Should you cruise with Carnival, Margaritaville or Norwegian?

Cruises continue to enjoy great popularity and delight the hearts of travelers with a mix of nonstop entertainment, delicious food around the clock, quick destination changes and the unique experience of life at sea.

In fact, 31.7 million people traveled on a cruise ship last year, and according to a report by CruiseHive, that number is expected to grow by another 3.3 million in 2024.

Despite this growth, cruises don't always go smoothly. In fact, some stories from TikTok might make you think twice before booking your next trip.

In this article, we share five cruise ship stories that will make you never want to leave the shore again – all told from viral videos.

Cruise company drops passenger's bag into the sea

A woman who recently took a trip with Celebrity Cruises reported that the crew accidentally threw her bag into the sea and left port without retrieving it.

TikTok user Lindsey (@throughlindsdeyslens) posted a video sharing her disturbing experience.

“Celebrity Cruise Line lost my bag in the ocean and didn't tell me,” she began. “And left it there.”

After she was unable to find her bag, Lindsay says she received a call from someone at a harbor who found her bag floating in the water.

“Someone who worked in the port of Amsterdam fished my bag out of the sea,” she said.

Lindsey stated that the cruise staff did not inform her about the lost luggage and she only found out about it because of the personal tag on the bag that had her phone number on it. “If someone hadn't found it floating in the ocean, I wouldn't have even known it was gone,” she exclaimed.

Her bag was found but left behind because the ship had already left. So she had to spend her two-week European vacation without her belongings.

“This is absolutely unacceptable,” Lindsay concluded.

Since the July 8 incident, Lindsay has posted several video updates. She says Celebrity Cruises offered her a $1,000 credit, some free services and coverage for onboard expenses, and compensation for her damaged items.

In her latest update, Lindsay confirms that she has received her lost luggage, although most of her belongings appear to be destroyed.

People don’t always make it

Cruise ship employee Zoie Madigan (@zoieontherun) shared a little-known fact in a TikTok video. It's not uncommon for passengers on long-term cruises, like the viral nine-month world cruise, to die of natural causes.

“I feel like no one talks enough about this nine-month world cruise, about how often people just die of natural causes on vacation,” Madigan began.

Madigan had previously worked in hotels and resorts and started cruising about a year and a half ago. She noticed that deaths were more common than she thought. “Not every week,” she clarified, “but a lot of older people come on vacation and then just die in their sleep or something like that happens.”

She did not reveal which cruise line she works for, but mentioned that it attracts an older crowd compared to Carnival or Disney, with the average age being “certainly in the 60s.” Madigan suggested that passengers should get medical clearance before embarking on such a long cruise.

In the comments, others shared similar experiences, including one user who wrote: “My grandmother died on a cruise and I found out there was a morgue there.”

Woman gets stuck in the slide

A TikTok video has gone viral showing a woman stuck in the middle of a waterslide aboard the Norwegian Bliss cruise ship in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

The clip, posted by the woman's daughter, Paige Hodgson (@paigejhodgson), has garnered 37.5 million views and horrified audiences.

In the video, we can see Paige's mom zooming through the slide before getting stuck in a loop and not being able to get enough momentum to get out the other side.

“My mom got stuck in a water slide over the ocean,” Paige writes in the overlay text, adding, “Look how fast she flies,” followed by a laughing emoji.

Paige humorously captioned the post: “How long do you think she was stuck?”

Viewers found the situation anything but funny. “My claustrophobia would become claustrophobic,” wrote one user, and many others shared the sentiment.

$500 for a makeup stain

One woman said Margaritaville fined her $500 for a makeup stain.

TikTok user Nasheka (@nana_sheka) posted a video of a cruise ship employee scrolling through the ship's policies.

“When Jorge from Margaritaville Cruise said they were going to have us arrested for refusing to sign, we authorized them to bill us for $500 for a makeup stain I removed with makeup remover,” Nasheka captioned the video.

In a follow-up video, Nasheka showed herself removing the stain with makeup remover and drying it with a fan, claiming: “This is how they make their money!”

After users in the comments blamed Nasheka for the damage, she clarified that the crew claimed the stain was “unremovable” and “tried everything possible” before demonstrating its removal, urging, “Charge me a cleaning fee, don't screw me.”

Carnival cruise ship flooded

TikToker Daja (@only1daj) had a cruise experience she will never forget – and not in a positive way.

In a viral video with over 17.6 million views, she describes the chaos that broke out when the Carnival Sunset ship filled with water right outside the door of her suite.

“We were housed on the second floor, our entire hall and rooms were flooded,” explains Daja.

The video shows trash floating down the aisle, crew members struggling to contain the water, and passengers dragging their luggage to higher ground.

One commentator expressed the general mood as follows: “If I wake up on a cruise and feel water, I might as well be dead.”

Daja shared follow-up videos showing that the flooding began on the last day of their cruise due to bad weather. Daja and her boyfriend reportedly informed crew members when they noticed the flooding, but the situation quickly escalated, with water seeping into the carpet and causing widespread panic.

The ship’s captain finally announced: “Under these circumstances, we are operating safely, […] The route to Miami is not affected and we are still on schedule.”

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