Can I track my checked in bags?

[mnsweeps]

after I hand it over to porter and while disembarking , can I track it?

[Shmoo here]

after I hand it over to porter and while disembarking , can I track it?

 

Not really.

[moki'smommy]

No. There are bar codes that the staff can scan, but you have no access to tracking.

[mnsweeps]

Hmmm.. won't it be helpful if there is some tracking like some airlines like Delta does?

[jalves]

Hmmm.. won't it be helpful if there is some tracking like some airlines like Delta does?

 

How does this help? All the Delta tracking does is show that the bag was received, was loaded on the plane, or unloaded from the plane. Even if they track your bag an know it got on the ship, its a very big ship.

[mnsweeps]

How does this help? All the Delta tracking does is show that the bag was received, was loaded on the plane, or unloaded from the plane. Even if they track your bag an know it got on the ship, its a very big ship.

 

I get stressed out until i get the bags at the door..

[jalves]

I get stressed out until i get the bags at the door..

 

I understand that! Wife is not happy until the bags have arrived and all the clothes hung up or put in drawers.

[Steelers0854]

I get stressed out until i get the bags at the door..

 

 

Have you looked into TrakDot? It uses cellular networks to determine its position that you can check as well as a Bluetooth connection for letting you know when it is close to you, i.e. Bag about to come out on the baggage claim.

[xlxo]

I carry this device when I go hiking.... I throw it in my checked bag when I'm flying. I can see my bags when it's out of the airport and heading to the plane. Once in the plane, the device is unable to get a satellite signal.

 

[YOUTUBE]SlSNbfQTMPc[/YOUTUBE]

 

Another option is to throw an old smartphone in your bag. Then trigger the "find my phone" feature to confirm where the bag may be. Works great when you are near a cell tower.

[jalves]

Have you looked into TrakDot? It uses cellular networks to determine its position that you can check as well as a Bluetooth connection for letting you know when it is close to you, i.e. Bag about to come out on the baggage claim.

 

I wonder how well this would work in the bowels of a (steel) ship.

[Steelers0854]

I wonder how well this would work in the bowels of a (steel) ship.

 

 

I think the idea for TrakDot is to know where (what city etc) your bag is and then alert you when you should look for it on the belt at the airport so no one walks off with it. Beyond that other than knowing it made it to the ship not a lot. Atleast you would know it's onboard and not on the dock though.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Steelers0854

[axelskater]

Have you looked into TrakDot? It uses cellular networks to determine its position that you can check as well as a Bluetooth connection for letting you know when it is close to you, i.e. Bag about to come out on the baggage claim.

 

The GPS system in TRakdot is activated by the speed of the plane - unless the ship reaches about 200mph :eek: the Trakdot will not click on. The accelerometer takes a reading as the plane takes off then goes into sleep until landing & deceleration then switch it back on, and it will signal to your phone. Unfortunately that particular device won't work on the ship

[jenseib]

If handing your bags over is going to stress you then perhaps pack a bit lighter and carry your bags onto the ship. Keep in mind you will have to lug them around till your cabin opens up.

[Steelers0854]

The GPS system in TRakdot is activated by the speed of the plane - unless the ship reaches about 200mph :eek: the Trakdot will not click on. The accelerometer takes a reading as the plane takes off then goes into sleep until landing & deceleration then switch it back on, and it will signal to your phone. Unfortunately that particular device won't work on the ship

 

 

Actually this is not true. The device only puts itself into sleep mode when on an airplane so that it conserves battery power. The device uses signals from cell towers to locate itself and it will work just fine on land. As previously stated it will let the user know that it made it on the ship versus still sitting on the dock after departure, but I'm not aware of anything that would locate it's exact position on the ship. The device will also use Bluetooth to locate the luggage when it's in close proximity to your cell phone, but you would most likely need to be within 20-30 feet of the bag for it to work.

[axelskater]

I bought a Trakdot (1st generation, right when it came out) and had some problems with precisely that - I had used it to track my luggage on another line; My luggage was going to be shipped via land out of my control for about 24 hours...long story short - the Trakdot people explained that due to the fact it did not reach proper speed (as it would on board a flight) and did not go into sleep mode, it was unable to the wake, triangulate & track my bag correctly.

They explained that even with a shorter time - such as maybe 7 or 8 hours, this was a "bug" which they were having problems with and that improper readings were being given when people were using them in something other than planes but that the bug would be worked out. It seems that without switching off and then back on, it was giving improper readings. At any rate, they were going to send a newer model as they made the bug fixes, but I just decided to forgo it until something better came along. This was back in 2013 or early 2014, and I would hope maybe they worked all of that, but at the time it was just full of glitches. If they have it working properly for trains & boats too, I think it would be a great little device. I probably gave up too quickly !

[Ex techie]

This whole TrakDot discussion is completely a waste of time.

At best it will tell you it is in the port with a range of maybe 50 meters/160 feet of accuracy.

 

Once inside the ship (if it makes it that far) cell phone reception that the Trakdot uses to triangulate it's current location diminishes the further away from the shell door hatch and as it is surrounded by more and more metal cages of others luggage.

So it could still be 100 feet away in a luggage bin on the dock when the ship sails away.

Once on the ship and the shell door is closed it will have no cell tower access and be unresponsive.

And remember the ships cellular at sea service is not switched on until the ship is at least a few miles away from the shore, and even then cellular at sea is not a regular cell provider so would it work once your luggage gets into a part of the ship that has cell at sea coverage. Obviously just as everyone knows Wi-Fi coverage can be spotty, the providers of cell at sea are not going to provide cell coverage to service areas of the ship.

 

Just some thoughts.

 

and I agree with jalves.

 

Unless the cruise line install RFID arches, and tag your bags, then provide you with an update every time your bag moves from say the dock to deck 1 and is re-read when it enters deck 8 for example, you have no way of knowing.

 

Cell positioning is very inaccurate at best, GPS won't work once inside a building or a ship and cannot transmit either way.

 

ex techie

[axelskater]

I wouldn't be worried about where they are on the ship, just that it made it on board. I used the Trakdot the 1 time while using something called White Star luggage service which is another situation; I was more interested in just making sure they were on the ship at all, or even at the port for that matter, not when they would be delivered to my room. In any case, my test failed miserably.