Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador, John Heald, responds to hundreds of comments, inquiries, and requests every week through his popular Facebook page. A fair number of those have to do with lost items that guests have accidentally left behind in their staterooms at the end of a cruise.
Heald has previously offered insights about what happens to lost items that are found on the ship, but it can still be frustrating to guests when they suddenly realize they have left something onboard.
Cell phones, sunglasses, medication, hats, charging cables, purses, tablets, jewelry, and books are just a few of the items crew members often find left behind in staterooms on debarkation day.
One savvy cruiser, however, has reached out to Heald with a clever trick for ensuring she remembers to check one key spot where smaller items often get lost.
“I have had people write to me saying they forgot to empty their safe,” Heald explained. “So they leave the ship and then realized, and it’s then, of course, too late to go back on board.”
Once travelers have passed the Sail and Sign card kiosk when leaving the ship – typically right at the entrance to the gangway that connects to the cruise terminal – they are not permitted back onboard.
This is so the crew can easily track that all guests have safely debarked the ship, and is in accordance with customs and immigration procedures.
Security guards are typically stationed in that area to ensure lines move smoothly and there are no altercations or misunderstandings.
Many times guests might have already collected their luggage, made it to the customs checkpoint, reached their vehicles, or even arrived at the airport before realizing they have left keys, a wallet, their passport, or other critical items onboard in their stateroom safe.
“Deb wrote to me saying that she always puts her shoes in the safe the night before debarkation,” Heald shared. “So in the morning she doesn’t have any shoes to put on and remembers to empty the safe because that’s where they are. Does anyone else do this? Seems a good tip to me!”
That’s a creative one, I’ll admit. I typically keep passports, wallets, keys, and cash locked in the room safe during every cruise – things we want to protect, but that we don’t use every day onboard. It could be easy to forget such things, especially after a longer cruise when you haven’t been using them.
Do Shoes Belong in the Stateroom Safe?
Reactions to Deb’s tip were varied, with different commenters offering their own solutions to the “don’t forget it!” quandary.
Some guests were quite opposed to the idea of “gross” shoes being put in the safe with one’s valuables, or where other travelers may be storing their own valuables when they start their vacation later in the day.
Many guests suggest just emptying the safe the night before when packing up to leave early the next morning. Not all travelers do pack the night before, however (I certainly don’t!).
Furthermore, the ship’s motion might cause an open safe door to clang throughout the night, which can be bothersome.
Read Also: 10 Things You’ll Wish You’d Packed for Your Cruise
A popular suggestion is for one person to be the designated “sweeper” when leaving the stateroom for the last time. Everyone else goes out into the hallway while that person checks every drawer, closet, shelf, and safe, as well as under the bed, on the balcony, and on any hooks in the room before leaving.
A more high-tech solution is to add a reminder to one’s cell phone calendar to check the safe the morning of debarkation, while a low-tech variation is to put a sticky note on the stateroom door as a reminder.
Maybe Carnival could add such a reminder to the Carnival Hub app in the future!
