Damaged Luggage

[LeeGal]

First, let me say that I love Princess, am a Platinum member with over 12 cruises with different ships, and would definitely choose Princess again.... BUT... an issue... I was on Coral Princess for the September 16 to 23 Alaska cruise with my mother. Check in, boarding, all was wonderful... when our luggage came to the cabin, BOTH our cases were damaged. The handle on my Heys luggage was completely broken, and although the designer luggage tag and bandana I have used for FIVE years on this piece of luggage were missing, the paper Princess tag was sitting on the desk in our cabin. How is it that the cheap paper tag made it through the breakage, but the other items did not? Also, my mother's case had the zippers broken. Both of us have used these cases for YEARS with no issue. I decided not to make a case of it as there are far more important things in life. Same with Mom. However, today I was chatting with a friend of mine who did Caribbean Princess in August, and vowed she would never do it again. I was shocked, Caribbean Princess being one of my favourite cruises. She said BOTH she and her husband had their luggage damaged. What the heck??? Is this a trend?? I would like to know if any of you out there have experienced the same thing, so that I can write to Princess. I love the cruise line, and if their baggage handlers are making a statement, I would like to let Princess know that it is damaging their reputation along with our luggage!!!

[easyboy]

It's hard to determine at what point was the luggage damaged. Port workers are also involved in loading and unloading. Not saying though that it could have happened also in luggage hauling to/from cabin hallway by Princess Crew. We usually report to Passenger Services Desk for any action, if any.

 

 

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[Luvmyrotti]

On a cruise a few years ago, when unpacking in our cabin, we discovered a caster wheel broken off on one of our suitcases. The cruise was a back to back with turnover in Ft Laudedale, so on turn around day, I ran over to Ross and picked up a replacement suitcase. At the end of the cries we packed and put our bags out as usual the night before. When we picked up our bags in the terminal, we found that the caster wheel on our other bag was cracked (it came off at the airport).

 

In the last few years I've also had the frames on several suitcases bent out of shape by the airlines and also have had zippers broken, pockets torn and had them returned to me absolutely filthy. This is on a range of suitcases, big to small, cheaper to more expensive.

 

At this point, I consider buying new suitcases almost an expense of traveling. Between the airlines and the cruise baggage handling, I almost consider luggage disposable at this point.

[1emerald1]

I bought new luggage 3 years ago, a 3 piece set from Samsonite. It has been on 4 cruises now with no damage at all.

[cr8tiv1]

Long Story Short: I also had a HEYS piece of luggage damaged upon disembarkation. Didn't notice it until I was at curbside. Started the process with filing a claim with Princess. First questioned I was asked: Did I report it to the terminal. "NO". Very long lengthy process but Princess AND cruise insurance paid me for damage.

[Coral]

It could be the porters and would happen with any cruise line. I have heard that Princess will have some of their staff try to repair it onboard.

 

I have had plenty of damage done by airlines. It is a no-win situation.

[c-boy]

I bought new luggage 3 years ago, a 3 piece set from Samsonite. It has been on 4 cruises now with no damage at all.

isn't that the maker of the luggage that was thrown around by a gorilla on tv in the 70's?

[cb at sea]

The porters are port employees..not Princess, Carnival, RCI, Hal or Celebrity or any other cruise line employees. They are union workers. Who knows if it was them or the guys on the ship....no way to tell! I do know that NO baggage handler will treat your luggage with kid gloves! They slam 'em, they toss 'em, they treat them quite roughly!

[JF - retired RRT]

The handle on my Heys luggage was completely broken, and although the designer luggage tag and bandanna I have used for FIVE years on this piece of luggage were missing, the paper Princess tag was sitting on the desk in our cabin. How is it that the cheap paper tag made it through the breakage, but the other items did not?

The paper luggage tag had your cabin number, that's most likely why it made it to your cabin. The bandanna didn't have any ID on it, so it either ended up in lost & found (probably at the port) or it's on someone's neck.

The "designer" tag could have been lost anywhere.

Your best solution is to take pictures and do a claim with your insurance. They won't make you whole (the best you'll get is 80% of the "used" value).

We had to do a claim a couple of years ago due to the port baggage handlers dropping a whole load of suitcases into the harbor as it was being loaded. All of our clothes were soaked and several items (including the suitcase) were no longer usable. The total claim was for almost $800, we were reimbursed approximately $600.

[WatchHill]

I take a picture of all of our luggage just before it goes into the trunk of our car, another shot upon arrival at the airport, then at baggage claim. If doing a pre-cruise, I make sure there are photos at the hotel, then the luggage just as it's handed over to the porters, and finally when I see it outside our cabin door. At the end of the cruise, I repeat the process until we are loading it back into our car and heading home. It's a pain to do this, but the flow of pictured documentation, supports any claim I may have.

The airlines have enough of my multi-colored luggage straps to open a kiosk in the terminal! So far, over 100 cruises, no missing luggage, one broken wheel [one of those old type wheels], and one ripped/slashed fabric with the items missing from the exterior compartment - Jet Blue - no doubt due to the two days sitting at JFK waiting out an ice storm. First time using that case; it made it from Tahiti to New York, no problem. Eventually, with a lot of complaining, JB covered the cost of a new bag because it could not be repaired.

 

Darcy

[Cruise Raider]

I have never had any issues with my luggage being damaged by the cruiselines (or porters, for that matter) but just not sure what they do with the luggage on airlines. I just buy disposable luggage anymore. If it lasts longer than one time use, yay! If not, it was pretty much expected anyway.

PS -- I disembarked from Virgin America and I know it is the airport employees, not the airline employees, but it was all wet and had a large tire mark across the front of the suitcase. I can only imagine that it fell off the bin by those working to load / off load the luggage to / from the plane and then someone actually drove right over it. It had also destroyed the frame ... and it wasn't cheap luggage, either. Oh well .. live and learn.

[Crzn-Life]

If your luggage is damaged you should take it to customer service and it will be sent to the folks onboard that will try to repair it for you. If it can't be repaired you can file a claim with Princess. It also is documentation for an insurance claim. We were pleased with the repair job they did onboard for us.

 

If it was hard-sided luggage that is really prone to damage. We've had so many of those damaged by the airlines and Princess we've gone back to the soft-sided luggage. All the crushed corners and damaged wheels just aren't worth the effort.

 

 

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[TJMK]

15 Princess and several other lines and never had a problem. It hit or miss. As the old sayimg goes "stuff" happens. Doubt it was intentional.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

it happened to us last November on Caribbean Princess.

The plastic top of the telescopic handle was ripped off completely upon our arrival in our room. There was no fixing it. I was a little upset but thought - oh, well, this suitcase has been through 4 cruises and several flights, so maybe, it was a bit old. The suitcase was still sort of usable.

 

When we disembarked and picked up our luggage at Everglades before the customs, the entire extendable handle was completely ripped out of the suitcase and bent at a funny angle. You couldn't even fold it back inside the suitcase. I was majorly pissed off.

We didn't report it because the disembarkation was delayed by several hours because of customs delay (we didn't get off the ship until after noon!) and we were worried about getting to the airport.

[1emerald1]

isn't that the maker of the luggage that was thrown around by a gorilla on tv in the 70's?

LOL! Gosh I remember the commercial but can't remember the luggage brand. Or maybe, was it OJ leaping over luggage while running through an airport? And speaking of Heys luggage, that jogs my memory as well. I bought a piece of Heys and it was severely damaged by airline personnel the first time I used it. So maybe that brand has quality issues, as it has been mentioned a lot in this conversation.

[geoherb]

As others have said, the best thing to do is report the damage on the ship and hope they can repair the luggage. The only time I had major damage was when a wheel was chopped in two on a flight back home after one of our Alaskan cruises. In that case, the airline paid for the repair (even though they have an explicit policy saying they don't care about wheels).

 

DH once had a suitcase with a busted zipper. He used tape to secure it for our flight back home.

[Keith1010]

As mentioned it really is hard to know where in the process it was damaged. Good idea to report it to the front desk as many have said.

 

Keith

[sanger727]

 

If it was hard-sided luggage that is really prone to damage. We've had so many of those damaged by the airlines and Princess we've gone back to the soft-sided luggage. All the crushed corners and damaged wheels just aren't worth the effort.

 

 

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Good tip. I've actually had the same set of soft sided luggage for 10+ years and over many flights, bus tours, and cruises and it's never been damaged. I just bought my first piece of hard sided luggage so will be interested in seeing how it holds up (though I got it to fit the new smaller overhead bins so it won't be a fair test).

 

 

 

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[WatchHill]

isn't that the maker of the luggage that was thrown around by a gorilla on tv in the 70's?

 

American Tourister. I remember the TV ads and looking at my blue-gray hard sided case with a hole in its side - no more hard sided stuff me me. We now have Tumi and Travel Pro, so far so good.

 

Darcy

[luckyinpa]

i'm not a frequent traveler but last year in NYC lost a nice bright orange strap from ship to shore. you do wonder if it really breaks off or someone takes it as i really bind the thing on there. i have a hard suitcase i bought in 1989 and its only been on 2 flights and 2 cruises so far plus all 'car trips' and i cannot imagine using soft suitcases for anything. especially if i was a frequent traveler.

[land lover]

First, let me say that I love Princess, am a Platinum member with over 12 cruises with different ships, and would definitely choose Princess again.... BUT... an issue... I was on Coral Princess for the September 16 to 23 Alaska cruise with my mother. Check in, boarding, all was wonderful... when our luggage came to the cabin, BOTH our cases were damaged. The handle on my Heys luggage was completely broken, and although the designer luggage tag and bandana I have used for FIVE years on this piece of luggage were missing, the paper Princess tag was sitting on the desk in our cabin. How is it that the cheap paper tag made it through the breakage, but the other items did not? Also, my mother's case had the zippers broken. Both of us have used these cases for YEARS with no issue. I decided not to make a case of it as there are far more important things in life. Same with Mom. However, today I was chatting with a friend of mine who did Caribbean Princess in August, and vowed she would never do it again. I was shocked, Caribbean Princess being one of my favourite cruises. She said BOTH she and her husband had their luggage damaged. What the heck??? Is this a trend?? I would like to know if any of you out there have experienced the same thing, so that I can write to Princess. I love the cruise line, and if their baggage handlers are making a statement, I would like to let Princess know that it is damaging their reputation along with our luggage!!!

 

Unfortunately, from my experience with broken zippers, handles and wheels none are covered by the "lifetime warranty" of the manufacture or airlines. Cruise lines I do not know their policy.

 

Through the years because of noticing and reporting damage immediately(rips to my bags, I have used only travel pro and delsey soft sided until the last few years)...I have been reimburse by vendors most of the time.

 

 

Last January on a cruise to South America.... my delsey hard case was cracked during disembarkation or transport in a truck by a Princess Vendor to the airport, once home Princess requested I fill out a form, send photos, receipt and Princess did send me a check for the replacement of that piece of luggage.

 

 

Also on another trip this year with AA my luggage was again cracked and they exchanged my luggage at the airport( took what they offered even though my piece probably had greater value) Most airlines at their luggage claim in the airports have a room full of decent luggage to replace damaged pieces.

 

Moral of my post...stay away from hard sided luggage if you travel a lot. I only keep these 2 pieces because I did an even exchange and they r soooo light.

And always check your luggage on delivery and ask for repairs immediately, especially if you feel damage was caused by careless handling.

Edited October 2, 2017 by land lover

[Thrak]

I can't for the life of me remember what brand of luggage it is but Pam in CA buys a brand that is repaired or replaced by the manufacturer when it's damaged. I think it's a "no questions asked" kind of deal. Wish I could remember the brand...

[land lover]

I can't for the life of me remember what brand of luggage it is but Pam in CA buys a brand that is repaired or replaced by the manufacturer when it's damaged. I think it's a "no questions asked" kind of deal. Wish I could remember the brand...

 

Maybe Jansport? But heck you've got to pay the postage both ways and wait......

 

I've send more than one backpack back to them in my life, and they have made stipulations thru the years.

 

But no questions asked?....I guess on second thought probably is not them.

[beg3yrs]

I can't for the life of me remember what brand of luggage it is but Pam in CA buys a brand that is repaired or replaced by the manufacturer when it's damaged. I think it's a "no questions asked" kind of deal. Wish I could remember the brand...

 

Briggs & Riley is one brand with a no questions asked lifetime guarantee. We have quite a few pieces of theirs. They are repaired locally and if necessary sent back to the factory at factory expense.They're a bit pricey but do last a long time. One downside is that as they get older they can get a little rough looking from all the wear and tear although functionally they are still good. Our set is pre- 9/11 and since then with all the airline baggage restrictions they've come out with lighter but still guaranteed pieces.

 

That's the approach we've taken. IMHO another valid approach is buy it cheap and replace it as you go.

[StLouisCruisers]

I can't for the life of me remember what brand of luggage it is but Pam in CA buys a brand that is repaired or replaced by the manufacturer when it's damaged. I think it's a "no questions asked" kind of deal. Wish I could remember the brand...

 

Probably Briggs & Riley or Eagle Creek.

 

Edited to add we were answering at the same time I suppose.