Procedure For Locating A Lost Guest

[srobinet63]

My adult son has a cognitive disability and is also insulin dependent. He can't read despite many attempts to teach him. I am concerned that if were to get separated that he could not find his way back to the stateroom.  I have every intention of keeping him with me and not letting him wander around on his own  Does Carnival have a plan in instances like this? Would they make an announcement asking him to return to a central or specific location? We have other family members on board who could help look for him but since the ship holds over 5,000 people it would take forever.  I'm getting nervous about this.. I can't find his diabetic bracelet and unless Walmart or a pharmacy has one in stock he won't have that on him. I did list his medical conditions when I signed in for the cruise. We sail on 9/10.

[BlerkOne]

You might contact the special needs department for suggestions.

https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/special-needs

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, srobinet63 said:

My adult son has a cognitive disability and is also insulin dependent. He can't read despite many attempts to teach him. I am concerned that if were to get separated that he could not find his way back to the stateroom.  I have every intention of keeping him with me and not letting him wander around on his own  Does Carnival have a plan in instances like this? Would they make an announcement asking him to return to a central or specific location? We have other family members on board who could help look for him but since the ship holds over 5,000 people it would take forever.  I'm getting nervous about this.. I can't find his diabetic bracelet and unless Walmart or a pharmacy has one in stock he won't have that on him. I did list his medical conditions when I signed in for the cruise. We sail on 9/10.

I've cruised with similar and almost got separated once. It is a worry. I'd told my sister to ask someone to take her to customer service. We were coming out of the theater one night and waiting for the elevator and one came the wrong direction so I wasnt watching real close, and looking just in time

To see my sister stepping into a full elevator. I just barely had time to reach out and grab her to pull her back out of the elevator. She always kept her next dose of medication with her, but it was a huge worry for me too. 

 

I would suggest something other than the cabin if he cant find it. I tried to explain even and odd numbers and ascending and descending numbers, but my mom made me stop saying I was being mean pushing her. I'd try and make sure there is one place he knows to go if you get separated.

[momof3cruisers]

1 hour ago, srobinet63 said:

My adult son has a cognitive disability and is also insulin dependent. He can't read despite many attempts to teach him. I am concerned that if were to get separated that he could not find his way back to the stateroom.  I have every intention of keeping him with me and not letting him wander around on his own  Does Carnival have a plan in instances like this? Would they make an announcement asking him to return to a central or specific location? We have other family members on board who could help look for him but since the ship holds over 5,000 people it would take forever.  I'm getting nervous about this.. I can't find his diabetic bracelet and unless Walmart or a pharmacy has one in stock he won't have that on him. I did list his medical conditions when I signed in for the cruise. We sail on 9/10.

In addition to contacting special needs as Blerk suggested above, would it work to tell him to find someone with a badge if he gets lost? Or someone who looks like a mom? That’s often the suggestion to tell children in case you get separated. Not trying to be insensitive. 

[skrufy]

What about an identifying tag for his waist or bracelet with cruise info on it. If he gets separated or lost  instruct him to show it to a crew member.

[geovet]

I have a special needs son and he once pulled a quick one on us. Waiting for a elevator he dashed into on when our back was turned. Panic set in! We contact security and they quickly had word out to look for him. We found him moments later. Knowing him we went to lido where he went to get something to eat. We were impressed with Carnivals response. You are to worry cause stuff happens. The good thing is he is on the ship so he can’t get to far. 
 

So if you should get separated, find any personal and they will get the staff to locate hem.  Keep a picture of him on your phone with what he is wearing each day. 

[Homosassa]

I don't know if Carnival will do this, but I have seen posts by adults with a special need (deaf, blind) that they have been able to request the bracelet that is placed on children by the cruise line for ID purposes and life boat stations. 

 

Contact Special Needs and ask if something similar is available.

[Travelling2Some]

Would it work to put one of those tiles on him that you use to locate you keys or luggage?  i don't know if this is tech works on the ship?  it might be very useful ashore though.

[firefly333]

59 minutes ago, Travelling2Some said:

Would it work to put one of those tiles on him that you use to locate you keys or luggage?  i don't know if this is tech works on the ship?  it might be very useful ashore though.

I've read that this tech doesnt really work on the ship. Something about it has to connect to blue tooth. I'm not that tech, but I dont think onboard those work well. There is a delay or some such. 

 

I hope this or something gets better and better. It's a big worry for me too. 

[Essiesmom]

I would think that an AirTag planted on him might work.  As long as you have iPhones, there are many, many people onboard who have cellphones and many of those are iPhones and if you go into the app and ask it to locate him, it wouldn’t be long before someone with an iPhone passed him and posted a location.  The problem would be if it locates precisely enough.  Just telling you he is on the ship isn’t much help.  It’s too bad Carnival hasn’t adopted the medallion/bracelet technology.  On MSC ships that have it and the person is wearing a bracelet, you can go to any interactive screen and locate them.  I think on Princess you can locate them in the app.  
Maybe @TxTeach79could chime in with an opinion.  EM

Edited September 3, 2023 by Essiesmom

[JoeMo]

One time I had a Carnival luggage tag (like we print for checked luggage) laminated and fixed to a lanyard. The joke was "here's where I live if you find me drunk". I had MANY people say they were gonna try that for one reason or another. If everyone in the cabin wore a tag, the person who needs the tag wouldn't think twice about wearing one. This person would be able to ask just about anyone to guide me home. 

I didn't need the assistance, but most people knew why the tag was there.

[Starlight Durban Cruising]

17 hours ago, srobinet63 said:

 He can't read despite many attempts to teach him. I am concerned that if were to get separated that he could not find his way back to the stateroom.  I have every intention of keeping him with me and not letting him wander around on his own.

I'm going to add comment relative to the different responses separately - so much good info on here. 

 

Noted what you said above, but it is not only about the room and deck numbers, it is also that the ship is like a maze, and each passage/door looks similar - even I struggle to find my cabin sometimes because all the doors and decorations are so so similar. It takes me a good few days to get my bearings and know where to get somewhere easily (without that map of the ship). Even harder is that sometimes to get from point A to Z is complex such as when you have to go up a deck to cross over the dining room and then down a deck or two to get to YOUR dining room, that is so confusing at the best of times. Can you ask the reception desk once you are onboard for one of those paper maps and then mark your cabin number on there so he can show it to a crew member if he gets lost. Also a lanyard with a pouch where he can keep the onboard card and the map might help.

 

Your cabin attendant will also introduce himself/herself to you on the day that you board so it might be good to introduce your son on that day. They do a wonderful job of checking on their allocated guests if they see them in the passage. If your attendant sees your son in the passage I am sure they would direct him back to cabin door if he is in that general area in the passage.

 

Another aspect on Carnival (well all cruise lines that I've been on), is that they don't just take your photo before you board for no reason. It is also used for when you attempt to get on and off the ship, and they swipe your card and look at your photo on the screen to match the face to the person leaving the ship. Like wise if a minor child appears at the gangway and attempts to get off unaccompanied, it will immediately warn the crew with 'where are the parents, block exit if unaccompanied". I think that the parents photos would flash up there too but I stand to be corrected on that one. I realize your son is over 18 as you said, and so normally it would not flag him for any attempt to exit (as with a minor), but can you check with Carnival if they can tag his guest card to block unaccompanied exit at the gangway due to a special needs requirement for him to be accompanied at gangway. 

 

That photo they take also appears on each screen when the card is swiped at the shop, bar, etc, and they check the face to see it is the same person - probably to reduce problems of "spend and dispute" later...

 

If you had to report your son as missing on the ship then they have that photo available for any staff member who has a terminal or an iPad-type unit on them. There are also cameras all over the ship so they can trace pretty quickly where a person is or has been if they need to start searching in an emergency situation.  

 

You said that your son can't read. An issue that may not be exactly the same but let me give you an example: We took my son on a cruise when he was 12 and there were very few kids (a Panama cruise during school time). Most cruise lines allow you to block spend on minors' cards, but on that cruise line I had to leave his guest card unblocked for onboard spend because even though he had an unlimited games-room package it would not work if the spend-card was blocked - yes SMH, but anyway.... SO I unblocked the card !!!! Welll, every other day I go past reception and pull a statement of all cabin charges and on the one day I nearly fainted right there at reception. (This is a cruise line with drinks and specialty meals package included so no need for charges such as that to be on account). Anyway, right there in front of my eyes is a $600 charge on the account - one charge. My son had just purchased a watch in the shop onboard. Anyway they sent me up to the shop and they said that my son had just been there, and they had asked him if his parents were ok with him purchasing such an (expensive) item. At the end of it all they took the watch back and credited my account, and I blocked his spend card. Thereafter if he wanted to go to the games arcade then I had to go to reception, unblock the card, accompany him for dad and son game time in the arcade, and then go back to reception afterwards to block the spend card again. My son came from foster so the meaning (value) of money is to this day difficult for him as his young days consisted of survival with no money, food, and if you had something and someone took it away then "no problem, survival is what counts most". (He's doing a lot better now, but that was an eye-popping day for me). Luckily on Carnival it should be a lot easier to block spend or to have his account changed to a cash-only spend-card (ie. NOT Linked to your credit card), just be aware ...  

[Starlight Durban Cruising]

10 hours ago, geovet said:

 Keep a picture of him on your phone with what he is wearing each day. 

That's an excellent idea - "Lets take a selfie of us on our holiday" each morning so you have it on your phone just in case. If he has a phone then he could take one of you and him each morning too so if he gets lost he can show the crew your photo too and perhaps a scan of his room card on his phone.

 

I know some people say "Don't write your room number on your physical card as someone else could find the card and then go to your cabin for no-good reasons", but only you know if that might be another option for your son and if that would be safe for him.  

[Starlight Durban Cruising]

Enjoy the cruise.

 

If you do have any unique experiences on the cruise please come back and tell us. This forum can be such a help to another family in the future who are looking for similar guidance and we all learn from what we read on Cruise Critic. (Right now I am planning an Antarctica cruise for an 85 year old parent and myself, and THAT is a whole nother type of planning [and moods and opinions] to figure out .... LOL) Cruise Critic is such a help.

[firefly333]

42 minutes ago, Starlight Durban Cruising said:

That's an excellent idea - "Lets take a selfie of us on our holiday" each morning so you have it on your phone just in case. If he has a phone then he could take one of you and him each morning too so if he gets lost he can show the crew your photo too and perhaps a scan of his room card on his phone.

 

I know some people say "Don't write your room number on your physical card as someone else could find the card and then go to your cabin for no-good reasons", but only you know if that might be another option for your son and if that would be safe for him.  

Doesnt have to be a minor to not allow charges. I always block charges so my sister cant charge without asking me. I put in my card, but not one for her. Everything in the cabin is charged to me. 

[ldubs]

4 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

I would think that an AirTag planted on him might work.  As long as you have iPhones, there are many, many people onboard who have cellphones and many of those are iPhones and if you go into the app and ask it to locate him, it wouldn’t be long before someone with an iPhone passed him and posted a location.  The problem would be if it locates precisely enough.  Just telling you he is on the ship isn’t much help.  It’s too bad Carnival hasn’t adopted the medallion/bracelet technology.  On MSC ships that have it and the person is wearing a bracelet, you can go to any interactive screen and locate them.  I think on Princess you can locate them in the app.  
Maybe @TxTeach79could chime in with an opinion.  EM

 

With the Princess Medallion it is easy to locate cruise mates. You can do that with the app on your phone or on any of the big screens around the ships.    It is actually pretty accurate and will even guide you to the person if desired.   

 

I also think the Apple Air Tag would be a good thing for the OP to consider.   

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

With the Princess Medallion it is easy to locate cruise mates. You can do that with the app on your phone or on any of the big screens around the ships.    It is actually pretty accurate and will even guide you to the person if desired.   

 

I also think the Apple Air Tag would be a good thing for the OP to consider.   

Again as i posted above every thread I've read says air tags are of limited use once the ship is out in the ocean and the signal is bouncing off a satellite. Also I just tried to search since now someone else suggests them onboard. .. 

 

There are a couple of comments I found here, but trying to search for threads on cc to me is difficult.

 

One poster explains someone with a apple with wifi on has to pass near the tag for it to update. Ignore the posts about airports .. there are 2 here above why it doesn't work well on the cruise. 

 

 

 

[new_cruzer]

This will only work if you are using your phone. When my daughter was younger and we would go someplace busy I would write my phone number on her arm or leg (covered by clothing) with a sharpie. I coached her to look for someone with kids and tell them you're lost and show them the number. We never had to use our system, but it might work in your case.

[srobinet63]

Thank you for all of the thoughtful and helpful responses to my concerns.  I will definitely be taking his picture each morning  We have extra luggage tags/lanyard so I might have him keep a card filled out with the room number and my name.  I did manage to order a diabetic ID that is not engraved it should be here tomorrow. 

 

 I did not realize that the picture ID they take was made available at bars, gift shops andother areas. This would be very helpful if needed.  I also forgot about how many cameras are on the ship.  I am feeling more at ease but will still  be very cautious when we are out and about.  As mentioned above the maze to find your way around the ship would be a huge problem and I can see him getting easily confused.  He's a very sociable guy and talks to anyone and everyone so he would not be afraid to ask for help.

 

I don't believe he would attempt to leave the ship without a family member so I'm less concerned about that. I will post an update when we return.  I'm hoping for a great cruise and that potential Tropical Storm/Hurricane Lee does not actually turn into a storm  We are going to the Bahamas so hoping we will be good. 

 

This board has such valuable information and I sincerely appreciate all of the replies. 

[carol louise]

Some excellent ideas here. I would just mention that on my recent (June 2023) cruise on Venezia, first post pandemic cruise for me, they did not take our photo on embarkation, but just scanned our passport photos. So the daily selfies will be especially useful.
 

Wishing OP a lovely cruise experience.

[ldubs]

11 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Again as i posted above every thread I've read says air tags are of limited use once the ship is out in the ocean and the signal is bouncing off a satellite. Also I just tried to search since now someone else suggests them onboard. .. 

 

There are a couple of comments I found here, but trying to search for threads on cc to me is difficult.

 

One poster explains someone with a apple with wifi on has to pass near the tag for it to update. Ignore the posts about airports .. there are 2 here above why it doesn't work well on the cruise. 

 

 

 

It does look like it would be iffy for them to work on a cruise ship at sea.  Too bad.  It would be an excellent resource.  

[o-state girl]

Dollar Tree has Wall Decor stickers that work great for cabin door decorations.  It may help him to recognize the room if he does get separated.  

 

[EL Pitman]

Its also a good idea to practice.  My daughter is autistic. She's fairly independent, and is actually now living with her boyfriend, and we still do "social stories" to practice what she may come up against.  I'll tell her what will be going on and why I'm concerned. We went to a large weekend outing for my fraternity and I was very concerned about this same thing.  I showed her the crest on my shirt and told her if we got separated, all she had to do is find someone wearing a shirt with that crest and tell them my name and they'll get her to me.  The employees all have different colors, but they all have name tags.  "find someone wearing a name tag, give them your card, and they'll get you back to me".  I'm certain you can find a picture of a few employees with different colored uniforms so he can realize the uniforms are different, so he needs to look for name tags. 

[Elaine5715]

Announcements aren't practical for two reasons.  The system does not reach many areas.  The announcement would be made by an accented voice unfamiliar to  your son.  The number of folks who don't recognize their names over a loudspeaker is amazing.