A group of people claim they were scammed into paying hundreds of dollars for a three-day Royal Caribbean vacation to the Bahamas.
Two of the women from the group, Florida residents Rochelle Price and Nyeasha Lambert, revealed they responded to a cruise offer on Facebook. They were led to believe they would be part of Utopia of the Seas’ sailing from Port Canaveral on the last weekend of November.
Lambert recalled how she was instructed to deposit payments through Cash App, remitting over $500 for the promised itinerary.
“We had to pay $100 upfront,” Lambert told Jacksonville’s WJXT4. “And then over time, we paid off the cruise. The whole cruise was $523 at best. And then, she also said that once we were on the bus, we had to pay an additional $25.”
Price and Lambert said they received fake reservation numbers and booking confirmations. They realized the ruse when they were prohibited from getting on the bus that would bring them to the port.
Lambert recounted the embarrassment of being turned away and retrieving her luggage. When Price contacted the cruise operator, she learned they had no bookings.
Now a little wiser, the two women are advising the public to avoid scams by doing research, booking directly with cruise lines, and “going with your gut.”
“If you don’t feel good about it, just don’t do it and do your research on the organization, the agency, and the individual,” Price shared during a news broadcast. “It doesn’t matter if you know them or the person that you love knows them. Do your research,” she urged.
Travel Scams Are Rampant
The Federal Trade Commission received over 55,000 reports of travel fraud in 2023. Meanwhile, a 2024 survey by cybersecurity company McAfee revealed that 28% of travelers have fallen victim to travel-related scams, with nearly 25% losing at least $1,000.
In 2018, a group of teenagers paid approximately $13,000 for a cruise that never happened.
Cruise lines and government agencies have been cautioning unsuspecting travelers against scams.
