10 Worst Tourist Scams (EXPOSED) Ripping Off Cruisers Right Now

Cruise travelers are unfortunately often easy targets for tourist scams. Scammers prey on cruise passengers when in cruise ports of call & big cities. These days there are new tourism scams, including online travel scams, that authorities are warning people about.

If you're going on a Caribbean cruise or a cruise to Europe, these are scams you want to be aware of. Part 2 of my first YouTube video about tourist scams & rip-offs in cruise ports of call, this new video goes beyond pickpockets and the common bracelet tourist scam, & shares new information & cruise advice. These cruise tips & tricks are must-know for anyone going on a cruise vacation.

First time cruisers and avid cruise travellers will find these cruise tips helpful. Good for all cruise lines including Carnival cruise line, Princess Cruises, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Disney Cruises, MSC Cruises & more.

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ABOUT ME
Hi! I'm Ilana! I live in Montreal, Canada with my husband Frank. We can often be found dreaming about and planning future cruises, ideally to hot and sunny destinations! I believe in having fun, being kind and that you are never too old, or too young, to live the life of your dreams!

Please note that I do not sell cruises on Life Well Cruised. This and all other videos are for entertainment purposes only. I share my own opinions, personal experiences and information with other cruise travellers, which I hope can be helpful. Please contact your travel agent or the cruise line directly for advice and any information specific to your booking.

Music Credit: Surf Time by Lux-InspiraMusicMusic

[noreenp.]

I was in Paris last year, in a park waiting while my husband was videoing. A lady came to me with a clipboard and asked if I spoke English and wanted me to sign the clipboard for some kind of petition for children. I shook my head no and held on to my purse. I knew the minute my hands would be on the clipboard and pen that someone else would be in my purse. Do not fall for this scam.

[lizarichards]

Wow, the public charging stations one is new to me. Thank you for that! Another scam is when someone walks up to you frantic and panicking and asks to use your phone because theirs was just stolen, or their child was reportedly kidnapped, or some other type of emergency, etc. NEVER give up your phone to a stranger! My family and I were on a long road trip one time and stopped to stretch our legs and get something to eat. A woman ran up to me frantic and crying about how she had just been robbed and asked to borrow my phone. Fortunately, I had left it in my vehicle and said, "no, sorry. But, go into the restaurant... I'm sure they'll let you use their landline phone." She then gave me a nasty look and walked away... funny how fast she calmed down when I suggested that...

[conservatoryenergy]

My friend was in Cozumel and was told the ring she was buying was white gold and diamonds. Of course, the markings on the ring were too small to read and she didn't ask for a magnifying glass. Well, of course, she got home and the ring was silver and the diamonds were fake. She paid $900 for this ring. I felt so bad for her. I was back in Cozumel last week and went by that store and they were trying to sell jewelry to an elderly lady. I walked into the store, told the man that sold my friend her fake ring in December that what he did was not cool, and I told the lady who was shopping what had happened also. I probably shouldn't have done that, if not for my safety alone, but I did. The man was so shocked, he was speechless and the lady who was shopping thanked me and walked out.

[MrAlexrowlands]

You didn't mention the biggest scam.... the so-called 'art' sales on the ships !!!

[druegillis]

Keep your head on a swivel when walking anywhere. Do not look down, away from where you are going. Put your phone in your front pocket and refrain from looking at it while walking. Leave ALL jewelry in the safe on the ship, including wedding bands. If you must wear a watch, keep a cheap one for traveling. Walk in a confident manner. We cruise frequently and are in our 70’s. If you are aware of your surroundings, the “bad people” will not waste their time and target less suspecting marks. Like it or not, there are evil people out there who want what you have. Don’t make it easy for them.

[baroo]

Here’s a particularly gross one. In Rome on a coach tour of Italy our bus driver told us never to buy bottled water from the street vendors. They take used water bottles out of the trash and recycling and fill them back up with tap water and re-sell them to tourists. Gross!

[sallyrichter]

In 2007 my husband and I went to Italy. I had a backpack purse, but I had nothing of value in there thank goodness! We had a neck wallet with all of our money and credit cards etc. In my purse I just had things that I wanted to carry with me throughout the day, including Pepto-Bismol. Well lo and behold the Pepto leaked all over my purse. So I went into a bathroom and I cleaned out the purse as best as I could, and moved most items to other pockets. Then I wrapped the bottle in toilet paper and put it back inside of my damp main pocket and zipped it shut.

A while later we went to dinner. As we sat down I took my purse off and saw that my zipper was open. Instant panic! I started to reach in (as if I would be able to tell what was stolen, lol) but very quickly recoiled and pulled my hand out. That bottle wrapped in toilet paper was completely cold and damp and just disgusting! So THAT is what that poor pickpocket would have felt as well! Lol.

Nothing was gone.😂

[SelbyPhotography]

"Hey. Hello. I know you from the resort."

This got us stuck for almost an hour getting high pressure sales

[Scorpia]

In Mexico, I've had a shop owner or two grab my wrist and try to encourage/drag me inside their store. I said to them "No me molestes" which means "Do not bother me".

In Rome, my friend was walking around the Coliseum when a little kid approached him and asked where he was from, in perfect English. My friend, being 6' tall, stocky like a linebacker, replied in German "Ich verstehe nicht, was du sagst" which is "I don't understand what you are saying" The child tried again in English, but more persistent. My friend repeatedly responded in German. The little boy looked back at his mom, waiting with 4 other children about 200 feet away, shook his head and walked back to her. Kids will swarm around tourists and pick the pocket just as quickly as an adult.

[elizabethlangheim]

I booked airline tickets through Expedia. I like aisle seats because I’m tired of being squashed by other passengers. Had to pay an extra $9 to pick my seat. When the time came the airline switched out airplanes and I was forced into a middle seat. Expedia refused to refund the $9 saying to get it from the airline. The airline said I hadn’t booked with them and I would have to deal with Expedia. Never got my money back and now I refuse to deal with third parties because it just enables finger pointing at the other party and no one takes responsibility.

[Randilynn]

I was scammed at a café right across the street from the Vatican. I ordered a pastry they rang it up as 3 euros. I took out a five then they change the price to five. I said I saw what you did it was three euro of course there were no prices anywhere on the menu board. He said no the other one is 5 euro.I tried to hand it back to him and he said no. My first thought went to Amanda Knox and I was thinking no I’m not getting arrested here. So I just ate the five euro and through the stale pastry in the trash. I later looked at the reviews on Google and they were terrible. So many people scammed at this place. It’s called Café Vaticano.

[kmotzny]

Thank you so much for these tips! When I was in Roatan, Honduras, a little vendor lady sold me a colorful beaded bird and told me it was handmade. On my next cruise I was in St. Kitts and saw that same beaded bird everywhere. Thankfully I didn’t pay too much for it. Oh and here’s one that almost worked on me: while still in St. Kitts, me and my friends did a little shopping in port. Walking a little further we discovered some local booths and were looking at their things too. One of the ladies said to me after I declined to buy anything, “So you bought everything at the shops and left the locals hanging!” I started to get upset and thought about buying something and then I just left. That kind of manipulation is just wrong.

[chrisgriffith]

The bracelet scam was attempted on us in Florence. A very nice, personable guy came up to us and started asking where we are from and then giving us a story about his cousin who lives in Chicago. As the area is very crowded, it is difficult to walk fast so he was walking alongside of us and eventually said he would like to offer us a free bracelet and assured us we did not have to do anything for it. We politely declined and he continued to persist until we felt like the only way we could get rid of him was to take it. Again, assuring us he did not expect us to buy the bracelet, we walked off and he continued to follow us and finally he said, "I give you something, you give me something" so we "gave him" the bracelet back and firmly told him to leave us alone. Sad that people force you into being rude and it unfortunately made me be rude to a gentleman in Rome who was legitimately trying to help, but I already had my guard up by then.

[vickifermil]

The cruise ships can also present problems for passengers. Sailed on NCL Jewel out of San Diego to Mexico two weeks ago. Our first time on NCL and thought trip was great until day before we got off. I had seen a coaster in the gift shop at beginning of cruise for $3.99. Was cute so I went in to buy it day before we left ship. It was still marked $3.99 so went up to register to buy it. At register, the sales clerk said it was $6.99. I showed her the price marked on item and also no different price was posted on stand for this item. Her answer was $6.99 is price in the computer system and she had no way to change it. I went ahead and bought it but went to guest services to request they correct price on our account. Their attitude was "not our problem" and told me to talk to the gift shop. It may only be $3.00 but it is now what I remember about NCL. Not the best way for NCL to get me to book with them again.

[cruisecrazy]

I was on a bus tour around Cairo when a hawker came to the bus door selling little carved bone statues. Several people bought them, including me. He took the money and proceeded to wrap the statues for the buyers. I told him that I would wrap my own, and he got rather upset. I held it tightly. Back at the hotel that night, we unwrapped our statues and discovered that everyone had a statue of MUCH lower quality than they had purchased, except me.

[landoneley]

Yeah 6’4” 255 African American. Scammers don’t target it me. Guess it’s to risky. 😂😂. I wouldn’t scam me

[capnmark]

Not on a cruise, but a long time ago, my parents took my sister and I to London for a week. While boarding the Underground, I noticed someone pushing a little too close to us when the other doors onto the train were empty. I looked down and noticed this guy's hand in my dad's back pocket at which point I grabbed his hand and yelled at him (I was 16).

So my "word of advice" would be to avoid traveling alone and keep an eye on each other.

[jaimesmom]

The most problematic tourist scam that has hit me a few times is the switcheroo at the tchotchke stands. The biggest one was an expensive sculpted fish that we purchased in Puerto Vallarta with brass accents. Once we got back to our cruise cabin and unwrapped it, they gave us a completely broken one. We didn’t even have the piece to glue back on and it was not the one we chose. I have had T-shirts swapped out for stained ones and incorrect jewelry. We hardly buy anything anymore at any cruise stop. I find that they are rarely even ran by locals but usually immigrants from other countries and I think most of the items are made in China so we save her money, and usually go on a quality tour or hit the beach, which is why we went in the first place.

[cafsixtieslover]

Having just got off a cruise a couple of days ago, you don't even need to leave the ship. I am the original cruise meanie. We only eat and drink what is included in the price, we never use the spa or casino or get a drink at the bar, we never use the internet, I take only essential excursions and we never have our photos taken. I did once go to a talk in a spa saying we would all get a free treatment. My treatment was a smear of cream on my hand - the actual treatment ran into hundreds. Everywhere we went on the ship it was buy this or eat or drink that at an inflated price. I did run into the bracelet scam on a holiday at Lake Maggiore last year but luckily due to these videos I knew about it so I told him to get lost.

[johneverson]

Having been warned beforehand by our tour guide in Rios, Jamaica an unscrupulous gift shop employee ask your name in casual conversation then picks up a cheap wooden trinket and carves your initials in it then tries to make you buy it at a higher price and says that you have to buy it because of your initials (thank you tour guide we didn’t fall for it)