A Kentucky family’s cruise vacation 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 planning to set sail for the Carnival celebration when disaster struck.
The day before her flight to Florida for the cruise, Banks received an email about canceled shore excursions.
Upon calling Carnival to investigate, she received the shocking news: her entire trip, already fully paid for, had been mysteriously cancelled.
In the email, a Carnival representative told him it had canceled his $12,000 reservation through their online system. She and her family were supposed to 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 her flight to Florida for the cruise, Banks received an email about canceled shore excursions. Calling Carnival to investigate, he received the shocking news: his entire trip, already fully paid for, had been mysteriously cancelled.
‘We have almost $15,000 invested in this vacation including excursions. “The room itself was, I think, $12,000 or $13,000, and then we have a few grand invested in tours and actually almost $2,000 for flights,” Banks said in a May 12 TikTok video.
She said she and her children were crying because she claimed she never canceled the trip and prayed it was just a system failure.
The cruise line also informed him that the Excel Presidential Suite was occupied by another customer, so the only thing they could offer him were two interior rooms (the cheapest on the ship). She denied her proposal because she felt she wouldn’t fit in with her entire family.
Carnival also refused to refund her money as their cancellation policy states that a refund will not be issued within 15 days of the cruise departure date.
In an emotional follow-up video, despite a last-ditch effort to board the ship in Miami, the family was left heartbroken to see it walk away without them.
Trapped by altered plans, they found temporary accommodation on Airbnb in Florida. While the mother documented her disappointment on TikTok, they tried to salvage the 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 give too much information; That’s who I am, naturally.’
Days after the ship left port, Carnival approached Banks and explained what happened.
Banks said the cruise line claimed it was a victim of “identity theft,” but stressed there was no data breach on its part.
She revealed that the culprit likely used the booking reference number that she unknowingly exposed when she shared a screenshot of the email countdown on Facebook weeks earlier.
The same day he posted his information, a scammer created an account with Carnival and added the reservation number to his 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 his IP address, but they were unable to identify him.
Banks revealed that the culprit likely used the booking reference number that she unknowingly exposed when she shared a screenshot of the email countdown on Facebook weeks earlier.
The same day he posted his information, a scammer created an account with Carnival and added the reservation number to his own profile. Two days before the cruise was scheduled to depart, the scammer canceled the family’s reservation.
The company offered Banks a credit toward a future cruise worth $10,404, but on the condition that she make a social media post “saying something along the lines of Carnival had resolved the issue,” but she declined.
The company offered him a credit for a future cruise worth $10,404, but with one condition. They wanted Banks to make a social media post “saying something along the lines of Carnival had resolved the issue.”
Dismayed, the mother of four rejected the offer and wondered how someone could take care of her reservation so easily if they only had her reservation information.
“We will not sail on Carnival again,” he said.
