Shipping Luggage Ahead??

[waiting2retire]

We are a group of 9 from Canada cruising out of Venice on the Zuiderdam on September 29.

 

One of our group has just asked if it is possible to ship luggage ahead to the ship. I presume they are overpacking :rolleyes: and do not want to drag all of their luggage around with them. Has anyone ever done this? Is it even possible?

 

If it is not possible, I am aware that there is a "left luggage" place at Piazza Roma, which may be an option for them if their concern is more about not wanting to carry around their luggage for their two days in Venice pre-cruise. Is the left luggage place safe? Would you leave your luggage there??

 

Bonnie

[chasetf]

We are a group of 9 from Canada cruising out of Venice on the Zuiderdam on September 29. One of our group has just asked if it is possible to ship luggage ahead to the ship. I presume they are overpacking :rolleyes: and do not want to drag all of their luggage around with them. Has anyone ever done this? Is it even possible? Bonnie

I have seen discussions of this idea before..... When you explore it you will find it is very expensive. I know I penciled it out and it seemed it would cost more for my bags to travel than me. :eek:

[jhannah]

Yes, it's very expensive. It has not been worth the cost to me to ever use the service. But it can certainly be done if price is no object.

 

The left luggage areas are great. I've used them several places in Europe. Very convenient.

[crusinbanjo]

I have shipped our luggage on occaision. It can be quite convenient if onder certain cercumstances.

 

You can ship to most hotels with a label that states "HOLD FOR ARRIVAL" Your name & date of arrival. The hotel will hold the packages for you. I do this all the time. It lets me just get off the plane and skip over the baggage pick up area. Also with the airlines being what they are, less chance for lost luggage.

 

I have not used any of the Luggage shipping services, because I have UPS service to my office daily. I just pack up my luggage and ship it UPS, insured to arrive a day or so prior to my arrival. I don't know about the luggage shipping services, but they look expensive.

 

You may have another issue, and that is shipping from Canada into the US International shippment might be held up because of customes, Something to consider.

 

With the baggage fees being put on by the airlines, this is a subject that might be discussed more, $50.00 per bag covers a lot of shipping costs.

 

Yes, it's very expensive. It has not been worth the cost to me to ever use the service. But it can certainly be done if price is no object.

 

The left luggage areas are great. I've used them several places in Europe. Very convenient.

[ricok987]

Pack light, and buy extra outfits to wear-in Italy when you get there? This way you may find unique selections not available in the USA and add to your wardrobe items that are better than what you packed. I did this on a cruise and on the last day I actually thew out some clothes I origionally brought that I replaced with the newly purchased items. I once had a girlfriend on a trip that bought so much extra clothes she needed to buy a new suitcase to fit them all...

[Paint Horse]

I use a luggage shipping service on most cruises. The advantage to the shipping service is the staff who track the shipment for you. If there are any problems, they will deal with them instead of you having to do so. If shipping to a ship, they have a contact with the port agent who will hold the bags for you, then send them onto the ship. There are several of these services including Luggage Concierge, Luggage Forward, and Luggage Free. The only one I have used is Luggage Concierge. This is the company Crystal uses. I would avoid IPS. The only drawback to this is the cost. You can do the same thing using a standard shipper, but the experience is not quite as seamless as using a luggage delivery service. When I shipped the bags the last time for example, UPS picked them up. When I travel seamless is always more important than cost.

[JimVrhovac]

Thank everyone for their input. Have larned a lot from this thread...

 

Ruth & Jim

[SabreSailor]

Hi Bonnie -

 

We are also on your cruise and are also arriving in Venice two days early - partly to overcome some jet lag and partly to have a better chance of having our bags catch up with us.

 

While I've not been to Venice before, it appears that the airport bus from the Venice Airport to Piazzala Roma is a good deal and handles your bags. Your only issue at that point is getting your bags to and from your hotel. Our hotel is on the Grand Canal about a five-minute walk from Piazzala Roma, so we'll grin and bear dragging the bags that short distance. You can also get a water taxi (pricey) from Piazzala Roma to your hotel if you're not in a dragging mood.

 

Yes, you can use left luggage area at Piazzala Roma, but what happens when you suddenly decide you need something that you packed in that "other" bag?

 

On the way back on embarkation day, I'm told that the port runs a shuttle bus from Piazzala Roma to the ship, but repeated eMails to HAL in Seattle says they know nothing about it. Have you heard anything?

[waiting2retire]

Thanks to everyone for your replies :)

 

I will pass along this information to the couple who was asking about it. I suspect what they really want is to not cart their luggage with them in Venice, so the "left luggage" at Piazzale Roma is likely their best bet. Somehow I can't see them paying to use a luggage shipping service which takes their bags directly to the port agent, but it's nice to know that someone offers that service if it is ever really needed. Thanks to Paint Horse :)

 

I myself plan to pack as light as I can and buy the unlimited laundry package on the ship. And ricok987, I love your idea of picking up some extra items while I'm there if I feel that I need them ;) .

 

Sabresailor, I have not been able to confirm whether there will be a shuttle available from Piazzale Roma to the ship either. I am capable of walking the distance, even with luggage, but my sister is not. I suspect the only other option will be to take a land taxi, which I understand is not too pricey. I am just concerned about availability.

 

I have chosen a hotel very close to Piazzale Roma as well so that I do not have to deal with additional transport after taking the bus from the airport. Since I am travelling that far on my own, it made the most sense to me.

 

Bonnie

[ldog]

You might check into how many bridges you have to cross to get to your hotel. Even if it 5 minutes from P. Roma that could mean two or three bridges. We stayed at Hotel Canal and Walter and it was three bridges which are hard to carry bags up and over. There are no ramps.

 

Another option is the water taxi. It is expensive but everything in Venice is expensive:eek:. (around 100 euros) It is a fabulous ride though and a real part of experiencing Venice. We met other travellers at the hotel and booked a water taxi which zoomed us up and around the island and cruised right by the ship to drop us off at the luggage check in. Fantastic!

 

We did it again the next year when we sailed out of Venice and this time took the water taxi to the hotel as well. We've not been on a gondola but I'd take the water taxi again in a heart beat!

[SabreSailor]

We're staying at the Hotel Antiche Figure, which is "two bridges" away from Piazzala Roma. The folks at the hotel, who seem to have been very reliable so far, say it's "five minutes" away and that the bridges aren't a problem if you have wheeled luggage. We'll see....

 

The guide book I've been devouring (Eyewitness series - excellent) says that land taxis are almost as expensive as water taxis. Water busses (vaporettis) are very reasonable, but don't expect to carry a lot of luggage on them and they make only selected stops....

 

The Costa Fortuna arrives and departs on our embarkation day (29 September), so I would suspect that the shuttle will be running.

[agabbymama]

I can't begin to imagine shipping a suitcase to Europe. I checked a couple of sites on the internet, then checked UPS, anywhere from $250-$500 depending on weight. And that was only 10-20 lbs. For that amount of money, I could pay over weight fees to Air France at $9 a pound would only be $90-$180. Second bag I think was $200.

 

I have gone back to an old Samsonite 26" nylon suitcase that weighs 7 lbs empty, then cut back my clothes. Instead of 21 outfits, I'm only taking 10 and will have to do laundry at least once. Blow dryer & electrical adapter were removed. Second evening bag & shoes got removed. Cut formal wear to one pair of black velvet pants with two different tops. My suitcase now only weighs 35 lbs, well under the 44 lbs. I'm allowed. I'll even have room for a couple of souvenirs.

 

Good luck to everyone in their travels, and have a great time.

[Hutch&Pat]

Ours was never picked up by the shipper, so we lugged it with us. However, the HAL person in charge did call our stateroom right before we sailed to notify us that it had not yet arrived from the shipper!

There's an interesting thread here somewhere about folks who are unable to get their luggage back without going to another city and filling out customs forms.

[slotl]

On Sept 19th, 2008 we will be leaving on the HAL Grand Asia/Australia cruise from Seattle. In with our tickets was a flyer for luggage services. Here is the information from the flyer.

 

Call HAL Luggage Dept directly at 1-800-247-4504. Guests not taking the full 65 day cruise can contact Luggage Forward at 1-866-416-7447 or http://www.luggageforward.com

email: info@luggageforward.com

 

Luggage rates (I will quote US prices, Canadian prices are next):

 

Large Trunk $145US $200Can

Large Suitcase $110US $150Can

Cardboard Box $75US $100Can

Small Suitcae/Duffle $50US $65Can

 

I was also told that even if you did not take the from home to ship shipping, there will be representatives on the ship to arrange shipment home from the ship.