A cruise vacation didn’t go exactly as planned for Jason and Tammy Merritt when their luggage never showed up at their cabin on Carnival Magic. According to news reports, the incident resulted in a lifetime ban for another passenger and a complex legal situation.

The Merritts’ anniversary trip, an eight-night cruise from Miami, started badly when Jason’s checked bag didn’t arrive. After weeks of searching, Jason used his AirPods, left inside the suitcase, to track it down.

The couple even started a Facebook group, dedicated to watching the tracking information from the lost bag.

The bag was found in another passenger’s cabin. She admitted taking it because she “liked how it looked” and kept it during back-to-back cruises.

Carnival Cruise Line responded by confining her to her cabin and banning her from all future Carnival Corporation cruises.

When Jason got his bag back, many items were missing.

“Daddy-O’s made it home!!!!” he posted on Facebook, “Unfortunately, most of my clothes didn’t.”

Missing items included clothes, shoes, toiletries, medication, glasses, and a key. The couple estimates the loss at $1,000, which qualifies as grand theft in Florida.

“I’m pretty ticked off. It will cost a lot of money to replace the clothes, and some of it can’t be replaced,” Jason said. “We’ll be contacting the authorities.”

Carnival initially offered $350 in compensation. Jason struggled to get information but eventually received guidance on filing an incident report.

“Carnival Cruise Line reached out to me and explained how to go about getting the incident report and how I need to proceed. So I do have that information now,” he shared.

The case raises legal questions. The ship is registered in Panama, and the theft may have happened in international waters, making legal action complicated.

The lifetime ban for the passenger shows how seriously Carnival takes these incidents. It also means they were confident in their decision to take such a strong action.

Jason has filed an incident report. It’s unclear if Carnival will offer more compensation, if police will investigate, or if the Merritts will sue.