Carnival Cruise Line cancels low-cost error fare bookings
Error fares, or unusually low-priced fares published by mistake, don't happen often in the cruise industry. But when they do, cruisers who are quick to book can sometimes score a deal that seems to good to be true. And sometimes it is.
Although airlines often honor error fares caused by system glitches or human error, cruise lines are less likely to do so, especially for in-demand cruises on new ships. Cruise lines reserve the right to cancel bookings made at error fare prices; most even include a clause in their cruise ticket contract that says that the company can correct pricing mistakes.
Carnival Cruise Line just used that clause to avoid honoring ultra-low fares, which were mistakenly offered on its website while the company was doing IT maintenance. Shortly after booking a cruise at an unbelievably low price, cruise vacationers received reservation cancellation notices from Carnival. The notices explained the pricing glitch and offered an onboard credit if they book another cruise.
Doug Parker shared more details on Carnival's pricing blunder and subsequent canceled bookings, and more cruise news, including an onboard fight that led to federal assault charges, on the May 13 edition of Cruise News Today.
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Carnival cruise passengers face federal charges over onboard fight
Cruise News Today Transcript:
Cruise News Today with Doug Parker.
Good morning, here's your cruise news for Wednesday, May 13th.
Two women are facing federal assault charges after a fight broke out aboard a Carnival cruise ship returning from The Bahamas. Yeah, now according to court documents the altercation happened aboard Carnival Spirit after a little disagreement over standing in a loyalty line while settling their accounts.
Related: A warning before you book a cruise based on TV ads
Now, investigators say one woman told another couple they were in the wrong line and was only reserved for Diamond and Platinum loyalty members, which then escalated to a physical confrontation. Both women accused each other of slapping, kicking, and grabbing during the fight before crew members intervened to break it up. Federal investigators later reviewed the surveillance footage and charged both women with assault.
It is worth noting that despite mounting evidence, Carnival Spirit and Spirit Airlines have no corporate connection.
Carnival Cruise Line cancels reservations made at glitch prices
And Carnival Cruise Line is canceling some cruise bookings after a system glitch briefly displayed ultra-low fares. Now, the issue happened during what Carnival initially described as an 18-hour maintenance window that ultimately stretched on for a couple of days, disrupting bookings and customer service systems.
During the outage, some guests reported seeing deeply discounted fares including balcony cabins selling for as little as $130. Carnival says those prices were quote, "far below any reasonable promotional fare" and confirmed that the reservations will not be honored.
Impacted guests are being canceled, refunded, and offered a $100 onboard credit to any booking made by August 31st.
Question though, should Carnival honor the glitch or are they right to claw it back? Let me know in the comments.
Expedition cruise ship sailing to the Netherlands following suspected hantavirus outbreak
And that expedition ship the MV Hondius is now sailing to the Netherlands following that suspected hantavirus outbreak linked to three passenger deaths.
Now, Oceanwide Expedition says 122 people including passengers and crew have already been evacuated or repatriated from the ship while a skeleton crew remains on board to sail the vessel to Rotterdam. Two Dutch public health officials are traveling with the ship to monitor conditions during the sailing.
Related: Carnival cruise passenger dies in scooter accident at Celebration Key
And cruise stocks were down Tuesday. Carnival Corporation: down 2.3%, 24.85. Royal Caribbean: down 2%, 258.12. Norwegian: down 3.5% to $16. And Viking: down slightly, 80.60.
If you have a lead on a story let us know: tips@cruiseradio.net.
Have yourself a great Wednesday. I'm Doug Parker with Cruise News Today.
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This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 10:17 AM.