Emerald Princess - lost items never located/returned

[HappyTraveller49]

I sailed on the Emerald Princess on a partial transit of the Panama Canal disembarking in Ft. Lauderdale on January 28, 2022. The next day (January 29) I realized that I had left 2 swimsuits and 2 cover-ups in a cabinet in our stateroom. I immediately reported the loss through their third-party app Chargerback outlining the date, ship, voyage number and EXACT location of where it had been left in the stateroom. It is now May 7 and nothing has happened other than periodic boilerplate emails stating that the items had not been found (which ceased 3 months after I reported the loss). I searched online and could find NO instance in which Princess had ever actually found lost items. 

 

When disembarking Princess cruises, passengers are required to vacate their staterooms early in the morning ostensibly so the staterooms can be prepared for the next guests. My assumption is that this would include checking the staterooms for items left behind by previous passengers. It appears that either this wasn't done and my belongings were disposed of by the next occupants or else they were disposed of by the cabin steward.

 

I have difficulty finding swimsuits that fit so the loss of my swimsuits represents a significant financial loss as well as difficulty replacing them.

 

Has anyone had a similar experience or has actually had a lost item/items returned?

[Lady Arwen]

Welcome to your first post on Cruise Critic.  It is the responsibility of each and every passenger to check and check again and to check again before vacating your cabin on embarkation morning.  No cruiseline can be expected to take responsibility for your bathing suits. I’m sure they did their best trying to help you, but ship-life is very busy.  This is a very valuable lesson for your next cruise.  I’m betting you will not leave something behind in the future.  I would just forget about it  at this point.  The chances of you being reunited with your swimwear is slim to none.  Sorry.

[JF - retired RRT]

DH actually left his keys on the bed after one of our cruises. Luckily, we realized immediately (altho' not before we'd walked out of the last door. They won't let you go back, once you pass that door. They called the ship, the ship contacted the steward and the keys were sent out to us. WHEW!!

 

On our recent cruise, I looked at ALL the drawers/shelved (and it was a lot, we were in a suite). In the bottom shelf (very shallow and totally useless for storage), I found a sugar dispenser (the handy dandy worthless balls o' glass) and a shoe bag, shoe brush and cleaning sponge. Those last items are (I think) part of the suite amenities. Our worthless steward did not offer many of the amenities that are supposed to be included...I had to ask for them.

[Lady Arwen]

1 minute ago, JF - retired RRT said:

DH actually left his keys on the bed after one of our cruises. Luckily, we realized immediately (altho' not before we'd walked out of the last door. They won't let you go back, once you pass that door. They called the ship, the ship contacted the steward and the keys were sent out to us. WHEW!!

 

On our recent cruise, I looked at ALL the drawers/shelved (and it was a lot, we were in a suite). In the bottom shelf (very shallow and totally useless for storage), I found a sugar dispenser (the handy dandy worthless balls o' glass) and a shoe bag, shoe brush and cleaning sponge. Those last items are (I think) part of the suite amenities. Our worthless steward did not offer many of the amenities that are supposed to be included...I had to ask for them.

Sorry, but I really don’t think it’s necessary to call your room steward “worthless”.  They are very hard working people doing the best they can.  Please try to be kind.

[donaldsc]

Welcome to CC.  Ultimately you are responsible for keeping track of your stuff.  If you had left something that looked valuable behind, I am certain that the steward would have turned them into lost and found and you would have been reunited with them.  But bathing suits???  People leave lots of stuff behind in their staterooms purposely because they just want to get rid of them and not take them home.  You can't expect the steward who is very busy at turn around time to be responsible for every item that they find in the cabin.

 

DON

[JF - retired RRT]

10 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

Sorry, but I really don’t think it’s necessary to call your room steward “worthless”.  They are very hard working people doing the best they can.  Please try to be kind.

That was kind. All he did was make the bed, change the towels and close the curtains at night. He didn't clean anything. I noticed odds & ends that would disappear if vacuumed or wiped and they were there for days at a time (on a short 5 day cruise).

[Lady Arwen]

5 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

That was kind. All he did was make the bed, change the towels and close the curtains at night. He didn't clean anything. I noticed odds & ends that would disappear if vacuumed or wiped and they were there for days at a time (on a short 5 day cruise).

Hopefully, you spoke to him and asked him to please take care of the things that bothered you.  If he refused to do so, of course you could discuss it with the housekeeping manager.  It’s possible that this this was his first ship assignment and needed some guidance.  It does not make him “worthless”. 

[sewingmolly]

I left a new top that I had just made for the trip in a hotel room in Feb 2020, and had exactly the same result with finding it.  I think the problem is the outsourcing of lost and found.  In my experience, outsourcing is used because it's cheaper and cheaper equals very poor service.  I doubt that this third-party app Chargerback has ever returned anything to anyone.  It just gives somewhere to make your claim.  I'm still upset about my lost item, so I completely understand your frustration. 

[RJAM3]

I had left the ship and arrived at the hotel then proceeded to our car which we had left at the hotel in Seattle. No key!  Left my wife in the lobby with our luggage and caught a cab back to the ship thinking I had left them on the bed. I found a Princess rep, who was busy getting new arrivals in the proper line to board.  She stopped and called the ship on her walkie talkie.  She waited until she could talk directly with our room steward who stated she did not find any keys but offered to go back to the cabin and check. No luck.  I then started to leave but thought maybe they came out of my pocket in the disembarkation lounge.  She again stopped and called the ship once more and had them check the lounge.  No luck again. Could not have asked for any better service..it was outstanding.  Wish I had gotten her name but was thinking only of the electronic car key lost on a Saturday and would not be able to be replaced until Monday. It requires a dealer to reprogram the car. When I went out to the taxi line I happened to get the same driver I had getting back to the ship. He was glad to see me..I do tip well as the ride to the hotel is 10 minutes away and he has to sit in a very long line of cabs hoping for a ride to the airport.  He asked why I was back so soon.

I told him my tale of woe. He very kindly asked the guy that opens the cab door for you if any key was found in a cab.  He said no, but he would check with the dispatcher and have all the drivers check their cabs for lost key which was small and black same color of the seats of course. Took my cell number and I went back to the hotel to check in for another night. Soon received a call from my taxi driver saying they found the key and he would bring it to me. God does answer the smallest of prayers!!  Driver received a very large tip!  PRINCESS was so very kind to help me even in the throws of a new boarding process!  

[donaldsc]

1 hour ago, donaldsc said:

Welcome to CC.  Ultimately you are responsible for keeping track of your stuff.  If you had left something that looked valuable behind, I am certain that the steward would have turned them into lost and found and you would have been reunited with them.  But bathing suits???  People leave lots of stuff behind in their staterooms purposely because they just want to get rid of them and not take them home.  You can't expect the steward who is very busy at turn around time to be responsible for every item that they find in the cabin.

 

DON

 

I will add something to my own post.  Consider how much work that the cabin attendants have to do on turnaround day.  The probably have been assigned maybe 10 cabins or more and they have to clean up from the old occupants and prep the cabin for the new ones in maybe 2 or 3 hours.  If they find an item in the cabin they have to do a whole bunch of paperwork and probably stop cleaning cabins and go and turn the item into lost and found.  This messes up their whole system.  Also lots of people leave stuff in the cabin that they don't want to take home assuming that the cabin attendant will toss it out for them.

 

How is the cabin attendant supposed to differentiate the toss out items with the stuff that you forgot to take w you?  As I mentioned previously I am sure that if the item appears to have value they bring it to lost and found.  Old clothing - not likely.

 

Also I agree w Lady Arwen.  You should NEVER call another human being "worthless".  You could have said that he or she did not do as good their job as well as you hoped but never "worthless".  How would you like to be called "worthless"?

 

DON

[AVCruzers]

Some guests on CC have admitted that they go to outlets like Goodwill to buy their cruise clothes and then purposely leave them behind for the crew.  My husband accidently left his favorite Red Dog Saloon cap so hope a crew member enjoyed wear it.  Just a good reason to plan another Alaskan cruise.  On my last cruise, I lost a hearing aid on very last day of cruise.   

[tonit964]

My brother forgot his favorite belt on the top shelf of the closet on our recent Discovery cruise. I always check the drawers and closet before we leave to make sure but I was too short to see it up there.

Oh well, he should have been more careful. He'll never make that mistake again.

 

I'm positive the steward doesn't check all the drawers and shelves of the each cabin on turnaround day, they have enough to worry about with the linen changes & cleaning.

[Tedferg]

3 hours ago, tonit964 said:

My brother forgot his favorite belt on the top shelf of the closet on our recent Discovery cruise. I always check the drawers and closet before we leave to make sure but I was too short to see it up there.

Oh well, he should have been more careful. He'll never make that mistake again.

 

I'm positive the steward doesn't check all the drawers and shelves of the each cabin on turnaround day, they have enough to worry about with the linen changes & cleaning.

I stand on the step into the bathroom to see that top shelf above the hanging area, I am vertically challenged and probably can't see all the way back 🙂

 

DW recently left prescription reading glasses on the open bedside table, probably got pushed all the way back and you can't see them unless kneeling down. We do open all draws before we leave.

[cruzsnooze]

6 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

I will add something to my own post.  Consider how much work that the cabin attendants have to do on turnaround day.  The probably have been assigned maybe 10 cabins or more and they have to clean up from the old occupants and prep the cabin for the new ones in maybe 2 or 3 hours.  If they find an item in the cabin they have to do a whole bunch of paperwork and probably stop cleaning cabins and go and turn the item into lost and found.  This messes up their whole system. 

I'm tired of reading this sentiment. They have a job to do and get paid well for it considering the value of their earnings to their home country. They should do their job well, this is a service industry and if they can't or won't do their job efficiently they they need to leave their job to someone who will do it conscientiously. 

  Their whole system is customer service - to take care of us paying passengers. Don't confuse my post as being rude to the attendants. I'm actually quite nice and engaging, but I expect the amenities and services I paid for and what's promised in the Princess advertisements and web pages. 

[Steelers36]

8 hours ago, RJAM3 said:

. God does answer the smallest of prayers!!  Driver received a very large tip!  PRINCESS was so very kind to help me even in the throws of a new boarding process!  

Amazing L&F story.  If you had any money left after tipping, you should have bought a lottery ticket!!

[rhblake]

11 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

They have a job to do and get paid well for it considering the value of their earnings to their home country. They should do their job well, this is a service industry and if they can't or won't do their job efficiently they they need to leave their job to someone who will do it conscientiously. 

Do you think that checking each drawer in each room or vacuuming every carpet on turn around day is in their job description? My guess is they are required to change linens and towels, vacuum if necessary, disinfect all surfaces and clean the bathrooms, all within a very limited amount of time.

[skynight]

Forget the swim suits. Many times I have found items from previous cabin occupants. Turned them over to the cabin steward. From that point never knew what happened. I suspect there are many items left behind on every voyage. Probably more than the ship can handle, sort and return. 

[JF - retired RRT]

16 hours ago, tonit964 said:

I'm positive the steward doesn't check all the drawers and shelves of the each cabin on turnaround day, they have enough to worry about with the linen changes & cleaning.

Some may, many likely do not. In our suite cabin on Discovery, two of the cabinets (one in the bedroom, one in the main room) had bottom shelves that were approx. 6" tall. Very poor design. What can you store there? How can you see what's there? When I checked for missing items while packing, I looked at those shelves (almost on hands & knees), found a sugar dispenser (fish bowl type) and a shoe bag & shoe brush. Who knows how long they'd been there? At least, it couldn't have been years.🙃

[tonit964]

12 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

I'm tired of reading this sentiment. They have a job to do and get paid well for it considering the value of their earnings to their home country. They should do their job well, this is a service industry and if they can't or won't do their job efficiently they they need to leave their job to someone who will do it conscientiously. 

  Their whole system is customer service - to take care of us paying passengers. Don't confuse my post as being rude to the attendants. I'm actually quite nice and engaging, but I expect the amenities and services I paid for and what's promised in the Princess advertisements and web pages. 

I disagree. It's about personal responsibility. It's not sub par service if the steward doesn't check every nook & cranny after each guest in each of the cabins they are assigned.

 

[tonit964]

15 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Some may, many likely do not. In our suite cabin on Discovery, two of the cabinets (one in the bedroom, one in the main room) had bottom shelves that were approx. 6" tall. Very poor design. What can you store there? How can you see what's there? When I checked for missing items while packing, I looked at those shelves (almost on hands & knees), found a sugar dispenser (fish bowl type) and a shoe bag & shoe brush. Who knows how long they'd been there? At least, it couldn't have been years.🙃

Seems like wasted space to me and I would never put anything in there.

Lol, you're right, not years but weeks. 😀

[fabric_fabric]

Just my two cents - I do think it is the room attendants job to check everywhere in the room. Just recently we found two tissues under the bed and a voucher issued to prior guests in a drawer. In defense, though, I have left ships later morning several times and seen hallways littered with trash, leftovers, BATHING SUITS, socks, etc. as the rooms were cleaned! We have been very careful every since.