Luggage lost for days?

[sail7seas]

I would say if it was a FCC of 25% whatever fare I can find, and I am referring to what I could get at any travel agency, not a last minute bargain price and get it extended to 2 years expiration date.

 

 

I cannot arrive at any amount I would c all 'fair' as I have no idea how much money you actually had to spend those few days until you got your luggage. My guess is very little. Am I wrong? fI you didn;'t spend much, should they hand you much?

Edited September 18, 2016 by sail7seas

[woodpecker58]

You're doing a lot of complaining here too so obviously you aren't done. Your attitude stinks and screams me, me, me.

 

Look, my daughter and I ended up without luggage for 10 days on a 12 day Med cruise. We switched airlines in NYC. The plane was late getting in due to a power outage in Boston so they had to fly around. We had to switch terminals. Blah Blah Blah. The list goes on.

 

Once at Barcelona my DD went directly to the Princess reps and said, they have lost our luggage. But they haven't even unloaded yet, she says. But I just know. Sure enough, no luggage. She cried. Then she really cried. Then she cried more because she was afraid I would be mad at her. She cried at the hotel they kept everyone at. She cried and on the and she cried on the ship. She was devastated. She had just spent an entire month's salary on the new clothes in those suitcases.

 

We are told many people had luggage delayed because of this problem but you should get it the next day when the catch up plane arrives. Nope. A handful of us didn't get it. The handful got their luggage the next day.

 

Not us. Our luggage finally arrived in Barcelona two days after we left. They could have driven it down to us but our ship would have left port 2 hours before they got there. So they put our luggage on Iberia Airlines one short hour before they went on strike. Every single day they tried to update us. Finally Iberian Air found our luggage and returned it to Barcelona!

 

I had arrived a few days early but only had 2 days clothes. My DD had the clothes on her back. Period! My medications along with my clothes were in those suitcases.

 

Our table mates were three lovely ladies that had to bring in extra racks to hold all their clothes. We wore the t-shirt we bought in town to dinner every night. Tourist areas just don't sell underwear. Trust me, we looked.

 

We became the running joke of the ship. Everyone knew us. We bought horses for the races and instead of dressing them up we dressed them down. At Bingo one day a guy stands up and yells, look there is a taxi and he has two suitcases. My DD jumps up and yells wear. Ummm, it was a sea day. One day as a joke we got the paper underwear from the massage people and brought it to dinner. One waiter wore his pair over his pants, the other two wore them on their heads. We were laughing so hard.

 

But here is what happened to us. One of the ladies at the Purser's Desk lent my DD underwear and some outfits. Another passenger lent her shoes. The passengers and crew came together for us and we ended up having a great time despite. Everyone said hi. The poor guys working the decks waited for us every morning to say hi and they looked sooo guilty. Like it was their fault.

 

Day 10 - our luggage arrives. We had been on a tour in Greece. As we get off the bus pretty much every single crew member said "your luggage has arrived". Put a whoowhoo after that.

 

They gave us $100 to buy clothes. We were on the original Pacific Princess. Forget socks. LOL Geez. You could put your arms out and touch all the walls. Unless you were a 60 year old fat lady your choice was pretty limited. They did offer to send me to the doctor as I needed some prescription cough medicine.

 

Once she got her clothes she changed about every hour.

 

We chocked it up to ship happens. Part of cruising. Not the best way to cruise the Med but talk about all the wonderful people we met.

 

You, you not only b*tched what you got wasn't enough for TWO DAYS, you wanted even more. You b*tched on the ship, you wrote a letter and now you've come to CC to complain some more.

 

My sympathy level for a whiner like you. Zero! Maybe cruising isn't for you.

 

You should quit while you have any self respect. Oh, by the way. The guy you attached for attacking you. He was the ONLY one standing up for you. You can't even interpret right.

 

Not sure where to begin, but have your read every post or did you just read the some and decide to jump all over me? I felt I haven't complained since the first page, I have taken my shots from everyone who wanted to tell me how wrong I was, what I could have done instead, on and on. Except for the name calling, I think I have responded with civility.

You point out where I attacked the one person who stood up for me ! Did you see the post where he called me all kinds of names?? I appreciated the support the poster gave, to ask folks to somewhat back off and help explain my comment of "you don't ask, you don't get", but to come back later and call me all kinds of names, that's not support where I come from.

You can agree or disagree, but let's be civil. Attitudes will be changed, I've changed mine. I never spouted "I hate (enter cruise line, name). Never asked anyone to never cruise with (Enter a name) or labeled anyone in this post. My original posted question came with attitude that I never intended, I was just asking a couple of questions.

As noted in earlier post, I know now folks have had it worse then me, I get it my issue was trivial in comparison, but at the time I didn't think so. Most people don't when they are going through a issue. Your daughter was upset she had spent quite a bit of money in preparation for that trip, and I felt the same way. It was a birthday cruise for the wife and we were with a group so yes I was upset. I will live and learn from this.

 

I wrote CC to gauge where I was in my thinking about compensation, what did other folks experience, how was it resolved and what compensation did they receive! I did not expect anyone here would be able to resolve my issue "AT THAT TIME", what I was expecting. Have I not conveyed that. I know most folks have said, what you got was fair! I have accepted that!! Moved on! Asking for a loyalty bump, Already communicated that I was wrong!

All I have been doing for the last days is to respond to comments, I haven't complained about anything. Are folks interpreting, my suggestions as complaints -ie baggage bar codes, ship having extra underwear?

We all value things differently, time, possessions, cruises, flights whatever. It's not the same for each, we value based on the information we have and emotions. Sometimes someone explains how they would look at it and you listen, doing some thinking and come to a realization...In my case it wasn't so bad. I am evolving.

[woodpecker58]

I cannot arrive at any amount I would c all 'fair' as I have no idea how much money you actually had to spend those few days until you got your luggage. My guess is very little. Am I wrong? fI you didn;'t spend much, should they hand you much?

 

 

I based my initial requests on emotions, and did not react in the correct manner. I did have to spend some time dealing with it, and worried about things I shouldn't have. I let it bother me more than I should have. I didn't spend much as between the cost of her blouse, and jackets for them there wasn't much left from the initial OBC and I didn't want to spend more money.

So no your not wrong!

[woodpecker58]

Many perhaps most (?) experienced travelers know to c arry witrh them a change of underwear, socks and perhaps a c lean jersey or blouse. For jus tthis reason. Had you put clean under wear in a carry on and kept it with you, you would have sufffered less inconveneicne. We DO HAVE to take some responsibility to t ak care of ou rselvess and not always point a finger at someone else when we fail to use common sense a to do such as carry onhe mostt basic necessities? IM you neeed to take somepersonal responsibility for your toal lack of planning for such an event. aHad you been able to wash out your underweatr each nivgght and have dry and clean for the moring, you may have not stood in line at Guests relations wso much

 

 

With all respect, this was not your first cruise. You likely know, knwew th ere is somew risk as to handing over luggage and it being delivered to your cab in. You had some responsibility in this situation. Did you verify with the porter on thiwchship you were sailing? I always make sure to say somewthing liker: these are going to HAL, Maadam (o whichever ship )- right?

 

Agree, I need to take some responsibility. Yes, I did ask the porter, they were collecting for both ships. The porter bore no emblems, patches, tags anything that would identify them. Even when filing the report one of the questions was "Whom did you give the luggage too?". I answered the same as above and asked her, "Do you have your own porters? Is there a specific process?" She didn't have those answers, and I figure whomever is reading the reposrt back in the home office doesn't either. There were only 2 ships. I had a 50/50 shot and lost. :)

[notentirelynormal]

Your daughter was upset she had spent quite a bit of money in preparation for that trip, and I felt the same way.

 

You misunderstand. My daughter wasn't crying because she was upset about the money. That was a long secondary issue. She was upset because her job was to bring my suitcase with her. She thought she had disappointed me because she had my luggage and had failed in her first big responsibility with flying internationally herself which was to bring my suitcase with her.

 

My response when she told me that was to give her a big hug and kiss and tell her I loved her and that in no way did I blame her for the idiocy of the airlines. No one can control lost suitcases. After she realized I didn't blame her and only then did she worry about the cost of the new clothes.

[SuiteTraveler]

RCCL loaded our families luggage (3 bags) on their sister cruise line Celebrity in Seattle and didn't get them to us until 50+ hours later. RCCL provided $300 in shipboard credit and between the 3 of us, about $1200.00 in the form of future credits. Cruised with them for 6 cruises, but figured I would ask others if a) they experienced misplaced or lost luggage and b) what compensation they received? I personally think we weren't compensated enough, but would ask if the experience is the same with other cruise lines?

 

Hi Woodpecker58,

I'm sorry about your missing luggage for 2 days. I want to offer you some advice as I have been traveling extensively all over the world since childhood and spent many years flying 3 - 4 times per week for work. It is imperative that each of you bring a carryon bag and in that bag and on your person, you need to have enough to "get by" for up to 1 week if your luggage doesn't show up, allowing for it to be washed onboard.

 

For a woman the carryon should contain:

3 pr underwear

makeup

hair brush

toothbrush

medicine

1 additional change of clothes -preferably separates (top and bottom)

Swimsuit - if this is a hot weather cruise

 

 

For a man the carryon should contain:

2 additional shirts

3 pair underwear

3 pair socks

hair brush

toothbrush

medicine

swimsuit (if any swimming will be involved on the ship)

 

Children's bags should contain similar items, but instead of medicine, bring something for the child to wear in bed.

 

It is important to think out your attire that you will wear on the plane so that it coordinates with everything in your carryon. For example, I wear a skirt, top and lightweight jacket on the plane. If I need a coat and gloves where I am going, I will also wear that on the plane. My separates coordinate with the other outfit in my bag, so that can make a total of 4 outfits. I can do laundry every 3 days as I have 4 pr of underwear and not be without clothes.

 

My husband will typically wear trousers, dress shirt and jacket on the plane with comfortable semi-dressy shoes. In his carryon, he has more casual shirts which can be worn with his swimsuit acting as shorts in a pinch.

 

The other thing we do is cross pack - so some of my stuff goes in my husband's suitcase and some of his stuff goes in my suitcase so if one of our suitcases goes missing but not the other, then we still have clothes to wear. If you cross pack be sure complete outfits are in each bag - we find it easiest to coordinate everything with black - so black skirt, black pants for me, black trousers and black shorts for my husband, then only the tops are a color.

 

For a cruise, my husband has his formal night attire on him (dark suit) on the plane and What I wear on the plane can also be used on formal night in a pinch - it's all black.

 

My husband and I were once on the Celebrity Eclipse and the man in the cabin next door to ours never received his luggage on a 13 day cruise. I believe it was lost by the airline where his flights were arranged by Celebrity. All he had worn on the plane was shorts and a shirt and sneakers and he flew in day of, so there was absolutely no chance of shopping in Southampton where our cruise began. There was a lovely menswear store onboard where he could have bought a few things but he refused to avail himself of this option. Celebrity gave him a Celebrity t-shirt. I'm not sure he got anything else. At any rate, he spent the entire cruise with a Celebrity t-shirt and one other shirt and a pair of shorts. I don't know what he did afterwards or if his luggage was ever found after the cruise. It was a Med cruise and there were many, many great opportunities for shopping at all of the ports. He could have cancelled a tour at one of the ports he was less excited about, but instead, he chose to moan and groan about his plight. In Spain, we went to the Alhambra and he was on that tour - we had over 1.5 hours in a beautiful Spanish department store after lunch and he could have got clothes then - but he bought nothing. In Florence, he went into the city on a bus and Florence is known for great shopping, but he bought nothing there either. Anytime we saw him on the ship - which was several times daily, he was complaining about what happened. After a while, my husband and I would just nod politely and then walk on rolling our eyes.

 

We always fly to the port a day ahead and we are prepared as I described above. If my luggage doesn't make it to the airport, I would have enough time in most cases to immediately head to a store that carries apparel and buy a few more things to mix into my wardrobe and my husband's, just in case. What I wouldn't do is make an unfortunate circumstance into a huge problem that spoils the trip. Life is too short for that. Travel is always an adventure. I think it is important to do all you can to be prepared to take care of yourself AND it's really important almost a moral imperative to enjoy the trip as much as possible. I always think how privileged I am to be able to travel like I do. Only 100 years ago, this kind of travel was only for the wealthiest.When you put things in perspective, it is easy for problems to roll off you back like water off a duck.

 

IMO, I would not be upset with RCCL at all. It was after all, the porter (who works for the port) who sent your luggage to the wrong ship, not RCCL. I think RCCL offered you reasonable compensation and if I were you, I'd book a cruise on one of their Oasis class ships - they are AMAZING ships! Some of the best in the world.

 

In regards to all the standing in line you did, I would have completely avoided that by simply waiting until late night or very early the next morning to approach guest services when they were not busy. I would have reasoned that once you are at sea, the luggage was not going to turn up if it was not onboard, so no reason to spend a lot of time standing in line to tell guest services about it. They can't fly the luggage out to the ship. This could have waited until the morning of the first sea day. The other way you can avoid that type of situation in the future is to book a suite. There you will have a concierge to help you with any issues and never have to stand in line again. The concierge will actively work to find your luggage or on some ships, it is the butler who will help you. My luggage went missing on the MSC Divina last March and my butler was far more upset than I was. As it turned out, the luggage tag that the porter put on it had come off (this was an interesting thing - we had put the tags MSC sent us on our luggage and the porter took them off and stapled on a hand written tag - I don't know why) and it was onboard, but they didn't know what cabin I was in. My butler took me to the room they had the remaining bags in after dinner the first night and there was my bag. My butler apologized over and over but I wan't at all upset as I had half of my stuff cross packed in my husband's bag and more in my carryon, so I just laughed and said, "No big deal."

[woodpecker58]

You misunderstand. My daughter wasn't crying because she was upset about the money. That was a long secondary issue. She was upset because her job was to bring my suitcase with her. She thought she had disappointed me because she had my luggage and had failed in her first big responsibility with flying internationally herself which was to bring my suitcase with her.

 

My response when she told me that was to give her a big hug and kiss and tell her I loved her and that in no way did I blame her for the idiocy of the airlines. No one can control lost suitcases. After she realized I didn't blame her and only then did she worry about the cost of the new clothes.

 

Thank you for clarifying, Somehow I didn't read it correctly the first time. After re-reading CrusingALong4Now comments, I probably read that wrong too. Apologies for my haste in response to him.

[herbanrenewal]

After three luggage mishaps I learned to travel for up to a month with one carry-on and a personal item that fits under the seat in front of me on a plane.

It also makes it easier if you are travelling by rail for land-based travel where you have to be able to quickly board, handling your own luggage.

The downside is that all your photos will have remarkably similar attire.

And you need to pick clothing that launders easily and dries quickly.

 

I had a 7 day Caribbean cruise with no luggage except a bag I had packed for the night before the cruise, so I had meds, makeup, nightgown, a swimsuit, a pair of shorts and top, and a change of underwear.

 

On a land-based trip to Ireland it took 3 days for my luggage to catch up...and a lot of wasted time trying to track it down instead of enjoying my trip. BTW, be sure to print a copy of itinerary hotels with dates you will be there. Fold it up and put it into the luggage ID tag...your luggage going back to your home is NOT helpful during a road trip.

 

my last mishap was on return to home. There were around a dozen of us with no luggage. After filling out paperwork and wasting a couple hours so missing connections, we heard a security alert for an object on the tarmac...turned out to be a luggage rack left standing for hours in the rain. My red suitcase was on top, and all contents were damaged with red/pink stains from the luggage. No reimbusement from the airline since luggage was returned to us befoe we left the airport.

[sail7seas]

You misunderstand. My daughter wasn't crying because she was upset about the money. That was a long secondary issue. She was upset because her job was to bring my suitcase with her. She thought she had disappointed me because she had my luggage and had failed in her first big responsibility with flying internationally herself which was to bring my suitcase with her.

 

My response when she told me that was to give her a big hug and kiss and tell her I loved her and that in no way did I blame her for the idiocy of the airlines. No one can control lost suitcases. After she realized I didn't blame her and only then did she worry about the cost of the new clothes.

 

 

I am no apolo gist for RCI. We sailed them once, did not like their product. Said we would never sail them again and though we did more than 100 cruises since, wew never sailed them again. Please do notgt lump manypeople here who you don't know but determine we should all be labeled. I am NO an apologist for anyone.

Edited September 18, 2016 by sail7seas

[Bizmark'sMom]

My husband and I were once on the Celebrity Eclipse and the man in the cabin next door to ours never received his luggage on a 13 day cruise. I believe it was lost by the airline where his flights were arranged by Celebrity. All he had worn on the plane was shorts and a shirt and sneakers and he flew in day of, so there was absolutely no chance of shopping in Southampton where our cruise began. There was a lovely menswear store onboard where he could have bought a few things but he refused to avail himself of this option. Celebrity gave him a Celebrity t-shirt. I'm not sure he got anything else. At any rate, he spent the entire cruise with a Celebrity t-shirt and one other shirt and a pair of shorts. I don't know what he did afterwards or if his luggage was ever found after the cruise. It was a Med cruise and there were many, many great opportunities for shopping at all of the ports. He could have cancelled a tour at one of the ports he was less excited about, but instead, he chose to moan and groan about his plight. In Spain, we went to the Alhambra and he was on that tour - we had over 1.5 hours in a beautiful Spanish department store after lunch and he could have got clothes then - but he bought nothing. In Florence, he went into the city on a bus and Florence is known for great shopping, but he bought nothing there either. Anytime we saw him on the ship - which was several times daily, he was complaining about what happened. After a while, my husband and I would just nod politely and then walk on rolling our eyes.

 

I cannot understand his line of thinking!

When my extended family got into Amsterdam, but some of the luggage didn't, we figured out what street the department stores were on and headed out to get the necessary things. We got the call that the luggage had arrived as we were entering the first shop.

 

The guys were relieved that they didn't have to shop. The ladies were kind of disappointed. (Although one teenager had forgotten several items so they went ahead with their plans.) None of us were going to spend the next few weeks moaning about having no clothes when we were in a major city and could handle the situation.

 

Even in Caribbean port towns, people wear undergarments and clothe themselves. It might mean missing an excursion and an interesting taxi ride, but there is some place to buy basic clothing. And you get a great story out of the experience.

[sail7seas]

I cannot understand his line of thinking!

When my extended family got into Amsterdam' date=' but some of the luggage didn't, we figured out what street the department stores were on and headed out to get the necessary things. We got the call that the luggage had arrived as we were entering the first shop.

 

The guys were relieved that they didn't have to shop. The ladies were kind of disappointed. (Although one teenager had forgotten several items so they went ahead with their plans.) None of us were going to spend the next few weeks moaning about having no clothes when we were in a major city and could handle the situation.

 

Even in Caribbean port towns, people wear undergarments and clothe themselves. It might mean missing an excursion and an interesting taxi ride, but there is some place to buy basic clothing. And you get a great story out of the experience.[/quote']

 

 

^^ Yes, Exac tly this. when l staying in a , I c annot think of a reason to not pick up enough clothes underwear etc to manage untli your suitcase, turns up. Why would someone do without when it is so easy to replace.

Edited September 19, 2016 by sail7seas

[SadieN]

.......... And you get a great story out of the experience.

 

 

 

This!

If we didn't have travel mishaps, we wouldn't have stories. Everything would be 'fine' or 'OK'. We tend to remember the unusual, good or bad.

[notentirelynormal]

This!

If we didn't have travel mishaps, we wouldn't have stories. Everything would be 'fine' or 'OK'. We tend to remember the unusual, good or bad.

 

That is so true. That's why our lost luggage is so memorable. Sure, we had nothing to wear. My DD only had the clothes on her back. But that is what makes life so fun. The overwhelming love and caring that came out of our experience was awesome. The crew and passengers were amazing.

 

Part of the story: Stewart knocks on the door. He is there to pick up my DDs clothes to have them cleaned. My DD says, when will they be back. Stewart says 24 hours. My then 20 YO DD says "I don't think so!". She tells him these are the only clothes she has and unless he wants to see her go naked to dinner he'll have the clothes back in an hour. Stewart keeps to his promise of the hour. He went down to the crew quarters, took their clothes out of the washer, put hers in and washed, then dried, her clothes and had them back to her within the hour.

[SuiteTraveler]

I cannot understand his line of thinking!

When my extended family got into Amsterdam' date=' but some of the luggage didn't, we figured out what street the department stores were on and headed out to get the necessary things. We got the call that the luggage had arrived as we were entering the first shop.

 

The guys were relieved that they didn't have to shop. The ladies were kind of disappointed. (Although one teenager had forgotten several items so they went ahead with their plans.) None of us were going to spend the next few weeks moaning about having no clothes when we were in a major city and could handle the situation.

 

Even in Caribbean port towns, people wear undergarments and clothe themselves. It might mean missing an excursion and an interesting taxi ride, but there is some place to buy basic clothing. And you get a great story out of the experience.[/quote']

 

IMO, he was purposefully not buying clothes so he could complain for the entire cruise. He was always saying how he spent a lot of money on the cruise and didn't have money to buy new clothes. Well, he was in a forward window cabin - not that expensive. He also was always remarking how he couldn't eat in the dining room because he only had shorts. Yadda Yadda Yadda. On the last day, he happened to be coming out of his cabin when I opened the door to our cabin and he saw that we were in a 2 bedroom family verandah cabin. He immediately asked me "How did you get THAT cabin?" and I said, "I paid for it." and he said "Now my cruise is totally ruined." Anyway, now you get the idea of what this fellow was like. Never happy about anything.

[Beachdude]

A few years ago a father distraught over his divorce kidnapped his kids and threatened suicide in his room at Disney resort in Orlando. Our family was swimming in the resort pool when it all started, so we found ourselves stranded because we weren't allowed back to our room, which was near the distraught fathers room. Disney told all visitors staying in that wing to visit their store for anything required to keep them comfortable until the situation was ended. Since nobody could predict how long it would take, our family was fully cloth without question. Without question.

 

Last year our family was boarding a boat on the Disney Jungle Tour when my oldest son's wife accidently step on his sandal, which fell and disappeared in the water. When we finished the ride, a Disney employee handed my son a coupon that gave him a free pair of footwear from anywhere on Disney property without question.

 

When that same son was only 6, he broke his plastic pirate sword he just bought at the Pirate of the Caribbean store. A Disney employee told us Disney would replace it without question. And they did, without question.

 

Is it no wonder we are loyal Disney vacationers. If a ship line lost the luggage of their passengers, there should be no limit to making them as comfortable as the rest of the passengers.

 

Burt

[notentirelynormal]

A few years ago a father distraught over his divorce kidnapped his kids and threatened suicide in his room at Disney resort in Orlando. Our family was swimming in the resort pool when it all started, so we found ourselves stranded because we weren't allowed back to our room, which was near the distraught fathers room. Disney told all visitors staying in that wing to visit their store for anything required to keep them comfortable until the situation was ended. Since nobody could predict how long it would take, our family was fully cloth without question. Without question.

 

Last year our family was boarding a boat on the Disney Jungle Tour when my oldest son's wife accidently step on his sandal, which fell and disappeared in the water. When we finished the ride, a Disney employee handed my son a coupon that gave him a free pair of footwear from anywhere on Disney property without question.

 

When that same son was only 6, he broke his plastic pirate sword he just bought at the Pirate of the Caribbean store. A Disney employee told us Disney would replace it without question. And they did, without question.

 

Is it no wonder we are loyal Disney vacationers. If a ship line lost the luggage of their passengers, there should be no limit to making them as comfortable as the rest of the passengers.

 

Burt

 

Well, no one beats Disney on customer service. The are the "Gold Standard".

[SuiteTraveler]

A few years ago a father distraught over his divorce kidnapped his kids and threatened suicide in his room at Disney resort in Orlando. Our family was swimming in the resort pool when it all started, so we found ourselves stranded because we weren't allowed back to our room, which was near the distraught fathers room. Disney told all visitors staying in that wing to visit their store for anything required to keep them comfortable until the situation was ended. Since nobody could predict how long it would take, our family was fully cloth without question. Without question.

 

Last year our family was boarding a boat on the Disney Jungle Tour when my oldest son's wife accidently step on his sandal, which fell and disappeared in the water. When we finished the ride, a Disney employee handed my son a coupon that gave him a free pair of footwear from anywhere on Disney property without question.

 

When that same son was only 6, he broke his plastic pirate sword he just bought at the Pirate of the Caribbean store. A Disney employee told us Disney would replace it without question. And they did, without question.

 

Is it no wonder we are loyal Disney vacationers. If a ship line lost the luggage of their passengers, there should be no limit to making them as comfortable as the rest of the passengers.

 

Burt

 

Burt,

It was the porters, who are employees of the port who lost the luggage, not employees of RCCL and also the OP got the luggage back on day 3 of the cruise - the only reason it was not sooner was that day 2 of the cruise was a day at sea. In addition they were given $300 onboard credit with which the family could have bought an additional outfit each or swimsuits or whatever they needed and finally they were given a future cruise credit of $1200. I think that's a whole lot more generous than what Disney did for you. So, I don't think that RCCL fell down here at all - they really did a lot to make sure the OP and his family were taken care of, including flying their luggage to the first port from the other ship's first port.

 

IMO, the OP SHOULD have been more prepared for the cruise and have extra outfits packed in their carryons. When you are traveling you have to expect that the unexpected might happen and be prepared. Now the OP knows this for certain and I bet he will NEVER take any trip without taking this precaution.

 

If anyone owes anyone money here it should be the port. The port should pay RCCL for what RCCL had to do to get the luggage back to the OP plus the $300 onboard credit plus the $1200 FCC since the entire problem was caused by the port's employee's mistake.