Sailing NCL in 68 days and need luggage advice!

[medicalma'am]

I recently flew overseas and Air France mutilated my suitcase, breaking off one wheel and breaking the other three! I need advice in choosing another one. Tell me that your favorite brands are and the features you love.

 

What I need:

four rollers that maneuver easily

durable/strength :rolleyes:

expandable is nice (for all those port purchases)

soft side/hard side - undecided Help me out here

 

Thanks for all your suggestions in advance!

 

Edited September 10, 2014 by medicalma'am
spelling

[Cruisin&Relaxin]

I recently flew overseas and Air France mutilated my suitcase' date=' breaking off one wheel and breaking the other three! I need advice in choosing another one. Tell me that your favorite brands are and the features you love.

 

What I need:

four rollers that maneuver easily

durable/strength :rolleyes:

expandable is nice (for all those port purchases)

soft side/hard side - undecided Help me out here

 

Thanks for all your suggestions in advance!

 

[/size']

 

I have been using these two bags the past year and have been very pleased with them. One is a two wheeler (not your desired four) and the other is a backpack style that I carry atop the two wheeler (or my back).

 

http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/mother-lode-tls-mini-21-wheeled-duffel/125538?productid=10150071

 

http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/mother-lode-tls-weekender-convertible/143101?productid=10126285

 

This retailer has many different styles to choose from.

[griz400]

We bought this set 2 years ago now, 3 vacations later and looks real good, no problems ... also bought an additional garment bag for hanging stuff ...

other places sell same set for more, buy it on line and pick it up .. you can look at it all first in store ... we dont use the small bags ...

 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/American-Tourister-5-Piece-Luggage-Set-Black/14957032

 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/American-Tourister-Black-Wheeled-Garment-Bag/20469684

:)

[griz400]

Sorry, ours are 2 wheels, tried to delete, but was too late :(

[FreestyleNovice]

I prefer hard shell suitcases as they are (more) weather resistant, combined with spinner wheels they are perfect for walking and dragging if needed.

 

Great European brands are; Rimowa (the famous aluminium top quality suitcases), Titan.

 

Above mentioned American Tourister is a sub brand of Samsonite, the same quality but without the Samsonite price. ;)

[foghorn]

I went back and forth for about a month between the semi hard sided and the soft sided. I did buy the American Tourister three piece set. Go to Amazon and e-bags both had free shipping. You can also read a ton of reviews.

[bobg529]

You cannot go wrong with Travelpro. This is the brand used by most airline crew. They make many different variations, but look in particular at the Crew 9 or Crew 10 lines. You can get a fair price if you shop around on line. Check ebags and Amazon in particular. You probably would want a 26" rollaway and a carryon, but YRMV. :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[Valen9]

I'm pretty fond of Samsonite's 4-wheel luggage. They make some fairly lightweight but easy to roll bags. My Siloughette (I think) that I bought in the factory outlet has lasted 7 years and still looks new.

 

I was soft-sided all the way until I bought a plastic hard shell carry-on size bag. Mine has an expansion section which I have used several times. I found that the hard shell makes the bag lighter overall while being very sturdy. It does a much better job of being a shelf when the need arises than any of my soft-sided bags.

 

The only problem with the hard sided bag is that there are no external pockets where I could slip a brochure or some last-minute item into. I've taken to making sure the zippers are at the top, so if I need to slide something in there I can slip it in between the two sections of the clamshell.

 

Good luck with the bag search!

[garycarla]

You will get lots of opinions here. Good luck.

 

We prefer, or are happy with two wheels.

 

Soft sided.

 

Not too expensive as they will get trashed in time.

 

BIG HINT... if you hand something off a 2 wheel suitcase, and it hangs LOW, it cuts the weight, drag way down. Physics at work.

 

I have a roll aboard and a HEAVY briefcase with computer. I do this and can wheel that bag through airport with one finger.

[herdingdogmom]

Another vote for Travel Pro. I bought a 4 wheel 26" several years ago specifically for cruises and it has been fantastic. It is lightweight and very roomy with the expandable feature. A huge difference from the 22" two wheel I used before. Look for the sales on it on line or at discount retail stores.

[don't-use-real-name]

Consider the value of what is inside the suitcase being protected from the elements !

A thousand dollar (euros) suitcase to protect a hundred dollar of Wal*Mart

expendable clothing - common get real.

The costly suitcases may do a great job protecting the contents but maybe

this is a bit of overkill.

Of course if you are fashion serious then the better luggage would be the

correct choice.

In any event it is the contents that are in need of protection and not the

suitcase itself !

If that was the case then putting a suitcase inside another would be the

definitive answer.

 

So also consider what you have in items of weight and the total in one

suitcase going over an airline threshold of overweight with the charge

or fee for that.

The better choice is something made of rip-stop nylon - lightweight -

with wheels be they retractable or exposed and an extendable handle

to trolly along the bag without carrying it. Some larger bags have a

detachable luggage strap to latch onto a smaller bag and carry the smaller

bag piggy back style. If packing a lot of stuff look for the bag with an

exterior expandable zipper looks just like the zipper that closes the bag

together but it allows about 2-3 inches of more room inside the bag.

 

So in review you don't need expensive baggage to protect the stuff inside.

Find a balance in how many times you are going to need baggage that is

durable enough for your travels and plan on replacing it periodically when

it has served its purpose. Also look for sales and combo deals where you

buy 1 large piece with 2-3 or 4 smaller units nestled inside for a great deal !

 

There are an awful lot of places to shop for baggage - seek and you will find !

[Viv0828]

We only carry on so no info from us but our DD and SIL buy whatever Costco carries and they seem pretty satisfied.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited September 11, 2014 by Viv0828

[medicalma'am]

Thank you so much for all the replies. So many great suggestions! I have been researching and weighing the 'expensive vs buy cheap and replace as needed options'. I only need one bag as my 24 inch hard side is fine. Back to my research. :)

[Planmaam]

What size case are you looking to replace?

 

I read a thread on here before I purchased new suitcases about a year ago. I love my new "hard-soft sided" suitcases. If I say that do you know what I mean? I got it at Cost__, a two-piece set. It has 4 wheels, which I wanted after using my two-wheeled ones and DH's four-wheeled ones.

 

Remember when we were asked to move luggage at the port in NOLA when my DH was in the restroom? His was easy because it had 4-wheels, and mine more difficult. Only because there were three bags piled up on each, and the top ones kept falling off mine, but his kept balanced as I moved things.

 

Try the big, membership warehouse near you, they should have a good deal, and several for you to look at in person. I'll show you my new suitcase in two weeks. ;)