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

[cruiseej]

7 hours ago, labonnevie said:

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

 

AirTags don't do anything to help your luggage get to your destination with you. They give you peace of mind if your luggage is where it should be, and eliminate the concern and anxiety phase and get you straight to depression if it isn't. 🤣 In most cases, telling the airline "no, the bag is in Amsterdam, not Atlanta" doesn't bring about a faster reunion. 

[FlyerTalker]

10 hours ago, cruiseej said:

AirTags don't do anything to help your luggage get to your destination with you. They give you peace of mind if your luggage is where it should be, and eliminate the concern and anxiety phase and get you straight to depression if it isn't. 🤣 In most cases, telling the airline "no, the bag is in Amsterdam, not Atlanta" doesn't bring about a faster reunion. 

 

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.

 

Airlines have the own procedures for dealing with mishandled bags.  (And that is the correct terminology - they aren't "lost").  The system relies on the numbered, and bar coded, tags on the bags - and as noted, saying "the bag is in XYZ" doesn't fit into the process.  Air Tags are, IMO, a fad with limited functional value.

 

I have simply relied on the luggage tracking that is integrated into the airline apps on my phone.  The bags are scanned at the various steps along the way, and they provide the info that I need.  I can be sitting in my seat and know that the bag has been loaded into the belly.  Or not.  Either way, there is nothing I can do - it's all about your "peace of mind".  Remember, it's that same system that the airline will be using to return any mishandled bags to you.

[CardowMD]

Funny that the Chinese restrict the same battery packs that are made in their factories!

[labonnevie]

5 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.

 Remember, it's that same system that the airline will be using to return any mishandled bags to you.

It appears that LF doesn’t use this system. Just seems that if Amazon, UPS, FedEx and others can tell you exactly where everything is and when you’ll get it, LF should be able to as well. 
I’ve never had a problem schlepping my luggage to a cruise and I’m nearing 80. And the luggage technology is improving all the time; lighter, better wheels, etc. 
I understand others need a service like LF for various reasons, but they just don’t seem like the reliable answer to the issue. 
But that’s just me. 

[SDuckers]

10 minutes ago, labonnevie said:

It appears that LF doesn’t use this system. Just seems that if Amazon, UPS, FedEx and others can tell you exactly where everything is and when you’ll get it, LF should be able to as well. 
I’ve never had a problem schlepping my luggage to a cruise and I’m nearing 80. And the luggage technology is improving all the time; lighter, better wheels, etc. 
I understand others need a service like LF for various reasons, but they just don’t seem like the reliable answer to the issue. 
But that’s just me. 

We have used LF twice, with absolutely no problems.  And we could track the location of our bag throughout the process.

[stan01]

We have a Cunard QM2 Queens Grill cruise coming up and seriously considered Luggage Forward for the requisite formal wear that we no longer bring with us on Seabourn, but in the end I think we will just control our packing and get everything into two checked bags plus two regulation carry ons and manage those ourselves while in London for a week before the crossing back to Brooklyn.  We tend to over pack and always use the on-board laundry service anyways.

 

Luggage Forward's service offering seems like a good idea, but the more we think about it there are more dependencies on the failures of the various carriers and customs offices that Luggage Forward has no control over.  Post COVID decrease in reliability seems to becoming the new normal.

[FlyerTalker]

35 minutes ago, labonnevie said:

It appears that LF doesn’t use this system.

 

Correct.  Because your suitcase doesn't move as baggage - it moves as freight.  Which is COMPLETELY different than baggage.

 

36 minutes ago, labonnevie said:

Just seems that if Amazon, UPS, FedEx and others can tell you exactly where everything is and when you’ll get it, LF should be able to as well.

 

Folks, remember that LF is a freight forwarder, not a carrier.  They contract with freight carriers, both air and ground, to move your suitcase.  And as such, they are the customer of the carrier - not you.

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

20 minutes ago, stan01 said:

Luggage Forward's service offering seems like a good idea, but the more we think about it there are more dependencies on the failures of the various carriers and customs offices that Luggage Forward has no control over.

 

When you check your bag in with your airline, you have a single point of contact and responsibility.  Once you start using a forwarder, you introduce those multiple points of failure.

 

 

[Canal archive]

Okay so we’ve only done it once, U.K. to Paris not far I know but absolutely excellent product, yes we had locators in each case and yes mild panic when they went to Belgium but they soon returned to Paris. It turned out that the, I must say excellent company we had chosen knew exactly what they were  doing had an excellent working relationship with our cruise company. The company we used assured us that they would undertake to transfer our luggage to anywhere in the world by whatever method. This was later backed up by our Cruise Director.