Luggage Forwarding services, yea or nay. Our nightmare....

[shark b8]

[this is my second try at posting this, the first one apparently didn’t “take”.  I noticed after the fact, the red warning about website log-ins and posts being problematic right now.  If this ends up being a duplicate topic from me….that’s why]

 

Aloha, fellow cruisers.  Wanted to share our experience with luggage forwarding.  The idea of leaving home for your cruise with just a light carry-on bag, and finding your luggage in your suite when you walk through the door onboard sounds dreamy, right?  No schlepping heavy bags through the airport(s), no waiting at baggage claim.  Well, as those who might have followed my day-to-day posts from the Odyssey over the holidays already know, here is what we experienced (and continue to experience).

 

Normally, I would have done more due diligence and research, as with any other purchase of goods/services, but I assumed that the partnership between Luggage Forward and Seabourn might provide an advantage, so I went with them.  Our luggage was picked up on time on Dec 6 (for the sailing from Barbados Dec 18) - that turned out to be the high-water mark of this story.  I was soon informed of a delivery “exception” - xrays revealed a shave cream dispenser (which may or may not have been closer to a tube of toothpaste), and a “power bank”.  I don’t own a power bank, what they saw turned out to be an ordinary phone charger, with several ports to charge multiple devices simultaneously.  These items were confiscated from the luggage, and, I was told, they could not be reclaimed.  So at that point, only acceptable contents were inside. That explained the first 24 hours, but not what followed:  per tracking, our bags sat in Honolulu for about 5 days, then in L.A. for about the same.  It quickly became apparent this would be a horserace, to get to the ship before sailing from Barbados. I sent many, many alarm-bell emails to Luggage Forward - they responded extremely politely, with lots of apologies but considerably less helpful info.  Two days before sailing we were in Miami, and it became obvious the luggage would not arrive before embarkation from Barbados.  We spent the day trying to fill a hastily-bought 3rd suitcase with ill-fitting and mostly inappropriate clothes bought at a Miami department store, just to give us a little more to choose from onboard.  When the Odyssey sailed on Dec 18, tracking showed our luggage was in Panama. 

 

I naturally inquired as to how many ports “down the line” it would be before the luggage could catch up to us.  Again, I got polite responses, but little or no usable information or commitment.  As it turned out, the luggage arrived at the ship ELEVEN days after it sailed, once the Odyssey was back in Barbados again.  Many people disembarked, we were doing b2b’s so fortunately we did have our luggage for the ensuing 10 days of travel.

 

So, as far as the luggage being retuned after the cruise, surely “lightning doesn’t strike twice” says I, the odds of problems in the other direction would be astronomical, right?  Well. 

 

The schedule provided at the outset showed our luggage would arrive back home on Jan 19, eleven days after the cruise ended Jan 8.  Jan 19 was 8 days ago.  In the meantime, our bags sat in Barbados for SIXTEEN days after being taken off the ship, presumably with unexplained Barbados customs issues.  Once they finally began moving on the 24th, tracking showed them in Barbados, then Panama, then Costa Rica, then Cincinnati, and then, almost completing a circle, in Miami.  They are apparently currently stopped again, with the cryptic notation “used personal items more than 1 year old”.  Doesn’t that describe everyone’s luggage contents? 

 

During the first leg, it was pointed out to me that certain very specific kinds of electronics and toiletries are “prohibited items”, as explained in the fine print.  OK, fair enough, I’ll (grudgingly) accept that, that might be on me, although one item was absolutely wrongly deemed to be such, and the other was questionable.  But it also says on the homepage (or 1 click in) in very very large print “pack as you normally would for air travel”.  I suggested this really ought to say “make sure you don’t pack as you normally would for air travel”, with multiple explanations to follow.

 

Those of us who have become veteran travelers over the years have learned, early on, that travel is always full of unforeseen circumstance, it’s just part of the deal you make.  Especially with cruising, weather forcing ports to change, etc, and certainly with the current craziness of Covid-world.  Understood, but this was one nightmarish problem after another, not remotely a mixed bag (no pun intended). 

 

The purpose of this post is not to vent (although, there is that), but to ask other cruisers to share their luggage forwarding experiences, in the hope that more anecdotal data will allow the rest of us to make good choices going forward.  Thanks for hearing me out.

[Covepointcruiser]

Is this another bad experience or are you repeating a prior discussion?

[SLSD]

3 hours ago, shark b8 said:

 

 

The purpose of this post is not to vent (although, there is that), but to ask other cruisers to share their luggage forwarding experiences, in the hope that more anecdotal data will allow the rest of us to make good choices going forward.  Thanks for hearing me out.

Thank you for giving us the additional details about what you experienced.  While I read that your baggage had not arrived initially, the added details further explain the true scope of this nightmare.  Like you, I would have packed as I normally do for air travel.  I would say that the luggage forwarding service totally failed you.  I do hope that a total refund will happen.  

 

In this post, you have added the details of what has happened post cruise.  Truly shocking.  

Edited January 28, 2022 by SLSD

[shark b8]

42 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Is this another bad experience or are you repeating a prior discussion?

 

Well, I included this at the beginning: "as those who might have followed my day-to-day posts from the Odyssey over the holidays already know, here is what we experienced" in order to explain that very point, I thought.   The luggage story (the first half anyway) was included in my daily posts of our specific cruise, but it seems to me that prospective luggage-forwarders who didn’t choose to follow my particular personal thread might benefit from a standalone discussion, dedicated solely to luggage forwarding in general.

[cruiseej]

I had always seen posts on the Seabourn and Silversea forums about luggage forwarding services; the convenience sounded great, but the prices kept me away. It seemed people were always so happy: "we arrived in our suite, and there was our luggage waiting for us."

 

But I've always had the nagging worry: what if things go wrong? What if the luggage doesn't make it. Yes, that can happen when flying, too, but usually it's a matter of the luggage making it onto just one plane, or two if there's a connection; things of course can go wrong, and we've sometimes had a bag arrive one day later than us, but the tracking and re-routing of luggage usually isn't much worse than that. But when you ship the luggage, it seems like things are more out of your hands than just dealing with an airline — and your story @shark b8 sadly illustrates just how wrong things can go. 

 

Thanks for taking the time to share the story of how your luggage has traveled far more extensively than you did on your trip; I did laugh out loud when you revealed that your luggage has arrived back in Miami. Here's hoping it finds its way home to you in the week(s) ahead.

[shark b8]

Well, here's the other point(s):  in the innumerable exchanges I've had with Luggage Forward along the way, they have frequently blamed most everything on Covid and supply chain issues.  I have no doubt that those are serious disruptions, for luggage-forwarding and most everything else for that matter, most of us have experienced plenty of those problems - but that then presents more questions.  Supply chain issues and Covid issues don't exist solely for my particular shipment, they have to affect all shipments, presumably for all forwarding companies.  And those delay issues have been around for the better part of 2 years now - if all shipments are being similarly affected, (1) shouldn’t luggage forwarders be far more transparent, strongly warning their customers of this going in, and (2) shouldn’t we have heard far more examples of delivery problems like mine, reported on forums like this one, and (3) if it's been this way for over a year and a half, shouldn’t the whole scheduling structure have been altered to try to mitigate?  Pick up luggage a month in advance of sail date rather than 10-12 days....I dunno, whatever.  These are questions to which I have yet to get any plausible answers.

[cuddles115]

As one  who has experienced these traumatic events and have been, unfortunately, in your shoes, I have come away from this dumpster fire with a number of rules.  Foremost, I will assume nothing and will not depend upon another company for advice and recommendation.  A BIG NO, NO!!!

 

We packed for air travel. That is no shaving cream dispensers, electrical chargers, etc.and, nevertheless, our luggage stumbled all over Central America. In fact, items were missing and, perhaps, they were being peddled on a Central American street corner. In my opinion, their concern is only monetary. I also heard from them that lost luggage was the result of Covid and supply issues. In grade school the excuse was, "the dog ate my homework"---rubbish to put it mildly.

 

There are many fish in the sea and many luggage forwarders.  My advice is to do you own due diligence and not depend upon others. I have found a forwarder who seems to meet our concerns completely. I appreciate everyone's sympathy and concerns. As I said at the beginning of this note, sailors who have not experienced should consider themselves fortunate and not act as a "Monday morning quarterback." Woulda, coulda and shoulda does not cut it.  Luggage forwarding  and cruising is the way to go and no one should be paralyzed by Covid  and its variants.  

 

Now that this fiasco is in my rear view mirror, I can laugh and joke about it. I hope and pray that no one has the same experiences in the future.

[highplanesdrifters]

Thanks for posting all the details.  Very helpful. 

[DC Traveler244]

We've used Luggage Forward for several Seabourn cruises.  The only time there was a problem was when we disembarked in Buenos Aires after an Antarctic cruise (Jan 2014).  Apparently, the BA port officials discovered "medications" in one of the approximately 40 bags that came off the Quest and were being shipped onward via Luggage Forward.  The port officials responded by impounding ALL the LF bags that had come off the Quest.

 

It was very inconvenient, and we were concerned that we'd never see our belongings again.  We ultimately got our bags back about three weeks after disembarkation, one day after they were released by BA port officials.  The contents were complete, but it was obvious that they'd been thoroughly searched before being wadded up and stuffed back inside).  Luggage Forward kept us apprised of the status of negotiations with the port officials, and we had no complaints about LF's handling of the situation.

 

We used LF on subsequent cruises (all pre-Covid), and didn't have any difficulties.  We've always been scrupulous about not including prohibited items (or even items that an over-zealous port official might confuse with a prohibited item) in the bags we've shipped. 

 

When it works, shipping bags can be a great convenience. But, when things go wrong, you really don't have any direct control over the situation.

 

 

 

 

 

[marazul]

shark b8-

I replied to your enquiry about FedEx on another thread.  These comments from someone who is very familiar with FedEx and logistics are very much to the point:

 

"The problems and holdups with international shipments are from foreign customs agents, and this applies to FedEx and to any other luggage service or carrier.  For best results just ship clothing.  Do not include strange things that may tempt them to hold the bag, like electric hair dryers, shavers, containers, wires, etc. Do not include valuables or things that could appear as valuables (or dangerous) in an x-ray. List items as 5 cotton shirts, not 5 Armani cotton shirts." 

 

Customs delays can happen with any company and they can happen for one of the above reasons or for no reason at all.  However, it is in your hands to minimize the chances of delays.

[shark b8]

If there's anyone out there still "keeping score"......there's now yet another "clearance delay", in Cincinnati.  Luggage has now sat there for 5 days. 

[johng75370]

Thanks for your posting on this, and the updates.  We had our first “lost luggage” experience heading to a cruise in Barbados last year on Odyssey (it was JetBlue’s fault), and like you we only got our luggage for the second leg of our B2B.  Because of that I’ve been considering the Luggage Forwarding service through Seabourn; now hearing this will likely stick with old fashioned checked in bags, and carrying on a minimal set of clothes “just in case”.  

 

From our experience though I have to heap praise on Seabourn for how they helped us and handled the situation.  From when we arrived at the ship they took care of everything - especially the calls and coordination with JetBlue to get us reunited with our bags.  We got regular detailed updates and by them handling everything we got to enjoy our vacation and not the hassle of dealing with this.  It was yet another “Seabourn Moment” for us in how it was handled.  

Edited February 1, 2022 by johng75370

[cuddles115]

1 hour ago, shark b8 said:

If there's anyone out there still "keeping score"......there's now yet another "clearance delay", in Cincinnati.  Luggage has now sat there for 5 days. 

Yup, I'm still keeping score.  Take it from one who knows....this is absurd.  Although LF is the prime candidate to blame( you gave them  the $$$ and put your trust in them) DHL is the prime culprit.  Their Cincinnati hub is the pits. We sent a Christmas present the end of November to Sweden and it finally arrived via DHL today! Swedish customs was not involved in the delay. Moral of the story, be careful using LF unless you want your luggage to wind up  in Cincinnati or Central America.

[tv24]

Shark:  Thanks for telling your tale.  It will be helpful to us in the future as we contemplate using luggage forwarding services.

 

In 2015 we used Seabourn's service since it was offered to us for free.  We were very careful.  We packed only clothes and books.  This was way pre-Covid and there were no problems.  When we disembarked this cruise we were offered the same gratis and took advantage of it.  Seabourn Sq. staff were super-vigilant instructing us what we should definitely not put in the forwarded luggage.  Again per-Covid and there was plenty of time before we arrived home, so no problems.

 

In 2017 we were staying in an apartment in Berlin and were headed to the Queen Mary to embark in Hamburg.  We independently used DHL, packed just clothes, and there was no problem.  The bag was waiting for us on the ship.  Again pre-Covid.

[shark b8]

Thanks to all for submitting their experiences .....although I frankly was hoping for a lot more responses.

 

Luggage has now sat in Cincinnati for nearly a week.  It really does begin to defy belief, that so many things could all go wrong, over and over and over, in any one given specific experience.   The luggage arrived at the ship ELEVEN days after it sailed, and we are now nearly two weeks past the promised (or "hoped for") return date, Jan 19.   The question remains, is this now common for most all luggage forwarding, as would be the case if "Covid and supply-chain issues" are actually responsible, as claimed?  Or is this a one-off, an outlier?  No one seems to be able to answer this.

Edited February 2, 2022 by shark b8

[highplanesdrifters]

Thanks Sharkb8 and all who posted.   I too had hoped for more responses. I posted on Silversea asking for Luggage Forward opinions and got zero responses.  Based on experiences described here I think we will take a pass for now. 

[rkacruiser]

10 hours ago, shark b8 said:

Luggage has now sat in Cincinnati for nearly a week.  

 

Have you tried contacting DHL's Customer Service?  

[curmudgeon98]

In-laws have used Seabourn's luggage forwarding for a couple of world cruises with no problems.  I was seriously impressed by it in 2020 when their cruise was cut short by the beginning of covid and ended in Perth instead of San Francisco.  The luggage got to them in about three weeks after getting off the ship.

 

Right now a lot of shipping companies are having big problems with so many people out sick or isolating.  I read that FedEx stopped doing 2-day and 3-day service last week, for example.  Shipments without a date commitment may just be sitting in a corner for now.

[Captainlyle]

Perhaps I have been very lucky because Luggage Forward has been great for us.I have used them on five cruises with Seabourn.All the luggage was shipped from central California to the following ports Venice,Barcelona,Athens,Rome,London.On everyone of these cruises the luggage was waiting for us either in the suite or hallway.The only problem I had with them was when we where forced to leave the ship in Perth Australia on the 2020 world cruise because of Covid19.The problem wasn't  Luggage Forwards fault.The problem was Australia's border agency which held our bags for in inspection along with several hundred bags from other ships.Unfortunately we also had several items missing and Luggage Forward paid us for the missing items.Our bags finally arrived 3 months later and the bags had been riffled through and the contents dump at some time.We have two major cruises planned and we will continue to use Luggage Forward.The convenience to travel without luggage is wonderful plus at this stag of my life I don"t want to handle heavy cases any longer.

We also pack extra things in our carry-on in case the luggage is delayed.

[PlumeriaLover]

Thanks for all of the pointers as we will be using Luggage Forwarding for the first time.  I only wish that others had not encountered such delays and issues.  We originally were going to have  a bag shipped between ships with a one week travel time period during our travels, but based on everyone's experiences, that's off the table now and in the future.

 

[JSR]

On 1/27/2022 at 9:11 PM, cuddles115 said:

As one  who has experienced these traumatic events and have been, unfortunately, in your shoes, I have come away from this dumpster fire with a number of rules.  Foremost, I will assume nothing and will not depend upon another company for advice and recommendation.  A BIG NO, NO!!!

 

We packed for air travel. That is no shaving cream dispensers, electrical chargers, etc.and, nevertheless, our luggage stumbled all over Central America. In fact, items were missing and, perhaps, they were being peddled on a Central American street corner. In my opinion, their concern is only monetary. I also heard from them that lost luggage was the result of Covid and supply issues. In grade school the excuse was, "the dog ate my homework"---rubbish to put it mildly.

 

There are many fish in the sea and many luggage forwarders.  My advice is to do you own due diligence and not depend upon others. I have found a forwarder who seems to meet our concerns completely. I appreciate everyone's sympathy and concerns. As I said at the beginning of this note, sailors who have not experienced should consider themselves fortunate and not act as a "Monday morning quarterback." Woulda, coulda and shoulda does not cut it.  Luggage forwarding  and cruising is the way to go and no one should be paralyzed by Covid  and its variants.  

 

Now that this fiasco is in my rear view mirror, I can laugh and joke about it. I hope and pray that no one has the same experiences in the future.

As a starting point for my research would you mind sharing the name of the forwarder that meets your needs?

Thank you.

Jean

 

 

 

[shark b8]

A half-hour ago, a Luggage Forward rep emailed, saying: "We have been advised the shipment is expected to arrive into LAX at some point today."     I pointed out to them that the tracking showed it arriving at LAX yesterday (or was it the day before?  it's all starting to run together) and that it was still at LAX today but "on hold".  (again) 

[cruiseej]

I love tuning in to this daily soap opera. 😉

 

But now we have a full understanding of the problem, @shark b8. Look at the first three digits of your tracking number: 666. Finally, all has been explained. 😂

[shark b8]

2 hours ago, cruiseej said:

I love tuning in to this daily soap opera. 😉

 

It's really quite amazing, isn't it?  Every time I think there surely can't possibly be any more disasters and  twists and turns, and that surely luggage will show up on my doorstep tomorrow, well.....Luggage Forward also just emailed me that one (at least one) of the suitcases has now NOT made its way to LAX (of which I was aware before they were), at least one bag is now still in Cincinnati.  "On hold".   I just.....I can't.......

 

2 hours ago, cruiseej said:

Look at the first three digits of your tracking number: 666. Finally, all has been explained. 

 

Two months ago you would have been a loon.  Now you're Nostradamus.  😱

[frantic36]

Shark, your trials with Luggage Forward is very concerning and I hope it is resolved soonest.

 

We are booked to go on a Grand Voyage in 2023 and included is forwarding of two suitcases per person. Now with your tale of woe and knowing someone else who had issues from the USA when they did an Antarctica trip a few years ago I am getting concerned. We usually manage our own luggage and from Perth, Australia it has been cost prohibitive anyway to use a luggage service. 

 

I wonder if Seabourn only uses the one provider, does anyone know?

Edited February 4, 2022 by frantic36