Luggage tags for US Direct

[emilygrace]

Can anyone who has participated in this program this year tell me if their luggage tags that arrived with their docs were any different? My TA said the RCL rep said the luggage tags weren't special ones, but if they aren't, how do they know to take that luggage straight to the ship and not put it on the baggage pick up carousels? We're doing US Direct and I don't want our luggage left circling on the carousel, while I'm on my way to the ship!

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Carol

[Happy2Cruz]

We just returned on Radiance today. We used US Direct embarking. We started w/ a 7am flight from DC, to San Francisco, and a (only 45 minutes) transfer to Vancouver. We were very worried that our luggage would not make it. All we did was place the RCCL Radiance cabin tags (found in your cruise docs) on our luggage before we got to the airport. Upon arriving at YVR airport, follow the signs hanging from the ceiling that say US Direct. Make sure you use the bathroom first. Do NOT go downstairs to baggage area. We queued up along an area where there were 2 US Customs people who reviewed our passports & Customs form. Then we went downstairs where we had to show our paperwork again & then board buses to take us to the pier. All in all, worked out great, we got thru everything from the moment off the plane & onto the boat in about 90 minutes. No long wait in customs.

[emilygrace]

I am bringing this back to the top because I am still looking for an answer to my question. What I am wondering is if the luggage tags that come with your docs say anywhere on them that you are doing US Direct? How do these luggage tags differ from ones that someone who is not participating in US Direct will receive in their docs? Am I making myself clear or am I just confusing everything?

[Shirley and Les]

...How do these luggage tags differ from ones that someone who is not participating in US Direct will receive in their docs? Am I making myself clear or am I just confusing everything?

No, your question is perfectly clear. It's the answer that's unclear. We took the norhtbound Celebrity Summit on June 17th from Vancouver using US Direct. Our ship luggage tags looked exactly like the ones we have had in the past. They identify the ship, embarkation date, deck, cabin number, cabin location and passenger name. There was nothing special that said US Direct on the tag.

Here are a couple of possibilities.

1. Before taking the luggage for US Direct, baggage handlers check the cruise luggage tag against a list of passengers using the service. This could be done pretty fast if the tag bar code includes the passenger name.

2. All luggage pretagged with the cruise tag and arriving on embarkation day might automatically go via US Direct. Normally, the cruise line tells you not to tag your bags until you reach the port city.

I am not really sure how it works but it does work. Our luggage went from Pittsburgh to Chicago to Seattle to Vancouver (please don't ask why) and all pieces beat us to the cabin as we embarked.

Les

[CruiseIsGood]

Even before US Direct was implemented, my cruise-tagged luggage went straight to the ship. I never picked it up in Vancouver.

[emilygrace]

Thanks for your answers! This is the info I was looking for. One less thing to obsess over!