Gone: Cunard White Star Luggage Service

[Dimitri_of_London]

Hi All,

 

I was looking forward to using the famed Cunard White Star Luggage Service, but after emailing them, I got the following reply:

 

Hello,

 

Thank you for your inquiry regarding Cunard Line's White Star Luggage Service. Unfortunately Cunard Line’s White Star Luggage Service will no longer be provided.   We will be using Luggage Forward for all future voyages.  Please contact them via website provided:  https://www.luggageforward.com/

 

Contact phone numbers are also provided on given website

 

 

Warmest Regards,

 

Cunard Line

White Star Luggage Service

Dept Email: whitestarluggage@cunard.com

Ph:888-491-0774 (US)

Ph:02039 013 080 (UK)

 

Not sure what else to say here except... what a shame!

[bluemarble]

This earlier thread on this topic may be of interest.

 

 

[Dimitri_of_London]

2 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

This earlier thread on this topic may be of interest.

 

 

Thanks a lot for the link! Sorry, I couldn't find a message saying that it was closed. What confises me is that White Star Luggage Service is still advertised on Cunard's website and Voyage Planner... Anyhow, seems like another piece of history and legacy is fading away...

[Host Hattie]

I'm not sure how famed it was, it was DHL under another name when I used it !

Cunard are just changing providers.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic

[majortom10]

They are obviously cheaper so Cunard have changed provider but dont suppose prices will be cheaper.

[Bigmike911]

3 hours ago, Dimitri_of_London said:

Thanks a lot for the link! Sorry, I couldn't find a message saying that it was closed. What confises me is that White Star Luggage Service is still advertised on Cunard's website and Voyage Planner... Anyhow, seems like another piece of history and legacy is fading away...

Dimitri, don't expect any thing near perfection from the Cunard Web Site. By the way I posted the initial news that White Star Luggage had been eliminated and the new organization substituted. Several folk on the board said they had good experience with Luggageforward.com and I did a test booking for my September voyages. The price came out a bit lower than White Star used to be and I selected additional insurance and over night return of the suitcase. Keep your fingers crossed. 

[Dimitri_of_London]

14 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

I'm not sure how famed it was, it was DHL under another name when I used it !

Cunard are just changing providers.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic

I'd disagree. They don't just change the provider - they remove the White Star Luggage Service brand. Symbolically it's very important, IMHO.

[Dimitri_of_London]

11 hours ago, Bigmike911 said:

Dimitri, don't expect any thing near perfection from the Cunard Web Site. By the way I posted the initial news that White Star Luggage had been eliminated and the new organization substituted. Several folk on the board said they had good experience with Luggageforward.com and I did a test booking for my September voyages. The price came out a bit lower than White Star used to be and I selected additional insurance and over night return of the suitcase. Keep your fingers crossed. 

Hey Bigmike911, thanks a lot for the info. Sorry for the duplication - I didn't see your message about this. Great to hear that you had a good experience with LuggageForward. Indeed, I will keep my fingers crossed! 🙂

[exlondoner]

I can never really understand why Cunard use the White Star name at all. After all, the companies were at one time serious rivals, and Cunard was finally more or less forced to take them over by the British Government, if they wanted help building the Queen Mary. Furthermore, White Star had a shocking safety record, culminating in their most famous ship not even making it across the Atlantic once.

 

Why should Cunard want to be associated with any of that?

[Bigmike911]

4 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I can never really understand why Cunard use the White Star name at all. After all, the companies were at one time serious rivals, and Cunard was finally more or less forced to take them over by the British Government, if they wanted help building the Queen Mary. Furthermore, White Star had a shocking safety record, culminating in their most famous ship not even making it across the Atlantic once.

 

Why should Cunard want to be associated with any of that?

Well for those not familiar with Titanic, the term "White Star" usually mated with pictures of waiters in white gloves suggests a bit of elegance and it has a bit of an 'old school Atlantic Liner' sound to it.  Its a marketing pitch which no doubt they audience tested before they started using it.

[exlondoner]

I should have thought the name Cunard on its own had those satisfactory connotations.

Do you think they audience tested their website changes?

[3rdGenCunarder]

5 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I can never really understand why Cunard use the White Star name at all. After all, the companies were at one time serious rivals, and Cunard was finally more or less forced to take them over by the British Government, if they wanted help building the Queen Mary. Furthermore, White Star had a shocking safety record, culminating in their most famous ship not even making it across the Atlantic once.

 

Why should Cunard want to be associated with any of that?

 

Oddly, the Titanic movie made many people who had never cruised before want to take a cruise. I guess they bought into the whole Jack and Rose romance and didn't consider how the voyage ended. I think Cunard wanted to capitalize on that interest. 

 

And yes, Cunard and White Star was a "shotgun wedding."

[3rdGenCunarder]

I wonder if the break with DHL was the result of problems with shipping. Last fall, I wanted to use White Star Luggage and they told me they wouldn't take my bag because DHL no longer ships garment bags. I explained that mine is the kind that zips all around and stands up on its own like a suitcase. But it's cloth, not hard-sided and I was told no cloth luggage could be shipped because of "issues" they'd had in the past. They wouldn't even accept it if I had it shrink-wrapped.

 

I did ship the bag, but from London to my Southampton hotel. I used the service that's in train stations and airports. Ironically,  the "unaccaptable" bag was carried by DHL.

 

I asked the White Star person about this when I was on QM2 and he said that my garment bag would have been acceptable. 

[Bigmike911]

23 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I should have thought the name Cunard on its own had those satisfactory connotations.

Do you think they audience tested their website changes?

It's clear they didn't audience test the website 'revision', but then the marketing folks are more likely keener than the I.T. folks from the results. Carnival have treated I.T. as a stepchild for as long as I have been doing business with them. However, when you look at the legal mumbo gumbo in the Personalizer or as part of the printed ticket (11 pages) you know who is really in charge there. 

Edited March 1, 2019 by Bigmike911