A Carnival cruise customer went viral after losing over $10,000 when her booking was canceled without her consent. A cruising expert says she knows exactly how it happened and warns customers to protect themselves.
In a new Tiktok, consultant, professor, and cruise lover Professor Melissa (@professormelissa) responds to the case of Tiffany Banks, a Carnival customer who found out her luxury room and excursions were all canceled mere days before her trip.
The Daily Dot previously reported on the seven-minute TikTok Banks shared recounting her experience with Carnival. In it, Banks reveals that she spent over $15,000 on her trip—“The room itself was 12,000 or 13,000, and then we got a few grand tied up into excursions, and almost 2,000 for flights,”—but when her booking was suddenly canceled, the Carnival representative she spoke with allegedly denied her request for a refund.
“If you haven’t been following the Tiffany Banks Carnival Cruise Line drama, buckle up ’cause I’m gonna fill you in,” Melissa begins in her response video.
Melissa explains that Banks, a nurse practitioner, booked the Presidential Suite on the Carnival Celebration cruise ship one year ago. “She spent over $10,000 on this cruise,” Melissa says.
She says the cruise was setting sail this week, but Banks just found out that her room was mysteriously canceled. Even worse, according to Melissa, when Banks contacted Carnival about the situation she was told her room had been sold to someone else.
She mentions that after Banks’ TikTok about the situation went viral, grossing over 750,000 views, Carnival’s brand ambassador John Heald made a “vague post” about there being “another side to the story.”
What is the Carnival Cruise glitch?
“But here, I think, is the side. This is really scary, and I love Carnival but I’m going to call you out when you need to be called out,” Melissa says.
She reveals that Banks’ husband allegedly shared a post that had the couple’s booking number on it. She also alleges that Carnival’s system has a “glitch” that allows reservations to be canceled simply by providing a last name and its corresponding booking number.
“No, Carnival doesn’t call to confirm, nothing like that. It’s just canceled,” Melissa says.
“Actors, if they have your last name and booking number, could easily go in and cancel a cruise and you’re out the money. No refunds,” she continues.
Melissa wants to leave viewers with one important message: Never share your Carnival cruise booking number.
“I know you get excited about a cruise, you take a screenshot, you post it on social media. If someone is a crazy bad person, they look up your information and they can cancel your cruise,” she warns.
She also notes that this glitch seems to only be possible when customers self-book, not when they use a travel agent.
She ends the video by directly addressing Carnival.
“Fix this glitch,” she says. “You know about it, you’ve known about it, please make it right for Tiffany and fix it.”
@professormelissa I have strong thoughts on this, but does Carnival bear responsibility here to make this right? #Cruise #cruiseship #cruisetok #cruiselife #cruiser #travel #traveltiktok #cruisewithme #cruisetips #cruisetipsandtricks #cruisehacks #vacation #cruiseships #cruisecontent #cruisingcontent #cruisevacation #cruiselover #cruiseblogger #firsttimecruiser #cruisequestions #cruisefacts #goingonacruise #crusingtok #cruiseessentials #traveler #royalcaribbean #carnivalcruiseline #choosefun #virginvoyages #norwegiancruise #hollandcruise #hollandamericaline #disneycruiseline #msccruise #princesscruises #carnivalcruise
♬ original sound – Professor Melissa
Carnival Cruise customers weigh in
In the comments section, users shared grievances about their experiences with Carnival and also emphasized customers’ responsibility to protect their private information.
“Carnival should have some sort of authentication verification to cancel, but come on…don’t post confirmation/booking numbers,” one viewer wrote.
“The Walmart of cruising. This is why my family is only sailing RCL and NCL. The other side is Carnival could have fixed this and avoided the bad PR,” another commenter shared.
“It’s ridiculous Carnival’s online system is not more secure,” came a third comment.
This isn’t the first time Melissa has shared her opinion on Carnival’s business practices.
In a move to repair its image as a lower quality cruise line, Melissa revealed that the cruise line has allegedly been cracking down on twerking and fighting on its ships by charging fighters a $500 fine and cruise directors stopping dancing customers whenever they began twerking.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Professor Melissa and Carnival via email for more information.
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
