Last week, someone posted a video of a couple missing their cruise ship from the Bahamas to Miami by a mere five minutes. The video quickly went viral, mostly thanks to their frantic and failed attempts to get the Symphony of the Seas to turn back.
It turns out the mystery couple is Maria González, a 26-year-old TV presenter and Instagram star from Costa Rica, and her husband, marketing manager Alessandro Di Palma, who were on the last leg of their honeymoon when the incident occurred.
Speaking to Insider, González revealed that the reason they arrived late is because the ship had left the other ports on their cruise at 5:30 pm, and they didn't realize the final route was set to depart a full two hours earlier.
"I was always checking the itinerary because this is a nightmare that everyone has," she said. "This was [my husband's] first cruise, but it was my third cruise so I kind of know how it works, and I can't believe this happened to me."
The company gives each of its passengers a daily activity guide noting the ship's itinerary, and also has an app that reminds them of the departure time. But, as luck would have it, that was the one day the couple decided not to check either one.
"It was like Murphy's law, because we were always checking the itinerary in the morning but that last day we were relaxing and we didn't check the app," she said. "We were having fun in the Bahamas, at the beach, taking in the sun."
She also admitted that it was her fault that they were late, since her husband kept pushing them to go to the pier since he had a bad feeling they were wrong...which, incidentally, they were.
As you might expect, she also said it was "frustrating" to watch the ship float away because it was "right there," and they knew there was nothing they could do but stand there hopelessly watching it leave.
"We started yelling to them like, 'Hey, please don't go! Let us in! We're so close! The cruise is still here! Please, please!'"
The worst part? All of their stuff, including their passports, were onboard. First rule of traveling: always keep your passport on your person!
"We just had a little cash for the island for some food and drinks but we left everything else on the boat. "That was the worst feeling."
In their defense, they weren't the only ones in this position, as four other people were (metaphorically speaking) in the same boat that day. When they got to the the Department of Immigration to sort out their situation, they were also told this kind of thing happens all the time.
Luckily, it all ended well. A security boat was able to retrieve their documents, and they were able to grab a taxi and just take a flight to Miami. The only downside was that it hadn't managed to retrieve their clothing, so they ended up having to take their flight in their swimwear.
"We were freezing at the airport!" she said. "Alessandro was wearing his banana-print trunks and I was wearing my orange swimsuit."
Their flub cost them about $600 in flights and $200 in clothing that they bought once they arrived, but they did then get the rest of their stuff back, and now they've got a fun story to tell.
"At the time it's frustrating and you feel really stupid because the cruise is always informing you by the speakers and the itinerary. Now it's such a funny experience [to look back on] and we have a good story to tell our future kids, if we have any."
And for more great stories featuring cruise ships, read about how Twitter Users Helped Reunite Two Long-Lost Friends.
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