Here to help
Elliott Advocacy often mediates cases that involve cruises. These are the dramatic tales of the consumers who contact us about their cruise fiascos and our attempts to resolve those problems.
A boatload of disgruntled cruise passengers has contacted the Elliott Advocacy team during the pandemic. Their question? How to get a refund instead of a voucher after a cruise line canceled their vacation — more than once.
Unfortunately, the answer to that question is not what most want to hear. Read more “Why you’ll get a voucher instead of a refund for your canceled cruise”
The beautiful earrings that Robin White bought onboard her Caribbean cruise last year are missing. She’s been trying to find the lost gems for nearly a year, but the coronavirus pandemic has thwarted her efforts. Now Starboard Cruise Services claims a third party delivered the jewelry to her home last March.
So shouldn’t the company be able to provide proof of delivery of the $1,600 earrings?
White thinks so, and she wants the Elliott Advocacy team to get that proof, the earrings or her money back.
Can we do it? (Surprise update) Read more “What happened to the earrings I bought on my cruise last year?!”
With the coronavirus keeping the cruise industry in a state of suspended animation, now is the perfect time to review our ultimate guide to a successful voyage.
The Elliott Advocacy team handles hundreds of requests for help from distressed cruise line passengers each year. Many of these cruise fiascos could have been avoided by following some simple guidelines. Here’s all the information you need to know about cruising before you embark on your next (or first) maritime adventure. Read more “This is everything you need to know about taking a cruise”
The coronavirus pandemic has devastated the travel industry — that’s for sure. But in these unusual times, can a cruise line really cancel your trip and also refuse your refund request?
Of course, the answer to that question is “no.” But Elizabeth Ramirez says that’s exactly what NCL did to her — canceled her cruise and kept all her money. (Reprint) Read more “Can the cruise line cancel my trip and keep my money?!”
What happens if your travel agent cancels your cruise by mistake and then quits his job? Unfortunately, Margaret Prendergast knows very well — you can quickly lose thousands of your hard-earned dollars.
Prendergast has been patiently waiting since March for Norwegian Cruise Line to process a refund for a cruise it canceled. But because her agent erroneously canceled her cruise several days before the cruise line, it’s a refund NCL will never send.
Now she’s asking the Elliott Advocacy team if we can somehow retrieve her lost $5,587. Can we do it? (Reprint) Read more “What if your agent cancels your cruise by mistake — and then quits?”
What if you flew across the Atlantic Ocean for a much anticipated cruise only to find out that your travel agent never paid for it?
That’s exactly what happened to Peggy Wimberly. She got an awful surprise when she showed up in Barcelona for her Mediterranean cruise aboard MSC’s Meraviglia. Although Wimberly had made full payment for the trip months before, her travel agent never paid for the cruise. As a result of the nonpayment, MSC canceled the reservation weeks before the sailing. And although MSC eventually allowed Wimberly to board the ship, it cost her an unexpected additional $1,633 — and the loss of her preferred cabin.
Can the Elliott Advocacy team figure out what went wrong here? Read more “What happens when your travel agent never paid for your cruise”
Many months before the coronavirus brought the cruise industry to halt, Marcelino and Julieta Bautista found themselves in a terrible predicament. The couple redeemed a free “Casinos at Sea” award for a cruise through the Alaskan glaciers. But they pressed their bets too far when they flew into Anchorage on the same day as embarkation. And although their flight arrived as scheduled, something went terribly wrong and the ship left without them.
As a result, that freebie cruise turned out to be no bargain at all. The couple was forced to pay thousands of dollars to catch up with NCL’s Jewel. Bautista says that the cruise line made the mistake that caused the ship to leave without them.
Now he wants reimbursement for all their extra expenses and wants Elliott Advocacy to help get it. Can we do it? (Reprint) Read more “The cruise left without them! This is what happened next”
If you suffer a sudden medical emergency during a cruise and get offloaded in a foreign country, can the ship leave without you? Much to his dismay, Andrew Goldstein found out that the answer is ‘yes.’
During his last cruise aboard NCL’s Breakaway, the ship’s medical team informed him that he required an immediate blood transfusion. Unable to provide such a service on the boat, the cruise line sent him into St. Kitts to seek treatment. But when Goldstein tried to reboard the boat hours later, NCL denied him boarding, and the ship sailed away without him. Now he wants a refund for his missed cruise and reimbursement for his additional travel and medical expenses. But is this a reasonable request? (Reprint) Read more “Why did the cruise leave without me? I only needed a blood transfusion!”
It’s never a great idea to cruise with just a passport card. If you’ve ever thought about doing it, you’ll want to read this cautionary tale.
Daniel Sellers’ cruise fiasco is an unfortunate example of what can go wrong if you decide to cruise with just a passport card. Things may go just fine. But you should consider what will happen if you miss the boat and need to take a flight to catch up with it. Because although you can cruise with just a passport card, you can’t fly anywhere internationally with one. (Reprint)
Read more “You should not cruise with just a passport card. This is why”
Should you buy jewelry on a cruise? Well, if you’re Charles Onufer, the answer is no. But he came home from his last Regent cruise with over $9,500 of unwanted gems from Diamonds International. He says that during a port stop in Mexico, salespeople intimidated him into buying all of that unwanted jewelry. The jeweler says no such hard-sell occurred and that this is a simple case of buyer’s remorse. Is there a way to fix this problem? Read more “You should not buy jewelry during your cruise! This is why”
