HAL luggage tags before flight?

[ore-ee-gun]

Two weeks and counting until our cruise - yippee!!! This is my "get organized for the trip" weekend... I've had the house sitter over for her orientation, made lists, pulled out the suitcases, tried on my swimsuits and formal dresses, filled out the immigration and credit card forms, etc. Just having a very nice Saturday planning and daydreaming! I'm wondering how sturdy the HAL luggage tags are and whether I should attach them before our flight down to San Diego, or wait until we get there. What do you seasoned cruisers do? :)

[funcorn]

I would not attach the HAL luggage tags until you get to the port, or until you pick up your luggage after the flight if you're going directly to the port. They could very easily get lost on the flight. Then you would have to get more at the port and fill them in....delaying the start of your fun!

[lougee1043]

agreed --do not put your tags on yur luggage til you arrive at your destination airport --if you are arriving a day or two early i would not put them on til you leave the hotel for the cruise terminal

[jhannah]

I'll take the other viewpoint. Put them on before you leave home. We've never had them tear off during handling.

 

And what if your luggage doesn't get put on your flight and arrives later? The airline knows where to take your luggage and what ship it should go on.

[FlorenceItaly]

I'll take the other viewpoint. Put them on before you leave home. We've never had them tear off during handling.

 

And what if your luggage doesn't get put on your flight and arrives later? The airline knows where to take your luggage and what ship it should go on.

 

That is my thinking also.

 

Marie

[sanibelsandals]

ore-ee-gun,

 

I always put them on before my flight/just in case bag gets lost, he can meet up with ship later on. This trip I am waiting, we will be in San Diego a few days before sailing. 14 days & counting...I did the same thing you did today, luggage is ready to be packed, clothes laid out, last minute shopping, picked up the extra camera memory card, etc. All that's left is booking our excursions & deciding what 'library' of books I'm bringing! We just can't decide on what we want to do...I hope it's warm, beach would be nice...

[Randyk47]

Since we always fly in the day before, usually on our own, I don't put the tags on until we're going to the terminal. Guess it really depends on experience but a couple of times, back when we first started cruising, our tags got some chewed up I had to replace them anyhow. Figured there was no sense in it and it only advertised to the world I was going to be gone for a period of time.

[lougee1043]

still dont understand putting the tags on before you fly -- doing this can only cause the tag to get taken off --- leave the tags off ==when you get to your destination airport -- claim your bags --- if one is missing you have to go to lost baggage to fill out a form --thats when you tell them where to forward your bags

 

by the way your personal id address tag should be put on in such a way that your address cannot be seen in a quick glance --if at all possible use your business address as the one on your personal luggage tag

[sailorbill]

Another wrinkle to this question is whether the cruise line will pick up your luggage off the lugggage carts at the arrival airport. I remember that was the situation on one of my cruises a few years ago but I can't remember exactly which cruise. Once I checked in my bag at the departing airport, I didn't see it again until it was set outside my stateroom. In that situation one must put the cruise line tags on before you leave.

[lougee1043]

Another wrinkle to this question is whether the cruise line will pick up your luggage off the lugggage carts at the arrival airport. .

 

dont think thats the case now -- you claim them--tag them and bring them to the rep at the luggage pickup area

[jhannah]

That's still correct so far as I know. You to claim your bags at your destination. But I wonder if it will ever change back. It was always great to not have to stand by the baggage carousel waiting, then schlep the load out to the meeting point.

 

On our family Disney World trip last month we did not have to claim our bags at Orlando Airport. The Disney Magical Express service pulled them for us and delivered them to our rooms later.

 

I'm guessing it's because the bags were going to a domestic land destination instead of a sea/international destination.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The tags could easily get ripped off during the flight.

 

After you claim your bags, then put on the tags.

[calm_seas]

That's still correct so far as I know. You to claim your bags at your destination. But I wonder if it will ever change back. It was always great to not have to stand by the baggage carousel waiting, then schlep the load out to the meeting point.

 

 

Unfortunately, I doubt it. It is a case of having MATCH each person boarding with each bag... similar to airline security.

[MrLee]

On my first cruise my luggage was lost on the way down and I ended up going to the ship without it. A few hours later it was deliered to my cabin. If I hadn't had my luggage tags on them, how would the airline have known where to deliver it?

[Sunshine91]

I think it was a Veendam cruise which left from FLL, & could have been the 1991 cruise, which was in Nov, shortly after 9/11, so maybe for security, that's why things are different now. Here's our little story:

HAL offered to pull the bags. We just had to board the shuttle bus. A little too nerve-wracking for me, so declined & we went to the luggage carousel & I saw bag #1 go by. Pulled off the other 2 bags. Also saw a very similar bag with a different cruiseline's tag on it. Bag #1 never came agound again. Our luggage is navy, not your basic black, & I always tie oddly colored ribbons to it, not just a red bow or rainbow straps. It's kind of easy to spot. We eventually pulled the very similar bag & took it with us to the baggage "unhelp" window & explained what happened. The bag was even the same brand as ours. The woman at the window called the phone number on the luggage tag, but of course no one was home. What she wouldn't do was send anyone over to the bus for the other cruiseline to see if our bag was there. This went on for about 20 minutes. All of a sudden a supervisor who had heard our story, but not been involved in the conversation, shows up with the bag! Apparently when our bag was to be loaded onto the bus for the other cruiseline, someone noticed it had a HAL tag on it & set it aside. The supervisor found it on the curb to be brought back inside to be re-directed. We switched bags & got on a HAL bus. We assumed the other folks got their bag & were none the wiser.

Wednesday we'll be taking a HAL-contracted bus (oops, motorcoach) from Philly directly to the pier in NYC. The Noordam tags are already on the bags. :)

[WNYCRUISER]

A few years ago, we headed for San Juan to embark on a cruise. Met two other couples at the airport doing the same, as I recognized the cruise ship luggage tags on their bags. I opted not to put them on, as I was afraid of them getting torn off. We discussed the matter between us, and they felt the same as others, that if lost, someone would know where to get them to.

 

Long story short, we encountered many flight problems, and missed the ship, finally catching up to it on the second day in St. Thomas. When we arrived at the airport in St. Thomas, you guessed it, none of the six of us had any luggage. We stopped and filled out lost baggage reports with the airline, and eventually made our way to the ship with only our carrry-ons.

 

Spoke with the front desk on the ship who were oh so not helpful, but explained the luggage situation. No luggage that day (we looked great in our traveling clothes during formal night----boy did we get the looks!) Our next stop was in St. Martin, and after we returned to our room after breakfast, we had our luggage in our room. We located the other couples and told them, but they had not gotten theirs.

 

The short of it is, we got ours by 9:30AM, and the other couple did get theirs on the same day, but not until about 3:30PM. Their cruise line luggage tags did not get theirs to them any faster, and it was through the lost bag report that the luggage made it to the ship.

 

In these days of security, I would also believe that just because a bag has a cruise line tag on it, that it would not necessarily automatically be sent to the ship. You would think that they must check these type of stray bags against lost baggage reports (which must be signed). As it was, all of our bags were searched as we had gotten separated from them, and I believe that is protocol with TSA.

[FlorenceItaly]

I do not put my luggage tags on if I am going in early, however, if I fly the day of(and occasionally I do), I do. I AM flying in the day of on my Oosterdam cruise, but let me say this is the very last time I plan to fly in the day of!

 

Marie

[Thunderbolt]

I have always put the tags on before a flight but will not do so again since I have heard some pretty good information here. Thanks.

 

By the way... I have only had one tag torn off at the airport but since the lines send so many more then we need we would just replace them.

[lougee1043]

On my first cruise my luggage was lost on the way down and I ended up going to the ship without it. A few hours later it was deliered to my cabin. If I hadn't had my luggage tags on them, how would the airline have known where to deliver it?

 

see my earlier post --when your bags didnt show didint you go to the lost baggage area to report that your bags did not arrive?? thats the time you tell the airline personnel where to send the bags

[lougee1043]

That's still correct so far as I know. You to claim your bags at your destination. But I wonder if it will ever change back. It was always great to not have to stand by the baggage carousel waiting, then schlep the load out to the meeting point. .

 

doesnt matter to me because i never put my luggage tags on for the flight -- i always wanted to claim my bags at the carousel and then drag them to the ship rep ------if you do not do it this way and when you get to your cabin there is a bag missing how do you know if the airline lost it or it is being delivered later to your cabin ---if it doesnt show up and you conclude the airline misplaced it ---good luck contacting them while sailing further and further away from shore

[rucruizin]

I always put my cruise tags on before I even leave the house. No one will ever be able to sway me in my descision to do so.

 

The way I see it...I leave my home, go to the airport and send my bags into the great unknown. I may leave New Mexico bound for Florida but unless I'm an idiot I won't end up in Wisconsin. However, I can't say the same for my bags. Some disgruntled employee decides to be funny and send my bags to California, they get loaded on the wrong plane...who knows. If I have a HAL tag that says my name, my ship, the sail date and my cabin #, chances are my bag will eventually be sent by the airlines to the port, even to the next stop on the cruise if the bags are really delayed.

 

Most people I know fill out their airline luggage tags with their home phone # and information. Unless you are going home, or have someone at your home, this information is useless.

 

My outbound luggage tags have my in-laws phone #, they have my itinerary.

I also list the name, phone #, and dates for the hotel I will be staying at prior to departure. All this in addition to my cruise tags makes me feel confident that I at least have a good chance of retrieveing misrouted luggage if that ever occurs.

 

I once encountered a man and his wife who left San Diego, changed carriers in San Francisco, flew to Miami and then boarded the ship the next day. He was heard around the ship loud and long lamenting about his lost luggage. I asked him if he had put his cruise tags on his luggage and he replied that he hadn't because he didn't want them to fall off, or get lost before he arrived at the ship. I asked what information he put on his airline tags and he told me he didn't fill them out because he didn't want to confuse the airline since he was making a change mid route. He told me that he had his personalized luggage tags that he always kept on his bag. This information included his name, his home address, his home phone. I imagined his luggage sitting in an airline office somewhere while his home phone rang off the hook.

 

Meanwhile, he and his wife never did receive their luggage for the cousre of the cruise. The borrowed, bought and rented. Not my idea of a good time thanks.