Caveat Emptor

My thought is that she should have contacted the cruise line to get added and should have paid the cruise line. Am I wrong?

yeah, you're right about contacting the cruise line directly, always. that TMZ story is wild, but honestly not surprising. people get a little too trusting in these online groups. we learned this lesson the hard way a couple years back, not on a cruise but with a concert trip. a guy in a facebook group was organizing a block of hotel rooms, said he had a group rate, just venmo him and he'd add you to the reservation. seemed legit, he was active in the group for months. we paid, got a confirmation email that looked real, everything. showed up at the hotel and they had no record of us. the confirmation was a photoshopped copy of a real one. dude had collected money from like fifteen people and vanished. hotel couldn't do anything, police said it was a civil matter. we were stuck scrambling for a room last minute at triple the price. the point is, it feels safe because you're in a 'community' with shared interests. a cruise roll call or a lifestyle group feels even more tight-knit. you're sharing details, getting excited together. that's exactly what scammers bank on—that social trust. they'll be super friendly, post often, share fake booking details that look convincing. my rule now is zero money moves to a person. only to the official entity. if someone's organizing a slot pull or a private excursion, i need to see a direct payment link to the tour operator, not their paypal. if it's a cabin crawl or a meet & greet, the organizer shouldn't need a dime from me. cruise lines will add you to things if you call with the booking number, they don't need a middleman. for something like a group booking discount, you still book through the cruise line or a real travel agent, you just mention the group code. the payment never intermediates through another passenger. it sucks to be cynical, especially when you're trying to meet people and have fun. but that excitement makes you a target. i just keep thinking about that hotel lobby, feeling like a total idiot. never again. so my caveat is this: if an 'organizer' insists on using payment apps that offer no purchase protection, like zelle or venmo between friends, that's your red flag right there. a legit group activity wont require that. what does the cruise line actually need to add you? usually just your name and reservation number. nothing more. makes you wonder how many of these scams happen on sailings where people are looking for more intimate connections. feels like it would be easier to pull off when people are being discreet.