My LOST bag was delivered by celebrity AFTER TWO WEEKS

[DrKoob]

On disembarkation from a Celebrity cruise in Rome about 2 years ago, my bag was not to be found at the luggage staging area. SInce we were flying out right after the cruise, I filed a missing bag report and left. About 2 days later I got a call from a celebrity rep who stated my bag had been found in Rome and would be forwarded to me in about 2 -3 days. Three days later I got a call from a luggage delivery service in West Virginia stating that they had my bag without an address! I gave him my NY address. Three days later I got a call from a woman in West Virginia who had my bag delivered to her. It turns out she had also lost luggage on a different celebrity cruise. All along the celebrity rep had been following my "missing" luggage saga and between her and the friendly West Virginia cruiser, I received my bag within the next week. In the interim however I had a big wedding to attend and had to replace several essential items from that lost bag (makeup, dress shoes and a strapless bra!) I kept my receipts

 

totaling under $200

and forwarded my insurance claim with receipts to my trip insurance carrier. I was FLABBERGASTED to have my delayed baggage claim denied with the reason that my cruise had already been completed! As this was insurance I had purchased directly with my Celebrity cruise, I immediately contacted that celebrity rep again. She stated she had no control over the insurance company, but could understand my frustration. She gave me a $500 travel credit towards my next Celebrity cruise. Since I was already booked this did come in handy but I was still irate about being turned down by the insurance company. I filed an appeal with the company citing the fact that my luggage was lost prior to completion of my flight home, bag was delayed over 2 weeks claim was well under limits yada yada yada ,and also filed a complaint with the Insurance Board of NY state. About 6 months later I received a letter from the insurance company holding fast to their original decision but reimbursing my $157. Never heard from the NYState Insurance Board.....

 

This is a PERFECT example of why using the cruise line travel insurance is a bad deal. They insure from when you get on until when you get off. Good travel insurance insures you from two days before you leave until two days after you are back. Our TA always sets it up that way.

[cruiseaholic78]

We bought these before our last cruise and they are great. You can add on details of your trip online check where your stuff is and see if anyone has accessed your Q code.

That said I hope we never need to use them but know if our luggage gets lost we have a much greater chance of finding it!.

https://www.tagonce.com/shop.html

[warmwinds]

This is a PERFECT example of why using the cruise line travel insurance is a bad deal. They insure from when you get on until when you get off. Good travel insurance insures you from two days before you leave until two days after you are back. Our TA always sets it up that way.

 

I'm not sure why the prior poster's baggage claim was denied, but I just want to dispute what you say here - a year or two ago we were flying home from a cruise when the plane was late to our connecting city due to weather. We missed our connection because of this, and had to overnight at our expense because the airline said they are not responsible for weather-related issues.

 

I submitted the claim for the overnight hotel to Celebrity's insurance, and it WAS covered.

[waterbug123]

Wow - that is pretty harsh. If someone has saved & saved to take a trip and has a catastrophic event, then what? Just too bad, so sad? I’m sure our friends would not like that attitude.

 

Everyone needs to evaluate their own situation. If someone rarely travels and has saved for years for a special trip, maybe getting insurance is warranted. But for someone who takes 5 or 6 cruises a year, one can easily spend more on insurance that they might lose on the one-off cruise that has to be canceled at the last minute.

 

 

Best of luck with the your CC. My brother flew out from the LA area to Chicago. His flight got cancelled. CC promised him trip interruption insurance. That means his CC should have been able to get him there in a time frame that was close to his original time.

 

Are you sure about that? Did they guarantee that they would get him there "in a time frame close to his original time?" Or just that they would reimburse his costs to get there by some other means? Insurance is typically a means of getting reimbursed for unexpected expenses, not a travel agent with magic powers.

[jkgourmet]

Everyone needs to evaluate their own situation. If someone rarely travels and has saved for years for a special trip, maybe getting insurance is warranted. But for someone who takes 5 or 6 cruises a year, one can easily spend more on insurance that they might lose on the one-off cruise that has to be canceled at the last minute.

 

1. That makes zero sense. On any one of those 5 or 6 cruises, the cost of uninsured medical expenses can exceed the value of your 401k! Again, in a cost vs risk analysis, purchasing insurance to cover the cost of your vacation isn't financially sensible. If trip cancellation insurance makes you sleep better at night, THEN it has value,, and you should purchase it. Beyond that, it's not a good investment (with a few minor exceptions).

 

2. Those that travel internationally several times a year can and should purchase an annual policy for medical expenses. Those policies are way cheaper than a single trip policy. They also don't cover trip cancellation, which is one of the reasons they are cheaper. (And I think we can all agree that anybody who can afford 5 or 6 cruises s year can absorb the loss of a cancellation. )

[bouhunter]

CC is so amusing. A thread on delayed luggage veers off into a health insurance debate:p

[RDC1]

Best of luck with the your CC. My brother flew out from the LA area to Chicago. His flight got cancelled. CC promised him trip interruption insurance. That means his CC should have been able to get him there in a time frame that was close to his original time. He had a lot of things booked in Chicago and lost them all when the CC company said, "Sorry, AA hasn't officially cancelled your flight yet, so we can't help you until they do." Which they didn't until the next day. So he missed a bunch of his vacation including paying for a hotel he did not sleep in and tours he didn't take.

 

If he had trip insurance coverage they would have told him "go right ahead and get on the next flight you can (there were three with UA in the same airport that morning) and send us the receipt. We will pay for it." That's why you have trip insurance.

 

And your observation about discretionary spending is pretty harsh. Some people save up for vacations, plan like crazy, put away money and sure it is discretionary but if you work two or three years to get to a vacation and it doesn't happen... I don't know about you...that would be pretty rough. Not homeless rough but darn, I waited and saved for two years to take that cruise and now it's gone.

 

As I mentioned before I have made one claim against the CC policy (having to cancel a cruise due to a broken wrist). Paid off nicely, covered all out of pocket losses.

 

As far as your harsh comment. Most/if not all of the people on this board are not of the variety of saving for years for one trip. Most have taken multiple cruises, many do several in the same year. So as far as can you afford it, most can. They might not care for the loss, but not that major of a hit. I suspect that most have spent more on trip cancellation insurance, than they would recoup if they had to make a claim. Different story for medical.

 

Actually trip interruption does not guarantee getting someone to their destination close to their original time, only to cover losses due to the delay.

[RDC1]

I'm not sure why the prior poster's baggage claim was denied, but I just want to dispute what you say here - a year or two ago we were flying home from a cruise when the plane was late to our connecting city due to weather. We missed our connection because of this, and had to overnight at our expense because the airline said they are not responsible for weather-related issues.

 

I submitted the claim for the overnight hotel to Celebrity's insurance, and it WAS covered.

 

The insurance may not have covered it because the person was making a claim for expenses after they returned home. If the baggage had been delayed and not available during the trip, then the costs incurred probably would have been covered. Most insurance policies I have seen pay for baggage lost on the return home, but not for baggage delayed, since it is expected that at home you have access to all of the rest of your belongings, not just what is in your bag.

[DrKoob]

As I mentioned before I have made one claim against the CC policy (having to cancel a cruise due to a broken wrist). Paid off nicely, covered all out of pocket losses.

 

As far as your harsh comment. Most/if not all of the people on this board are not of the variety of saving for years for one trip. Most have taken multiple cruises, many do several in the same year. So as far as can you afford it, most can. They might not care for the loss, but not that major of a hit. I suspect that most have spent more on trip cancellation insurance, than they would recoup if they had to make a claim. Different story for medical.

 

Actually trip interruption does not guarantee getting someone to their destination close to their original time, only to cover losses due to the delay.

 

Actually trip interruption on the travel insurance we deal with means that my brother could have walked to another airline, purchased a ticket and been reimbursed for it in order to get there on time.

[RDC1]

Actually trip interruption on the travel insurance we deal with means that my brother could have walked to another airline, purchased a ticket and been reimbursed for it in order to get there on time.

 

Just out of curiosity which travel insurance company/policy offered those terms? While I have not done an exhaustive search, those terms are not in most policies.

[waterbug123]

Everyone needs to evaluate their own situation. If someone rarely travels and has saved for years for a special trip, maybe getting insurance is warranted. But for someone who takes 5 or 6 cruises a year, one can easily spend more on insurance that they might lose on the one-off cruise that has to be canceled at the last minute.

 

1. That makes zero sense. On any one of those 5 or 6 cruises, the cost of uninsured medical expenses can exceed the value of your 401k! Again, in a cost vs risk analysis, purchasing insurance to cover the cost of your vacation isn't financially sensible. If trip cancellation insurance makes you sleep better at night, THEN it has value,, and you should purchase it. Beyond that, it's not a good investment (with a few minor exceptions).

 

 

I should have clarified that I was referring to trip interruption/cancellation insurance, not medical insurance because of COURSE an unexpected medical issue could exceed the premium paid for 5 or 6 of trip cancellation policies, or even 5 or 6 times 10 years worth of travel. Not necessarily so with trip interruption/cancellation policies unless one has a penchant for having to cancel trips frequently.

[cruisequeen4ever]

That’s awful! Cruise lines tend to undercompensate for lost luggage compared to airlines, and that should be changed. I can’t believe they wouldn’t give you ANYTHING! They didn’t reimburse you for toiletries or basic clothing??

 

 

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