An American family’s US$15,000 ($24,230) cruise holiday was mysteriously cancelled two days before departure after falling victim to identity theft, but people are divided over whether they deserved it. 

Tiffany Banks, of Kentucky, posted a TikTok video claiming her family’s Carnival Cruise holiday was cancelled two days before departure, and saying she would never sail with the company again. 

Banks, her husband and children had already paid US$15,000 for the trip, which included the ship’s largest room, Excel Presidential Suite and various excursions. 

In a series of videos, Banks said the plan, which they had anticipated for a year, was to fly to Florida and then sail from Miami. However, a day before the flight, she received an email confirming two cruise excursions had been cancelled. 

Certain it was a mistake, Banks called the cruise line, but they explained the excursions were cancelled because the room had been cancelled. 

On May 12, Banks shared a video documenting what had happened: “I have to laugh, or I’m just going to sit down and cry and just absolutely lose my mind.” 

During the call, Banks said an employee explained the booking had been cancelled by someone who logged into the account and the suite had already been rebooked by another passenger. 

Banks revealed the room was about US$12,000-$13,000, flights were almost US$2000, and excursions cost “a few grand”, and she had a “full-blown panic”. 

Because the cruise line does not offer refunds within 15 days of departure, the company instead offered them two interior rooms. Banks rejected the solution, arguing the rooms were far lower quality than the suite they had paid for. 

Determined to try to save the holiday, the family still flew to Miami, but were unable to get on to the ship and the suite. Instead, they rented an Airbnb in Miami. 

On May 13, Banks shared another video to address comments and accusations that she wasn’t sharing the entire story, and claimed she was “an open book”. 

In yet another video, things became more clear as Banks said an investigation by Carnival found she had been a victim “of a form of identity theft”. 

Before the trip, Banks and her husband had shared a “cruise countdown” sent to them by Carnival on Facebook. Banks later claimed the emails encouraged people to share the countdown on social media. 

However, instead of sharing via the “share countdown” button, it appeared they shared a screenshot of the countdown that included the booking reference details. 

According to Carnival, the same day the couple shared the Facebook post, a fake Carnival account was created with their booking number attached to the profile using an IP address in British Columbia, Canada. The fake account then deleted the cabin booking just 48 hours before the ship’s departure. 

Carnival offered US$10,400 in cruise credit if Banks said the issue had been resolved positively on social media, the Independent reported. 

“They apologised and then spit in my face with another bogus offer …” Banks said of the offer, adding that she wanted an apology and admission there were security issues. 

“@carnival you owe me a public apology, and my money!” she wrote. 

Carnival Cruises declined to comment on the specific incident, but said guests should not share booking information online. 

“While we are not going to comment on any specific guest complaint or incident, it is never a good idea to post personal information about your travel plans, including a confirmation number for a booking, which could allow a bad actor or identify thief to use that information in inappropriate or even illegal ways,” they wrote in a statement to media outlet Daily Express US. 

In the comments section of Banks’ videos, people were divided over who was at fault; Banks for sharing her trip details publicly, or Carnival for not having a more secure account system. 

Some commented it was common sense to never share any booking details or references on social media. 

“Sharing your social security number doesn’t give permission for thieves to use either, but whose job is it to keep it private?” one person wrote. 

“I am surprised they are refunded anything. I would think anyone would be smart enough to not post the booking number,” another argued. 

Others criticised Carnival and claimed accounts should have more security, especially when thousands of dollars are on the line. 

“It should not be easier to cancel travel worth thousands of dollars than it is to cancel Netflix,” one person joked in the comments. 

“it should not be so easy to cancel a trip with one click. Hell I have to go through 3 screens to empty my Amazon cart,” another wrote. 

One person who claimed to have taken 25 cruises with Carnival agreed the security system needed updating. 

“I agree that Carnival needs to change their online system so that it requires more than the name and confirmation number to cancel/edit online,” they wrote. 

The Herald has reached out to Carnival Cruises directly for comment.