Port of Seattle Valet Luggage service not offered to "regular" customers on Solstice

Hello,

Just got off the Solstice yesterday. I knew about the Port of Seattle luggage valet from the good folks here at CC. With two nights left in the cruise, it occurred to me that I had not heard anything about the procedure/tags for this service. I went down to Guest Relations and inquired and was told flatly, that I "missed the deadline" that passed the day before for securing the service. After much pressing as to when and where I would have gotten this mysterious information (and vague mentions of dailies and signage - which it was not anywhere!) I finally find out from her that Celebrity is only offering it to their Concierge, AquaClass, Suites, etc...folks and NOT to everyone. Even though this is a Port of Seattle service and not a Celebrity service!

The GR person finally relented and said they would try to get me the service even though I was a "regular" customer and "past the deadline". They did come through (there were still 2 days left!) and I was granted the service.

The Port of Seattle had folks asking customers if we'd used it as we disembarked - I'm hoping that they noticed that several people did not know about it or use it. This is a WONDERFUL service they offer so that we could go (unencumbered by our bags) and enjoy more of the city.

4 of 5 of our bags made it to our final destination. We are still awaiting the last one. Not sure if it was a Celebrity/Port of Seattle mistake or a Southwest Airlines mistake.

Lesson learned if you are reading this...INQUIRE WITH GR ON THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF YOUR CRUISE about this service so that you can receive it. Especially if you aren't a VIP customer. :rolleyes:

I have used a direct service ONCE through a cruise line. Bags were supposed to be loaded onto a bus in Vancouver and we were supposed to get them at SeaTac. Half of our bags made it....had to wait a week for the others to arrive, since it was an international destination and they had to be escorted through customs and searched. Guess what we NEVER did again!! To this day, we walk our bags off. There is NO WAY I would trust anyone to get my bags off the ship, to the airport and to the correct airline.

Glad Celebrity allowed you to use the service though and that most of your luggage arrived.

Stratocino....thank you for your informative post. Shame on Celebrity for it's discretionary use of the Port Seattle program. We took advantage of it on HAL and it was flawless. I suspect that your luggage was delayed due to the airline.

I am curious....when the Seattle folks were questioning disembarking passengers, did you share with them your experience?

Stratocino....thank you for your informative post. Shame on Celebrity for it's discretionary use of the Port Seattle program. We took advantage of it on HAL and it was flawless. I suspect that your luggage was delayed due to the airline.

I am curious....when the Seattle folks were questioning disembarking passengers, did you share with them your experience?

So, my husband was the one who talked to them (I was distracted with the kids) and told them absolutely YES that we used it and YES to her follow up question about if we were sightseeing in Seattle as a direct result of the service. He then kept on walking, lightbulb went off and he went to try and chase her down to explain about Celebrity not offering it to everyone. He couldn't catch up with her at that point. I do want to let the Port of Seattle know though & will follow up with them directly.

Agree that its probably the airline - they claim to have found a baggage tag number for it (since I didn't have claim checks due to the valet service) so that's positive...

When we were given the paper work for the Port Seattle program it included a tracking number for each piece of luggage, It was buried in the paperwork and not on a separate piece of paper or with the boarding passes, probably because the number was issued by the Port program and not the airline. The airline re-tags the luggage once it gets to SeaTac. It occurred to me later to keep track of those numbers just in case so I wrote them on our boarding passes as well as kept all the paperwork with me.

Am keeping my fingers crossed, and I am optimistic, that your luggage will arrive.

We just completed our 40th cruise and have used (several times) the various luggage programs provided by the cruise lines. We have never lost a piece of luggage or had it delayed.

That is disappointing for Celebrity to deny the "regular" passengers of the free service by the Port that should be available for all. and claim it to be an extra perk only for their Concierge, AquaClass, Suites, etc. passengers.

We used the luggage valet service on a recent Solstice cruise out of Seattle. My understanding (perhaps incorrect) was that Celebrity operates the service, perhaps in conjunction with a local transport company. And this service operates in other select ports (Miami, for example). In Seattle, the city has offered to cover the passenger's fee for the service, but the don't operate the service itself. I'm not even sure the minimal fee (which is free for some passengers... whether Seattle, Miami, etc) covers the entire operating cost for Celebrity. Keep in mind that the cruise ship personnel have the do all of the check-in & boarding pass process and paperwork... which would be quite significant if many, many passengers used it. My belief is that Celebrity is just offering this as another selective perk.

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We used the luggage valet service on a recent Solstice cruise out of Seattle. My understanding (perhaps incorrect) was that Celebrity operates the service, perhaps in conjunction with a local transport company. And this service operates in other select ports (Miami, for example). In Seattle, the city has offered to cover the passenger's fee for the service, but the don't operate the service itself. I'm not even sure the minimal fee (which is free for some passengers... whether Seattle, Miami, etc) covers the entire operating cost for Celebrity. Keep in mind that the cruise ship personnel have the do all of the check-in & boarding pass process and paperwork... which would be quite significant if many, many passengers used it. My belief is that Celebrity is just offering this as another selective perk.

 

 

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You are correct. The service, even if paid for by the Port of Seattle, requires Celebrity ship staff to do quite a bit of work. I can only imagine how many man hours are involved if they had to check in all passengers and their luggage.

I'm all for it being open to everyone, but I can appreciate why Celebrity isn't yet offering it shipwide. Perhaps once they have a bit more experience with the program they will figure out how much time it requires from their staff per passenger and come up with a pricing structure shipwide.

Hello,

 

 

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4 of 5 of our bags made it to our final destination. We are still awaiting the last one. Not sure if it was a Celebrity/Port of Seattle mistake or a Southwest Airlines mistake.

 

 

 

Lesson learned if you are reading this...INQUIRE WITH GR ON THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF YOUR CRUISE about this service so that you can receive it. Especially if you aren't a VIP customer. :rolleyes:

It doesn't sound like a very good service if they lost your luggage.

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That is disappointing for Celebrity to deny the "regular" passengers of the free service by the Port that should be available for all. and claim it to be an extra perk only for their Concierge, AquaClass, Suites, etc. passengers.[/quote

 

Interesting...Although I do not know for sure if this is true, other reviews mention that that in some ports, suite guests are led to a priority reserved immigration line...That is a US gov mandated service...once off the ship, priority treatment should stop. They do get taken off first but should not have their own line as immig is not part of the cruise fare. Just my opinion...

You are correct. The service, even if paid for by the Port of Seattle, requires Celebrity ship staff to do quite a bit of work. I can only imagine how many man hours are involved if they had to check in all passengers and their luggage.

 

I'm all for it being open to everyone, but I can appreciate why Celebrity isn't yet offering it shipwide. Perhaps once they have a bit more experience with the program they will figure out how much time it requires from their staff per passenger and come up with a pricing structure shipwide.

This makes sense, although the Port of Seattle's website makes it sound like it's their service. And why the Celebrity GR person grumbled something about them having to do work as well, which I didn't really understand, because they're already doing a bag pull for everyone...how is this really different other than giving you different tags than the normal numbered ones? But it sounds like it might be a little more involved than that.

It doesn't sound like a very good service if they lost your luggage.

 

 

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4 of 5 pieces made it, with connections (not non-stop). Southwest was the one to lose the 1 bag (not Seattle) and they promptly found it. It was on my doorstep within 24 hours of arriving. Not too shabby...

This makes sense, although the Port of Seattle's website makes it sound like it's their service. And why the Celebrity GR person grumbled something about them having to do work as well, which I didn't really understand, because they're already doing a bag pull for everyone...how is this really different other than giving you different tags than the normal numbered ones? But it sounds like it might be a little more involved than that.

Edited to add: and who knows, maybe the Port provides some sort of reimbursement to Celebrity under the terms of the agreement in order to help them cover the costs.

We will be using this service for the first time after our September Alaska cruise. We are in Aqua class and would have been very disappointed if this was not available. The last thing we want to handle on disembarkation day is our luggage and getting our boarding passes. I would think that all port cites would find this as a way for cruise passengers to enjoy more of what their ports have to offer. This is the first time that I heard that "regular" passengers could not take advantage of this service. I also agree that there may be a maximum number of passengers that they could accommodate but not all passengers fly out or have flights that are too early for the service. I will post how the program works when we get back (hopefully with our luggage).

That is disappointing for Celebrity to deny the "regular" passengers of the free service by the Port that should be available for all. and claim it to be an extra perk only for their Concierge, AquaClass, Suites, etc. passengers.[/quote

 

 

 

Interesting...Although I do not know for sure if this is true, other reviews mention that that in some ports, suite guests are led to a priority reserved immigration line...That is a US gov mandated service...once off the ship, priority treatment should stop. They do get taken off first but should not have their own line as immig is not part of the cruise fare. Just my opinion...

 

 

 

I was referring to Port of Seattle's Port of Luggage Valet Service, not the actual passenger disembarkation and immigration process.

 

 

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4 of 5 pieces made it, with connections (not non-stop). Southwest was the one to lose the 1 bag (not Seattle) and they promptly found it. It was on my doorstep within 24 hours of arriving. Not too shabby...

We just had a similar experience on the Equinox this week. We planned to use the luggage valet program - including choosing our airline and flight time to fit in with the program requirements. When we did not receive anything about it until day 4, I inquired at Guest Relations. I was told I missed the deadline and that paperwork was sent only to "those that Celebrity thought would be interested and that entered flight information on the website". I was disappointed. The clerk was very apologetic and seemed embarrassed to be explaining the policy. Otherwise a wonderful cruise.

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I was referring to Port of Seattle's Port of Luggage Valet Service, not the actual passenger disembarkation and immigration process.

 

 

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Yes I know it was a bit off topic but to me it is a related issue.

 

We have enjoyed luggage valet in the past with SW Airlines... but not always easy to fit into the time parameters...another restriction by booking class just makes it tougher,

 

Yes I know it was a bit off topic but to me it is a related issue.

 

 

 

We have enjoyed luggage valet in the past with SW Airlines... but not always easy to fit into the time parameters...another restriction by booking class just makes it tougher,

 

 

 

This new luggage service was provided by the Port of Seattle to encourage Late flights to spend more time in Seattle. This service is Free. Not sure if your previous experience was on the other Luggage Valet where you pay $25 service fee.

 

https://www.portseattle.org/Cruise/Pages/Port-Valet.aspx

 

 

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This new luggage service was provided by the Port of Seattle to encourage Late flights to spend more time in Seattle. This service is Free. Not sure if your previous experience was on the other Luggage Valet where you pay $25 service fee.

 

https://www.portseattle.org/Cruise/Pages/Port-Valet.aspx

 

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Aha! It was evidently the other program ...in Port Everglades ,,

 

 

.In Seattle we actually stayed overnight post cruise close to the airport..our hotel sent us to a restaurant via free shuttle ..great salmon dinner. Very hospitable city!

 

 

That LV sounds like a great service...will keep it in mind for next time in Seattle,,,thanks for the link

 

 

 

Aha! It was evidently the other program ...in Port Everglades ,,

 

 

 

 

 

.In Seattle we actually stayed overnight post cruise close to the airport..our hotel sent us to a restaurant via free shuttle ..great salmon dinner. Very hospitable city!

 

 

 

 

 

That LV sounds like a great service...will keep it in mind for next time in Seattle,,,thanks for the link

 

 

 

Yes, it is a great service. That is why I said it is disappointing when the OP posted that Celebrity decided to extend that service only for Aqua Class, Suites, etc., leaving an impression that it is a perk for such type of booking.

 

Seattle is lucky that you enjoyed their city even without that service!

 

 

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Luggage valet in Seattle is available to all cruisers including us first timers staying in an inside cabin. I read about the service prior to our trip, and inquired with Guest Relations on the fifth day of sailing and made it just in time as the deadline was 6PM that day. They certainly don't advertise it, so I would advise that you sign up for the program during the earlier part of the cruise. Everything went without a hitch and we got all our bags when we landed in LAX.