Jason and Tammy Merritt, celebrating their 26th wedding anniversary, were on the Carnival Magic for a Caribbean cruise in February 2025, but their vacation quickly soured when they faced an ordeal involving missing luggage.
After a week of not receiving his luggage, Jason Merritt learned that his suitcase had been located in another passenger’s cabin. It was in the hands of a female guest who had full access to his belongings, but unfortunately, many of those items would never make it back to him.
The Merritts, from Oklahoma, boarded the cruise from February 8 to 16 with high hopes for a relaxing getaway, but Jason’s luggage was nowhere to be found upon their arrival at their stateroom. Despite going the extra mile—labeling the bags, taking photographs, and even using Apple AirPods to track the luggage—the couple’s belongings remained elusive for over three weeks. The suitcase finally made it back to them after the cruise was over, but by then, the trip had already been ruined.
Their daughter, Abbey Merritt, explained the severity of the situation. Items like Jason’s iPad, prescription glasses, CPAP machine, car keys, medication, and other important belongings were nowhere to be found when the suitcase was returned.
Carnival Cruise Line’s response to the situation came in the form of a $50 per day refund for the cruise along with an additional $250 as compensation. However, the Merritts felt this wasn’t enough for the hassle they had endured.
Once back home, the Merritts kept a close eye on the tracking of their missing luggage, which was still showing as being onboard the Carnival Magic. Tammy contacted the cruise line several times, providing them with real-time updates on the bag’s location. “We kept showing them where it was,” Tammy said. “We even said, ‘It’s here, still on the ship.’”
Despite their persistent efforts, Carnival repeatedly denied their claims. According to Tammy, the response was always the same: “They insisted, ‘We’ve checked every floor, we’ve gone through every room. It’s not here.’”
The situation took a turn when the bag was eventually located exactly where the Merritts had been saying all along—it was still on board. Upon opening the suitcase, the couple discovered that 39 items had been stolen, including Jason’s clothes, toiletries, vital medications, his CPAP machine, and even the key to their SUV. “Replacing all of this is going to be very costly,” Jason explained on social media. “Some things are irreplaceable.”
It was then revealed that another passenger, staying just a few cabins away, had taken the bag. However, the Merritts were shocked when they learned that the woman was allowed to disembark without any investigation or search of her belongings. “They let her leave the ship without even checking her bags,” Tammy said in disbelief. “They just let her walk off.”
Feeling betrayed by both the thief and the cruise line’s handling of the situation, the Merritts are now considering seeking legal recourse and reporting the theft to authorities.
The incident comes on the heels of another recent case involving Celebrity Cruises, where a passenger’s lost luggage was found to have been dumped into the ocean.
For travelers, these kinds of incidents highlight the importance of securing travel insurance, which can help to cover the costs of replacing stolen or lost items and reduce the stress that comes with such misfortunes.
