Lost Luggage

[LMKohler]

Hi Jeanne:D :D We seem to take the same amount of luggage whether we are on a 10, 11 or 14 day cruise;) Good to see you--we are heading to Hawaii on March 26th.

 

Lucy

[fllady]

Lucy, I know you all are leaving next month of Summit. Wish we were going too, but have Infinity in May. Maybe next year? Hi to Ray, Ellis says Hi!

[SEPyle]

We left a bag behind on a Carnival cruise a few years back. It was the bag I put ALL our shoes in. We left the ship and didn't notice one bag missing. I learned then to ALWAYS count my bags when I put them out the night before...one more thing I learned on that trip - not to overpack! I had way too much luggage, that's for sure!:rolleyes:

 

After several calls to Carnival I just about gave up on getting the bag back. Much to my surprise, a month later, my bag arrived...COD! I was surprised the cruise line didn't pay for the postage, but now know most of them don't. I was sure glad to get all our shoes back too!

 

I will say this. I always purchase travel insurance. One thing to remember: not all travel insurace company's are created equally (I'm a TA), as some put you thru more hoops than others. My experience has been that independent companies such as CSA and Travel Guard are the best to deal with. We used to deal with one that has the initials of AA and quit using them because while their rates/coverage was good, they put people thru the wringer when it came to claims.

 

Hope this can help someone!

[horselady295]

We did not have lost luggage, but we left our cases by the door by midnight and retrieved them the following morning as we left the terminal. We then put them on to the truck that transported them to the airport, since we were taking a cruise sponsored post cruise tour in San Juan.

 

We claimed our luggage, checked it through the airline to our final destination. When we were unpacking we noticed that all the souvenir gifts we had purchased were gone from the middle of the cases. None of it was expensive, just crafts and inexpensive jewelry bought from vendors... but it was disappointing.

 

We have no way of knowing at what point things went missing, but we learned our lesson. We will take a separate backpack with us to pack ALL souvenirs in. We were also advised to purchase the TSA approved locks, since our original locks were cut off on the outbound journey.

 

Emma

[Lane40]

I feel for you as I travel in my work and lost luggage easily is the most annoying aspect of travel.

 

We have had luggage issues on three different cruises. First time was coming off a RCCL cruise down in south Florida. We had driven there from Louisiana and were packing the car after the cruise. The police officer or port security guard was all over us to hurry. He was getting quite nasty and I was getting aggravated, trying to get the family (small children then) and the luggage situated. In all the commotion, we drove off and left a bag sitting on the curb. We did not notice until we got home the following day and then spent the next week trying to locate the piece back at the port via telephone calls. It was located and we had to pay to have it shipped back to us.

 

The second time was when Delta left 2 pieces of luggage sitting on the tarmac in Atlanta when we flew to Barcelona for a Princess Med cruise. We could see the two pieces and kept telling the flight attendants, but we still flew off leaving the luggage. Good thing it was most of my clothing and like most men I could wear the same jeans for a week. The luggage finally caught up to us on the cruise ship after four days. The huge cost was to use the Golden Princess ship to shore phones a few times to locate the luggage and have it sent to us because Delta flew the pieces back to New Orleans and then shipped to my home. The phone calls cost close to $400 and the travel insurance refused to pay. We also had to pay to have the luggage shipped express to Florence, Italy.

 

This past summer a gentleman was walking out with a piece of our luggage on his cart. It was easy to identify with my name sewn on the strap that wraps around the luggage. I caught up to him and told him this was my luggage and he kept walking away. I asked him if the the name on the strap was his and he said yes and kept walking away pulling the cart. So, I just grabbed the piece and pulled it from the cart which caused all his pieces to tumble off the cart. He started screaming and the port security had to come to settle the issue.

[hcat]

Look like we will try to walk it all off--but for a 14 day trip we have 2 large wheelies, a garment wheelie & overnight wheelie--that could be alot of luggage to walk off with---but if it is permitted, at least we'll know we have it...Then the only time of potential grief will be getting it at the airport & waiting for it to arrive at our stateroom.

[CruiseQueen13]

Same thing happened to us (Robbi's situation). NCL NY Pier - someone threw my bag in their trunk, they must have realized it before leaving - put mine back on curb after we left. There were 8 in our party - so we didn't notice being 1 bag short - everyone was helping load the limo - it was ridiculous, traffic, beeping horns, etc. Crazy!

 

Called the lost luggage dept - they had it. Drove over and picked it up!

[keela1eva2]

So sorry to hear that you have to date had no luck with your luggage. I have just returned from a holiday in Ireland and since my misfortune with luggage on RCI and Celebrity I am in a sweat until my suitcase arrives.

On a previous holiday to Ireland I saw my LIME GREEN SUITCASE coming off the aircraft which had come from Belfast. They wanted me to fill in a lost luggage form. Leeds/Bradford is a very small airport and I said my case is here because I saw it. An airport attendant arrived back to say it had been lined up to go to Dublin ( Southern Ireland )and had I not seen it God knows how long it would have been before I had it returned.

Needless to say I am paranoid about my baggage. I have been fortunate in that I have always had my baggage at the beginning of my cruise.

I gave my brother a weeks cruise on Vision of the Seas as a wedding gift and they lost their luggage at the beginning of the cruise and did not have it returned until 4 days into a 7 night cruise. I felt so responsible even though it was not my fault. It did spoil what I wanted to be a very special time for them.

Don't really know what the longterm answer is. I would never travel without insurance and in fact in the UK you must as part of your booking provide details of your travel insurance company and this includes the telephone no's for all assistance. Currently my current account provide me with annual travel insurance this is only until the age of 65. Also if you h ave all risk anywhere in the world this type of policy will also cover you but not for medical bills but for loss of all types of articles. I would NEVER EVER leave home without it.

Hope things will turn out for you and do go carefully through all the losses you have had and I hope that the claim is met in full.

 

Sue

[Eleris]

I guess I will keep doing what I do. My carry on bag has my shorts, bathing suit and personal necessary items. If my other clothes don't make it I am still ready to enjoy my cruise!:D I have the kids pack their carry on the same way. I have always packed my luggage as if I may never see it again but have been very fortunate when traveling. My sympathy goes out to those of you that have lost baggage because it is not the way to end or begin your vacation. Unfortunately their are a lot of dishonest people out there that will steal and with these new MEGA ships being built I see this problem becoming even larger. :(

[Desertbelle]

I may have the most unusual lost baggage story.

 

We were on the Century in November, out of Fort Lauderdale. After the cruise my husband, daughter and grandson were heading directly home, while I was to take my elderly parents to visit my aunt in Florida for a few days.

 

My husband and daughter were the first people off the ship due to an extremely early flight. They were the first people to arrive in the baggage claim area. My husband's bag wasn't there. Several cruise people and my husband and daughter looked for a few minutes, but they were in a rush, so they left.

 

My husband called me from the airport and told me they couldn't find the bag and would I look for it when I disembarked and take it with me. Sure....no problem. We weren't in any hurry, so I had plenty of time to look for his bag.

 

We looked and looked and looked. It was nowhere to be found. Since we were one of the last people off the ship there weren't a lot of bags left to look through. Finally I fill out the lost baggage claim and left.

 

I call the number Celebrity gave me later that evening to inquire if our bag had been found and apparently it was still missing.

 

The next morning, at 4 am I received a phone call on my cell phone from a Greyhound Bus driver in Mississippi....Thank goodness I had my cell number on the luggage ID tag. She had my bag!! Somehow our bag was loaded onto a tour bus filled with Mississippi folks who had been on our cruise and returning home.

 

Greyhound took responsibility for the bag and shipped it to us. Took a few days to get home. The bag was fine, only trouble for me was that I had to go to the Greyhound station to pick it up.

 

Traveling is an adventure....I'd rather be out there and at risk, then sitting at home! :D

[SCUBA Mark]

My in-laws lost their luggage on a recent cruise with us.

 

Their luggage made it off the ship and onto the bus going back to the parking lot. When we went to pick up their luggage off the shuttle bus it was gone. There was another suitcase that looked similar and it was from someone who lived in Granbury, Texas. We called the phone number on the bag and left a message. Sure enough, they called later that evening and had the wrong bag.

 

On our next cruise with the in-laws, they walked into their room and there was already a bunch of luggage in the room and guess what?; they were from Granbury, Texas. At first we thought the previous passengers had forgotten some of their luggage or the cruise line had assigned two people to the same room. It turned out the Granbury people were in the wrong room and should have been in the room next door.

[tomatopa]

Sue, thank you. i have still not heard any more about my suitcase. i called X today and they said they have stopped looking for it and will process my claim and issue a check..i asked if i should call again and they said not to call just to wait on my check....i asked what wouls happen if they found my suitcase and that person seemed to think they would call me, but another i talked to said it would go to charity. we did have travel insurance that pays for lost luggage, but they will hardly even talk to me till i have finished with X. will let you know what happens next....to tell the truth i always think real hard when packing to go on a trip...if one suitcase is lost that i have enough in the other to get by. i just didn't think about it coming home...had things in the suitcase i would normally only carry in my carryon..."live and learn" they say. Judy

[babylene]

I am really sorry to hear about your loss. I can imagine how aggravating it is. This is the reason I never take my best clothes when I travel. If I love something and it cannot be replaced, I leave it at home. I sincerely hope you didn't lose anything that you will miss.

[keela1eva2]

Sue, thank you. i have still not heard any more about my suitcase. i called X today and they said they have stopped looking for it and will process my claim and issue a check..i asked if i should call again and they said not to call just to wait on my check....i asked what wouls happen if they found my suitcase and that person seemed to think they would call me, but another i talked to said it would go to charity. we did have travel insurance that pays for lost luggage, but they will hardly even talk to me till i have finished with X. will let you know what happens next....to tell the truth i always think real hard when packing to go on a trip...if one suitcase is lost that i have enough in the other to get by. i just didn't think about it coming home...had things in the suitcase i would normally only carry in my carryon..."live and learn" they say. Judy

 

When I lost my luggage RCI would not even consider a claim and I simply had to make the claim through my travel insurance and my all risk home contents insurance. This was because the claim was for over £2000 and that was the upper limit on the insurance. I got this amount from them and the remainder from the all risk policy. This policy would have paid my claim in full in any case.

When I submitted my claim to my travel insurance I simply filled in the lost I had and the cheque arrived some 3 weeks later. There was no questions asked at all. Some of the things I had lost had been purchased in sales but they reimbursed me for the price the goods would have cost as when I would replace them I would have to perhaps pay the full cost or perhaps even more.

 

I had a Nikom SLR camera stolen from the deck on Golden Princess and I had to claim for this on the all risk policy as the holiday travel only covered articles up to a total of £200. This camera had cost over £500 and it had a sentimental value to me as I had bought it in Singapore for my late husband as a silver wedding gift. My claim was met with vouchers for a well known camera retail shop and I simply bought the nearest I could to the one I had lost. Even though I now have a digital one I still use the Nikon and I now feel it is as though it were the one I had lost.

What a pity there are dishonest people in the world. When I read the stories of how people try to walk off with other peoples baggage it beggars belief!

Do make sure that you claim for everything and then do what I did go off on a short holiday shopping trip. My daughter said that once I got over the shock and things were resolved she knew I would enjoy shopping until I dropped! I went off for 5 days and yes I did get over it.

 

It would seem that like me the cruise companies are not really concerned about the losses people have at least this was my own experience.

 

Keep your chin up but I know it is a stressful time and every day you think maybe it will turn up.

 

Sue

[payman]

A few years ago I was on the Disney Magic with my wife and son to the Caribbean. Upon debarkation we were to pick up our luggage in the bay with the colour purple, my son and I retreived our suitcases o.k my wife's was nowhere to be seen, also a black bag was missing. We looked all over the baggage halls with no success, everything my wife had was in her large suitcase as we were staying another week in a rented villa in Orlando. Some time was spent filling out forms,detailing contents, asked how much do you think the contents + case were worth etc ?????????.

We were unable to spend anymore time at the terminus as the Disney bus

was leaving for Orlando Airport to deposit us and pick up the next lot of

cruisers. On arrival we spoke to a Disney rep about our troubles when we spotted the black bag lying at the side of his desk, we told him that was our bag, he handed over after we gave identification. Just at that another

Disney coach arrived from the cruise terminus, the driver start's to offload

the luggage and lo and behold my son spots his mother's case being laid

down by the driver. As quick he was outside telling the driver that was one of our cases, somebody had picked wrongly at the terminus, we gave

identification to prove it belonged to us, the driver duly handed it over.

At this point a chap stormed over asking us why we were taking his case

when we informed him it was our case and showed him the label. He said

where is our case, the battered old case that had been lying next to ours

was obviously his, my son said your's is back at Port Canaveral, he said

@x??@xx(unprintable) he walked away. With everything allright we caught

the coach to the Alamo Rental Depot to pick up our rental car, I went into

the office with my doc's to pick up the keys etc. found the car and went

back where I had left the family waiting, my son came over and said quick

look who is coming off an ALAMO coach which had just arrived, none other

than our friend who had just "lifted" my wifes case, as he steps down onto

pavement he drops this plastic bag with all his duty free in it ( all smashed

Two words spring to mind POETIC JUSTICE.

[tssace]

payman - sometimes there is justice in this world! LOL

[tomatopa]

sue, thank you for giving me hope of at least being able to replace what i lost. i did take my favorites with me..cruise-want to look nice and feel good about yourself. in the states if you have a couple of claims on your homeowners insurance they can drop you and then you have to pay higher premiums when you purchase new insurance.

 

Andy, enjoyed your story. i think someone picked up our suitcase aloing with all theirs. when they noticed they just left it...i have called LAX and they said no suitcases were found during that time frame....

 

waiting to hear more from X...have sent in my claim. Judy

[GramaFran]

I have a good story about lost luggage:

We flew from San Francisco to Paris before our Med cruise on Crystal.

We were staying in Paris and Reims for 5 days renting a car to get around France, before flying to Athens to board our cruise. Well to our surprise - our largest bag did not arrive.

It was packed with all our clothes for the cruise - tux, formals, etc.

Not the clothes we wanted for France.

We filled in all the forms and called daily to check on the whereabouts of the bag. I started planning on where to shop in Paris to replace the formals - Not a bad place to have to shop - The airline called on the 4th day that they had our bag at CDG and we could either have it delivered to Hotel or pick it up - Well, the next day we picked up the bag, took it and our others over to Air France and checked everything in with out any other problems.

So the good news was the largest bag with all our cruise clothes did not have to take up space while traveling in a rental car in France but was available to go on to Athens and board the cruise.

For once everything worked out to our advantage.

If you asked an airline to hold a bag for 5 days until you needed it -LOL

that would never happen.

[tomatopa]

i kind of felt that way going to the airport. we did not have to get our 50# suitcase to the curb, into the shuttle, out at the airport and hope that it was under the #'s...but thought i would have it delivered to my door step...didn't work out that way.

[tomatopa]

called X today, sunday was the first time the Summit has been to the LA port since our suitcase was lost. no suitcase, but they said that a check has been written. they could not say for how much or when we would get it...so will be watching the mail. thank to all of you for your ideas...Judy

[PaperSniper4]

...we waited till almost all luggage had been claimed and there was not one suitcase left similar to ours. ....

 

Let me give you a tip, Cindy. My luggage isn't the prettiest in the mass confusion of the area used to claim bags, but I NEVER have trouble finding mine. And I really hesitate telling anyone about my secret........

 

I took a spray can of YELLOW FLUORESCENT paint and put polka dots all over my bags. They might look odd, but I can find them almost as soon as I start looking over the sea of "almost-identical-black-or-dark-blue-soft-sided-bags".

 

I figure no self respecting thief would ever want to carry them off, either!:eek:

 

Now I'm one of the first people outside with our bags! And the baggage handlers always make an interesting comment or two!:D

 

I lost my vanity over how my bags look several years ago after spending hours trying to find the last bag of our set. It had been put in the wrong area at the deboarding area. Never again!;)

[BrendaJ]

Having read through this thread, and noting the number of times people's bags had been taken mistakenly by other passengers, as well as problems with insurance claims, I think I have learned a few things:

1. Make sure your bag is so distinctive that no one will mistake it for their own (the yellow polka dots sounds like a great idea, although rather unsightly - especially if your luggage cost $100's of dollars per suitcase). We used to put flourescent tape all over our luggage - it certainly stood out on the conveyor belt. We definitely at least always have something bright tied to each handle.

2. Make careful note of what exactly is in your suitcase. I plan to take digital photos of everything going in while packing. I'm pretty sure I don't have the receipts for every piece of clothing I own, but I will at least be able to remember what exactly I packed.

3. Don't pack anything in a suitcase that you can't stand to lose. I definitely keep my medications and valuables in my carry-on and guard it like a pitbull.

Thanks for sharing your stories everyone. I really feel for anyone who has had the disappointment and frustration of lost luggage.

Brenda

[tomatopa]

Thanks, Brenda. I am very careful when we leave for vacation, but have to admit when coming home, my bags are not as well packed. also i usuall check one bag that i used as a carryon coming on vacaation. i was lucky that most of the things in my really large suitcase was not things i can't replace...just the things i like..no way could i have carried it all on...it wass like 50# of dirty clothes. we always have a big colorful bow on our suitcases so we can pick them out. this has worked for us till there is no suitcase to be found....

 

Judy

[tuggers]

After a very bad experience in Norfolk when the port employees were apparently colorblind (took 2 1/2 hours to find my BLACK luggage, some people took longer!) as they did not put the bags by color of tag, I came home and bought some new, hard side luggage in school bus yellow! Believe me, no trouble finding my bags. In a year, I have only seen one other like them and that was in the Miami airport.:)

[gracecarmo]

Tuggers: reminds me of a suitcase some of the students at KU (Kansas University) use. They spray paint all sorts of colors on the luggage, and also have painted a big Kansas Jayhawk on the side. Now, that's pretty original, and unless you are a Kansas Jayhawk you probably wouldn't recognise this as yours.

We have big yellow straps on our luggage with our name in bold black all around the straps.

I guess if someone really wanted to steal it they could do it, as may have happened with Judy's luggage.

Maybe I will paint some Jayhawks on my luggage!