About Cruise Chaos

Cruise Chaos covers the unpredictable, funny and occasionally alarming side of cruising, alongside the practical advice that keeps your own holiday off that list. Brochures promise perfect floating vacations. Anyone who has actually sailed knows there is always more to the story.

Busy sunlit pool deck on Mariner of the Seas with turquoise pools and passengers relaxing
Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Who Writes Cruise Chaos

Cruise Chaos is written and edited by Ernie, who has been cruising for ten years. That decade at sea is the reason this site exists: enough sailings to know how embarkation day really goes, what a skipped port actually costs you, which onboard spending sneaks up on people, and how quickly a smooth trip turns into a story worth telling.

The site is run from Hartford, Connecticut. Got a cruise story of your own, a question, or a correction? Get in touch β€” every message gets read.

What You’ll Find Here

  • Cruise news, explained properly: what happened, why it happened, and what it means for your next booking
  • Chaos stories: the strange, funny and unbelievable things that only seem to happen at sea
  • Tips and guides on packing, embarkation, cabins, ports, money and your rights when things go wrong
  • Cruise deals, rounded up every Friday and checked against the cruise lines’ own websites the same day

How We Work

Cruise coverage online is full of recycled press releases and prices that expired months ago. We try to do better, and these are the rules we hold ourselves to:

  • Facts get checked against original sources. We read the original reporting, cruise line statements and official documents rather than repeating summaries, and we link our sources so you can check them yourself.
  • Every price is verified the day we publish it, on the cruise line’s own website. If we can’t confirm a fare, it doesn’t go in.
  • We don’t invent anything. No made-up quotes, no imaginary incidents, no invented urgency. When sources disagree, we say so.
  • No affiliate commissions. We don’t earn a cut when you book, so a deal appears here because the numbers are good, not because it pays us. The site is funded by advertising.
  • Images are properly licensed and credited. Photos come from Wikimedia Commons and similar sources under licenses that permit reuse, with the photographer and license named.
  • Mistakes get fixed. If we get something wrong, tell us and we’ll correct it.

Prices, itineraries and cruise line policies change constantly. Always confirm the details with the cruise line before you book. See our disclaimer for the full picture.

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Don’t just book it. Know it.