Imagine looking forward to a perfect holiday, only for it to unravel before your eyes due to a small mistake. That’s precisely what happened to a family from Kentucky, leading to what they described as their worst vacation experience ever.
Meet Tiffany Banks, a mother who was eagerly anticipating a delightful Carnival Cruise vacation with her husband and four wonderful children. All the excitement, unfortunately, turned into despair just two days before their scheduled departure.
In a series of TikTok videos, Tiffany shared the incredible shock she experienced. Her anticipation for a relaxing break on the waves met an unexpected jolt when she found out their cruise booking was abruptly terminated without her knowledge, even though the vacation was fully paid.
It all began when Tiffany received an email notification about the cancellation of their off-ship excursions. This perplexing message prompted her to reach out to the cruise line’s customer service to make sense of it all. Imagine her dismay when she was told that her $12,000 reservation for the extraordinary Excel Presidential Suite had been canceled via their online system.
Overcome with a mix of panic and disbelief, Tiffany went online to share her ordeal on her TikTok, under the account name @thathippiedoc. Heartbreakingly, she revealed that both she and her children were left in tears.
“We have nearly $15,000 tied up in this vacation, including excursions,” she explained. “The room itself was I think $12,000 or $13,000, then we’ve got a few grand invested in excursions, and almost $2,000 for flights. It’s just devastating.”
Despite her firm belief that she hadn’t canceled anything, Tiffany hoped it was merely a technical glitch. Alas, Carnival communicated that the room was now booked by someone else, offering her family one of the cheapest rooms on board instead – hardly a satisfactory swap given their investment.
The disappointment deepened as the company adhered strictly to their policy, refusing to issue a refund as the cancelation happened within 15 days of the cruise. Desperate to salvage their holiday, the family decided to proceed to Miami, only to see the cruise depart without them on board.
Eventually, Tiffany uncovered that this nightmare was rooted in identity theft. Earlier, she and her husband had accidentally exposed their cruise booking reference number on Facebook by posting a screenshot of a confirmation email. The very same day, a nefarious individual seized the opportunity, established a Carnival account, utilized their booking number, and canceled their reservation just two days before the cruise embarkation.
To date, the culprit remains unidentified. Despite Carnival’s offer for a future cruise, the Banks family, feeling deeply wronged, have made it clear they won’t sail with the cruise line again.
A representative from Carnival Cruise conveyed, “While we don’t comment on specific guest issues, we remind our patrons to avoid posting personal travel plan details online, including reservation numbers, to safeguard against bad actors and potential identity theft.”
