Scammers are targeting cruise-goers, stealing money and canceling trips

Brittany Paine’s Mother’s Day weekend cruise with her kids sank after falling for a scam. 

“I was in tears. I said, ‘Please, this is Mother’s Day weekend with my kids,’” she said.

Paine booked a Carnival cruise to Ensenada, Mexico, one year ago. A few days before the trip, she called Carnival about a cabin upgrade. That’s when a representative told her about 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,’” Paine said they told her.

Paine paid the $294 “deck fee,” as it was described, and hung up. But, suspicious, she called Carnival right back, this time using a different phone number. And she got a different story.

“She said, ‘No, ma’am, that was a scam. We wouldn’t have charged you a deck fee. Go ahead, and dispute that with your bank,’” she said.

It turns out that that first number Paine called wasn’t really Carnival. She disputed the charge with her bank, and it refunded the money. She thought it was all behind her, but she was wrong. 

“I get an email alert that pops up on my phone. It says ‘ Your cruise has been canceled.’ And my heart sank,” she said.

Paine said she called Carnival and learned that someone had logged into her account and canceled her cruise. She had no idea how it happened – maybe it was the scammer. Maybe that's because she had shared her booking number with them in that initial phone call.

But it didn’t matter. Carnival had already rebooked Paine’s cabin, and the ship was full, so Paine’s family was out. She was also out the $900 cost of the cabin, per Carnival’s late cancelation policy. 

“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 said.

The I-Team reached out to Carnival, and it refunded Paine’s $900.

It didn’t answer our questions about what happened; instead, it said in a statement: “Unfortunately scammers target travelers.” 

Colleen McDaniel is editor-in-chief of the website Cruise Critic. 

“Any time there’s an opportunity to try and separate people from their money, scammers are going to step in,” she said.

Paine said she didn’t post any details about her trip on social media, but McDaniel said that’s where many travelers get in trouble. 

“Somebody who has booked a cruise might say, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so excited. I booked a cruise for my family for June,’ and then they name the ship,” she said.

McDaniel said it sets the stage for scammers to dupe you out of money or pranksters to ruin your vacation. 

It recently happened to one woman, who shared her story on Facebook. She posted about her upcoming cruise, and she inadvertently included her booking number. Days later, she said someone else had canceled her cruise. 

“So there are clearly people like me, who didn’t know about this crazy booking number,” she said.

McDaniel said scammers can do almost anything with your booking number.

“Do not share too much information about that booking. That booking number is unique to you. The second anybody has access to it, they have access to your booking,” she said.

And if a cruise line calls or emails you for payment, call them back using the phone number on their website, to make sure everything is legitimate. 

As for Paine, she hopes to sail with her kids later this summer, and that her story will protect others. 

“Nobody is safe from these scams. And they get better and better,” she said.