So do you really want to know what happens when you miss a ship? (Take II - sorry)

[Bars7816]

"I ALWAYS cross pack bags and have a carryon with essentials.

DH and I pack a few outfits in each others bags in case one gets lost, then I have a carryon with my camera gear, jewelry, basic toiletries (minus liquids), medications and a change of clothes or two."

 

This is the best advice. We always follow this plan, too. I just have to chuckle when people lose valuables when luggage goes astray. Who would put anything of real value in a checked bag!! Even if the bag makes it to the destination, the chances of pilferage are apparently high.:D

[Twiz]

"I ALWAYS cross pack bags and have a carryon with essentials.

DH and I pack a few outfits in each others bags in case one gets lost, then I have a carryon with my camera gear, jewelry, basic toiletries (minus liquids), medications and a change of clothes or two."

 

This is the best advice. We always follow this plan, too. I just have to chuckle when people lose valuables when luggage goes astray. Who would put anything of real value in a checked bag!! Even if the bag makes it to the destination, the chances of pilferage are apparently high.:D

 

I cross pack also, I just thought everyone did it until I was talking to a friend who was getting ready for a trip and she siad it never even crossed her mind to do it !

[TracieABD]

is the OP ever going to come back to tell the rest of the story????:confused:

[Zam]

Okay gang, sorry for the delay but time for an update! It has been a crazy month trying to get the airlines to agree to our claim. So anyway, here is an update for you, if I left something out, let me know and I will try to answer each question. To review,

1. The airline canceled our origination flight without notifying us. Since this is turning into a legal matter I cannot mention the airline name but we did book a flight that did not exist (We have a partner airline who agrees with us) and our bags were lost because of that. ALWAYS, ALWAYS confirm you flight within the week of your trip.

2. We were pick-pocketed: Lost my wife's passport. Sorry guys, copies, no matter who it is with (which ever cloud it is in), does not work. You CANNOT board a shop (nor leave a country) without an actual hardcopy passport. Photo copies in your phone, in the cloud or with ANY of the verification services do not work, you need the actual passport! We met people from the US who had traveled all over Italy who were pick-pocketed (included a professional travel guide) who had to visit the US Embassy ($140 fee for a new passport BTW) to get a new passport. NO ONE BOARDS A SHIP without a current passport (copies do not count - we tried!)

 

Once the shock of not being able to get on your dream cruise set in, we made the best of it, but we had only booked hotel rooms up to the cruise night (we landed in Rome on Thursday with a cruise date on Saturday - 3 days seemed enough in case of trouble) so once we knew we were going to miss our ship, we had to find a place to stay (it was one week after the Canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II so it was still very busy in Rome (can you say 3,000,000 extra visitors?) so rooms were a little sparse. The hotel we were in was already booked so we had to leave (The Hotel Vaticano Roma was awesome - Lilly there is the best! She actually tried to figure out a way we could stay with her because of the SNAFU!) So while my wife went to the local police station to report the lost passport and money (always get a police report for insurance purposes) I went on a hotel hunt. Okay guys, picture leaving your bride of 30 years at a police station in a foreign city while you hunt for a place to stay - at least is was a police station - but it closed 30 minute after I left - they kicked her out!! - it took me about 2 hours to get back once I found a place to stay but I found her crying, in the park as the police had kicked her out - talk about a heart break for me - sorry if that is TMI)

 

Normally we leave all passports in the hotel safe but since we were supposed to be headed to the ship, we had to check out of our current hotel and go (that is when all the bad stuff happened). Note, one of the people we met at the US Embassy who had their passports stolen told us that they were trying to find their hotel when someone offered to help them (they had been looking at a map) and when they finally looked up from the map, ALL their suitcases were gone! They lost everything! Hold onto EVERYTHING when you are there, you cannot be too careful!.

 

Since we were in a pinch and did not want to sleep on the street, we accepted a hotel close to the Vatican (add European Roaming to one of your cell phones so you can do internet stuff - it is worth the extra money) and Expedia did a great job finding us a place to stay. The cost was 250 Euro (about $310 US and that was an expense we did not anticipate). So then we had to drag our suitcases across the city to our new hotel (through all the crowds - but it is a common sight) and check into a new hotel on the night we were supposed to be on the NCL Jade. A sad night!

 

More to follow on this story, I will keep you updated!

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

Thank you for continuing the story. I am so sorry for all your ongoing worries over this. I bet you had more experiences on this trip than most ever do on many, many trips. So disappointing, but, valuable lessons to be learned the hard way.

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

[mabones]

OMG!!! I can't imagine this happening to you. Will wait patiently for the conclusion.

[djmess]

Wow, OP, I just can't imagine going through all that.

 

One of the best finds for me was a "Leg Wallet" I'm a single Mom and travelled to Europe last year with my 10 y/o son. I was so afraid of being pickpocketed, so that is what my research turned up. My son also carried a waist wallet. He wanted to be the "man of the house" so I put a cc with a very low limit in his wallet, a little cash, and a copy of our passports along with emergency contact info. I told him all this was just in case of an emergency and Mom was unable to speak, he could give this to a police officer or doctor.

 

The Leg wallet straps to your calf. Fit both passports, cc and some cash. But as the OP stated, you must be very vigilant about your surroundings and sorry to say, not trust anyone, even if they seem nice and want to help you. Caution is my advice

[dalgirl]

I am so sorry this happened to you! It never occurred to me to check on the connecting flight to see if it actually existed, I will do this next time.

 

Our missed flight: We were flying into Copenhagen with a connection through Chicago and a 20 minute rain delay in Atlanta cost us our overseas flight (we saw the plane pulling away from the terminal as we ran up):eek: We missed a whole day in Copenhagen and I had to email the hotel and hope that they would not charge us for the night (they did not). Good rule of thumb: Always plan to go into your departure city overseas at least 2 days in advance for just such a situation. Anything can happen and does.

 

Luggage - on 99% of our cruises we never check a bag - even in Europe -because of lost luggage situations. With NCL this in normally not a problem because it is freestyle. Our upcoming 17 day Asia cruise on Celebrity means that we have no choice but to pack checked baggage -but there will be nothing in that bag that we cannot sail without, only the stuff like formal wear, extra shoes, etc. - stuff you don't actually need. Our true clothes, etc. will be in our carry-ons. Formal nights or not, I won't bat an eye if those bags get sent to the wrong place. If you must pack several bags, always travel with an extra outfit and sleepwear in your carry-on.

 

Never take your eyes or hands off of your luggage. If you have more than one bag each, get a cab, do not walk through the streets dragging if you can avoid it. DH had a coworker who went in Rome on his honeymoon. He and his bride walked out of the airport, someone spilled a drink on him while a partner stole their luggage. No matter what, keep your hands on your luggage, and again traveling light is best. If you only have one rollaway and a tote or back pack, you will be less of a target to thieves.

 

Passports - Always carry your passports, extra credit cards, and large amounts of cash in a hidden money pouch, preferably on the belt around your waist in your pants. DH always does this. Once we clear customs we use the ATM at the airport to take out local cash and he goes into a private stall in the men's room and puts away everything we don't immediately need. He keeps one credit card in his upper, zipped front shirt pocket and less than $50 in a cheap wallet in his zipped pants pocket (check out the special travel pants that have these features). We have Walmart watches, $10 specials, on our wrists and no jewelry except our wedding rings. And never remove your money pouch in public, that defeats the purpose of protecting your important things, it is not a wallet.

 

Cruise Insurance: This is when you really need cruise insurance. It is invaluable when these situations happen. When we travel abroad we always buy trip insurance.

 

There is a lot of really good info on the port boards about safety, theft, etc. so always check our those boards before you travel. OP: thank you for telling your story here, it is important reading for everyone.

[ttnc4me]

Wow. Just wow.

[ShannonSC2]

Great tips from all you guys. We leave this weekend for our cruise out of Barcelona.

 

I can't even imagine what the OP is going through or has gone through. Sounds like a horrible nightmare that keeps going on and on.

 

Can't wait to hear the rest of the story.

[ibcnusoon]

I'm so sorry this happened to you! The people who got their luggage stolen while looking at a map reminded me of the clip from National Lampoon's European Vacation when the "robber" ran off with their camera after he asked if they wanted a family picture taken together.

 

In fact, I believe they were in Italy at the time! :eek:

[kchiumento]

I really want to hear how this ends.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[keeponcruising]

How awful. What happened to you reminds me of the movie The Out of Towners from 1970 with Jack Lemmon. I thought it was a little far fetched that so many things could go wrong while away from home, but now we know they can.

[windsor26]

I cross pack also, I just thought everyone did it until I was talking to a friend who was getting ready for a trip and she siad it never even crossed her mind to do it !

 

This is excellent and some of our roll call on the Island Princess used its instructions and it worked.

Edited June 12, 2014 by windsor26

[mitsugirly]

Oh my goodness...and I thought my cruise last month started out bad by missing our flights, loosing a tooth and breaking a toe. Now I actually feel lucky.

 

So sorry for everything that happened. Wow, it's like a horror story. I can't wait to hear the rest.

[wnycruisefam66]

I too can't wait to hear the rest of the story! So sorry this happened to the OP!

 

We're leaving on our 1st trip to Europe next Friday, so I'm soaking up all the info I can. We have 5 in our party (3 kids), so my husband & I plan to split up the passports/cr. cards/money between the two of us, with nothing valuable in our suitcases. He has a money belt & I have a pouch that will go around my neck. So between the 2 of us, I hope we can carry everything comfortably.

[numberguy]

Picture it: Amsterdam, 2012...

 

DDP and I flew into Amsterdam to stay two days, then take a train to Luxembourg (because, well, just because), stayed one night, then took a train to visit a friend in Basel.

 

My luggage didn't make it to Amsterdam, and no, we didn't crosspack (that was our last transatlantic trip--in September, we're crosspacking for our cruise on the Star out of Copenhagen). Also, note: United from Chicago to Dulles, Lufthansa from Dulles to Amsterdam; I think my luggage vacationed in DC for a few days. I went shopping in Amsterdam (my goodness, the prices, and trust me, it's difficult to find fatboy clothes in Amsterdam).

 

They finally found my luggage, and were delivering it to the Amsterdam hotel--the afternoon after we were checking out. However, we were going to stay in that same hotel for the one night before our flight home, so the hotel offered to accept and keep the luggage until we returned (I'd already bought what I needed for the trip, assuming it would never show up.). We enjoyed our trip to Basel, took the train back to Amsterdam, and there was my luggage, waiting for me.

 

We managed to pack DDP's clothes, my new clothes and the softsided luggage I'd bought, and my original clothes into our original two (expandable!) suitcases, and got home without another hitch. Filed a claim with United for the costs of the clothes and suitcase I had to buy in Amsterdam, and they paid it.

 

Glad to say it wasn't a horrible experience, but not one I'd like to repeat.

 

--Michael

Edited June 13, 2014 by numberguy

[mabones]

Oh my goodness...and I thought my cruise last month started out bad by missing our flights, loosing a tooth and breaking a toe. Now I actually feel lucky.

 

So sorry for everything that happened. Wow, it's like a horror story. I can't wait to hear the rest.

 

 

Kim did you get to the Dentist as soon as you got back to re-implant your tooth?

[dalgirl]

How awful. What happened to you reminds me of the movie The Out of Towners from 1970 with Jack Lemmon. I thought it was a little far fetched that so many things could go wrong while away from home, but now we know they can.

 

That was also my thought - and don't forget the remake, of course, not nearly as good as the original. This is the Out of Towners Roman Style.

[Rogueperson]

Stories like this scare me about going to overseas cities for cruises. I was looking at a Celebrity transatlantic out of Rome next year for our honeymoon, but the logistics of getting to Rome and the time we needed to take off to fully experience Rome and the cruise, was too much as well as the fear of missing the ship even given advanced notice.

 

I've read that many booking sites have misinformation about flights, and will not inform you if there is a change. Unless you book directly from the airline website (which isn't always a guarantee either), you're taking a large logistic chance.

 

I've lost luggage within the states for a cruise. I went on an alaskan cruise and even though I gave myself a day ahead, i was reroute all over the country and ended up in Vancouver without my luggage. The cruise line let me board with just my passport and nothing else. They also spearheaded the search for my luggage (which actually caught the flight I missed in Chicago to LA in my original itinerary somehow) and arranged it to be flown to Juneau where a cruise staff picked it up for me and delivered it to my room on the 3rd night of the cruise. I'm not sure how my bags made it on a plane that physically left before I landed happened though.

[mitsugirly]

Kim did you get to the Dentist as soon as you got back to re-implant your tooth?

 

Not yet. I hate going to the dentist. :eek: :o

[medicalma'am]

Kim, teeth shift when a crown or tooth are missing. It may not fit now. :eek: Learn to love your dentist! I would hate to have to pay for a new one to be made.

[mitsugirly]

Kim' date=' teeth shift when a crown or tooth are missing. It may not fit now. :eek: Learn to love your dentist! I would hate to have to pay for a new one to be made. [/size']

 

 

Yea, I know. :( I'm just....um, too busy? :confused: LOL. Queen of excuses. No really, I'll call. :o

[Planmaam]

Yea, I know. :( I'm just....um, too busy? :confused: LOL. Queen of excuses. No really, I'll call. :o

 

Give me your dentist's phone number, Kim, I'll call and make you an appointment. Then you don't have to know about it until I call and tell you NOW! go to the dentist NOW!!! :p I know how to deal with people who hate/are afraid of the dentist! Me; I can fall asleep at the dentist as long as they prop my mouth open.

[mistshar]

The day after we returned from our cruise, I lost a cap. I am so glad it waited until we got home. I had to go to the dentist right away because I couldn't stand that hole in there. They found a cavity in another tooth and I have to go back to get that taken care of. I had an appt. but I got sick and had to cancel it. I have been sick for a month. I will get that appt. though as soon as I feel like it. I want to get it over with. I don't like going but it does have to be done. Hope your's still fits.