnival also refused to refund her money because their cancellation policy states that no refunds will be made within 15 days of the cruise departure date.
In a tearful follow-up video, despite a last-ditch effort to board the ship in Miami, the family were heartbroken to see it sail away without them.
Stuck with changed plans, they found temporary shelter at an Airbnb in Florida. As the mother documented their disappointment on TikTok, they tried to salvage their trip.
After receiving backlash from online trolls accusing her of making up the story, she responded: “I’m an open book. I talk too much. I’m giving away too much information, of course I am.’
Days after the ship left port, Carnival contacted Banks and explained what happened.
Banks said the cruise line claimed she was a victim of “identity theft” but insisted there was no data breach.
She revealed the perpetrator likely used the booking reference number she unknowingly revealed when she shared a screenshot of a countdown email on Facebook weeks earlier.
On the same day she posted her details, a scammer created an account with Carnival and added the booking number to their own profile. Two days before the cruise was scheduled to depart, the scammer canceled the family’s reservation.
Banks said Carnival told her they believed the scammer was from British Columbia based on their IP address, but they could not identify him.
Banks revealed the perpetrator likely used the booking reference number she unknowingly revealed when she shared a screenshot of a countdown email on Facebook weeks earlier.
On the same day she posted her details, a scammer created an account with Carnival and added the booking number to their own profile. Two days before the cruise was scheduled to depart, the scammer canceled the family’s reservation.
The company offered Banks a future cruise credit worth $10,404, but on the condition that she make a social media post “saying something along the lines of Carnival having resolved the problem,” but she declined.
The company offered her a future cruise credit worth $10,404, but with a condition. They wanted Banks to make a post on social media “saying something along the lines of Carnival having resolved the issue.”
Shocked, the mother of four refused their offer, wondering how someone could take over her reservation so easily when all they had were her booking details.
“We will never go sailing at Carnival again,” she said.