Couple's engagement ring stolen on cruise ship

"'Your engagement ring is gone.' And that's how I found out that I was getting proposed to," Shirley Tomlinson told WEWS.

That's Shirley Tomlinson, who was on a Carnival cruise with her boyfriend, Trevor Ross, last month. Ross was all set to propose, but before he could, someone stole the ring.

The thieves threw the empty ring box in the toilet.

Back in 2013, the U.S. Coast Guard began reporting crime statistics from the major cruise lines.

Here's the catch, though: It only reports thefts of property worth $10,000 or more. This makes it so very few thefts are actually reported -- like, Ross and Tomlinson's ring, which is valued at $2,500.

In December, Congress passed legislation to make information about every crime reported on cruise ships available to the public. That information will be posted on the U.S. Department of Transportation's website.

To prevent your valuables from getting stolen on a cruise, Travel Insurance Review suggests not using the in-room safe, because cruise ship employees can open it. They suggest keeping what's necessary in your wallet and leaving as many valuables as you can at home.

Ross and Tomlinson told WEWS that Carnival Cruise Lines refused to do anything about the theft when they reported it.

"They pretty much were accusing us that we lost the item because we keep a wallet and a ring box in the toilet," Tomlinson said.

However, Carnival has since told WEWS that it's giving the couple a full refund for the ring and a credit to be used on a future cruise.

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