I Have Info. on Luggage Express in San Juan!

[Queen B1]

We were on the July 13 sailing of the Destiny this summer out of San Juan and were able to use the Luggage Express program that was offered! Our return trip could not have been any easier nor leaving the ship quicker! Here is everything that we either experienced or learned about it:

 

Participating Airlines: American, Jet Blue, Continental, Delta, Northwest, US Air and United

 

Cost: $15 per person (We sent 2 bags each - still $15)

 

Sign-up: Eligible passengers receive a sign-up form in their cabins in the middle of the week. Each passenger fills out his/her own form and returns it to the Information Desk by 3:00 on Friday. You will need to have a hard copy of your flight information for the Purser to check. We took our flight confirmation sheet that we printed off the computer when we first made our flight arrangements. (They seem to need this to prove you have a flight and that the flight falls within their guidelines.)

 

Eligible Flight Times: I have misplaced my sheet with those times. The earliest flights were sometime after 12:00 as I remember. The last flight was definitely 11:59 that night. Our flight was with US Air at 2:30.

Boarding Passes/Luggage Tags:These were received on Saturday afternoon along with a special instruction sheet for debarkation. We attached the white luggage tags onto our handles and had to have our luggage in the hall by midnight that night. You were given group letters (AAAA, BBBB, Tours, CCCC, DDDD, and EEEE) which seemed to reflect the time of your flight. It was great to have our boarding passes in hand!

 

Debarkation Day: Luggage Express passengers were given priority debarkation, so they were among the first off. We met in the Criterion Lounge according to this schedule:

 

AAAA & BBBB & Tours - 8:00 (our group)

CCCC - 8:30

DDDD & EEEE - 9:00

 

We met at 8:00 in the lounge and were literally stepping into a taxi at 8:30. There is a crew member who leads you through the ship, so you don't come in contact with any other lines or people. You get off quicly and clear immigration. You continue to the baggage claim area and get your bags from your own special section (using your group letters). (We decided to use a porter.) You proceed out of the terminal building down to almost the end of the covered pier on the right side. That's where you hand over your luggage to the Luggage Express handlers (BAGS, Inc.). They replace your tags with the correct flight tags. We stepped to the curb and got a taxi!

 

Airport: We arrived at the airport and went straight through security. Thanks to Luggage Express, we avoided both the check-in lines and the USDA lines. We were sitting at our gate by 9:00. We were also thrilled to beat the crowds and zoo-like atmosphere that everyone talks about at the San Juan airport!

 

Arrival in Charlotte: When we arrived in Charlotte that evening, our bags were waiting for us!

 

This is a wonderful service and we would sign up for it again in a heartbeat!

[Bob&Janet]

Thanks again for this great info ... we'll certainly be using this service.

 

Cheers

Bob

[mollyanne]

We used it in Miami this year - what a great deal! Wish I could use it on the next trip but we are staying an extra night in San Juan after debarking.

[Queen B1]

We couldn't find out if US Air participated in the program until we actually arrived at the pier and saw the Luggage Express reps. taking luggage from passengers from the previous cruise! You can't imagine how happy we were when we saw the US Air sign! Wow! We're delighted to help answer some of the questions that others might be having - some of the same questions we had before our trip on the Destiny!

[kehlx2]

We were on the July 13 sailing of the Destiny this summer out of San Juan and were able to use the Luggage Express program that was offered! Our return trip could not have been any easier nor leaving the ship quicker! Here is everything that we either experienced or learned about it:

 

Participating Airlines: American, Jet Blue, Continental, Delta, Northwest, US Air and United

 

Cost: $15 per person (We sent 2 bags each - still $15)

 

Sign-up: Eligible passengers receive a sign-up form in their cabins in the middle of the week. Each passenger fills out his/her own form and returns it to the Information Desk by 3:00 on Friday. You will need to have a hard copy of your flight information for the Purser to check. We took our flight confirmation sheet that we printed off the computer when we first made our flight arrangements. (They seem to need this to prove you have a flight and that the flight falls within their guidelines.)

 

Eligible Flight Times: I have misplaced my sheet with those times. The earliest flights were sometime after 12:00 as I remember. The last flight was definitely 11:59 that night. Our flight was with US Air at 2:30.

 

Boarding Passes/Luggage Tags:These were received on Saturday afternoon along with a special instruction sheet for debarkation. We attached the white luggage tags onto our handles and had to have our luggage in the hall by midnight that night. You were given group letters (AAAA, BBBB, Tours, CCCC, DDDD, and EEEE) which seemed to reflect the time of your flight. It was great to have our boarding passes in hand!

 

Debarkation Day: Luggage Express passengers were given priority debarkation, so they were among the first off. We met in the Criterion Lounge according to this schedule:

 

AAAA & BBBB & Tours - 8:00 (our group)

CCCC - 8:30

DDDD & EEEE - 9:00

 

We met at 8:00 in the lounge and were literally stepping into a taxi at 8:30. There is a crew member who leads you through the ship, so you don't come in contact with any other lines or people. You get off quicly and clear immigration. You continue to the baggage claim area and get your bags from your own special section (using your group letters). (We decided to use a porter.) You proceed out of the terminal building down to almost the end of the covered pier on the right side. That's where you hand over your luggage to the Luggage Express handlers (BAGS, Inc.). They replace your tags with the correct flight tags. We stepped to the curb and got a taxi!

 

Airport: We arrived at the airport and went straight through security. Thanks to Luggage Express, we avoided both the check-in lines and the USDA lines. We were sitting at our gate by 9:00. We were also thrilled to beat the crowds and zoo-like atmosphere that everyone talks about at the San Juan airport!

 

Arrival in Charlotte: When we arrived in Charlotte that evening, our bags were waiting for us!

 

This is a wonderful service and we would sign up for it again in a heartbeat!

 

 

I read a list & it mentioned that AirTran also does this...did you see a sign for them? I sure hope so as we really wanted to do this as we have a Segway tour planned, & don't really want to have to take our luggage with us.

[Queen B1]

kelhx2 - The list of participating airlines came from the Destiny's Capers. I'm not sure if there was an additional airline listed on the original form we received in our cabin. We had to turn the completed form in, and I don't have it to refer to. You might want to go to the BAGS, Inc. website and e-mail them with your specific question about AirTran and Adventure of the Sea. It might take a while, but they will e-mail you back.

[kehlx2]

kelhx2 - The list of participating airlines came from the Destiny's Capers. I'm not sure if there was an additional airline listed on the original form we received in our cabin. We had to turn the completed form in, and I don't have it to refer to. You might want to go to the BAGS, Inc. website and e-mail them with your specific question about AirTran and Adventure of the Sea. It might take a while, but they will e-mail you back.

 

 

Ok I couldn't find anything using BAGS, Inc--so I will go with 3 different listings I have from march & may that does say AirTran is in use with AOS..then just wait & see once on board..Thanks.

[Queen B1]

Since you've found in listed in several places, it sounds like you can pretty much count on AirTran to participate on AOS. I'm glad that it will work out for you. I did find the contact information for BAGS,Inc. I used the e-mail address to get in touch with them:

 

O: 407.447.5547

E: info@airportbags.com

http://www.airportbags.com

[kehlx2]

Since you've found in listed in several places, it sounds like you can pretty much count on AirTran to participate on AOS. I'm glad that it will work out for you. I did find the contact information for BAGS,Inc. I used the e-mail address to get in touch with them:

 

O: 407.447.5547

E: info@airportbags.com

www.airportbags.com

 

 

Thanks oodles for that address--yes AirTran IS on their list using them in San Juan--so I won't worry anymore--again thanks bunches..now only thing left to worry about is if the flight is on time & doesn't get cancelled or something..:eek: I check their site out alot to see if the flight has changed--it has a few times but only by minutes & flight numbers.

[bobsydney]

Just had a look at Bags' website ... the list of its airline and cruise line partners and the ports where the service is available are reproduced below for the info of all:

 

Airline Partners

 

AA

Air Canada

Air Tran

Alaska

Continental

Delta

Horizon

JetBlue

NWA

Ted

United

US Airways

 

Cruise lines

 

NCL

Celebrity

Carnival

Princess

Holland America

Royal Caribbean

 

Airports Serviced

 

ANC / Anchorage

ATL / Atlanta

BOS / Boston

DFW / Dallas

FLL / Ft. Lauderdale

HNL / Honolulu

LAX / Los Angeles

MIA / Miami

MCO / Orlando

ORD / Chicago, O'Hare

PHX / Phoenix

SAN / San Diego

SEA / Seattle

SFO / San Francisco

SJU / San Juan

TPA / Tampa

YVR / Vancouver, BC International

 

Cheers

Bob

[kehlx2]

Just had a look at Bags' website ... the list of its airline and cruise line partners and the ports where the service is available are reproduced below for the info of all:

 

Airline Partners

 

AA

Air Canada

Air Tran

Alaska

Continental

Delta

Horizon

JetBlue

NWA

Ted

United

US Airways

 

Cruise lines

 

NCL

Celebrity

Carnival

Princess

Holland America

Royal Caribbean

 

Airports Serviced

 

ANC / Anchorage

ATL / Atlanta

BOS / Boston

DFW / Dallas

FLL / Ft. Lauderdale

HNL / Honolulu

LAX / Los Angeles

MIA / Miami

MCO / Orlando

ORD / Chicago, O'Hare

PHX / Phoenix

SAN / San Diego

SEA / Seattle

SFO / San Francisco

SJU / San Juan

TPA / Tampa

YVR / Vancouver, BC International

 

Cheers

Bob

 

 

thanks Bob I had seen that once I got to their site...but won't contact them now--if the list is accurate then I should only have to check with the ship for any changes. Will do that once on board...after the first day, no need to be already thinking of getting off...:eek:

[Queen B1]

bobsydney and kehlx2- Even though an airline is listed on their website, you might want to check your specific one for that port. To show you what I mean: in early spring, the Destiny offered Luggage Express, but US Air didn't participate at that time in San Juan (while it did participate in other ports) so we were very disappointed. (US Air being on the BAGS,Inc. list back then was a bit confusing because it made me think that US Air served all listed ports.) Sometime between then and summer, US Air jumped on the bandwagon for the Destiny. We were quite relieved. If your airline wasn't included in the Destiny Capers that I listed, then I would e-mail BAGS,Inc. just to be on the safe side. Here is the contact info:

 

O: 407.447.5547

E: info@airportbags.com

[kehlx2]

bobsydney and kehlx2- Even though an airline is listed on their website, you might want to check your specific one for that port. To show you what I mean: in early spring, the Destiny offered Luggage Express, but US Air didn't participate at that time in San Juan (while it did participate in other ports) so we were very disappointed. (US Air being on the BAGS,Inc. list back then was a bit confusing because it made me think that US Air served all listed ports.) Sometime between then and summer, US Air jumped on the bandwagon for the Destiny. We were quite relieved. If your airline wasn't included in the Destiny Capers that I listed, then I would e-mail BAGS,Inc. just to be on the safe side. Here is the contact info:

 

O: 407.447.5547

E: info@airportbags.com

 

 

Ok... I just sent them a note--but I will not be online now til almost midAug...so I won't be able to respond if I hear back, just wanted you to know I wasn't ignoring anyone or question/answers

[Queen B1]

Super! Hope it works out for you!

[kehlx2]

Super! Hope it works out for you!

 

 

Oh I'm sure it will..worst case--they don't & our luggage goes with us on our Segway tour..I think they have a place to store the luggage--not going to worry about it anymore tho...Thanks tho--Off to Northern Canada (pre-vacation before our cruise)...:D :cool:

[Nanatravel]

Thank you for all of the detailed information. I too hope AA is participating for Princess ships in San Juan. It is a great service and worth every penny.

 

Bon Voyage

Nanatravel

[Queen B1]

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, too!

[Tracefan]

Has anyone used this service lately? What's the currect rate?

[texswamper]

I asked this question on one of the Caribbean Princess threads just last week and was told that it is no longer available due to the airlines charging for extra bags.

 

Any recent San Juan cruisers to verify? I am hoping that it was still available because it was fantastic last March coming off the Crown!

 

Anyone?

[shadowdiver]

I asked this question on one of the Caribbean Princess threads just last week and was told that it is no longer available due to the airlines charging for extra bags.

 

Any recent San Juan cruisers to verify? I am hoping that it was still available because it was fantastic last March coming off the Crown!

 

Anyone?

 

I would also like to know this info also. I'll be on the RCCL's AOS. On July12th and would love to have that serves

[musiccity2008]

I called the Bags Inc. people in Orlando to ask if they provided express luggage service for the Caribbean Princess in San Juan and they said no. It was not because of extra baggage fees, they said it was because they had not been able to negotiate a deal with Princess yet. They said they did provide service to some other cruise lines, and I think they mentioned Carnival, which seemed odd that they didn't provide service to Princess.

[Tracefan]

I guess I'll find out in about 10 days. We are traveling out of San Juan on the Galaxy (Celebrity). I'll try to remember to come back and post an answer when I return.

 

texswamper, your Cozmel turtle pictures were awesome!

 

Nancy

[schnoobie]

I don't see any services from New york.

I wish there was a way to ship our luggage to the hotel without us before the cruise. We are cutting the arrival time at the airport pretty close. If we have no bags to check it would be cake.