"Non-refundable"... US Family Flaunted on SNS Faces Cancellation of Luxury Cruise Trip

Paid about 20 million KRW for travel but canceled
"I will never sail with this company again"

A family in the United States had their luxury cruise trip canceled after exposing their cruise reservation number on social media. On the 3rd (local time), foreign media including the NZ Herald reported on Tiffany Banks from Kentucky, USA, whose luxury cruise trip planned over the past year was suddenly canceled two days ago.

The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Pixabay]

The Banks family booked the largest room, the "Excel Presidential Suite," on the "Carnival Cruise Line" to accommodate the couple and their four children. She paid a total of about $15,000 (approximately 20.5 million KRW) for the trip, including about $13,000 (approximately 17.8 million KRW) for the room and about $2,000 (approximately 2.7 million KRW) for flights.

However, a cruise staff member emailed Banks saying, "The reservation was canceled through the online system." Thinking it was a mistake by the cruise company, Banks called to complain, but the cruise company said the room the Banks family had booked was already reserved by someone else and was no longer available. Moreover, citing the "no refund 15 days before departure" policy, the cruise company refused to refund the room cost.

Later, Banks learned the reason for the trip cancellation from the cruise company. The cause was a post on Facebook by Banks' husband, Carnival. A few weeks before the vacation, Carnival posted a photo of an email containing the cruise reservation number on Facebook. Someone who saw this used the reservation number and name to cancel the room reservation two days before the trip. The cruise company stated, "The IP address of the person who canceled the reservation was identified as British Columbia, Canada, but their identity is unknown."

Banks posted the story on TikTok, criticizing the company. As the controversy grew, the company offered a $10,400 (approximately 14.3 million KRW) cruise package on the condition that Banks post a message saying "the issue has been resolved." However, Banks said, "I am not interested," and added, "I will never sail with this company again."