For one TikToker, the phrase “man overboard” has just become “bag overboard.”
Lindsey Hargesheimer, a photographer from Denver, Colorado, was looking forward to boarding her cruise in Amsterdam, Holland, with her family – until Celebrity Cruises allegedly lost her luggage in arguably the worst way possible.
The distraught passenger has posted a series of videos to her TikTok (@throughlindseyslens), with the first video, which was recorded on July 5, 2024, earning 72,000 views in less than a week.
“This is literally so ridiculous that I even need to make this video,” Hargesheimer begins the 10 minute-long video. “Celebrity Cruises lost my bag in the ocean and left it there and I’m gonna talk about it really quick because they still haven’t gotten it back to me.”
The photographer realized something was wrong after her family boarded the ship and everyone received their bags except for her. When she called the cruise line to get an update, a representative stated that they could not find her missing belongings.
Hargesheimer also tried to locate her bag using an Airtag she had placed inside of it, but the tracking device was not working.
This was a problem, as the bag contained clothing, medications, supplements, toiletries, and even irreplaceable family jewelry that she would have to do without for the duration of her sailing.
While it’s standard for cruise lines to check bigger pieces of luggage and allow crew members to conveniently drop it off at passengers’ cabins, guests are typically advised to keep important items they may need urgently on their person, including medications and valuables, in a smaller carry-on in the unlikely event their luggage does go missing.
While the TikToker did not disclose the ship she is on, it is most likely the 2,886-passenger Celebrity Silhouette, which embarked from Amsterdam, Holland, on a 12-night Svandinavian cruise on July 5, 2024.
If Hargesheimer is indeed onboard this sailing, she may not have access to her belongings – which were found in the water at the Port of Amsterdam after the vessel’s departure – until the cruise concludes on July 17, 2024.
What Happened To The Missing Luggage?
Following her gut instinct, Hargesheimer turned her cell service back on (many cruisers turn it off to avoid out-of-network fees while at sea), when she realized she had received a call from an Amsterdam-based number.
The stranger had pulled the bag out of the canal at the Port of Amsterdam, which leads out to the North Sea, and called the distressed passenger after finding her contact information on the luggage.
“I turn my cell service back on and I immediately get a call from an Amsterdam number. I answer the phone, it’s someone from the Amsterdam port,” The TikToker said. “We just fished your bag out of the port of Amsterdam, out of the canal.”
The passenger was understandably shocked – both that her bag was lost in the ocean in the first place and that crew members from Celebrity Cruises did not report the incident or seek to make it right until she advocated for herself.
“The Celebrity Cruise Line baggage people knocked my bag that I have all of my everything in for the next over 2 weeks that I’m going to be in Europe into the ocean and left it there…no one reported that it was gone,” Hargesheimer said through tears.
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As the TikToker tells the story, the Royal Caribbean-Owned cruise line immediately didn’t offer much support. At first, she was initially offered no compensation to replace her items in port or in the onboard stores other than a T-shirt and some basic toiletries.
In more recent updates, which Hargesheimer shared to her platform on July 9 and on July 11, the cruise line had taken more steps to make things right.
As of the July 9th update, it was confirmed that her bag was in Amsterdam and had water damage from going into the ocean.
“My bag is confirmed to be in Amsterdam, after I was gaslit multiple times by an employee…it did in fact go into the ocean,” said the frustrated passenger.
She also learned that she will not get access to her bag until the end of the cruise, as policy dictates that her bag will not be returned to her until she can inspect it alongside a Celebrity Cruises representative and port worker at the conclusion of her voyage.
“I’ve honestly just accepted that everything in that bag is not able to be salvaged in any way, shape, or form, because, not only does my bag have water damage from being left in the ocean for 2 hours, but it will be staying in Amsterdam for another 9-10 days until we get back to Amsterdam,” she added.
A Final Update
As of Hargesheimer’s most recent update on July 11, 2024, she still had not been reunited with her bag, but had been working more closely with the cruise line to come to a resolution.
In the two days since her previous post, she had met one-on-one with the guest relations director and was able to get the medications she needed to tide her over from the medical center onboard at no extra cost.
She also said that the cruise line has now given her a $1,000 credit, which can be cashed out – an upgrade from the $400 credit and two laundry vouchers she was initially offered per her second update.
Even so, the compensation still doesn’t quite feel like enough – especially because a pair of her now limited pants were also lost in the laundry.
“I’ve obviously spent some of it at their own freaking gift store, which is ridiculous. And I’ve spent a good amount on shore just getting things that I need and also a lot of things that I need you can only get in the US,” lamented Hargesheimer.
Read Also: Lost Luggage a Growing Problem for Cruise Ship Passengers
The cruise line has also offered their guest complimentary spa services, two compensated meals in the specialty dining rooms, a free shore excursion, and sent flowers and chocolate-covered strawberries to the cruise cabin.
The TikToker said the cruise line also brought her a new set of luggage, but she has not yet seen it. She said a crew member was supposed to bring it to her prior to disembarking.
With Celebrity taking accountability for the situation, hopefully the TikToker and her family can still enjoy the remainder of their cruise.
No official statement regarding the matter has been released by Celebrity Cruises, but we will be on the lookout for any further updates from the cruise line or the TikToker.
