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

[notjaded]

Was considering using LF on our upcoming voyage ex-Hong Kong, but now reconsidering. Any additional stories anyone has to share?

 

@Nachosdelux: I like your logic about tipping. We arrange for private transport and meet and greet services to help ease the travel pain.

 

@shark b8: Aloha. Any thoughts about shipping from/to Hawaii was part of the problem?

[Utopia1]

I've haven't experienced any problems-- EXCEPT

One new piece of luggage recently came back from Barbados damaged.  I immediately e mailed photos of the damage and a receipt for the suitcase to Luggage Forward..  Within 24 hours they offered me a refund for the bag or a replacement.  I received the exact  bag within one week from the place I purchased it

 

The only negative I find is the restrictions of the items that you are permitted to pack.  

I wouldn't hesitate shipping to/from any port that they ship to. 

[Robisan]

Can you delay and/or specify the return home delivery date if you want to send some of your luggage home post cruise while extending travel beyond the disembarcation date? 

[Utopia1]

Call them directly for a current answer to your question

 

[notjaded]

Can anyone post information about the packing instructions/warning that LF provides?

 

Thanks!

[stan01]

3 hours ago, notjaded said:

Can anyone post information about the packing instructions/warning that LF provides?

 

Thanks!

 

They have a lengthy terms of service on their website

https://www.luggageforward.com/legal/terms-of-service/

 

There are a lot of prohibited items, including all lithium batteries, Air Tags, anything with alcohol including perfume and insect repellent, anything that is illegal where the shipment might pass through including prescription drugs and vitamins, aerosol cans ...

 

 

 

[shark b8]

19 hours ago, notjaded said:

 

@shark b8: Aloha. Any thoughts about shipping from/to Hawaii was part of the problem?

 

I dont think that was part of *our* problem with them, although simple logic might suggest that the shorter the suitcase journey, the less opportunity for a problem, and vice versa.  In our case, they misidentified a charger as a battery pack and the luggage sat in Honolulu for multiple days, and then L.A. for several more.  I kept showing them pix of the item involved and explaining….as the days ticked off.  And that doesn't really explain why TWO suitcases didn't arrive onboard the Odyssey, until….eleven days after it sailed.  Then several cruises later, I decided to give them another shot, but only on the homeward bound journey, I figured if they were a few days later than expected, who cares?  That’s the one where one suitcase arrived missing one of the four wheels.  So, while happy to hear about good experiences others are having….I can’t help but remain skeptical, for obvious reasons. 

[CardowMD]

No air tags? That way you can never know where your cases actually are located!

[shark b8]

 

11 minutes ago, CardowMD said:

No air tags? That way you can never know where your cases actually are located!

 

They do give you a link you can keep checking, works just like tracking with PO, UPS or FedEx.  That’s the only reason I knew there was a problem as we went along, nearly 10 days after leaving Hawaii they were still in L.A.   (and parenthetically, I *did* have Air Tags inside, but this was just before they decided to disallow them)

[labonnevie]

How would you like to be on a world cruise without your luggage?

Begin the thread below at post # 5:

 

Between this experience and that of shark b8, I'll pass on LF.

[BasandSyb]

Sounds excruciatingly painful, very frustrating and not to mention expensive if you need to replace more than a few days of clothes. The experiences mentioned have certainly put us off using it.

 

We don't mind wrangling luggage for short movements at this point in our lives. However, we are travelling 4.5 months this year and the misalignment of multiple airline allowances, weight and Seabourn charter flights was doing our heads in. To avoid the problem, we were considering some point to point luggage movement in Europe through a company which guaranteed a two day turnaround but were a bit wobbly with timing and worried that although pre-arranged a hotel concierge might not accept it in our absence. Thankfully Seabourn has re-visited its wording of allowances, corrected what we have been told and clarified baggage limits we can work with - and I made sure to get it in writing. Now we just worry about the airline Gods and what may/may not arrive or be damaged following various airport hopping. Thanks to Shark b8 for the topic and the sharing of experiences.

 

Labonnevie - that Regent world cruise post was interesting... was it just me or did a lot of the food look not very tempting, and some plates almost like mush? Have travelled Regent, but will stick with Seabourn.

[markandjie]

23 hours ago, BasandSyb said:

was it just me or did a lot of the food look not very tempting, and some plates almost like mush

 

I had the same observation, though the risotto did look good. Otherwise the food did not look appetizing.

[Covepointcruiser]

We always use AirTags with Luggage Forwarding, never had a problem with receiving our bags.   We Lao kept track of our bags with our AirTags.   The tags even warn you if you need to replace a battery.

[BasandSyb]

They would seem helpful.
We considered tags but have read that multiple cargo/freight airlines have banned them - also Lufthansa with which we have multiple flights, so haven’t bothered further for fear of having to cross check shifting rules for the next 6 months.

[notjaded]

Thanks for all the insights here, the sum of which have convinced me to deal with the luggage problem by hiring drivers, porters, skycaps, and meet/ greet services. 

Yesterday, driver came to home, picked us and six bags up, dropped us to skycap. Meet at post-customs arrival hall by another driver, who took luggage and us to hotel and into hands of  valets. Luggage in our room 2 minutes after us. No worries. Spent a couple hundred dollars extra for these services. 

[BasandSyb]

As an addendum - the luggage forwarding system in Japan between hotels works brilliantly and costs about $70 AUD to move 2 x largest size suitcases.

[notjaded]

17 hours ago, notjaded said:

Thanks for all the insights here, the sum of which have convinced me to deal with the luggage problem by hiring drivers, porters, skycaps, and meet/ greet services. 

Yesterday, driver came to home, picked us and six bags up, dropped us to skycap. Meet at post-customs arrival hall by another driver, who took luggage and us to hotel and into hands of  valets. Luggage in our room 2 minutes after us. No worries. Spent a couple hundred dollars extra for these services. 

Yes. the Takkyubin system is remarkable. 

[Sunviking]

23 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

We always use AirTags with Luggage Forwarding, never had a problem with receiving our bags.   We Lao kept track of our bags with our AirTags.   The tags even warn you if you need to replace a battery.

I'm confused. Are Air Tags allowed or not?  I'm using Luggage Forward next week for the first time and I would like to put air tags in if they are permitted.  On the LF website it says that they aren't allowed but friends have told me they used them and had no problems.

[BasandSyb]

It is very confusing. They were banned by a number of airline companies. The various aviation authorities have confirmed they are ok as the amount of lithium in the checked luggage would be small, but some freight companies continue their bans.

 

We have RTW tickets with Lufthansa for February which state a ban although Lufthansa apparently lifted its ban in November 2022 but didn’t widely announce it.

My feelings in considering their use on our trip was the complete unknown of freight companies swapping airline freight carriers at the last moment and someone in a uniform deciding they want my luggage opened and checked.

Shark b8s story convinced me further.

 

 

[stan01]

2 hours ago, Sunviking said:

I'm confused. Are Air Tags allowed or not?  I'm using Luggage Forward next week for the first time and I would like to put air tags in if they are permitted.  On the LF website it says that they aren't allowed but friends have told me they used them and had no problems.

 

Their terms of service says they are not allowed but I'd guess people do it anyways.  If the carrier or customs finds them I don't know what would happen:  ignore them?  discard them?  Leave your bag in customs missing your cruise?  That's why I would not chance it but each person would have to make their own decision.

 

 

[Robisan]

We use AirTags routinely in our luggage and until this thread never imagined there was any issue or problem with it. Why can't we just have nice things? 

[frantic36]

17 hours ago, Sunviking said:

I'm confused. Are Air Tags allowed or not?  I'm using Luggage Forward next week for the first time and I would like to put air tags in if they are permitted.  On the LF website it says that they aren't allowed but friends have told me they used them and had no problems.

 

We didn't use our Air Tags when we used LF for our Grand Voyage on the Quest last year because they say you can't. Another friend who did a grand voyage on Odyssey last year did and had no problem. I am risk averse and had read about people getting luggage delayed due to Air Tags being discovered so that's why we chose not to. 

 

We have used them for recent travels not using Luggage Forward.

[labonnevie]

I’d rather use Air Tags than LF. 
But that’s just me. 

[Covepointcruiser]

We have flown Lufthansa and Brussels airlines in the past year with AirTags in everything including our hand carried items.   The small watch type batteries in them are really not a concern.   We flew in November without incident.

[FlyerTalker]

I'm going to speculate on the rationale behind LF banning AirTags.  (Note, this is just speculation)

 

Rather than get into the minutia of just how much of a lithium battery is allowed or disallowed, I suspect that LF just takes the simple and clear position of NO lithium batteries of any type in their shipments.

 

Whether or not this is justified, reasonable or whatever, it does provide a simple and clear demarcation of what is permitted and not.

 

I take this view after some of my experiences with Chinese regulations on lithium battery power packs for phones and tablets allowed in cabin bags.  The Chinese regs specify both total battery size and the size of individual batteries and also the number of packs allowed.  I have seen issues at security screenings where it has been a mess.

 

Also, LF can now proceed knowing that they will be meeting any airline requirement, thus allowing for flexibility in their shipping arrangements.