Since embarking on an anniversary cruise onboard Carnival Magic on February 8, 2025, Jason and Tammy Merritt have been fighting to locate their missing suitcase.
But as of March 1, 2025, the Merritt family updated their growing group of followers that the suitcase had been located in the stateroom of another guest – finally signaling an end to the saga after more than 20 days of searching and waiting.
“THEY FOUND MY LUGGAGE!!!!!! And there is a back to back to back thief!!! They found it in a [lady’s] cabin a ‘couple doors down’ from our cabin! The assumption is she liked my bag so she took it,” Jason shared on social media.
While luggage going missing isn’t overly uncommon, what made this case particularly unique is that the suitcase – which belongs to Jason – was lost onboard the Dream-class ship and then seemingly disappeared.
Thanks to a pair of Apple AirPods inside the bag, the family was able to track the suitcase to the ship using the “Find My iPhone” App – it was just a question of where.
They then watched from home as the tiny headphones kept sailing the Caribbean in the weeks since the couple disembarked without their suitcase on February 16, 2025.
In fact, the adventures of the AirPods – which the family refers to as Daddy-O’s – now even have their own dedicated Facebook page, which will remain active at least until the suitcase is reunited with its owner.
Eventually, one of Carnival Magic’s 1,367 crew members recognized the suitcase – but it was those very same AirPods that confirmed that the bag really did belong to Mr. Merritt.
“They were able to confirm it was mine by…wait for it…the serial number on my AirPods!!!!!!!,” Jason said.
“It is my understanding that her room had been checked and she said it was her bag. It wasn’t until a crew member saw a pic of my bag that he remembered seeing one like it and went back to check the room again. This time they searched it and found my stuff,” he continued.
The cruise line has promised to ship the suitcase home on Monday, March 3, 2025.
What Happens Next?
The unidentified woman who stole Jason’s suitcase not only allegedly took something that wasn’t hers, but lied about it.
Once the bag’s true identity was confirmed, she was placed under “house arrest” – meaning she was confined to her cabin for the remainder of her sailing – which disembarked on March 2, 2025, in Miami, Florida.
Frankly, she was lucky not to be sent to the brig – which is also known as the onboard jail cell.
“She was put under house arrest and has been banned from all future sailings, is what I’m told,” Jason confirmed.
In addition to being banned from all Carnival ships, it’s also likely that she was banned from all Carnival-owned brands – which includes popular cruise lines like Princess Cruises and Holland America Line.
Cruise Hive Discussion Boards: Lost Luggage On a Cruise
Jason will also have to eventually decide if he wants to press charges against the cruiser. Per his latest update, he is waiting to receive an inventory list from Carnival to see if the guest took anything.
In an earlier post from Tammy, she estimated that the contents of the suitcase – which included things like medication, a CPAP machine, and electronics – was valued at around $1,000.
“We’ll know more in the coming days and then I need to decide if I want to press charges. If nothing is missing then I’m not really sure it’s worth the hassle. If something is missing then I’m dang sure pressing charges,” the recent Carnival guest continued.
But until they know more, the Merritt family is happy that their belongings were finally found and that there may be a light at the end of this tunnel.
That said, they will continue tracking the AirPods until the suitcase is back in their possession.
