Minnesota sisters awaiting refund after cruise mishap leaves them stranded in Florida
MINNEAPOLIS — A pair of Minnesota sisters who were intending to go on a South Florida cruise are trying to get home after a vacation nightmare.
Cherie Goudeau said after a tough stretch last year dealing with thyroid cancer, she decided to treat herself and her sister to a trip. She saw a post on Facebook publicizing a 90s cruise.
But when the two traveled from Minnesota to Miami last week, their experience was not smooth sailing.
"We get here, can't find boarding passes, can't find my room number anymore," said Goudeau. "I'm looking on Carnival, going to the website. The people helping me can't find it."
It's unclear what went wrong. WCCO reached out to Carnival and hasn't heard back.
Their travel agent, Monica Faulkner, addressed the issue on her Facebook page. Without explaining what went wrong, she wrote "I take full responsibility of it all. I've given a sincere apology, all guests will receive full refund, were offered a free cruise, and to send me the receipt of what it cost to change their flight back home."
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The sisters said family members in Florida came to their rescue, but shouldn't have had to.
"We came here in the middle of spring break so rooms had raised prices, you couldn't get a room, you couldn't get a car and we've got to get back to Minnesota. Let's remind you, Minnesota was under a snowstorm," said Goudeau.
For now, they're still waiting to get home and to get their refund. Goudeau said she's out almost $4,000 including flights and rooms.
"Why should we have to inconvenience our family for something that's been paid for all this time to go on this trip?" said Goudeau. "And you know, they're accommodating us with food, gas. It's like it's not fair for them either."
The Better Business Bureau recommends looking at reviews and recommendations before booking a trip with any agency. They also say you should read the fine print when booking to see what you're entitled to if a trip is overbooked or canceled.