What type of luggage tags do you use?

[scopewest]

For the past few flights, we used plastic tags and leather tags. Every single tag has been ripped off or broken off our suitcases by some machinery somewhere. Some of the tags had straps that buckled and others had flexible straps that you slipped the tag through (like HAL's tags).

 

On my last flight, both plastic tags were gone when I arrived. So at the end of my cruise, I took my Noordam tags, ripped off the bottom half so that just my name and address appeared (not that I thought they'd end back up on the ship but just in case), and used them to fly home with. I could have used the airline's tags but didn't want to take a chance they were out when I got to the ticket counter.

 

Hooray for HAL, the tags made it along with the bags!

[jtl513]

We use plastic tags with those strong plastic loops. TWO per bag! We just bought two more at the CC Store (top of this page, below the green fish) for $2.50 each with the Cruise Critic name on them. Let's see if that makes them get treated better or worse by HAL! :D

[scopewest]

Now that's an idea!

[jhannah]

I've used every sort of tag. Never had one torn off. In time the plastic holding the name card or business card will crack ... but I've never lost one.

 

Now I'm using the wonderful HAL tags awarded in team trivia! :) They strap on and are thick and heavy. We'll see how long they last.

[agabbymama]

I complete the tag that is is on the side of the suitcase, then I have a variety of tags picked up on vacations. One has the Australia flag on one side and your info on the other, one is a Hawaiian shirt on the front, one is British Airways plastic tag, all of these have like a vinyl loop that goes around the handle of the bag then around the tag. The Hawaiian shirt being plastic did break in half. Then I have a couple of leather tags that attach with a small chain. I also put a tag inside the suitcase. I've never had any totally come off the bag.:rolleyes:

[Randyk47]

We use Cruise Critic luggage tags naturally!!! :D Bought them a few years ago as kind of a "neat thing to do" for a cruise but they've done so well over the years we don't bother to switch them out. We've not lost one tag since we changed over and they still look pretty good. Amazing the conversations we've gotten into because of them. :)

[Scrumpy]

We use the hard plastic ones that have the very thick plastic loops - may have some nylon in the loops since they have a little stretch. They are personalized with our photos from webshots. They're about 3"x3" square, but not too thick. We have never lost one - and we also think it reduces the risk that someone else would grab our luggage in error because photos of ourselves, our pets, etc. are plainly visible - and our names and home & cell phone numbers are in permanent ink on the side w/o the photo. DH travels weekly and hasn't lost one yet. I put them on everything, including backpacks and carry-ons. The worst thing that happened was that one got hit/scraped with something sharp during handling that left a scratch across the photo, but it didn't make it through the actual plastic tag.

 

I just got a set of the paper stickers that fold onto themselves and stick together around the handle as a freebie from somewhere. We haven't tried them yet.

 

I lost my favorite leather team logo tag last year, but it lasted four or five years and I thought that was pretty good.

 

The HAL tags seem to last forever. Until someone finally removed it, we had one still stuck on a few bags from three years ago!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Years and years ago we got leather luggage tags. I put 2 on each suitcase.

 

Have never had one ripped off a suitcase.

[2bout2c]

I've used every sort of tag. Never had one torn off. In time the plastic holding the name card or business card will crack ... but I've never lost one.

 

Now I'm using the wonderful HAL tags awarded in team trivia! :) They strap on and are thick and heavy. We'll see how long they last.

I love the tags that I've won in trivia. On our last trip we didn't lose the bag tags, but somehow 3 out of 6 bags "lost" the luggage straps. These were won on the Antarctic trip and didn't just say Holland America, but were the "dam bag" straps. Boy am I "dam sad" they are gone. I don't think they have this kind anymore.

[navybankerteacher]

Small tags - with very short ties/straps have least chance of getting snagged in handling equipment. I always have two on each bag.

 

Just as important: with checked bags - you want to insure against someone taking your bag off the airport carousel in eror -- that happened to me several years ago - fortunately not on a cruise - they discovered the error late that evening, and the airline was able to deliver the bag to my hotel the next day. since so many bags look alike - and some careless people fly, I mark my checked bag with a large white triangle (packing tape) on each side. Too many people have a yellow or red ribbon on their bags -- it helps them recognize their own, but does not protect against someone else carelessly grabbing it. (If you adopt this mode - please do not use a triangle -- there are many other polygons not yet in use.)

[bepsf]

I do the "Belt & Suspenders" method...

I use the tags that came w/ my luggage (leather w/ leather strap & buckles) except for the one piece that didn't come with a tag but has an ID pocket on the side (that nobody's gonna see anyways) so that one has the HAL tag that I won for trivia a few years back.

I then supplemented them all w/ these brightly-colored rubber tags that I bought at Flight 001 http://www.flight001.com (also a great resource for travel slippers, shoe bags, city guides, in-flight comfort kits, earplugs, TSA locks, etc.) Inside everything, I use "business-cards" that I make up on my computer and print out that have not only my name, home address and cell-phone number, but a clear photo of my face so that anyone can easily recognize that the bags belong to ME (and not THEM :D )

 

Then of course, everything gets a HAL cruise tag too...

;)

...haven't had a problem w/ lost/misplaced/mistaken/confused/wandering luggage yet

(knock on wood) - in fact a few bellhops/stewards have recognized me on my tag and have been able to address me by name.

:)

[rkacruiser]

On my most recent cruise, one I should call "The Trip of the Lost Luggage Tags", one tag--an original American Tourister tag with a metal chain--was missing when I retrieved the bag at EWR. Upon luggage delivery on the Noordam, one of the Noordam tags was missing; fortunately my personal tag was still there. Some kind soul (crew member I am sure) must have looked at my personal tag, looked at the passenger manifest, and put a new tag on the bag with my cabin number.

 

Never before in all of my travels have I ever lost even one tag! The gremlins were certainly at work this time!

[ekerr19]

Our TA always sends us neon pink and neon lime green/yellowish ones with our cruise docs. They are rubbery and hold up really well. I like the neon colors because the bags are so easy to spot.

 

How many black suitcases do you see with hot pink neon rubber tags? :D

 

I put a business card inside the sleeve of the tag, along with a card containing our address and cell phone number. I insert them facing each other so our information is not viewable, but on the back of my business card, I write our last name with a black sharpie... just in case someone else has the same TA... ;)

[scopewest]

I appreciate all the suggestions. I'm going to check out the CC tags for sure. At least my luggage showed up!

[bdcbbq]

Buy a can of flourescent orange paint to put "Mine, Not Yours" on it. Do both sides for those who are totally unaware.:)

[x lindsay x]

I second the tags posted by bepsf from flight001 and anything from that store in general.

They are super durable and no one has ever mistook my luggage for theirs, not many other travelers have hot pink tags.

[Love Cruises]

We also use the luggage tags that we won playing trivia on board along with the HAL luggage straps. We have so many of them that we don't care if any get lost. I guess we are trivia and game addicts when we are onboard because we have quite a collection!

[jhannah]

Speaking of identifying your luggage, there a British company where you can get a strap for your luggage with your name woven into it. They're not cheap, but we've used ours for years and it makes it extremely easy to spot our bags the moment they tumble down onto the baggage carousel. So far, I've not seen any others like it as we've waited for our bags.

[sail7seas]

I do the "Belt & Suspenders" method...

 

I use the tags that came w/ my luggage (leather w/ leather strap & buckles) except for the one piece that didn't come with a tag but has an ID pocket on the side (that nobody's gonna see anyways) so that one has the HAL tag that I won for trivia a few years back.

 

I then supplemented them all w/ these brightly-colored rubber tags that I bought at Flight 001 http://www.flight001.com (also a great resource for travel slippers, shoe bags, city guides, in-flight comfort kits, earplugs, TSA locks, etc.) Inside everything, I use "business-cards" that I make up on my computer and print out that have not only my name, home address and cell-phone number, but a clear photo of my face so that anyone can easily recognize that the bags belong to ME (and not THEM :D )

 

 

:)

 

I agree these are wonderful tags. Very flexible and the stretchy 'chord' makes it unlikely to snap or break off. These are very much like the tags that HAL sells on the ships in the shop that has the t-shirts, mugs, towels etc I always buy a few every cruise. Next to HAL's fabulous leather tags (like for Noordam's Inaugural), these are my favorites.

[kryos]

We use plastic tags with those strong plastic loops. TWO per bag! We just bought two more at the CC Store (top of this page, below the green fish) for $2.50 each with the Cruise Critic name on them. Let's see if that makes them get treated better or worse by HAL! :D

I use the same CC luggage tags, and no ... I don't think I get treated any differently onboard because of them. :) They do hold up very well, though, and so far they haven't exhibited any signs of wear despite having used them for several trips now.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[the2ofus]

I make up my own 4 x 6 inch luggage tags on the computer, printing them on bright neon color card stock. Then I laminate them, punch holes and tie them securely to the handles of my luggage with matching heavy gift ribbon. Haven't lost one yet. I use large bold type with just my last name in caps on one side of the tag. On the other side is Mr. & Mrs. initials and last name plus address. Sure is easy to spot them on the luggage carousels.

[scopewest]

Thanks for all the ideas. I decided to buy a set of CC luggage tags, esp. since they're offering a 15% discount on all purchases right now. I've got two weeks before my cruise, with any luck I'll get them by the time I leave!

[Sunshine91]

The tags we have now are bright yellow ovals. I typed our info on labels to stick onto the cards that slip inside. What I liked best about the tags is that the card is covered - there's actually a "flap" over a little plastic protective sheet so that our info isn't readily readible. These tags buckle onto the luggage. Have worked fine so far, but no flights yet. I'm thinking we'll switch to cable ties. I think I got them at Wal-mart.

 

I printed a whole sheet of the labels & then stuck one inside each piece of luggage, too.

 

I do the same thing for the paper HAL tags for the cruise - don't want to write out 6 luggage tags. ;)

[Tricia724]

I have flourescent orange and green, hard plastic luggage tags. While the tags are sturdy, I wasn't too impressed with the flexible plastic loops that came with them. So I took them off and use cable ties to affix the tags to my luggage. So far, so good.