Keith1010

For us whether we use or not use the service depends on the number of pieces we are taking. Specifically: We can handles two carry ons, two personal items and two 28 or 29" pieces or one Carry one and three large pieces. While we could get porters it gets complicated with more pieces including vehicles needed and if we are arriving back home and have to go through customs/immigration. I can remember arriving back to DFW when that was our home airport and there would only be a couple of porters and the first time we got one but the following year we had to wait quite awhile. So I look at this as a toolbox. We don't always need the tool but having it available to us works very well. On a related note, as FlyerTalker said I like those airlines that offer an app to track luggage.It has alerted me twice when my bags were not on the flight and these days I also add to each bag an Apple Air Tag. And finally, because I believe in Murphy's Law we fly in a few days before we embark because things happen and likewise if we ship bags we send them a lot earlier than they require. Finally, when shipping bags home another thing that can go wrong is they arrive home earlier than they are supposed to. One time with DHL they were to hold the bags for a few days after they arrived back to the USA as we were staying on land for several days before flying home. Guess what? They didn't and left them on our porch and they shouldn't have done that either. Thank goodness my neighbor spotted them and took them in. These days I would at least know they were there with video cameras. An example that things can go wrong and that applies to UPS, Fedex, DHL and USPS and whomever else is out there. Now if I was a human octopus at least I could handle more bags but that's not to say the vehicle can. 😀 Keith

I would add to what Terry posted which the rules of the former program were not all that different. It said the request had to be submitted before final payment was made. I also think it is referring to the upgrades as like you said an as you wish type of credit could be issues on the ship. I don't think old or new Crystal does this because they want people to forget about the program. Rather several of the milestones relate to upgrades, future cruise credit, special dinners that need to be planned prior to guests boarding, and other things and it makes sense this needs to be done before the cruise. The Society Hosts/Hostesses used to tell me that it was great that some of the TA's would let their clients know if they had milestones to use compared to those who never told their clients about the program or didn't bother to assist on this. A lesson I learned years back each time the program changed is simply use it or you may lose it. In other words if the milestones change with a new program one might have lost out on a milestone by not using it. Keith

This is the Crystal Society Benefits Brochure from Crystal Cruises which corrects any mistakes that were in the earlier verision. Cheers, Keith Crystal Society Benefits Brochure April 2024.pdf

I am not being argumentative but I've had problems with both DHL and FedEx. And when it comes to FedEx for non luggage but just deliveries I have several examples where they messed up. Nothing is going to be 00% perfect all the time. When you ship luggage or check in luggage there is some risk IMHO. But if we want to travel we don't have a choice. Keith

I’ve also had UPS on occasion. Keith

That's correct. They've been gone for a long time. They seemed to be mainly focused on old Crystal and when they went under that was likely the catalyst to Luggage Concierge ceasing operations. Keith

I would just add that things happen and there are no guarantees no matter whether you check in your luggage or ship it. As I mentioned when we've had a lot of luggage we've shipped it to and from the ship and started doing it after a few world cruises because it was too challenging to deal with all the luggage. Another nice thing about shipping it is when you return from a trip if you can just manage with carry on luggage you don't have to spend time waiting for it to shop up and if customs is involved that entire process. But things happen. When we had the issue with Canada immigrations and called Luggage Free I was surprised that after hours their ability to deal with issues was very weak at the time. Basically you got an after hours answering service that was not of much help. I did followup up with them and they said they would change this but not sure if they did or not. When we used Luggage Concierge I remember we had an issue too and when the office was closed it was a challenge to get an issue addressed. When we have the need to ship luggage again for a Crystal Cruises I plan to give Luggage Forward a try. I had wanted to try them anyway based on some capabilities they offered at the time I called them back in 2020 that Luggage Free didn't have. This might have changed so I will need to do the research again. But the biggest reason is that this is who the ships concierges now deal with. This is why I used Luggage Concierge when shipping luggage home versus Luggage Free. I felt that if they didn't show up when we debarked I would look to the ship to deal with the issue including if necessary taking the luggage to the next port. I was more open to using Luggage Free after a few years of using Luggage Concierge to ship luggage to the ship. Never perfect solutions. When we fly this is another reason why we arrive to our port of embarkation a few days early if we are checking in luggage for a flight and another reason when we have to change flights we allow a lot of time between flights. Thankfully the apps that many airlines have at least tell you if your luggage is on the flight and we also use the Apple AirTags. Twice the app said the luggage was not on the flight. Once I noticed something was wrong before we boarded and learned the luggage without us went on an earlier flight. Another time I didn't pay attention and when we landed realized the luggage wasn't on the flight and learned that it also arrived on an earlier flight. That second time I was not at all pleased to learn that the luggage was just sitting by the baggage claim for a few hours rather than having been put in a secure area for us to pick up. And let us not forget when you hand your luggage over at the port before your cruise things can happen too. Some you would never dream of but they do happen. Keith

I find that the companies have pretty good information on their websites about what can't be shipped. For example from Luggage Forward: And from Luggage Free. A

Like Vince, we have applied a new milestone to an upcoming booking. It takes into consideration the number of cruises we have taken. However, as many of us have said since the early days of New Crystal you cannot use any unused milestones as Crystal only has a record of how many cruises you have taken but not the milestones you have used or not used. I would say that each new milestone program that Crystal has rolled out since I have sailed with Crystal back in 2002 has been controversial as it eliminated/reduced milestone rewards. It used to be that with almost every cruise you got different perks. I remember around 2007 they made major changes and it was very controversial. At the time Old Crystal issues the last program update prior to this one they eliminated those complimentary cruises up to a certain number of days (I believe 12 but could be wrong) for certain milestones and in lieu of that offer a future cruise credit of x dollars based on the percentage of cruises you have take in certain categories. For most people this change providing a future cruise credits value is less than the complimentary cruise. This new one has very few changes from the last one so IMHO is the least controversial one since we have been sailing with Crystal. I had wondered if they were going to change it up to go with days versus number of cruises taken although even when Old Crystal discussed this I never knew how the conversion could be made. The good news is we have New Crystal to sail. Only two years ago, at this time the discussion was all about was Crystal ever coming back. On a related note, I am not sure about all airlines but the major one we use has clearly diluted it's affinity program. I can't believe the number of miles which are now needed for Business Class International Flights to and from many locations today versus what it used to be. I realize things have changed with all of the outstanding miles out there due miles offered for credit card purchases but I was shocked most recently when I looked at how many miles we needed for a certain trip. Oh well. Keith

You can go to your cruise under find a cruise and then scroll down to the itinerary. Often months earlier for some or all ports towards the right you will see excursions and then hit the plus sign to see what they show. It is often a work in progress. It won't show pricing though. Keith

They don't show up on line in My Account nor on the cruise invoice. You or TA can confirm number on the phone with Crystal or on-board with one of the two personnel who handle the loyalty program and book new cruises. Keith

All of my Crystal bookings do have the Crystal Society number on it for myself and my wife. It's been that way since our first booking with New Crystal. Look carefully at the first page of your confirmation and additional confirmations as payment(s) are made. Under the title guests it should list each guest on the booking. To the right of each name it should have a dash then CS CODE: XXXXXX If yours does not show a CS Code then have your TA followup with Crystal to get this straightened out. For whatever reason when we received our confirmation for our first bookings they showed my code and for whatever reason had the wrong Crystal Society number for my wife. I didn't catch this right away but eventually did and our TA worked with Crystal to get each booking corrected so things can happen. I wouldn't wait because it took awhile for the adjustments to be made to the saplings we had already taken. Keith

TA's should have received it so David and others check with your TA. I have also asked if it will be going out directly to society members via e-mail? Keith

Ivi, It is best to check with them and it will vary based on where you are shipping it from or to. I always pad it so if they tell me two weeks I send it three weeks or earlier because stuff happens such as holdups in customs. I've only had one problem with one of four pieces but was glad I had the pad. I would put numbers on each piece because in our case when we had the problem with the one item we knew what was inside. We also had put paperwork inside which was a big help to them. In this case, evidently Canadian customs took out the paperwork from the pouch outside the luggage and forgot to put it back inside. And we had our names listed on the outside of the luggage and inside. We have always had it delivered to the ship but I know several people who send it to the hotel they are staying at. When ours gets there early they store it in a secure locker. Sometimes it's even the port agent who is involved with the delivery. I've also had a problem one other time on the return again due to customs. There is never any guarantees and no different than when you check in pieces and they go somewhere else. When we have too much luggage for the two of us to deal with we have appreciated the service.Another benefit when we shipped home was we got home and the luggage a few days later and that was great as we didn't feel the pressure to do laundry right away. 😀 Keith

Paula, Overall, there is a lot of great places to visit on the WC depending on interests. As someone who never gets tired of visiting New Zealand that's a big plus. I agree there are a few places with overnights that it is disappointing that they have to leave in the morning but my guess is that it is because another ship will be taking it's spot after it leaves. While that is disappointing, the positive is that since it is an overnight you don't have to rush back and can tour all day or even at night so to me that is a big plus. The reality is securing port space has been a challenge for several years and I suspect even more challenging as Crystal is still in catch up mode plus there are so many more World Cruises and ships sailing these areas with each passing year. Places like Sydney, Honolulu and Hong Kong are examples of ports where there is great demand. My experience with Honolulu is often we were there for one day, Hong Kong normally a two to three days but I remember that World Cruise where we couldn't even dock and had to take a ferry which was something like an hour each way. That was not fun. Having been to Saudi Arabia I really don't see a need for an overnight there. One day is sufficient IMHO. Anyway, I've never seen a perfect WC itinerary. Whereas I prefer overnight and more time in selected ports often people want to go to lots of ports and when they build the itinerary they have to be thinking of selling segments. The question is what will the world including the Suez Canal be like in 2026 but time will tell. Keith