Do you lock your checked luggage?

[ElizabethE26]

I'll be traveling with Carnival in a few months and was wondering if it's okay to lock my luggage. I prefer to keep my belongings secure, and don't plan on getting my luggage flagged, but don't want any problems either. Do you typically lock your luggage?

[cml4958]

I use zip ties. Cheap and easy to cut off. Although if you have something in your luggage that might be prohibited, it might not be delivered to you and you have to go to the "naughty room" and claim your luggage! ;)

Edited October 4, 2016 by cml4958

[cb at sea]

ALWAYS! If it's NOT in my possession, it's LOCKED. Your's should be locked, too. ANY lock will do...does NOT have to be "TSA" approved....

It's not so much someone stealing something (because you NEVER put valuable stuff in checked bags!)...but it's to keep folks from slipping something into your bag....and face it...I don't want someone pawing thru my things without my knowing about it. LOCK your bags.

[WupperAV]

A lock is something to keep honest people out.

[Ashland]

Always lock my luggage and you should lock your's too.

[Grover_]

I use a TSA lock and a really annoying to remove luggage strap.

 

 

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[attilamom1217]

absolutely! wouldn't let my luggage out of my sight without a lock. you can get a TSA lock with a combination so you don't need to carry a key.

[GUT2407]

I'll be traveling with Carnival in a few months and was wondering if it's okay to lock my luggage. I prefer to keep my belongings secure, and don't plan on getting my luggage flagged, but don't want any problems either. Do you typically lock your luggage?

 

Yes.

[GUT2407]

A lock is something to keep honest people out.

 

Or to make the dishonest look for an easier target.

[JimAOk1945]

Absolutely!

[sloopsailor]

Or to make the dishonest look for an easier target.

 

It can be argued that a lock on luggage implies there is something of value inside, enticing the thief to think it is worth breaking into. An experienced thief would expect an unlocked suitcase to have nothing of value inside.

 

Besides, locks have little to no deterrent value on the type of luggage the majority of travelers use.

 

Watch this video. It took the narrator only 10 seconds to fully open a LOCKED suitcase using only a ball point pen. Do you really think that lock did any good at all?

 

 

Worst case, if the thief wants to get into a suitcase that is fully protected, he could easily pick it up and walk away with it to open it at his leisure in a out of the way location. Heck, thieves have been known to take luggage into stalls in the restrooms and open it in privacy.

 

I have been travelling for over 50 years and have never locked a single suitcase. Never had a problem with anything missing - ever.

Edited October 5, 2016 by sloopsailor

[iheartbda]

ALWAYS! If it's NOT in my possession, it's LOCKED. Your's should be locked, too. ANY lock will do...does NOT have to be "TSA" approved....

It's not so much someone stealing something (because you NEVER put valuable stuff in checked bags!)...but it's to keep folks from slipping something into your bag....and face it...I don't want someone pawing thru my things without my knowing about it. LOCK your bags.

I don't really expect a response but, who would be slipping what into your bag and even if they did, how would they find the bag again to retrieve that mystery item?

[SPacificbound]

Always.

 

TSA "approved" locks

[SadieN]

A lock (or zip tie) keeps your zipper together so your dirty laundry isn't strewn all over the luggage carousel.

It'll also keep the amateur crook out. Very difficult to keep out the professional.

[DesrtDrmr]

Ours is NEVER locked! We never pack anything of value except our clothes and they can be replaced. Our thinking is that no one would think, rightly, that there would be anything of value. Our luggage is not expensive and has never even been dis arranged nor has anything been missing over 40 years. Pills, cameras, jewelry etc., are in carry ons and kept with us. On the way home, dirty laundry always on top!

:-)

 

 

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[zqvol]

The only reason to lock it is if you think it is somehow going to spring open, other than that locks are a waste of time.

[champagne123]

I don't really expect a response but, who would be slipping what into your bag and even if they did, how would they find the bag again to retrieve that mystery item?

 

Why in the world are you wasting your breath? ;) Silly girl

[dsrdsrdsr]

I fly to America every year, and three times on my return have found a note saying the suitcase has been searched. If it had been locked, they may have had to break the lock.

[flamomo]

I fly to America every year, and three times on my return have found a note saying the suitcase has been searched. If it had been locked, they may have had to break the lock.

 

Less chance of having a lock destroyed if one uses a TSA approved lock!

 

I have traveled quite a bit both inside the USA and to and from Europe and the South Pacific, and have always locked my checked bag(s) with a TSA lock. I DO know that locking them may only be a deterrent that slows down potential thieves, rather than a guarantee that someone determined to steal from my suitcases will not be able to remove the lock and take what they want.

 

IMO, however I would prefer using a deterrent to not using any deterrent, in the hope that everything that I packed in my luggage will still be there when I retrieve my luggage from the baggage carousel.

[lisiamc]

If you use TSA-approved locks (which are readily available in the UK) then they can be opened/reclosed if needed, because the security people have master keys. Often ours are not put back on, or possibly just cut off anyway. Annoying.

[sparks1093]

Nope, if they want my crappy clothes they can have them.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We never lock ours. All our valuables are in our carry-on luggage and our clothing is not super expensive so it's doubtful anyone really wants it.

 

For some reason, my suitcase almost always has the note is was searched in it after we arrive--but no my husbands.

[maldenmusic]

10 cruises and a ton of trips via plane and never locked my luggage.

[sloopsailor]

If you use TSA-approved locks (which are readily available in the UK) then they can be opened/reclosed if needed, because the security people have master keys. Often ours are not put back on, or possibly just cut off anyway. Annoying.

 

The thieves have the same key as the TSA does.

[lisiamc]

The thieves have the same key as the TSA does.

 

I'm not surprised. I've also seen the video of someone opening a locked case in only a few seconds. I've got that sort of case, canvas with a nylon zip. It's not logical, but it still makes me feel better to lock my bags. :o