As cities such as Lafayette, Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans prepare for a day of wintry weather it might be the perfect time to think of trips to warmer places. No, we can't just go to Gulf Shores, they're expecting snow and ice too. Let's leave Louisiana and it's sort of mushy cold tundra for the beaches of the Caribbean. It's possible on a cruise vacation out of the Port of New Orleans.

Staff Photo
Staff Photo
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Granted you might be closer to the Port of Galveston, Texas. It's a great place to begin a cruise getaway to sun-kissed sand and oiled bikini bodies that smell of coconut and pineapple. Doesn't that sound a lot better than US 190 covered with ice, sleet, or snow?

Right now the cruise lines are very proactive in booking trips for 2025. If you're planning on cruising this year, you might want to act now because the prices are good and the better trips are being sold out. Because cruise vacations are a hot topic right now, the ne'er-do-wells known as "scammers" are out in full force attempting to grab your money or access to your money using every means possible.

Blake WiIsz via Unsplash.com
Blake WiIsz via Unsplash.com
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The latest cruise line scam is built around how most people pay for their cruise vacations. Most of us don't plunk down the entire lump sum at once. I know in my case we pay a deposit. Then we pay an instalment. Then we make the final payment. We cruise so much that we have a dedicated consultant who handles our reminders.

And while it is very normal for a cruise guest to get a reminder of a balance owed from a cruise line it is very important that you make sure you are actually making a payment to the cruise line and not some scammer posing as the cruise line. That's the new scam. 

Norwegian Cruise Line via YouTube
Norwegian Cruise Line via YouTube
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You might see a very legitimate-looking email or professionally voiced phone call saying you owe "$xxx.xx" on your cruise balance and if you don't pay it you'll lose your stateroom. That's not how cruise lines operate. They don't want to "force your hand", they want you to pay but they do not get overly aggressive, especially if you're a repeat customer.

The solution to this scam is simple. Hang up the phone. Then you look up the number for the cruise line or get the number off of your official paperwork. Call the agent at the cruise line and ask if you have any unpaid balances that are due. They will tell you and if you do owe a balance you can pay it with confidence.

Praveen Kumar via Unsplash.com
Praveen Kumar via Unsplash.com
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Here's another travel hint, be wary of any website that promises to "speak to a live person" on a website where you know live people seldom speak. That would be a helpline for an airline, a cruise line, a travel booking service, etc. You know the places where you always spend several hours on hold. A lot of times those numbers lead directly to a scammer shop and because you initiated the call you might struggle to recover your money.

You work hard for your money. You don't deserve to have your vacation stolen. So, please be mindful and watch those public wi-fi spots in port cities. They can invite all kinds of bad folks into your life if you're not careful.

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Gallery Credit: Bruce Mikells

 

 

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