If You've Had Your Luggage Lost on Your Way To Your Cruise, Post Your Experience

[kmtoner]

We were in the Passenger Services line behind two families with lost luggage from Toledo on the CB last week. They were on Princess-arranged Delta flights and almost missed the boat due to flight delays. Had the plane not left Toledo in time to make the sailing, they would have been sent home Sunday night and flown to St. Maarten to arrive at 2pm on Wednesday.

 

Until their luggage arrived, Princess provided free laundry services and a $50 per person, per day shopping credit. The father was given a free tuxedo and shoe rental. Their inability to buy underwear at sea was a bit of an issue.

[TXTraveler76]

Hi,

 

I have only been without my luggage once. It was San Antonio to JFK to Barcelona on TWA (Princess Air). We booked one night in Barcelona so our bags were delivered to our cabin just after we boarded. We bought some necessities while in Barcelona and we were refunded all expenditures through Princess insurance. One bag was damaged as the locks were cut off and they also cut off the zipper pull tab. The carpenter on board tried to repair the suitcase and it limped home with a large amount of masking take. From then on, we never leave home without duct tape or a luggage strap.

[hawt1]

Last month on a RCL arranged flight through Delta. Bags joined us late afternoon on Friday in Nassau just in time to be put right back out into the hallway for pickup as this was a Sat to Sat sailing.

 

RCL did a very poor job of following up on the bags and they ended up doing a Western Carib tour while we were sailing Eastern.

 

RCL provided the bare minimum in this situation IMO- laundry service but maximum of two items per day as well as formal wear for the one night.

 

They also provided assuarance at every port that our bags would be there and they were not but never told us that bags had not arrived until it was too late to buy any clothes on shore so we had to buy all cothes onboard.

 

Insult to injury, I asked if they could provide a very cheap bag to carry extra clothes we had to buy - they woudl not and forced us to buy a $14.99 bag on top of everything else. Not the money I am complaining about, it is the principle of the matter that got to me.

 

Good cruise - YES, we had a great time. Disappointed in RCL - VERY MUCH. Next cruise is booked on another line - about 25 of us.

 

Hawt1

[Globaliser]

If you've had luggage lost on your way to a cruise, can you answer these questions:

 

1. What airport did you fly from and what airline?

2. Did you have a connecting flight?

3. How early did you arrive at the airport to check in? Did you do curbside check in or did you check your bags at the counter?

4. If you had a connecting flight, did your first flight arive at the connecting airport on time?

5. If your bag finally arrived how long did it take for the airline to get your bag to you - before the ship left or did they have to fly it into a port for you?

6. Did you have your cruise ship luggage tag on your bags when you checked your bags at the airport?

1. Heathrow to Oslo, British Airways.

2. No.

3. About 75 minutes before the flight, on a quiet Saturday morning. All bags are checked inside the terminal.

4. N/A.

6. No.

 

5. The cruise was a 2-night "cruise to nowhere" from Oslo. It would have been quite unfeasible to fly to Oslo the day before, so we flew that morning. My partner's bag made it, mine didn't. By the time we arrived in Oslo, the local handling agent already had the list of all the bags that hadn't made it, and which would be coming on the next flight. Unfortunately, that flight was scheduled to land at 1610 and the ship was sailing at 1700 - and anyone who knows where the new airport is in Oslo will know what a tall order that would have been.

 

We explained to the handling agent what the problem was. To cut a long story short, the bag was on the next flight and was rushed into town, but it missed the ship. However, between them the handling agent and the cruise line got the bag onto the pilot boat, so the bag was boarded when we dropped the pilot. And I didn't have to wear the same clothes for three days.

[Jill SC]

My first cruise was sponsored by a travel agency as their 35th anniversary cruise. Three tour guides and 85 people flew to Athens two days early, with a connecting flight in Paris. Luckily there was 5 hours between flights because Air France managed to lose the reservations to Athens which had been confirmed the day before. The tour guides worked with the airline to find alternate airfare. The result about 30 people stayed on the original Air France flight while the rest of us were bussed across Paris to the other airport for a flight on Olympic airlines which left the same time. All of the luggage was to continue on the original flight. In Athens, the luggage for those of us on the Olympic flight arrived with the Air France plane, but the luggage for those on the Air France flight didn't arrive. Everyone had their luggage by suppertime the next day, except one lady who got hers later that evening, just in time to catch the ship the next day. The tour guides with us were there to solve problems and they did an excellent job.

[bolt]

Bag lost on the way to a cruise last June. Flew American Airlines. Bag was never found....Just a note to all be sure you know what your airline reimburses for in regards to lost luggage. Pretty much American reimburses for clothes....no jewelry even though it was all costume, make up, sunscreen, sunglasses, books, electronics which includes disposable cameras. I had travel insurance that I thought would reimburse me for some additional items however that was not the case. The pretty much told me whatever I got from American was what they would have covered so I got absolutely no compensation from them what so ever. Luggage was checked inside the airport 2 hours before flight, one bag arrived one did not.

 

From now on I guess I know what to carry on with.

[willysgrandma]

Bag lost on the way to a cruise last June. Flew American Airlines. Bag was never found....Just a note to all be sure you know what your airline reimburses for in regards to lost luggage. Pretty much American reimburses for clothes....no jewelry even though it was all costume, make up, sunscreen, sunglasses, books, electronics which includes disposable cameras. I had travel insurance that I thought would reimburse me for some additional items however that was not the case. The pretty much told me whatever I got from American was what they would have covered so I got absolutely no compensation from them what so ever. Luggage was checked inside the airport 2 hours before flight, one bag arrived one did not.

 

From now on I guess I know what to carry on with.

 

I am surprised about the travel insurance not covering what American wouldn't.

 

Does everyone know that if you pack the clothing of two peoplke in your bags, you are entitled to twice the amount of lost bag allowance by the airlines?

 

DH and I always pack half of his clothes in my bags and half of mine in his in the event a bag gets lost, so that neither of us is stuck with no clothing.

[cuyahoga11]

DH and I were having a discussion this morning about lost luggage on the way to the ship. When we travel, we always try to get direct flights (we are lucky enough to live 20 minutes from JFK airport in NY), arrive at least two hours early and never check our luggage curbside and so far, so good. We're curious about what happens if your luggage didn't get to the ship with you.

 

We also make sure we put half of my clothes in his luggage and vice versa so neither of us is without clothes if a bag gets lost.

 

If you've had luggage lost on your way to a cruise, can you answer these questions:

 

1. What airport did you fly from and what airline?Cleveland - American

2. Did you have a connecting flight?No

3. How early did you arrive at the airport to check in? Did you do curbside check in or did you check your bags at the counter? 2 hoursat the counter

4. If you had a connecting flight, did your first flight arive at the connecting airport on time?n/a - direct flight

5. If your bag finally arrived how long did it take for the airline to get your bag to you - before the ship left or did they have to fly it into a port for you?1st port on 3rd day

6. Did you have your cruise ship luggage tag on your bags when you checked your bags at the airport? yes and they were still there when delivered, intact, with the zips ties still on them

 

I'm curious if we do all we can to try and avoid lost luggage or if we've simply been lucky!

 

When they dont get lost I consider myself lucky, happens ofter

[concour]

Last Summer my wife and two college age sons left Richmond, VA with a lay over in Atlanta. We arrived 1.5 hours before the flight and the lay over was 2 hours. All flights were on time.

 

When we arrived in Miami 5 of the 6 bags arrived. Lucky for me all my wife's bags came through OK. The one that was lost was a garment bag with my tux, the sons' suits and assorted shirts and pants. Waited as long as we dared and check in with the airline (US Airways). They took a copy of the luggage tag and one of the cruise luggage labels. They also gave us a tracking number. We also reported it to the Roayl Caribbean counter at the airport. When it had not showed up by 8:00 PM went to the purser's office who looked on his computer and said that they knew all about it and it should arrive at our first port in three days. Sure enough after coming back on the ship in San Juan ot was sitting in my room.

 

We went and bought some cheap ties on board but still did not quite meet some peoples standard for the first formal night.

[meathead1134]

DH and I were having a discussion this morning about lost luggage on the way to the ship. When we travel, we always try to get direct flights (we are lucky enough to live 20 minutes from JFK airport in NY), arrive at least two hours early and never check our luggage curbside and so far, so good. We're curious about what happens if your luggage didn't get to the ship with you.

 

We also make sure we put half of my clothes in his luggage and vice versa so neither of us is without clothes if a bag gets lost.

 

If you've had luggage lost on your way to a cruise, can you answer these questions:

 

1. What airport did you fly from and what airline?

2. Did you have a connecting flight?

3. How early did you arrive at the airport to check in? Did you do curbside check in or did you check your bags at the counter?

4. If you had a connecting flight, did your first flight arive at the connecting airport on time?

5. If your bag finally arrived how long did it take for the airline to get your bag to you - before the ship left or did they have to fly it into a port for you?

6. Did you have your cruise ship luggage tag on your bags when you checked your bags at the airport?

 

I'm curious if we do all we can to try and avoid lost luggage or if we've simply been lucky!

 

1.PVD to Philly, US Air

2.yes

3.don't remember real early they actually put us on an earlier flight.

4.yes

5. 4 days. 2 days in Puerto Rico and nothing showed up, 1 day at sea still nothing. Luggage showed up halfway through the 4th day.

6.Yes

 

RCI I told them that I had no luggage and they actually took over and told me that they would take care of it and for me to try and enjoy myself. They gave a shaving kit with ship shape tee shirt. They felt bad and even gave me $100.00 credit I wasn't even expecting that. I was actually on a first name basis with guest relations people very friendly and very helpful.

 

The air lines only gave me $30.00. I had my $300.00 roller blades and I spent another $100.00 upgrading the wheels and bearings. I also had brand new clothes, and a brand new suit. I think I estimated close to $1000.00 worth of stuff and they only gave me $30.00. Good thing my luggage actually showed up.

[willysgrandma]

The air lines only gave me $30.00. I had my $300.00 roller blades and I spent another $100.00 upgrading the wheels and bearings. I also had brand new clothes, and a brand new suit. I think I estimated close to $1000.00 worth of stuff and they only gave me $30.00. Good thing my luggage actually showed up.

 

 

Why did they cut what they gave you so much? Did you not have a list of exactly what was in the luggage?

[meathead1134]

Why did they cut what they gave you so much? Did you not have a list of exactly what was in the luggage?

 

I told them exactly what was in there, but $30.00 was the max that they could give me. I asked them what would happen if they couldn't find my luggage. Then I would have had to show receipts. I didn't have any receipts, its a good thing my luggage actually showed up.

[Globaliser]

Why did they cut what they gave you so much? Did you not have a list of exactly what was in the luggage?

It looks like the luggage was not lost, only delayed. No airline will give you very much money if the baggage was only delayed: usually just enough to get some immediate necessities.

 

Of course, if you don't actually need to buy any immediate necessities, even that little amount of money can be a nice little bonus. Could pay for dinner ...

[Slam308]

Hi All,

I just posted the following on our M&M thread on RC, and, since I wish I'd seen this type of info earlier, I figured I'd post it on here too. DH and I lost our garment bag on Southwest 4 weeks ago on the return flight from our cruise....

 

Just a heads up for my fellow travellers. DH and I are finding out the hard way exactly what's involved in making a lost luggage claim to our airline and insurance company. For the missing baggage, as well as the clothing inside, they require:

Item type

Color/Material

Brand name

Place of purchase

Month & year of purchase

Original purchae price

Copies of receipts (when available) (Credit card statement may be used. Probably depends on airline and ins. agency)

 

We find that we take pretty much the same things each trip. I'm going to start a list/spread sheet with all of the necessary info in case this ever happens again. As I purchase new things to replace our lost garments, I'll also keep those receipts in a file with this list.

 

I'd never really thought about all this before, I just hoped I'd never need to know. I'll tell ya though, trying to remember the brand name of that dress I bought 3 years ago, and did we buy his suit from Sears or JC Penney, and what brand was that?? It's enough to drive you crazy.

OK, I need another vacation.....:D

 

.......hope this saves someone else a huge headache!

[NC-CRUISERS]

Just got back yesterday sat apr 21st....Flew out of raleigh-durham at 7.20 am direct flight to miami on the 14th, about a two hour flight...about 15 minutes before landing the pilot announces that any passengers whos final stop was miami, their luggage was unloaded at raleigh and cargo was loaded in its place, people that were making connecting flights their luggage was onboard. So everyone going on a cruise had no luggage. They told us the baggage would be on another flight that was coming in at 3.35pm...ship leaves at five. we reported this to american airlines baggage...they said they would rush all luggage to the ships by 5.00pm . We decided to go on to the ship..Once onboard we reported this to the RCCL desk. They gave us 4 tee shirts and some toiletries. The offered us some free laundry service..Well our luggage did not make it. It arrived three days later at st thomas. We bought a few things at Nassau on the first stop. When the cruise was over , we got off the ship early 6.45 am went downstairs to claim our luggage...being the beigh color tags which goes right after the white tags( people that carrie off their own luggage) we thought this is great..make the airport early...being this was our 9th cruise we knew that this was going well......then when the beigh luggage dont show up in our section while others people where getting their luggage from colors that come later , everone knew something was wrong. After an hour of waiting a rep says that they had trouble with a door on the ship and couldnt get the luggage unloaded. After waiting from 6.45 for the luggage, we finally got it at 8.45. Since we had tranfers from the ship to the airport by RCCL we finally got on a bus by 930...by the time they got us to the american airlines stop , it was 10.20..they had stoped accepting luggage for our flight...so we had to take a 3 1/2 hour later flight due to the late unolading of our luggage. My luggage arriving three days late was not as bad as missing my flight home due to late luggage unloading by the ship...But the Crusie was GREAT !

[ger_77]

We flew from Toronto to Athens for a Mediterranean cruise in 2004. We arrived at the airport 3 hours in advance of flight time (we were very anxious to begin our cruise!), checked our luggage(with our cruise line luggage tags) in at the Lufthansa desk and boarded our jet. We had to change planes in Frankfurt and only had a 45 minute window between flights - that worried me from the very beginning, but never did I ever think we would reach our destination without our luggage.

 

We made the connection in Frankfurt but when we arrived at Athens, no luggage ... and no luggage for 7 other couples travelling on the same flight. We all filed lost luggage reports with Lufthansa - we even provided them with a photo of ours that showed the brand name, type of suitcase and even the unique luggage tags we used. We arrived at the cruise ship and advised the front desk of our situation - they felt certain that our luggage would arrive and we would see it in our cabin later that night.

 

It was not to be - no luggage by 10PM, so it was back to the front office. We were given an onboard credit of $100 to get a couple of t-shirts, and were given emergency travel kits. Fortunately we had our toiletries and DH's meds with us, but that was about it. I hadn't packed extra clothes in our carry-ons because I didn't think it would ever happen to us!

 

HAL was pretty good - they gave us emergency laundry services. We gave our cabin steward our laundry before we went to bed and it was delivered back clean and pressed by 7 the next morning. They also were going to provide DH with a tuxedo for the Captain's Welcome Aboard evening, but there wasn't anything suitable in the rental area for women - including shoes. DH declined their offer, so we ate along with another couple who also had lost luggage at one of the outside tables at the Lido on formal evening.

 

That dinner began a friendship that is still going strong today; we've sailed back to the Mediterranean with this couple a second time and we're planning on another one with them to the same part of the world in 2 years. While dining on the Lido that evening we had the opportunity to see dolphins frolicking in our wake, witnessed a beautiful lightning display, and had a running commentary from one of the dining stewards as we were passing various marble quarries, etc. Every cloud has a silver lining, and ours certainly had several.

 

The third morning - our first port - DH's socks were missing when we received our laundry. Housekeeping checked various places and were unable to locate them, so I went to the front office and asked if they could please let us buy some from the now-closed shop (because we were already in port at Istanbul). The Chief Purser told me that was not possible, but to wait for a moment and he would see what he could do. He returned in a few minutes with what appeared to be a freshly laundered pair of socks - from his own cabin - for DH to wear. Now that's customer service!

 

We completed our tour of Istanbul and as we were walking back to the ship there was our luggage sitting near the gangway. I went over and hugged each piece, never so happy to see luggage as at that moment.

 

Since that time I have packed extra clothing (both formal and casual) in our carry-ons, and make sure to keep taking digital pics of our luggage and contents in case it ever happens again.

 

What I didn't know is that our travel insurance would have provided $500 each to get us clothing and necessities if our luggage was delayed 24 hours or more. I mean, who really reads their insurance contract? I do - now!!!!!

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[crusinmama22]

THe First time it happened to us was Feb 2002, I think it was United. We received all our bags but one on our return flight home. The bag arrived at our home 2 days later.

 

THe second time was Feb 2003 again United we were delayed leaving on our first flight from Albany NY,We had arrived at the airport about 2 1/2 hours early for our flight. Bad weather was approaching we were deiced a couple of time, from what I remember, we made our connection ( but our luggage did not) when we arrived in Florida we had no luggage only our carryons. We boarded the Carnival Legend without luggage, the good thing about this is no porters to tip !, Our luggage was at our door shortly after we arrived. I believe it was faster then if we had brought our luggage.

 

When we came home from this cruise we had no air flight. Appearently the airline cancelled the flight before the cruise line (Carnival) issued us tickets. So that when we arrived at FLL to come home there was no plane to take us. the ladies at the desk were great and got us on a flight for the next am, no thanks to Carnival rep who said she was the only person working a Carnival that day and could not help us since there were many other people needing assistance.

 

This was the first time we bought insurance. Boy did it come in handy, now I don't leave home without insurance ! and we always fly a day early.

[willysgrandma]

Just got back yesterday sat apr 21st....Flew out of raleigh-durham at 7.20 am direct flight to miami on the 14th, about a two hour flight...about 15 minutes before landing the pilot announces that any passengers whos final stop was miami, their luggage was unloaded at raleigh and cargo was loaded in its place, people that were making connecting flights their luggage was onboard. So everyone going on a cruise had no luggage. They told us the baggage would be on another flight that was coming in at 3.35pm...ship leaves at five. we reported this to american airlines baggage...they said they would rush all luggage to the ships by 5.00pm . We decided to go on to the ship..Once onboard we reported this to the RCCL desk. They gave us 4 tee shirts and some toiletries. The offered us some free laundry service..Well our luggage did not make it. It arrived three days later at st thomas. We bought a few things at Nassau on the first stop. When the cruise was over , we got off the ship early 6.45 am went downstairs to claim our luggage...being the beigh color tags which goes right after the white tags( people that carrie off their own luggage) we thought this is great..make the airport early...being this was our 9th cruise we knew that this was going well......then when the beigh luggage dont show up in our section while others people where getting their luggage from colors that come later , everone knew something was wrong. After an hour of waiting a rep says that they had trouble with a door on the ship and couldnt get the luggage unloaded. After waiting from 6.45 for the luggage, we finally got it at 8.45. Since we had tranfers from the ship to the airport by RCCL we finally got on a bus by 930...by the time they got us to the american airlines stop , it was 10.20..they had stoped accepting luggage for our flight...so we had to take a 3 1/2 hour later flight due to the late unolading of our luggage. My luggage arriving three days late was not as bad as missing my flight home due to late luggage unloading by the ship...But the Crusie was GREAT !

 

 

Glad you enjoyed the cruise!

[tigervixxxen]

Flew United (nonstop) from Denver to Vancouver for the Island Princess last year. When we arrived in baggage claim we discoverd that one of our bags was missing. Luckily we were staying at the Fairmont Waterfront and we were there two days early.

 

Another couple on the same flight were not as lucky as they were sailing that afternoon on RCCL.

 

Our bag was not delivered to the hotel until the next day and I am pretty sure the other couple didnt get there bags until several days into their cruise.

 

United said that the bags were still in Denver and were taken off because of weight restrictions of the entire plane.

 

They could not be flown in until later that night and they would have to go through the usual customs check. Being that we were not with the bags they were treated like incoming freight and had to wait their turn to go through customs.

 

We were lucky getting the bag before we sailed.

 

Thank goodness I've never had luggage lost before a cruise. But I'm always paranoid and pack a lot of my things in a carry on. The procedures and processes are great to know in the event of a lost bag. It will help alieviate my anxiety level some.

 

But I did want to post and mention that UNITED is notorious for not puting baggage on the flight that you are on. This might be more the case in hubs like Denver, Chicago and the like with multiple flights to the same destinations. In the last 2 years I think United had matched my bags with the flight I was on once. In all other cases the bags were waiting for me set aside when I arrived at baggage claim. Sure this is great to not have to wait for your baggage but you can see this is a problem since clearly United does not have a strict policy of matching your flight with your baggage. I've encountered this with United flights to and from Denver to serveal places such as Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Los Angles, ect. Other airlines I've taken such as Frontier, Soutwest, and Continental this has never happened.

 

So my advice is if you are taking a flight on United at least be aware they might be more likely to delay your luggage.

[mcamis23]

Well, let me just tell you about Delta.

 

We went on the Mariner of the Seas on May 6. Our plane from TRI (northeast TN) was suppossed to leave at 6am, which should give us plenty of time to get to Orlando. I believe we were suppossed to arrive before noon.

 

Our flight got delayed twice in TRI until 8:30am with little to no notification by delta. I got one phone call that said it would leave at 7am. Yeah right!! Turns out the plane was in maintenance and they knew it wouldn't be fixed in time for the 6am flight at 9 or 10pm the night before. A flight attendent told us this fact. However, they didn't notify anyone. We were rebooked on a 9:30a flight out of atlanta to orlando, which of course we could not make. So, the next flight from ATL to Orlando was overbooked by at least 25 people. There was even a soldier from Iraq who didn't get on the flight. So, in their extreme geniusness they diverted us to Melbourne, FL (of course our bags went to Orlando). Then they wanted us to take a bus that they were paying for to Orlando, get our bags and find someway to get to Port Canaveral by 4pm. I did the time calculations and told them it was impossible. It gave us no time to load people on the bus, pick up the luggage, find a cab etc. Well, of course they didn't care. Their exact response was "we are responsible for getting you from point a to b within 24 hours". What????

 

So, it was either miss the boat or miss our luggage when we got to Melbourne, because of course the flight arrived 15 minutes late. The bus took 20 minutes to load going to orlando or port canaveral. We decided to go to Port Canaveral and pay out of pocket $45 to do so. We were one of the last people on the boat.

 

I spoke with Delta about the luggage the whole bus ride. I was told I would get it in Jamaica, which was on the 9th. The cruise line of course kept up with it for me once on board. Well, on the 8th they informed me the luggage had been sent to Grand Cayman and I wouldn't get it until the 10th (four whole days in) because it was safer!! Never mind that Delta sent 14 other bags to Jamaica for other passengers.

 

Here is some advice.

1. Get cruise insurance. We did and will hopefully get about $500 in expenses back for things we had to buy onboard.
   
2. Pack one outfit for every occassion in a carry on. Formal dress w/ shoes, swimsuit, coverup, undergarmets, flip flops, casual shorts, and top, your camera, and medicine. Also, pack anything you can't live without (curling iron etc)
   
3. Leave the day before.
   
4. Don't fly DELTA!

We luckily had a swimsuit and some shorts etc. However, we had no formal wear. They don't sell any on the boat. They also don't sell underwear, nice shoes, plus size garmets, decent lotion, and the toiletry selection is VERY limited. They do sell makeup (clinique, lancome), some sunscreen, and some casual clothing.

 

The cruiseline gave us a small bag of essentials, a razor, a mini stick of deoderant, toothbrush, and a micro tube of toothpaste. They also tossed in some size small ship shape shirts, which luckily fit. We used about 14 laundry vouchers from them and they gave us robes when asked. They offered us formal wear, but let me just tell you!!! They had only black frumpy heels and some god awful coral, blue, and yellow dresses, with some velvet black ones thrown in. They didn't have anything smaller than a 4 (my mom wears a 2) and probably anything bigger than a 12. We couldn't wear them and wouldn't if they had fit. They even told one girl if the dress fit she couldn't wear flip flops with it (that is all she had).

 

Needless to say it is a nightmare. Crosspacking is not good enough, because if you get in our situation it will all be delayed. You need the biggest carry on or just leave the night before, so delays won't screw you up.