Walk me through this lost luggage scenario

[AKAMum]

I use my business address on my luggage. Would Never use home address. No need to advertise an empty house.

 

We use c/o my parents' name and address (which is in the same town as us) and they use ours - same general idea, slightly different execution for those who don't have an appropriate work address (they're retired, for us a school address isn't useful when it's closed all holidays).

[FredT]

Having seen the results of lost luggage, my cruise partner and I always pack half our clothes in each other’s luggage. We watched one poor couple wear the same shirts and shorts for 7 days due to lost luggage. Hopefully, the airline won’t lose both our bags ! Oh, and we always get trip insurance, just in case !

 

Go ! Have a great time ! Stop stressing !

 

I'll take this a step further... We take all our clothes, put them on the bed. Then take both our large cases, AND both our carryons. Split everything up among ALL FOUR cases. So if anything goes missing, you are only out a bit of your stuff. Happened to us in Valpariso. (Luggage caught up to us in Puento Arenas believe it or not.......

[SmoothFlying]

2 things

 

When you are at baggage claim waiting for your luggage to retrieve it,,, you discover that the bag never made it you because everyone else has left and the baggage carousel stops moving.

 

You say "darn it" or something to that affect.

 

You then go to the office near baggage claim for your airline and stand in line to report your missing luggage. They ask lots of questions, you fill out the form and let them know where you will be staying or what the cruise itinerary is. Also, keep your baggage claim ticket

That's how they know where you'll be and when.

 

 

The smart traveler though has already printed out a detailed itinerary and placed a copy inside of each bag along with home address and contact phone numbers.

 

Some airlines even allow you to track your luggage through their app on your phone.

 

WARNING; Be very careful about leaving your 'home address' in your bag.You DEFINITLY do not want some uninvited 'guest' who took your bag OR had access to it, to find out you aren't home ! And are instead completey out of the county:eek: Just food for thought.

 

Mac

[diane.in.ny]

I put my home address in my luggage tag ONLY when we are heading home.

[Flatbush Flyer]

I put my home address in my luggage tag ONLY when we are heading home.

 

 

Other than the town/city and communications options (phone/email), I see zero value in ever putting a street address. No airline is going to drop your lost bags at your door unannounced. They will always contact you first.

[pghsteelerfan]

Lost luggage...that actually happened to us on our most recent cruise in 2015. We flew into San Juan a day before we boarded our cruise. Flight was at 5:10AM, got to airport to check in by 3AM. We had already done the check in a day prior and my husband paid for the luggage then, so we basically just needed to drop it off at the counter while we showed our ID and boarding passes. One agent was rushing people and telling them not to go to the counter and to use kiosks and he was obviously the type who really didn't want to work and he had an attitude. Once people started going to counter, he the one gal working asked him to help. The gal was helping us and got the tag on my suitcase and sent it through then the man grabbed my husband's and seemed confused. He asked where we were going, we told him we had connecting flight, through Charlotte, to San Juan. He asked the final destination, we told him "San Juan". Then he asks "both of you?", which we told him "Yes" (we're obviously together). :rolleyes: He was looking for the tag that was to go on my husband's suitcase, seemed to be getting impatient, then grabbed a tag from in front of the gal and put it on my husband's suitcase and sent it through.

 

When we arrived in San Juan, my suitcase was on the carousel at baggage claim, hubby's is not. After all luggage had been claimed, there was one lone suitcase left on the carousel but it wasn't my husband's. So we went to the baggage claim desk where they tracked it. It was in Louisville, KY! He had his name and our home phone number on his own tag on the outside. The gal took our information (phone #'s; hotel; cruise ship/when it was scheduled to leave; itinerary) and she said there were no more flights from Louisville to San Juan that day but they were going to have it on an 8AM flight the next morning that should arrive at around 1PM and from there, the airline would deliver it to the ship and if for some reason it didn't make it, they'd have it shipped at one of the ports. She also gave us contact information and told us how we'd could get updates and that they'd also call us.

 

Fortunately when cruising on Carnival out of San Juan, the ship doesn't sail out until 10PM, so that left plenty of time. We did receive my hubby's luggage, it was delivered to our cabin at around 8PM. Any yes, it still had the tag - with another person's name on it - for Louisville, KY, in addition to the new one attached in Louisville with my hubby's name. We're kicking ourselves now for not looking at the tag on that lone suitcase circling the carousel in San Juan...it probably had my husband's name on it.

 

Tag on left was one attached in Louisville to send to San Juan; Tag on right should have been on someone else's luggage

[donaldsc]

My question to the OP is why are you worrying about something that has not happened and probably will not happen. Just relax.

 

DON

[Beachfrog]

My question to the OP is why are you worrying about something that has not happened and probably will not happen. Just relax.

 

Probably--that's the key word isn't it! Not stressing--just being pro-active.

[Flamencacha]

I have had this experience! Of course I always arrive the day beforehand.

After you panic you go to lost luggage. You tell them your hotel and your cruise information.

I always carry a full sheet copy of my Luggage tags.

When you go through checkin at your Hotel , you let them know you are awaiting luggage.

 

If it doesn’t make it to the hotel, you let the cruise line know at check in and they will tell you who to contact on board. Mine was guest services. I filled out paperwork and conceded not to have more than 3 changes of clothes for a 12 day cruise. NCL offered to comp my laundry.

 

But lo and behold when I arrived to my cabin, after a stop at the bar, there was my suitcase. They were able to process it because of the copy of the luggage tags. I always put one inside also.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pghsteelerfan]

EDIT OF MY PREVIOUS POST: Forgot to add that as soon as we boarded our ship, we went to Guest Services to let them know and find out how they dealt with lost luggage. We were told it would be delivered to cabin, even without the ship's luggage tags and given a time we should have it by. If not delivered by that time, we were told to come back down and they'd show us where unidentified luggage (suitcases with ship tags/owner ID) was kept and we could claim it there.

 

 

Lost luggage...that actually happened to us on our most recent cruise in 2015. We flew into San Juan a day before we boarded our cruise. Flight was at 5:10AM, got to airport to check in by 3AM. We had already done the check in a day prior and my husband paid for the luggage then, so we basically just needed to drop it off at the counter while we showed our ID and boarding passes. One agent was rushing people and telling them not to go to the counter and to use kiosks and he was obviously the type who really didn't want to work and he had an attitude. Once people started going to counter, he the one gal working asked him to help. The gal was helping us and got the tag on my suitcase and sent it through then the man grabbed my husband's and seemed confused. He asked where we were going, we told him we had connecting flight, through Charlotte, to San Juan. He asked the final destination, we told him "San Juan". Then he asks "both of you?", which we told him "Yes" (we're obviously together). :rolleyes: He was looking for the tag that was to go on my husband's suitcase, seemed to be getting impatient, then grabbed a tag from in front of the gal and put it on my husband's suitcase and sent it through.

 

When we arrived in San Juan, my suitcase was on the carousel at baggage claim, hubby's is not. After all luggage had been claimed, there was one lone suitcase left on the carousel but it wasn't my husband's. So we went to the baggage claim desk where they tracked it. It was in Louisville, KY! He had his name and our home phone number on his own tag on the outside. The gal took our information (phone #'s; hotel; cruise ship/when it was scheduled to leave; itinerary) and she said there were no more flights from Louisville to San Juan that day but they were going to have it on an 8AM flight the next morning that should arrive at around 1PM and from there, the airline would deliver it to the ship and if for some reason it didn't make it, they'd have it shipped at one of the ports. She also gave us contact information and told us how we'd could get updates and that they'd also call us.

 

Fortunately when cruising on Carnival out of San Juan, the ship doesn't sail out until 10PM, so that left plenty of time. We did receive my hubby's luggage, it was delivered to our cabin at around 8PM. Any yes, it still had the tag - with another person's name on it - for Louisville, KY, in addition to the new one attached in Louisville with my hubby's name. We're kicking ourselves now for not looking at the tag on that lone suitcase circling the carousel in San Juan...it probably had my husband's name on it.

 

Tag on left was one attached in Louisville to send to San Juan; Tag on right should have been on someone else's luggage

[happy trailer]

I always take a photo of both our carryons and checked bags after they are all packed and ready to go. That was a big help when I lost my luggage- both at at the lost luggage claim desk at the airport when they asked for a description of my bag, and at the hotel where the airline was going to deliver my bags while I was away on an overnight trip. It was also a huge help the time my luggage was delayed- at the claims desk, the clerk was delighted to have a photo to help him spot my bag, and I wound up getting my bag before others on line ahead of me.

 

Another thing I do, as noted in a previous post, is to always check the luggage tag that the check in agent places on my bag! I learned that a long time ago when I was a teen traveling solo via a stopover, and noticed right before my bag was about to be placed on the belt that the tag had it going only as far as the layover city.

 

I’m also firmly in the camp of placing your full itinerary and contact info -but never your home address!- in an outside pocket and also the top inside of each bag. My understanding is that airlines will check both places to help locate the owner of a ‘misplaced’ bag.

 

BTW- bags are often left standing on a rainy tarmac during loading/unloading. I line my suitcases and carryons with a plastic bag or bags. I’ve seen bags being rained on, and know people whose bags were soaked through when they took them off the baggage carousel.

[SRF]

I never put my address on or in my luggage. I put name, cell phone number, email address, and frequent flyer numbers.

 

You also need to know your rights if you luggage is lost or delayed.

 

International travel is covered by either the Warsaw Convention or the Montreal Convention. Montreal is the newer agreement. If both your departure and destination countries have signed the Montreal Convention, it applies. Otherwise the Warsaw Convention applies.

 

Both are based on a unit called a "Special Drawing Right" or SDR. SDRs are a monetary unit from the International Monetary Fund. Under Montreal, you are eligible for up to 1131 SDR, under Warsaw only 17 SDR per kilogram. today 1 SDR = $1.40. So under Montreal, you can get up to $1583 for delayed or lost luggage. Under Warsaw, you are only eligible for up to (or a 23 kilo or 50 pound bag) $547.

 

Under both conventions, you have to actually purchase replacement items, and then present the receipt for reimbursement. You will be reimbursed up to the maximum based on which Convention your flight was covered by.

 

So, if you luggage does not make it, and you have to buy a suit for a business meeting, it if covered up to the limits above. Even it is delivered the next day or two.

 

Domestically the limit is now $3500 per bag, but again, you have to again purchase items. Some airlines will pay you some amount without receipts based on delayed or lost luggage.

 

Most domestic airlines (I have not tried this with foreign carriers) will allow you to purchase additional insurance, if you have very valuable items in your luggage.

[Extra Kim]

Let's just say that if Celebrity lose your bag, well then you better hope that you don't sail on the Equinox..

 

I have learned that you need to take photos of everything you have in the bags AND you need to take photos of your bags every step on the way. From now on I will take photos loading the bags into the car, on the train, at the airports, at the hotel, on the shuttle bus and when we hand over the bags to the baggage handelers.

If you don't, guest relations might accuse you of lying when you report a missing bag :rolleyes:

[D&L Thomas]

There are two kinds of luggage: Carry-on, and lost.

 

You've had some good suggestions here: Cross-packing, carrying a complete change (and extra undies) in your hand luggage, etc. The best method in my mind is to check nothing you can't live without--or check nothing--and this is why we prefer Princess, for the self-laundry.

 

I've worked up a travel wardrobe in basic colors that mix and match, and with creative use of scarves and jewelry can easily go two weeks without looking like I'm wearing the same thing over and over. It helps that we don't play dress-ups (as I refer to formal night) but opt for the buffet on those evenings.

 

If I absolutely had to check a bag I would definitely have travel insurance (you should anyway, unless you are willing to "self-insure" and just cover replacement costs yourself). And flying in a day ahead gives your bag another chance to catch up with you.

 

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and have a sense of humor - my best travel advice.

 

It wasn't a cruise but a three-week land-based vacation in Norway and Sweden that our bags were lost. I got my bag after a week, and my husband got his after we had been home for a week. Big lessons learned.

[Harry and Lucille]

We use heavy plastic, zip lock, clear tags that have stainless cable to secure to bag. Some where other than main handle. Cruise tag attached before leaving home.

 

Two printed pages per bag. Complete itinerary of trip. One packed last inside and one in outside pocket.

 

HELLO, MY NAME IS THIS BAG

CAN YOU HELP ME?

I SEEM TO HAVE LOST MY FAMILY.

THIS IS WHERE I NEED TO BE AT THIS TIME.

 

Complete itinerary. Flight info from and to. Airline, time, etc.

Ship, cabin number, sailing time, etc.

Return flight with all info.

Contact phone numbers. All. Hotel and cell phone. Etc.

 

Never have lost a bag in over 30 cruises. Cheap insurance.

[SRF]

There are two kinds of luggage: Carry-on, and lost.

 

Not quite.

 

I travel a lot. Million miler on two different airlines, over 140 countries visited.

 

I have never had luggage LOST. Misplaced for a time, yes. But over all my flights, it has happened maybe 6 times. And only twice for more than 24 hours.

[ldubs]

The only time we didn't get a checked bag was when another passenger picked it up by mistake. The only bag left on the carousel looked like ours. So we thought it likely the owner of that bag had outs. We were able to call from the tag number and sure enough, the person said Oops!. So, we got our bag back.

 

Now we use wide luggage straps with our names printed in large letters. Hopefully that will help protect us against folks who are slightly careless.

 

Edit -- I forgot. There was one other time but it was my fault. I was delayed in Newark because of a storm. I did some gate surfing and jumped on a plane to Colorado and from there found one to Oakland. My bag was on the original flight to SF. They delivered it to my house a couple days later. I preferred abandoning my bag over potentially staying in Newark for the night. That was back when you could get on a different flight at the gate if they had room. Security would not allow this today.

Edited August 31, 2018 by ldubs

[Hlitner]

There is a trick used by many frequent travelers. Put an itinerary and specific contact instructions inside each bag (use a large sheet of paper and put it on top). If your luggage is lost and there is not sufficient identifying information on the outside, the airlines will open the luggage.

 

But the airlines have actually become much better at tracking luggage. Most of the time your luggage is not at your destination the airline's luggage office (always near the luggage area) will often know about your luggage before you even file a claim. You can tell them about your future travel plans (including a cruise) and they will try to arrange for your luggage to catch-up. If this does happen you should also notify Guest Relations (on your ship) of the issue so they can assist in getting your luggage to the the ship and your cabin.

 

Some airlines have pretty cool apps for tracking luggage. Our favorite is Delta Airlines...whose app will even tell you when your luggage has been loaded onto your aircraft.

 

Hank

[lisiamc]

The only time we didn't get a checked bag was when another passenger picked it up by mistake. The only bag left on the carousel looked like ours. So we thought it likely the owner of that bag had outs. We were able to call from the tag number and sure enough, the person said Oops!. So, we got our bag back.

 

Now we use wide luggage straps with our names printed in large letters. Hopefully that will help protect us against folks who are slightly careless.

 

Edit -- I forgot. There was one other time but it was my fault. I was delayed in Newark because of a storm. I did some gate surfing and jumped on a plane to Colorado and from there found one to Oakland. My bag was on the original flight to SF. They delivered it to my house a couple days later. I preferred abandoning my bag over potentially staying in Newark for the night. That was back when you could get on a different flight at the gate if they had room. Security would not allow this today.

 

 

 

My suitcase is a fairly anonymous black soft-side case. I’ve had it for about 10 years, and several times, other people have taken it off the carousel by mistake, and I’ve had to point out that it’s actually mine. A coupe of times, they didn’t believe me right away, either! Each time, I’ve added more bright luggage tags, tape on the handles, etc. Nothing seemed to help. So the last time it happened, I spent the day doing this:

 

I don’t know what I’ll try next if this doesn’t work! [emoji16]

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Beachfrog]

lisiamc

I love the hearts! Are those cut from duct tape? We have brand new luggage, but unfortunately, the bags are black. Macy's clearance sale. I was looking for something "unique" to mark them. Perhaps I can do something similar.

[lisiamc]

I thought about using tape, but I was worried that the adhesive edges of the tape would attract bits of dust and crud, so I went for fluorescent fabric paint and a stencil. It was kind of fun once I got going!

[SRF]

There is a trick used by many frequent travelers. Put an itinerary and specific contact instructions inside each bag (use a large sheet of paper and put it on top). If your luggage is lost and there is not sufficient identifying information on the outside, the airlines will open the luggage.

 

But the airlines have actually become much better at tracking luggage. Most of the time your luggage is not at your destination the airline's luggage office (always near the luggage area) will often know about your luggage before you even file a claim. You can tell them about your future travel plans (including a cruise) and they will try to arrange for your luggage to catch-up. If this does happen you should also notify Guest Relations (on your ship) of the issue so they can assist in getting your luggage to the the ship and your cabin.

 

Some airlines have pretty cool apps for tracking luggage. Our favorite is Delta Airlines...whose app will even tell you when your luggage has been loaded onto your aircraft.

 

Hank

 

Yes, most times I knew where my bags were as soon as I reported it. But it did not always make it onto the next flight, even when there were several hours.

 

And yes, let them know where you will be, and your bags will go there also. At least in first world counties. 3rd world, maybe, maybe not. Or actually probably not. :D

 

 

Last winter, my SO came to visit me. Her bag did not make it to DC, and we left in the morning to FL. The bag was delivered the next evening in FL to the hotel.

 

BUT, I did have to pay a $25 fee at the hotel to receive the bag (they shipped it FedEx).

[SRF]

lisiamc

I love the hearts! Are those cut from duct tape? We have brand new luggage, but unfortunately, the bags are black. Macy's clearance sale. I was looking for something "unique" to mark them. Perhaps I can do something similar.

 

If soft side and fabric, you will need to use paint to keep it one. Tape will peel off.

 

Hard side you can use various types of tape. One of the best ones would be a sticky mylar. You can order a product called Trim Monokote, used for model airplanes. VERY sticky, very thin.

 

MANY colors available.

 

Neon green here - https://www.amazon.com/Top-Flite-Monokote-Trim-Green/dp/B0015VQAT8/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1535812022&sr=8-12&keywords=monokote

[MrsPete]

Consider traveling with a carry-on bag only; it all but guarantees you'll never lose your luggage, and a roll-on carry-on bag holds quite a bit!

[Flatbush Flyer]

Consider traveling with a carry-on bag only; it all but guarantees you'll never lose your luggage, and a roll-on carry-on bag holds quite a bit!

 

 

Many airlines have started cracking down on non-conforming "carry-ons" (finally).