shipping luggage

[Keith1010]

For us whether we use or not use the service depends on the number of pieces we are taking.

 

Specifically:

 

We can handles two carry ons, two personal items and two 28 or 29" pieces or one Carry one and three large pieces.  

While we could get porters it gets complicated with more pieces including vehicles needed and if we are arriving back home and have to go through customs/immigration.  I can remember arriving back to DFW when that was our home airport and there would only be a couple of porters and the first time we got one but the following year we had to wait quite awhile.

 

So I look at this as a toolbox.  We don't always need the tool but having it available to us works very well.

 

On a related note, as FlyerTalker said I like those airlines that offer an app to track luggage.It has alerted me twice when my bags were not on the flight and these days I also add to each bag an Apple Air Tag.

 

And finally, because I believe in Murphy's Law we fly in a few days before we embark because things happen and likewise if we ship bags we send them a lot earlier than they require.

 

Finally, when shipping bags home another thing that can go wrong is they arrive home earlier than they are supposed to.  One time with DHL they were to hold the bags for a few days after they arrived back to the USA as we were staying on land for several days before flying home. Guess what? They didn't and left them on our porch and they shouldn't have done that either.  Thank goodness my neighbor spotted them and took them in. These days I would at least know they were there with video cameras.  An example that things can go wrong and that applies to UPS, Fedex, DHL and USPS and whomever else is out there.

 

Now if I was a human octopus at least I could handle more bags but that's not to say the vehicle can.   😀

 

Keith 

[PaulMCO]

Tight connections, missed connections, weather, mechanicals, strikes etc.  I have had more bags delayed in my life and that is over 6mm over just about every airline - from Pan Am to Yangoon ("the safe one") than delayed packages.  I have never had a DHL package lost (delayed yes) in my 40 plus years of sending proposals to customers throughout the world.  I do not use a luggage service regularly but only strategically where I have a large number of suitcases.  Generally this involves multiple climate zones. Last time in March where we had winter weather in Tokyo and summer in Hawaii.

 

Having a cruise line preferred Company insures timely pickup on the end of cruise segment.  We hardly use the end of cruise option because we generally don't care when our bags make it home.

[CruisingAlong4Now]

I've used these services shipping bags to and from a cruise.

 

I like not having to deal with luggage, especially if we are traveling prior to the cruise.

 

I do caution you to pay strict attention to the instructions regarding items that can and cannot be shipped in your cases.  We once had an "iffy" item packed, and the suitcase was held in foreign customs until one day before our cruise.  They finally released the bag and it was in our suite when we boarded.

 

We took pictures of the packed, open suitcases so we knew what each contained.

 

We just considered the shipping charges as part of our cruise fare.

Edited April 23 by CruisingAlong4Now