A family’s dream vacation turned into a nightmare when their eagerly awaited cruise to Mexico was abruptly canceled due to a deceptive scam just days before departure.
Brittany Paine had planned a special Mother’s Day celebration aboard a Carnival cruise ship, having booked the voyage a full year in advance. The cruise was scheduled to set sail to Ensenada, Mexico, and in anticipation, Paine reached out a few days prior to departure to inquire about an upgrade for an even more memorable experience.
In a discussion with NBC Los Angeles, Paine shared that she was shocked when the person on the line, who she believed was a company representative, claimed there was an unpaid fee. “We noticed here that you have an outstanding balance on your upcoming cruise for $294, and you will not be able to board if that’s not taken care of,” they stated, according to Paine.
Anxious not to miss the cruise, Paine paid the alleged fee and ended the call. However, feeling uneasy about the interaction, she called Carnival directly through a different official number.
It was during this second call that she discovered the unsettling truth—the initial call had been a scam. “We wouldn’t have charged you a deck fee,” the genuine Carnival representative explained. “Go ahead and dispute that with your bank.”
Paine acted swiftly to dispute the charge and thankfully, she was reimbursed. Yet, the turmoil was far from over. Days before their planned departure, Paine received a devastating notification on her phone: “It says ‘Your cruise has been canceled.’ And my heart sank,” she recounted.
Upon contacting Carnival, Paine learned that someone had accessed her account and canceled her booking. She suspected it might have been the scammer who obtained her booking number during the initial fraudulent call regarding the cabin upgrade.
Attempts to rebook were futile as the cabin had already been resold and the ship was at capacity. Furthermore, due to Carnival’s cancellation policy, Paine lost the $900 she had paid for the cabin. “To come up with $900 for a trip for my kids, it was only feasible by making payments and taking out a loan. So it was a lot of money for me,” she expressed.
Fortunately, after her story was highlighted by NBC’s investigative team, Carnival refunded Paine’s money. In response to the incident, a Carnival spokesperson remarked, “Unfortunately scammers target travelers.”
Despite the initial setback, Paine is optimistic about planning another trip for her family later in the summer. She hopes sharing her ordeal will help protect others from similar scams.
“Nobody is safe from these scams. And they get better and better,” she warned.
Colleen McDaniel, editor-in-chief at Cruise Critic, emphasized to NBC the dangers of sharing booking information. “Do not share too much information about that booking,” she advised. “That booking number is unique to you. The second anybody has access to it, they have access to your booking.”