As many cruise ship crew members will tell you, thousands of items go missing onboard cruise ships, and lost and found is usually a treasure trove of the weird and wonderful things we lose onboard. However, sometimes these things don’t make it back to us before we disembark.
In that case, you’re probably thinking that your sunglasses, wallet, umbrella, or even cruise card is lost forever. Not so it seems.
Cruise Card Finally Found Two Decades Later!
If your name is Hallee Fuller and you were on a cruise onboard Carnival Victory 20 years ago, you can collect your cruise card from the vessel!. Today, the ever-popular Carnival Cruise Line Ambassador, John Heald posted on his Facebook page how Hallee’s cruise card was found onboard the Carnival cruise ship. Although maybe Hallee is just an excellent easter egg hider. Heald said:
“Hello Halee”
“You reported your card missing on board the Carnival Victory 20 years ago. I’m happy to tell you that this morning it was found while the ship was in dry dock being transformed into Carnival Radiance. My colleagues are in the process of trying to get it returned to you”
The card was actually found in the onboard dining room behind a service station. It took more than twenty years, hundreds of thousands of miles around the globe, possibly millions of cruise passengers to pass through the vessel, and a complete ship refit to find Hallee Fuller’s cruise card, but it is now ready to be returned to the rightful owner.
It also gives a great insight on the fantastic crew members onboard the ships that even now, after 20 years, still care to try and find the rightful owner, as one person commented on Facebook:
“That is pretty great. This attests to how much Carnival crew members care about their guests! Name any other business that would care enough to find the owner of a 20 year old card. Kudos to the crew member that found it and put the process in motion. How many would have just thrown it away. This makes me proud to be a part of the Carnival family. RESPECT!”
Hallee Fuller was on a Carnival Cruise on the Carnival Victory on May 21, 2001. The beautiful old cruise card shows the vessel in all its glory and even gives us an insight into when and where Hallee would have dinner (Pacific, Lower, Late, 8PM!).
It’s a great insight into how cruising has evolved over the last 20 years; it also gives a nostalgic feeling on how it used to be on board the Carnival Ships.
“I really miss the key cards, like the one in the photo, with a pic of the ship on it. We attached stick-on magnets and have some on the front of our fridge. Great souvenirs”
Not the Only Thing That Was Lost
Hallee’s cruise card was not the only thing that was lost, apparently. Former guests of the Carnival Ships were quick to point out the various things they had lost over the years onboard. Many are hopeful, seriously or not, that these would be returned as well.
Underwear seems to be one of the items many have lost onboard:
“Hello John, long time no see, I’ve been missing one of my boxers since our honeymoon back in 2015. If the Carnival Breeze ever got to be refitted, would you mind and have a closer look at stateroom 1254? TIA! Cheers mate!!”
Overwhelmingly, guests are commenting on the excellent customer service they have always received onboard the Carnival ships:
“Just one more way that shows how much Carnival cares about their guests. My husband had lost his wallet during a back-to-back changeover. Somehow it ended up in the ship’s luggage room. We got a call from Carnival customer service to let us know that it had been found and to give us details on how they would return it to us. I feel they went to great lengths to make sure it got back to us.”
Carnival Victory Is No More
Hallee’s cruise card was found during the transformation of Carnival Victory to Carnival Radiance. While a refit is not something that is entirely unusual for cruise ships, the one Carnival Victory is receiving warrants a new name entirely.
The refit, taking place in Cadiz, Spain, costs Carnival Cruise Line 200 million USD. It will see the ship feature all the latest Carnival dining venues, including Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse, a classic American steakhouse called Fahrenheit 555, the Cucina del Capitano family-style Italian restaurant, and the Caribbean-inspired RedFrog Pub.
The vessel will be one of the first to receive the new Mardi Gras-style livery, which will be rolled out across the fleet.
