Checking Luggage from the ship

[wolfganghowell]

Has anyone done this in Ft Lauderdale? We would like to do it and would love some info. Our flight was originally departing at 12:30 ish and has now been moved to 11:20. Do you still put your luggage out the night before or do you do anything different? Info appreciated.

[dcwlopez]

We just got off Century and used the service there. We flew with American Airlines and our plane did not leave until 3PM (hard to get good flights back home to Arizona). We signed up for the service at the main desk by giving them our flight information (airline, flight number, times, transfer cities, confirmation number if you have it). Then on Thursday evening we got our boarding passes and our luggage tags. On Friday we packed our bags with the luggage tags on and set them out before 11PM just like everyone else's bags. Then on Saturday morning, we were in the first group to disembark. When we went down to collect our bags, ours were in a separate area and since so few people seemed to be using the service, we found our bags very easily. Then as soon as we walked outside there is a large sign for the luggage with a very nice woman directing traffic. You hand them the bags and they put them in carts depending on the airline you're going on. Then you can either get on the bus to the airport or grab a taxi. It was very seemless. We were off the ship and in a taxi in under 15 minutes. We had a late flight so we weren't too concerned, but it was very nice to not have to lug are bags arounds.

[bassque]

dcwlopez is right-on about how the new procedure works. They do charge you $10 per person for the service but after you get your bags through customs and the porters take them, you don't have to handle them again until you reach your destination. As dcwlopez says, you are among the first off the ship and the bags are in their own section. We had one glitch last Saturday when we departed and that was that even though all our bags were put outside our cabin at the same time together, on Friday night, only two of them were in the proper zone when we got off the ship. We had to start searching the entire terminal--thousands of bags--to find our garmet bag. The terminal people were very helpful and several helped us. (One good thing is that your name is on the airline tag on your cases. They spotted the bag before we did.) Fortunately we'd only gone through about 40 of the rows of luggage before it was found.

 

Now, if they'd only been that helpful with our burglary on board...

[ChuckL]

Is this service available in Vancouver for ships returning from Alaska and flights departing to the US? I understand that US Customs is cleared at Vancouver airport, so I'm curious as to how this works if it is available.

[CAKER]

We had this wonderful new service returning from Southern Caribbean via U.S.AIRWAYS. We were very surprised because we thought it was only available for American Airlines, per an article we had seen. We even asked the Concierge desk on the Constellation, and he said it was American Airlines only. So imagine our surprise that after we disembarked in San Juan, the porter took our bags directly to a counter manned (actually womanned) by a rep from U.S. Air. Our bags were checked, and immediately loaded on a waiting truck. We saw our bags next in Phila. after our flight.

 

And there was NO CHARGE, maybe an "introductory offer". Even at $ 10 it's a bargain. No schlepping bags, no multiple tipping porters to load and unload and move bags. I'd even pay twice as much for the convenience, but don't tell the airlines.

 

I noticed on our next cruise, 10/17 Mediterrean CC Millenium, that our NW Airlines confirmation mentioned that this service is available at Barcelona, Spain, among about 10 other locations.

 

It is being phased in by all major airlines, it seems.

 

By the way, most travel agents do not know about this new service !!!

[Moeve]

I am not sure you should count on this service being available from europe to the US - since the US Authorities require particular inspections and procedures (like your luggage not having been out of you sight or controll until checkin) It is just a hunch but I don't think the Airlines are going to be allowed to offer this service since they even had to drop the service where you could checkin your luggage the night before you flight to the US.