04 June 2024 , 07:33
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A family looking forward to a luxury cruise for more than a year have been left ‘blindsided’ after their booking was cancelled two days before departure, leaving them ‘devastated’.
The mother, based in Kentucky, USA, told how her husband and four children had been planning their vacation for the last year, booking the Excel Presidential Suite – the largest and most luxurious room available – on the Carnival Celebration ship.
And after accidentally sharing their booking reference number on a holiday countdown on Facebook, a case of identity theft left the family ‘distraught’ when it was revealed their booking had been cancelled two days before setting sail, without their knowledge.
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The family were victims of online identity fraud (@thathippiedoc/Tiktok)
It was cancelled after they unwittingly shared the cruise booking reference number online (@thathippiedoc/Tiktok)Taking to TikTok to share her traumatic travel tale in a series of posts, Tiffany Banks, known as @thathippiedoc on the video-sharing platform, said she had no idea their vacation, already paid in full, was no longer valid until she got an email about off-ship excursion cancellations and called to investigate.
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A Carnival customer service representative told her she had cancelled her £12k ($15k) reservation through the online system, with her room now reserved by another customer. The company offered her two interior rooms instead (the smallest on the boat) with no offer of a refund, as its cancellation policy states that: ‘No money will be returned within 15 days of the cruise date’.
With the furious family flying to Miami, USA, in the hope of boarding the ship anyway, they were left devastated once more when it sadly set sail without them. However, a few days later, she told how the company had called her with an explanation, saying she had been a “victim of a form of identity theft” after she had unwittingly shared the family’s cruise booking reference number on Facebook. The same day someone created an online Carnival account and added the number to their profile, cancelling the family’s entire cabin booking.
The company confirmed that while they were unable to identify the fraudster, there was no security breach on their part, offering her a cruise credit for £8,000 ($10,404) if she took to TikTok to say the company had 'resolved the issue'. In a subsequent and tearful TikTok video, she said: “My husband and kids have never seen me break down like this. I’m not ok, I have worked so hard and I just needed a vacation that was not stressful.”
Viewers offered their support, with one saying: “@RoyalCaribbean here’s your chance! Get this woman a stress-free vacay on your ship!” Another said: "Hire an attorney!" while one said: “Carnival has a security issue. They should make this right.”