Lost All our bags...Advice

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

You don't have to bash the airline here. Luggage stuff happens. However, American flies to St. Thomas regularly and can catch you up with your bags there, although a couple of days late. Moral of story... don't check bags... especially don't check all of your bags.

 

 

Don't check bags????? Very hard to do for any cruise over 7 days....and the airlines are not cooperating with that theory!!! :eek:

 

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[TravelerThom]

Don't check bags????? Very hard to do for any cruise over 7 days....and the airlines are not cooperating with that theory!!! :eek:

 

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I made a decision a long time ago on whether I owned clothes or they owned me. Since I decided to opt out of them owning me [and the invention of the washing machine] I have been able to go to Australia for a month with a carry on bag. Do I wear the same shirt several times? - yes, but it is washed and neat. And of course I only have one pair of black walking shoes and one pair of closed toed Tevas. I can even fit my tuxedo into my 22 inch roller-board [and if anyone notices that I'm wearing black Rockports, they are too polite to have ever mentioned it]. I realize that the carry-on option does not allow for ten pairs of footwear [like my significant other might take], but the choice is yours to make.

 

Thom

[GTO-Girl]

When we flew from ATL to FLL in November we checked one piece and brought one carry on and had no problem.

 

On our returned trip (FLL to ATL) the not-so-nice security lady at the airport said our carryon had to be checked. When I tried to ask (in a nice way) why, since this is the one we brought from Atlanta she rudely informed me that FLL was much stricter than Atlanta... :confused:. I had no choice but to check it. What made me even madder was while we waited for our flight I counted at least 4 people who came by me that had the exact carryon I had (right down to the size/color) :mad:

 

I was thinking what if this had happend on the trip down to FLL and they had lost everything???

 

This is why we have decided we will sail out of Pt Canaveral or Tampa and just drive.......no more flying for me!!!

[GXmanDC]

To the OP: I'm sorry you had this problem. I agree with others, get some clothes now. Make sure the airline has your itinerary and notify Guest Relations when you board.

 

I don't fault the OP for checking his bags. I generally check most of my lugggage. Since the airlines started charging for checked bags the carry-on situation has become a disaster on most flights. Lost/delayed luggage sucks, but the airlines handle millions of bags every year without incident. The airlines aren't always at fault. Returning from our Jan 09 cruise one of our bags was "lost" on the way home As I was in line at the AA desk to file the claim, my partner noticed a single bag left on the belt. He called the phone number on the ID. They were already home, thought they had all of their luggage, turns out they had our "lost" bag. Weird part was, the bags looked really different and ours had the RCI bag tag.

[MrsPete]

I made a decision a long time ago on whether I owned clothes or they owned me. Since I decided to opt out of them owning me [and the invention of the washing machine] I have been able to go to Australia for a month with a carry on bag. Do I wear the same shirt several times? - yes, but it is washed and neat. And of course I only have one pair of black walking shoes and one pair of closed toed Tevas. I can even fit my tuxedo into my 22 inch roller-board [and if anyone notices that I'm wearing black Rockports, they are too polite to have ever mentioned it]. I realize that the carry-on option does not allow for ten pairs of footwear [like my significant other might take], but the choice is yours to make.

 

Thom

Yep, I agree. Last summer we did a three-week trip among the western national parks (flew to Vegas, then drove), and we each had a carry-on only. No, we didn't need formal wear, but we did need jeans, sweatshirts and hiking boots; thus, I figure it was about equal. It's very possible to do a one-week cruise with a carry-on.

 

However, that's not useful to the OP's immediate situation.

[imsulin]

Another good idea (besides the carry-on with a few days' of necessities) is to cross-pack. Half of yours and his/hers in one bag, and the other half in another. The other thing I do is to leave a note inside the suitcase (on top as it's opened) with name, contact info., and ship and daily itinerary info. I do the same thing when I fly...put the dates, airlines, res. number, and itinerary inside my checked luggage. Also have luggage tags with name and contact info. I don't lock my luggage, as nothing in there is that valuable. I hand-carry anything worth anything. (At my age, my Premarin is worth more than my jewelry!) A few years ago, my DD, SIL, and I went on a HAL cruise from FLL, and SIL forgot his dress shoes. We'd spent the night before the cruise in a FLL hotel, so we walked to a little shopping mall, and the only thing he could find was a pair of steel-toed black man-made oxford lace-ups for $12.....which looked stunning with his nice suit! Actually, he still wears them (he's a construction contractor) and says they're the best fit ever! They look funnier on-site than they ever did in the HAL MDR!

[PrincesScuba]

When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping!!!!!

[TEXASMUNK]

If you get a moment come back and let us all know what happened.

 

You got a ton of advise on insurance, etc and a ton of "war stories" none of which do you any good today...so here is hoping things worked out ok.

[missymatt]

In St. Thomas there is a K-mart. You can get everything there to get you thru if your luggage never shows.

[Mrsg324]

Another good idea (besides the carry-on with a few days' of necessities) is to cross-pack. Half of yours and his/hers in one bag, and the other half in another. The other thing I do is to leave a note inside the suitcase (on top as it's opened) with name, contact info., and ship and daily itinerary info. I do the same thing when I fly...put the dates, airlines, res. number, and itinerary inside my checked luggage. Also have luggage tags with name and contact info. I don't lock my luggage, as nothing in there is that valuable. I hand-carry anything worth anything. (At my age, my Premarin is worth more than my jewelry!) A few years ago, my DD, SIL, and I went on a HAL cruise from FLL, and SIL forgot his dress shoes. We'd spent the night before the cruise in a FLL hotel, so we walked to a little shopping mall, and the only thing he could find was a pair of steel-toed black man-made oxford lace-ups for $12.....which looked stunning with his nice suit! Actually, he still wears them (he's a construction contractor) and says they're the best fit ever! They look funnier on-site than they ever did in the HAL MDR!

 

 

We do the cross packing for this very reason. So far we have been fortunate & not had luggage disappear. We also pack undergarments, swimsuits & 2 changes of clothes in our carry on stuff as well.

[toxicfairy]

You don't have to bash the airline here. Luggage stuff happens. However, American flies to St. Thomas regularly and can catch you up with your bags there, although a couple of days late. Moral of story... don't check bags... especially don't check all of your bags.

:eek:Don't check bags??? Ok the OP sounds like it was just the one person. However not checking bags is not realistic for everyone. Our next cruise will be a 7 night cruise for 4 people. No way we could handle that much luggage without checking it.

P.S. 2 of our party will be teenage girls... LOL no packing light there!:rolleyes:

[Mrsg324]

A friend of my son went with us on the 7 night in Nov. How she did it, I have no idea but she put EVERY bit of her clothes in a small carry on size bag. This included her formals. She had a small bag that she carried with her bathroom stuff but that was it. I can't even get my bathroom stuff in a carry on so there is no way I could pack for a 7 night in carry on size bags. Besides, you couldn't take all your sunscreen on a carry on.

[MIcruiser99]

They have laundry on the boat so you can keep to a minimum what you have to buy. They can return your clothes in 24 hours.

 

I don't think any of the RC ships have a laundry on board.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

I don't think any of the RC ships have a laundry on board.

 

 

No self serve laundry on any RC ship. Valet service with 24 hour service available on all ships.

 

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[TravelerThom]

I don't think any of the RC ships have a laundry on board.

They don't have self-service washing machines, but they definitely have laundry service.

 

Thom

 

edit: Diamond Cruisers in Arizona can type faster than I can ;-)

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

They don't have self-service washing machines, but they definitely have laundry service.

 

Thom

 

edit: Diamond Cruisers in Arizona can type faster than I can ;-)

 

 

LOL..years of practice must of paid off! :D

 

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[geegee1]

Thanks for all the advice. Yes I do understand that I need some clothes. My main reason was I was hoping to see if anyone knew the cutoff time for a 6pm cruise....when would they stop accepting bags?

 

My airline is a very major airline...so no point in bashing it here.

 

 

Just curious, did you use curb side check in or did you check in at the gate?

[glenneagle]

We flew from LGa to Dfw last night on American.

No one was allowed roller boards. they made us check them in....

only a small purse each.

[minnie00]

Well I am hoping the OP ran to the mall or somewhere and bought the basics to get thru the week...undies, swimsuit, shorts, tees, sandals, toiletries...

that really sucks...I really hope it works out;)

[Prphan2]

They don't have self-service washing machines, but they definitely have laundry service.

 

 

And we've actually found it to be pretty reasonable .

[IWORK2CRUISE]

When we flew from ATL to FLL in November we checked one piece and brought one carry on and had no problem.

 

On our returned trip (FLL to ATL) the not-so-nice security lady at the airport said our carryon had to be checked. When I tried to ask (in a nice way) why, since this is the one we brought from Atlanta she rudely informed me that FLL was much stricter than Atlanta... :confused:. I had no choice but to check it. What made me even madder was while we waited for our flight I counted at least 4 people who came by me that had the exact carryon I had (right down to the size/color) :mad:

 

I was thinking what if this had happend on the trip down to FLL and they had lost everything???

 

This is why we have decided we will sail out of Pt Canaveral or Tampa and just drive.......no more flying for me!!!

Last month we travelled with one checked bag each and I had a rollaboard. While waiting to go through security FLL for our return, we saw many people who approached the entrance to security and were told that their rollaboards would need to be checked as they were too large. Many commented that they had flown down with them. They were told "Well now you are flying OUT of Florida."

Mine made it through but our flight was so delayed that by the time we actually boarded I chose to board among the last. At that point they said that there were too many rollaboards and requested that mine be checked. I didn't really mind as at that point they did not charge me.

[tmoret]

here are my tips:

 

 

1. toiletries- check with your hotel. most have free stuff to help save some cash
   
2. Go to the nearest walmart or JC pennys. They both carry nice shirts and shorts yes it will cost you but hey you can get nice stuff cheap there to get you by.
   

these are just ideas of what I would do.

[maggieq]

It can happen to anyone but I do everything I can help the situation if it does.....

 

so that's why we cross pack our checked bags.

In our carry on, we try to put our toiletries, a couple of undies, bathing suit, pair of socks, shoes, etc. No, our carryons are normal size.

 

We have really scaled back on what we pack......compared to our first couple of cruises.

 

And we always fly in the day/evening before. Always get a direct flight.

[sarge98]

Hi,

 

I'm sitting here in my Ft Lauderdale room....waiting to go to the port to board the Oasis. Ok...don't yell at me..but I trusted the airlines with all my bags. So I have nothing. My bags are somewhere in La La land....SO best case scenario...they arrive and are delivered to the ship...what is the latest time the ship will accept my bags? The Oasis leaves at 6pm I believe. Does anyone know what time is the cutoff? I'm assuming I should board the ship and hope for the best.

Also...if I get on the ship and then at 2pm I'm told my bags are lost can I get off the ship to go buy clothes? The airline won't reimburse me until they say they are lost. OH and the kicker..I got a voucher for $100 for my next flight...Like I would even use them again. This is the 2nd time they lost my bags in a year.

 

What airline did you fly on. We returned from a cruise last week Feb7th. We were missing 1 bag which Delta found by the bar code on it's luggage tag. Someone in San Juan PR had sent it to Detroit via the wrong plane. Delta delivered it to our front door the next day.I would think airlines use bar codes on bags?

[cruzwpj]

I don't understand the airline saying no rollerbags, all the effort to compact packing to carry on and THEN they say, sorry no rollerbags. Not right. :eek: