Luggage Question

[Cruzin Terri]

We will be doing the 24-day Mediterranean cruise on the Zuiderdam beginning on Sept. 5. We embark in Barcelona and end in Venice.

Living in SC makes it difficult for airline connections. We will be flying American with frequent flier tickets and have to make two connections in order to get to Barcelona. JAX-MIA-JFK-BCN. We have sufficient time between flights so that is not a problem. However, I am getting more and more concerned with many things I have read in regards to luggage. Due to connections in MIA and JFK I am afraid our luggage may not make the connections, despite plenty of time. All our flights to Barcelona are on AA so I am wondering whether it is advisable to collect or luggage both in MIA and JFK and recheck the bags at each connection to ensure they arrive with us.

What do you think?

Terri

[sail7seas]

If all your flights are on AA, you have as good a chance of your bags making it with you as any of us ever have on any flight getting our luggage.

Most of the 'didn't make the connection' luggage mishaps are when switching carriers. Seeing as you have plenty of time scheduled between flights, I would let the airline handle the connections. (Put an itinerary on the top of each bag before closing it just in case.) If you have an outside pocket, put a copy of the itinerary in there as well.

[jhannah]

I agree with sail7seas. Your luggage will be checked through to your destination and there is little to gain (except hassle) in reclaiming your bags at interim stops. If you did that, and if your bag wasn't to be found in JFK (for instance) what would you do? The bag would be found and shipped on along to its final destination. You'll be fine.

[Cruzin Terri]

Thanks for the advice. We used to live in NY (all my life until 6 years ago) and it was non-stop to everywhere. Now I have to drive 2 1/2 hours to Jacksonville and then connect for everything in Miami. Savannah airport is cute but useless unless you are on Delta.

Terri

[Opinions]

Should the cruise line luggage tags be placed on your bags before departing for Europe by air or after arrival at your embarkation port?

[sail7seas]

We would never put cruise line tags on our bags until we claim them at the airport. We always fly in at least a day early and put the cruise tags on prior to leaving our hotel heading to the ship.

 

[Solo Cruiser]

I sympathize with the problems in getting flights out of SC. Charleston usually has the best flights in the state and you can catch a direct flight from Myrtle Beach to LaGuardia I think on Spirit. Sounds like a great cruise you have planned and I'm green with envy. As Sail stated, put your cruise tags on after you pick your bags up at your destination.

[Cruzin Terri]

We live in the Hilton Head area. Jacksonville is closer than Charleston and Myrtle Beach is 200 miles away (31/2 hours). Thanks for the advice. We have checked it out and this is the best we can do.

Terri

[Juanita462]

I read a report on baggage handling at airports and they recommended

putting the cruise tags on before going to the airport as they said if there

were suitcases that would not be on the same plane as their owners, the bags tagged for a cruise would be taken first as they know they would have to be shipped some distance to catch up with travellers.

 

We have done this ever since and never lost a bag - it makes it easier to pick out the bags on the carousel too.

[world~citizen]

Your bags will most likely be fine.

 

It is a good idea to get to the port of embarkation a day or so before you sail just to allow your bags to catch up with you should they be mishandled. They tend to be returned within 24 hours.

 

Also, consider the Globalbagtag. You can check it out at globalbagtag.com. In the event your bag is mishandled, when it is found, the tag allows not just for your bag to be identified, but it can tell the airline your exact itinerary (helpful when they forward it to one of your ports en-route.)

[jtl513]

I read a report on baggage handling at airports and they recommended putting the cruise tags on before going to the airport ...

But sometimes they get ripped off by the airline baggage handlers. It happened to us once going into Fairbanks, where the HAL and Princess employees pull the bags off the conveyor belts and stack them for their own trucks, so one of our bags went missing for a while. If you're putting the tags on before your origination airport, I suggest replacing those flimsy elastic ties with strong plastic cable-ties.

[arzz]

I agree about using the cruise line bag tags before you fly. Years ago we purchased air through the cruise line (not HAL) and they purchased seats for us on a charter flight from Chicago to Jamaica. The flight was oversold and too heavy so they removed some of the baggage from the plane before we left Chicago, and faxed a carefully prepared list of the luggage tag numbers on to Jamaica. We were the only ones on board who were not staying at least a week in Jamaica so that when we landed (without our luggage), the airline personnel told us "don't worry mon, you will have them at your resort in the morning...." When we informed them that we would be at sea in the morning, the term "distressed" doesn't even begin to describe their reaction. In the end someone paid a major airline to fly our bags to us later that day. It probably would have been cheaper for the cruise line to just have purchased seats for us on a regularly scheduled airline. If our bags had been cruise line tagged I doubt that they would have been the ones to be left behind.

 

If the tags are torn off during transit which can certainly happen but has not yet happened to us -- you can always get new ones at the port before you drop your bags. The consequences of a lost baggae tag seem less severe than the consequences of lost or misdirected baggage.