Valet Luggage Service?

[chloemonkey]

I tried to search this topic but came up empty.....wondering if this option is currently being offered on the Riviera out of Miami?  DH just had knee replacement and we are trying to make things "easier"....

Thanks in advance!

Debby

[LHT28]

I think you can get something like luggage forward where they pick up at the dock & ship to your home

you can arrange it online with the company

[MEFIowa]

Cabs and cars pulled up at the curb in front of Terminal J in Dec 12/13-23/21 for our cruise on Riviera and the people were there to take your bags immediately. They took them onto the boat and delivered them to your room later that afternoon. And you place your luggage outside the room the night before disembarkation and they take your luggage off the ship into Terminal J to near the customs area. I forget if there were assistants taking your bags past customs to the curb. (My wife and I drove. So we were parked at the Terminal J Parking Garage on the ground floor and raced out with our own bags past customs to beat any rush. We were in the 1st wave of disembarkations. She waited by the curb with our bags while I brought the car to where she was waiting.)

[Kate-AHF]

I think it will help you both.  We've been using Luggage Forward for a while.  Piece of cake in getting it to the cabin, because once picked up at your home, the next time you see it will be in your cabin.

 

When you disembark in Miami (we just did this on 12/1/21), you'll leave the bag to be shipped outside your cabin with the rest the night before, with all it's highly visible Luggage forward tags already on it - along with your Oceania colored tag.  You will claim it with the rest of luggage, then do what we did and get a porter to take all bags out with you.  The Luggage Forward rep was waiting with his clipboard just outside the terminal building - drop off the bag(s) to be shipped and be on your way.

[Hawaiidan]

if you  use Ship To Go.... they will pick up from the ship   Too they will also deliver it to the cabin     They use DHL and Fed X...       I suggest Ship to Go  because it is  the best price and offers discounts.      AS others mentioned  they will come to you home to pick up and deliver... Ship Wheelchairs, Luggage.... anything but spouse's!!!

[KatieBelle]

chloemonkey, I have been doing research this week on a number of services.  We truly would like to use a service stateside to Rome and Copenhagen to stateside.  The prices do make me choke just a bit but may still be worth it.  Here are the services I have looked at so far:

 

Luggage Forward

Send My Bags

Ship To Go

Lugless

My Baggage

 

My question to Hawaiidan and others with experience shipping overseas:  What is the procedure for these bags to go through customs?  Any hiccups?  And do you recommend shrink wrapping luggage?  Sorry, that's 3 questions!  😊

Katie

 

[Hawaiidan]

26 minutes ago, KatieBelle said:

chloemonkey, I have been doing research this week on a number of services.  We truly would like to use a service stateside to Rome and Copenhagen to stateside.  The prices do make me choke just a bit but may still be worth it.  Here are the services I have looked at so far:

 

Luggage Forward

Send My Bags

Ship To Go

Lugless

My Baggage

 

My question to Hawaiidan and others with experience shipping overseas:  What is the procedure for these bags to go through customs?  Any hiccups?  And do you recommend shrink wrapping luggage?  Sorry, that's 3 questions!  😊

Katie

 

Katie....  you fill out a customs declaration  attached to the  "thing being shipped" and  the company does ALL the clearance and bonds...    Your Luggage is shipped direct to the O  representative/agent in  the ports   desired.     

 

 As an example  50kg LA to Rome  one way was about $ 236 . all inclusive....    

An additional note for users of devices like wheel chairs and such, is  it is cheaper to  ship your own device for a 10+ day cruise than to  rent one...    Worth consideration if you have that need.

 Caution,  some companies that do this are prohibited from O ships.     Others are limited to ports they have offices.    The benefit with DHL  and Fed X  is they have offices and agents in almost ever port  in the world      When Last I checked  only DHL was allowed  to ship into or out of  Arab countries... 

   All things price and  service as well at oversea offices   Ship to Go is my choice....   They have the connections you need anywhere in the globe

NO shrink wrap.... it can be a red flag  for customs in many countries...     It will get cut off.     Shrink wrap is popular in South America..... where  a lot of traffic originates..     You don't want to  have your bags torn open and probes along with fido visits     Everything will be suspect  according to customs friends.      NO shrink wrap.  and no hinkey things  you might try like ivory, shells  and stuff on the endangered/prohibited  list....     Play it squeaky clean     ot you might get your bags back with lining  and stuff  removed, cut or worse....

Good luck

Edited February 9, 2022 by Hawaiidan

[PhD-iva]

19 hours ago, Kate-AHF said:

 

When you disembark in Miami (we just did this on 12/1/21), you'll leave the bag to be shipped outside your cabin with the rest the night before, with all it's highly visible Luggage forward tags already on it - along with your Oceania colored tag.  You will claim it with the rest of luggage, then do what we did and get a porter to take all bags out with you.  The Luggage Forward rep was waiting with his clipboard just outside the terminal building - drop off the bag(s) to be shipped and be on your way.

I threw my back out disembarking in Miami. After collecting my 50-pound suitcase, and carryon luggage I refused to wait in the SLOOOOW moving line to take the elevator to the ground floor to board my transfer bus to the airport. I carried my luggage down 1 flight of stairs to the ground level. However, that single flight of stairs was perhaps 30+ feet as the ceiling height on the ground floor was very high. Then, our O transfer bus dropped us at a back door to the airport (???). By luck I found an elevator (not well marked), but there certainly weren’t any porters I could see, or perhaps there were a few porters, but not enough for the multiple busloads arriving at the same time. 
Not a good way to end my trip, not to mention the fuss at the Miami airport. What a mess! I need to join BAjet! 🤑

[Kate-AHF]

We must have been on the same bus.  And why they dropped the "United Air" pax in the back of beyond, absolutely nowhere  near the United counters, both mystifies me and ticks me off.  That's the last time I ever get an airport transfer on O, at least domestically.  And to top it all off, when we finally got to the United rep to drop off the bags, she looked at my ticket and said "This is for Ft. Lauderdale."  I had booked the wrong airport for us, or I had not remembered that I booked FLL.  We did manage to get a taxi, who broke some land-speed records to get us to FLL in time for the flight. (And, I might add, dropped us 20 feet from the United counter).  I still have hope I will someday forget that trip home.

 

But!!!  the porters I was speaking of were in the hall where you collect your luggage. There were lots of them, and he loaded up the cart, whisked us to the Luggage Forward rep, and then on to the buses.  That was the only painless part. That, and not having to cart around the 50# bag all the way home.

[Jancruz]

21 hours ago, Kate-AHF said:

I think it will help you both.  We've been using Luggage Forward for a while.  Piece of cake in getting it to the cabin, because once picked up at your home, the next time you see it will be in your cabin.

 

When you disembark in Miami (we just did this on 12/1/21), you'll leave the bag to be shipped outside your cabin with the rest the night before, with all it's highly visible Luggage forward tags already on it - along with your Oceania colored tag.  You will claim it with the rest of luggage, then do what we did and get a porter to take all bags out with you.  The Luggage Forward rep was waiting with his clipboard just outside the terminal building - drop off the bag(s) to be shipped and be on your way.

I have used Luggage Forward for 10 years for myself and groups..I recommended them for a January 4th trip and one persons luggage was lost it went to Utah instead of Miami and they never got it until after the cruise and one of my friends they ruined her brand new piece of luggage and only reimbursed her a small percentage..

I will never use them again..as not only was it bad service but they were very rude to me and my friends..

Jancruz1

[Hawaiidan]

1 hour ago, Jancruz said:

I have used Luggage Forward for 10 years for myself and groups..I recommended them for a January 4th trip and one persons luggage was lost it went to Utah instead of Miami and they never got it until after the cruise and one of my friends they ruined her brand new piece of luggage and only reimbursed her a small percentage..

I will never use them again..as not only was it bad service but they were very rude to me and my friends..

Jancruz1

Ill stick with Shipp to  Go....   By the way   The bus to Miami is a joke....   You have to walk half the airport to get to check in for UA..   Seemed like a mile of more..... and then  getting to the gate was another adventure.

Edited February 9, 2022 by Hawaiidan

[chloemonkey]

6 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

I threw my back out disembarking in Miami. After collecting my 50-pound suitcase, and carryon luggage I refused to wait in the SLOOOOW moving line to take the elevator to the ground floor to board my transfer bus to the airport. I carried my luggage down 1 flight of stairs to the ground level. However, that single flight of stairs was perhaps 30+ feet as the ceiling height on the ground floor was very high. Then, our O transfer bus dropped us at a back door to the airport (???). By luck I found an elevator (not well marked), but there certainly weren’t any porters I could see, or perhaps there were a few porters, but not enough for the multiple busloads arriving at the same time. 
Not a good way to end my trip, not to mention the fuss at the Miami airport. What a mess! I need to join BAjet! 🤑

I remember that "back door" airport drop off from one of our trips out of Miami Int'l!  Here we were with me just coming off lung cancer surgery, my husband with a bum knee....and when I asked how we were supposed to obtain the wheelchair service?  The tour guide had no idea.....needless to say we claimed our luggage from the bus, DH took the elevator to the departure level...found a cart....came BACK to claim me....and we just walked very SLOWLY to the wheelchair assistance area.....

Thanks for reminding me NOT to take these excursion/airport options! lol

[Host Jazzbeau]

For two people, it's just easier to call Uber!  Just remember to click on the XL category to get a big enough vehicle...

[chloemonkey]

5 hours ago, Kate-AHF said:

We must have been on the same bus.  And why they dropped the "United Air" pax in the back of beyond, absolutely nowhere  near the United counters, both mystifies me and ticks me off.  That's the last time I ever get an airport transfer on O, at least domestically.  And to top it all off, when we finally got to the United rep to drop off the bags, she looked at my ticket and said "This is for Ft. Lauderdale."  I had booked the wrong airport for us, or I had not remembered that I booked FLL.  We did manage to get a taxi, who broke some land-speed records to get us to FLL in time for the flight. (And, I might add, dropped us 20 feet from the United counter).  I still have hope I will someday forget that trip home.

 

But!!!  the porters I was speaking of were in the hall where you collect your luggage. There were lots of them, and he loaded up the cart, whisked us to the Luggage Forward rep, and then on to the buses.  That was the only painless part. That, and not having to cart around the 50# bag all the way home.

We had the same experience....had taken the tour and drop-off option before but all of a sudden found ourselves in some out-of-the-way upstairs empty parking lot and being told that this was where we were to get off of the bus!  It was a problem as I had just come off of lung cancer surgery and needed wheelchair assistance.....anyway, I posted on another message...so will spare you the details!  Just know that the luggage CAN become a problem when we become less and less able to carry, lift and transport it.....

Might I add that this has NOT stopped me from overpacking yet?  Oh well.....too old to change my ways!