Open and shut case? Carnival Adventure guests case falls into the harbour and sparks a debate.

A cruiser sailing on Carnival Adventure has taken a photo showing a suitcase floating in-between the ship and the port’s pier..

The photo shows a white suitcase floating in the water, meanwhile two workers load other peoples luggage onto carts.

The good news is that Cruise Passenger has been told that the suitcase has already been retrieved and the passenger was compensated for any damaged items.

The cruiser who shared the photo to a Carnival social media group said she just wanted to get the photo out there in case the passenger in question hadn’t been informed yet and could have important items in the suitcase.

“For clarity, the staff were and are well aware of the situation, and I thought to post this photo in case Carnival had not yet told the passenger. 

“I know if it was my bag, I would be appreciative of a stranger posting so I had a chance to find out sooner rather than later, especially if I had medication, baby items or things that can not be replaced onboard in that floating suitcase.”

Other cruisers expressed concern, writing comments such as “Wonder how many sunk to the bottom?. I know mine would not float… it’s always heavy” and “Feel very sorry for the owner of this suitcase, not a great start the their holiday.”

This is far from a common occurrence, but you do occasionally hear stories of this happening to cruise passengers.

There are other stories on social media websites such as Reddit that share stories of this happening to them with cruise lines such as Princess, MSC Cruises and Royal Caribbean.

One reddit user shares their story of when they were told their bag couldn’t be found, only for what happened to be revealed the next day.

“I slept great and woke up around 10am to find no suitcase still. Waited in line at guest services for 45 min to only be told…. That my suitcase had fallen into the ocean during embarkation. Yes, seriously.

“They started asking me to list contents inside etc and finally about 10 min later clarified that they had retrieved it, which was a relief because up til that point I thought it was gone entirely.

“They said they are laundering my things currently and I should get them within a few hours. I asked about my electronics and non-laundry items and hey said if anything “isn’t working” to let them know and they’ll take care of it.”

Similarly, last year a Celebrity Cruises passenger went viral when Celebrity Cruises dropped her bag in the ocean and failed to inform her.

With more than 30 million people cruising per year worldwide and very few accounts of this happening – this is extremely unlikely to happen on your cruise, but it very occasionally can happen.

If it does happen, it’s assumed cruise lines will do all they can to retrieve the bag and restore the items inside to their original condition.

While it’s not something you should worry yourself over, it’s a great travel tip in general to always try and keep absolutely essential items on your person, such as medications, identification and so on.

Furthermore, it serves as a reminder to also grab travel insurance, which can reimburse you in worst-case scenarios such as this one.