Have you had to board without your luggage?

[BOAZ5]

I have been thinking about lost luggage way TOO MUCH lately. I hope it is not a premonition. We are flying in independently the day before our cruise. We have purchased Cruise Care through RCI.

 

My question: Has the airline ever lost your luggage forcing you to board the ship without? Did the airline fly it to the next port, did you buy clothes and turn in for reimbursement to insurance?

 

I have read through the agreement with Cruise Care and Southwest. I think I understand what would happen, but would love to hear your experiences, or should I say horror stories! THANKS!

[megr1125]

Not me, but friends' luggage mis-connected. The airline flew it to the next port. The carrier covered some of what they purchased, and I think the ship provided extra toiletries and some other items...

 

If your bag does not show up at the airport, call the cruise care number right away and start a claim..(do that RIGHT after you go to the airline...or even at the same time..)

 

SOME carriers will even give you toiletries. Actually Southwest delayed a bag of mine for about 12 hours.. I was not cruising but they let me spend $50 for necessities and gave me a toiletry bag. I was able to get reimbursed at the airport, I just had to give them receipts. If you're under a time constraint, this may not work...but they were awesome.

 

It is up to the airline to get the bag to you...at some point. Cross pack with your traveling companion - at least one change of clothes in the other person's bag!

[Teacherloves2Cruise]

My tip would be to pay attention to which bag is checked under which ticket. My Dad's bag was lost and he never got it until after the cruise because it was actually matched to my Mom's ticket and didn't match the given description.

 

 

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[Mykitteh]

We flew in Southwest and it was originally planned we didn't change planes. Well delays up and down the coast (Feb 20) caused our flight to leave Buffalo late and we landed in Orlando late. Southwest decided to take those of us going onto San Juan off the plane we were on and merge our flight with another last minute. This rush rush ended up in my dads suitcase not making it onto our new plane. This contained about 80% of his clothes and both my mothers formal outfits. Whoops!

 

We land in San Juan about 4am and....no bag. My mother filed a claim with Southwest and went to the hotel-hoping it turned up before we boarded Sunday. (This was Saturday).

 

We'd gone out Saturday afternoon for a walk and arriving back at the hotel later on that day discovered the missing bag had arrived on the next flight into San Juan.

[Shih-tzu]

I worry about things like that too. When we each have a bag to check, we put 1/2 of our clothes in each suitcase. That way, if something does happen, at least there's something to wear.

Usually we travel to Florida, so we have our bathing suits in our carry on - so at least we can swim.:D

Our luggage got delayed once, but was delivered to our hotel room the very next morning - but might be more difficult if you are out on the ocean :-)

[mzoscar1]

Yes, unfortunately we have had this experience. We were flying United using ff miles from San Francisco to Oslo. We arrived about 30 hours prior to sailing. Neither of our checked bags had arrived with us. Communication was difficult with the airline (Lufthansa) in Oslo given the language barriers, but we were told our bags would be brought to the ship in Oslo, but they never appeared, and we sailed without them. The first day was a day at sea, so our bags caught up with us at Brugges, our first port of call. More phone calls between us, the airlines and the ship. Royal sent someone from our ship to get our bags in Antwerp while we were ashore. Royal was amazingly helpful!!

 

Thankfully, we had well packed carry-ons, with enough to get by on. My husband was given a voucher for a tux, since that first sea day was also a formal night. We were also given vouchers for OBC to purchase what we might need.

 

It was the ultimate lesson in what you really NEED on a cruise. Know your options, and have a really well-packed carryon. Hope you don't need to use the information you will receive from this post.

[kccrzr]

We fly Southwest all the time and they have never lost our bags.

 

Once in San Juan for a cruise, the airline (I think it was Delta), lost one of our bags. We spent about 1-1/2 hours at the airport first waiting for it in vain and then making a claim. There were 6 or 7 other people on our flight who were also missing bags. Luckily, we were spending the night in San Juan before the cruise. Around 11:00pm that night, we received notice from the front desk that our bag had been found by the airline and delivered to the hotel. PHEW!

 

On our very first Med cruise, we had airline tickets through RCI to fly from Kansas City to Philadelphia to Paris to Barcelona arriving the day of the cruise. (Now of course, we know better than to try that.) We missed the flight in Barcelona, not because we were incredibly late arriving in Paris but because the gangway from the plane to the terminal was locked! It took at least 25 minutes to unlock it and, of course, we were towards the back of the bus, so to speak. It was very frustrating because we rushed through customs as fast as we could , changed terminals, had to go through security again and rushed to the end of the second terminal only to find out the plane was still sitting there but the doors had been closed and the attendants refused to let us on. Due to the time change, there was no one to help us at RCI. It seemed like there were many (hundreds of people) who had missed connecting flights - this happened to be the first weekend of June. We waited in an interminably long line and BEGGED to get a flight to Barcelona that day- we got on the last possible flight which was to land in time for us to get to the cruise port. By that time we were able to get in touch with RCI and tell them of the re-scheduled flight. Then we sat on the tarmac for 30-40 minutes before taking off. WHAT??? Several other people on the flight heard us talking about the cruise and said they were in (and on) the same boat but had not made their arrangements through RCI. When we landed in Barcelona, one of the flight attendants called our name over the intercom and asked the other passengers to let us off first. :D The others on the cruise tagged along with us.

 

As soon as we got off the plane, a representative of a contractor which RCI used to shuttle people to the port told us we had no time to wait for any of our checked luggage. :confused: She whisked us at a run out the terminal and to a shuttle which careened through Barcelona arriving at the port terminal just as the ship's horn was blowing.:eek: They let us run on the ship and check-in at the Guest Services Desk. True Story.

 

We were told our luggage would be sent to the next port and would be waiting for us. As it turned out, our luggage also followed us around the Med for 5 days before catching up with us. Amazingly, we eventually received it all. We were on a 12 night cruise, so had a week left. However, our oldest daughter was in her teens at the time and was NOT AMUSED to be without her clothes for 5 days.

 

RCI gave us some OBC to purchase clothes on the ship. Of course, this was back when the vast majority of the clothing was logo clothing. We still have some shorts and camis with the RCI logo which we got on that cruise.

 

 

One thing I have learned (besides to never fly in on embarkation day) is to take photos with my cell phone of our luggage to speed up the claims process.

 

Hopefully, since you are concerned about losing luggage it will never happen. It is the blissfully ignorant which seem to get slammed.

[DaNana]

We fly Southwest all the time and they have never lost our bags.

 

Actually we have had Southwest loose our luggage. We were flying in a day early to Houston. Originally a direct flight but that changed to a stop in Albuquerque. Arrive in Houston and wait and wait and wait for our luggage. Finally they tell us it must have gotten off accidently in Albuquerque along with others. We had a limo to our hotel in Galveston. Our luggage arrived about 11 that night. Turned out okay for us.

 

Our last cruise in the Mediterranean had several with lost luggage and having to wear logo clothes. There is no fool proof trip!

[ms8654]

Good tip to take a photo of your suitcase!

 

On a cruise out of Barcelona, my suitcase arrived (i was on an earlier flight to Miami than the others) but the other four in the group did not get their suitcases. They followed us around Europe and arrived about two or three days later. Carnival said had they been told they could have helped track it down. Not knowing that, the BFF worked it all through the airline initially. Carnival gave them all tshirts, free laundry, and discounts for the on board store. Luckily they had packed a few things in the carry on bags so they had toiletries and a few other things.

 

 

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[summersigh]

On our Christmas cruise we talked to a family of 4 who's luggage didn't arrive. (everything was a mess in the aviation world because of bad snows in the Northeast) We were scheduled for a sea day and then the private island and then another sea day before a port where luggage could be flown in.

 

The flew in the morning of the cruise so had their taxi driver take them to Wal-Mart where they purchased a cheap tote bag, underwear, shorts, t-shirts and toiletries. They were just happy to be aboard. The cruise line even provided formal clothes for the 2nd night :)

 

Their bags did appear at the port the 4th day :D

[londongal796]

My dad's main suitcase didn't make it with him to Rome when he flew over from the US for a one week Med cruise. Fortunately, as a Boy Scout, he was very prepared and had a well-stocked carry-on bag. My husband and I had come from the UK and fortunately for us all of our luggage had arrived, considering we had next to nothing in our carry-ons! (Lesson learned!)

 

My dad filed a lost luggage claim through the airline, which took ages, but then we set off for the port (he did not receive any money/compensation from the airline). Almost as soon as we boarded the ship we went to Guest Services to let them know as well, and they were extraordinarily helpful. I was honestly completely surprised at the lengths they went to make things easier for my dad.

 

First, they gave him a couple of same-day laundry services vouchers, and said if he needed more he could just come back for more. They took all the luggage details down and promised to track it with the airline (I honestly don't think this part happened although once the luggage was traced they assisted with getting it back onboard the ship). He was given a free tux rental for formal night as that was on the first sea day (more on that later), and also gave him two free t-shirts and access to any toiletries he needed (fortunately he was fine and didn't need any of those). When he went to use one of his free t-shirts, he realised they were size M and as an XL they weren't going to work!! So he went back, gave them back, and they offered to let him buy a shirt from the onboard store as soon as it opened that evening and reimburse him for it. Which of course he did! Not much choice to be honest, but he got a shirt and was able to sleep in that.

 

The tux rental was a wonderful offer, although the guy who actually did the fitting/supplied the tux seemed gutted that he wasn't going to get a commission. He did supply him with a tux but he came around and offered him a 36" waist or a 48" waist -- and he is a 40"! He went with the 48" and wore a very tight belt!!!! He looked a bit baggy really, but hey, it was free.

 

His luggage arrived on day 3 (day 1, we departed, day 2, sea day, day 3, first port day). On day 2, the sea day, we tried to call the airline but it kept hanging up on us (we were using the ships phone for free at Guest Services). I hopped on to the internet and asked a friend who worked for that airline for help, he tracked it down almost immediately and said it was enroute and would arrive day 3. That afternoon we got a call from Guest Services confirming the information my friend had given us first thing that morning! It was a relief either way, knowing he'd soon have all of his clothes.

 

It certainly has made us much more cautious so we know now to pack a good solid carry-on if we are flying in. Fortunately our next cruise we don't need to fly to so no worrying about lost luggage in that respect!!! :D

 

As they say -- better safe than sorry! I think the shared luggage is a good idea too (packing half your stuff in your bag, half in your partners, and vice versa!).

[momofmab]

A friend of mine had to board without her luggage on a 40th b-day cruise we went on. Her plane was late and if she waited for her luggage to unload, she would have missed the boat!

 

I give her a lot of credit - I don't think I could have done it! She did have her bathing suit in her carry-on and she was able to buy underwear at one of the stores onboard. Among the 12 of us, we had enough extra clothes to lend her during the cruise (thank goodness for over-packing!)

[David10225]

This didn't happen to us but our traveling companions last summer. They arrived in Venice to take a cruise the next day...but none of their luggage made the flight due to some short connection times. They boarded with no luggage...but lo and behold..that evening..their luggage appear on the ship as promised!

[PRH]

Funny that this should appear this morning. We just got back from a Caribbean cruise on the Jewel out of San Juan. Our luggage never appeared during the cruise (7 days). RCCL guest relations were superb--they called multiple times each day to the airline (US Air) and attempted to call baggage at San Juan airport but the phone was never answered in San Juan. Guest relations offered us a toiletries kit (terrible contents but the gesture was nice) and tux rental for my husband (since we had only two changes of clothing in our carry on and nothing that would come close to "formal") but that left me out so we passed. RCCL gave us two "Make a wish" tees--flimsy but a change.

 

We finally gave up expecting it to show up on day three and went to a pharmacy on one of the islands for toiletries and suntan lotion and purchased a few articles of clothing and a change of underwear (!). Guest relations comp'd our laundry each night so we could have at least one clean change of clothing. We went to the MDR in shorts (if it is all you have clean, it is all you have) and there was no problem with the staff (though people stared at us as though we had committed a crime).

 

Not sure what happened with our luggage as it ended up back in Portland, ME with a "cleared customs" in St. Thomas sticker!

 

Think about your carry-on and if you had to live out of it for a week. Next time we will be a little more circumspect. Luckily we had our medications, shampoo, soap, etc. (but not a razor for my husband or his deoderant), a swim suit for each of us, tee shirts and shorts. My husband did not have a second pair of shoes (he wore Keen water sandals on the flight down) so that would not have looked great with a tux! I did have a second pair of shoes (again, sandals) as I wore walking shoes on the flight. We survived and it is a story. There were two other couples who did not receive their luggage until day two. So it happens.

[At Sea 4Ever]

This thread is giving me the shakes lol! Right before every cruise about a few weeks out I keep having nightmares regarding lost luggage or not being packed in time. I know it sounds crazy but just had one of those dreams the other night and now I'm reading these posts. Makes me wonder if packing lighter and trying to fit as much as possible in carry on is the way to go! I remember at the airport one time before boarding the navigator we were waiting for our luggage for what seemed like forever at the carousel. Everyone on our flight was already gone and the carousel was running empty for a long time. I remember that feeling in the pit of my stomach. Finally out of no where our luggage appeared! I coulda cried. Kudos to all of you on this board who managed without luggage on your cruises!

 

 

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[Thoie]

It's always my nightmare - particularly going on a Transatlantic! I'm very big, so can't just pop into a local store to grab replacement clothes. I always bring my swimsuit, change of underwear and a change of t-shirt in my hand luggage, but due to other things in there, I generally can't bring a change of trousers and shoes in there too :(

 

This year's transatlantic has a few days around the Caribbean at the start, so there's some hope it might catch up with me there, but if it doesn't, that could be a long 2 weeks!

[BOAZ5]

Thank you for all the great advice. Love the idea of taking pictures of the luggage and taking note of what bag is ticketed to each person.

 

We are in the habit of cross packing clothes in each others suitcases and taking a couple outfits in the carry-ons, so we should be covered in the event we are left without luggage.

[PORT ROYAL]

I have been thinking about lost luggage way TOO MUCH lately. I hope it is not a premonition. We are flying in independently the day before our cruise. We have purchased Cruise Care through RCI.

 

My question: Has the airline ever lost your luggage forcing you to board the ship without? Did the airline fly it to the next port, did you buy clothes and turn in for reimbursement to insurance?

 

I have read through the agreement with Cruise Care and Southwest. I think I understand what would happen, but would love to hear your experiences, or should I say horror stories! THANKS!

 

Yes. Once all four suitcases went missing on arrival at San Juan. We had to board without luggage, but the CL Concierge took over the situation, tracked, traced and arrange for all pieces to join us after three days. Throughout this saga the Concierge kept us advised at every twist and turn, so we did not have to worry. On delivery arranged for a bottle of Champagne to be delivered to our room to celebrate.:o

 

So in a nutshell, just use the Concierge and enjoy your cruise.

[H_Mc]

This isn't really an answer to your original question, just a general travel thing.

 

I too am super paranoid about lost luggage, so I always bring enough to survive and anything that would be annoying to replace on vacation in my carryon. I bring one nicer dress (this is usually my fomal dress for cruises because I'd be mad if I lost it), at least one change of regular clothes, a bathingsuit, underwear and a different type of shoes from the ones I'm flying in. If I'm wearing sneaker's I'll bring dressy flats, if i'm wearing nicer shoes I'll bring sneakers. The same goes for my change of clothes. If I'm wearing jeans I'll bring shorts or a skirt, if I'm not wearing jeans I'll bring jeans. I also carry on any item that was hard to find/would be hard to find on vacation.

 

I try to have a good range of items. That way I at least can enjoy my vacation while I try to deal with the lost luggage and not immediately have to spend $150 on a bathing suit that doesn't fit anyway. Worst case scenario, my luggage is gone, I can buy stuff slowly as I find it and not be stuck washing underwear in the sink every day.

[3disboysmom]

We just got off if Independence of the Seas yesterday and although the airline didn't lose any of our bags, my

Mom never did get one of her bags that we left with the porter at the pier. Royal gave her some onboard credit and all of the paperwork to make the claim with the insurance as the bag is considered unrecoverable at this point. Good thing it was only her smaller bag containing mostly shoes and accessories.

 

 

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[gfd_2]

knock on wood, we've never had a bag lost/ late.

 

We pack swim suits, slides, couple of polo shirts and shorts in our carry on JUST in case our baggage does get lost at least we'd have something to wear.

 

I've also started getting travel insurance just in case.

[mommyz]

This happens to my friend almost every time she travels.

 

1. Always purchase travel ins just in case airlines gives u a hard time.

 

2. I always have a carryon with my formal dress, dress pants with 3 tops, sandals, pjs, undergarments, bathing suit, pair of shorts and some t shirts and basic makeup. U can always get toiletries on the ship. Harder to find clothes that u we'd wear. Wash and wear worst case scenario.

 

3. Take pics of contents and luggage. (This came in super handy when our suitcase had a pitchfork rip right thru the middle after the porter took it. Was fully reimbursed by cruise line).

 

The last time it happened we hit the 24 hr walmart and she added a few items that she cd mix and match with what she had in carry on! Such a trooper...kept saying I am on vacation and even if these people see me with the same clothes on I will never see them again:)

 

U never know what can happen and can't prepare for every situation!

Hope u have a great uneventful trip!!

[yvet]

I do notice that there are a lot of people that have this happened to them are traveling the ssme day as the cruise.

 

So not only flying in a day early helps to get yourself on time onboard but also your luggage if something goes wrong....

 

 

http://thenetherpeople.wordpress.com

[drarill]

It happened to us on our first Med cruise with the kids. We stayed in Madrid for a couple of days before the cruise and thought that an early flight from Madrid to Barcelona was going to be safe. Big mistake, my daughter's main bag didn't make it to BCN, we filled a report and went to the cruise expecting our bag to arrive that day. I decided that trusting Iberia or RCCL was not a good idea and decided to go back to the airport to check if I could find my bag. Took a taxi, stopped at Zara's to buy some outfits for my daughter, went through security and found my bag in a corner unattended. Someone told me to make the line again to report that I found my bag, but it was too long. The bag was mine and I didn't have too much time to get back to the ship. I did inform the ship that I found the bag.

[mommyz]

I do notice that there are a lot of people that have this happened to them are traveling the ssme day as the cruise.

 

So not only flying in a day early helps to get yourself on time onboard but also your luggage if something goes wrong....

 

 

http://thenetherpeople.wordpress.com

 

I totally agree. Fly at least day before. With my friend's luck this didn't even help her but at least it gave her time to shop!