Packing itinerary in checked luggage

Do any of you pack a copy of your cruise itinerary in your checked luggage?

I ask because we are leaving for Sydney in a few days for an Sydney to Auckland cruise. We are flying Delta to LAX then Air New Zealand from LAX to AKL then onto SYD. I started thinking what if the luggage gets lost and how would it find us? My hope is that by flying in to Sydney 1 day early it would catch up with us but you never know.

Do you include your itinerary or what else do you do?

Do any of you pack a copy of your cruise itinerary in your checked luggage?

 

I ask because we are leaving for Sydney in a few days for an Sydney to Auckland cruise. We are flying Delta to LAX then Air New Zealand from LAX to AKL then onto SYD. I started thinking what if the luggage gets lost and how would it find us? My hope is that by flying in to Sydney 1 day early it would catch up with us but you never know.

 

Do you include your itinerary or what else do you do?

What a fantastic trip you have ahead of you - I'm envious!

IMHO, putting your itinerary in the outside pocket of each checked bag is a wise move. Adding your cell/mobile phone number would be a personal choice.

I've heard of people who put their cruise baggage tags on the luggage before they leave home so if the bag is delayed, it will be properly routed to the ship. To me, that seems more likely to cause confusion, and the tags could be torn off. But an extra cruise luggage tag and the itinerary in an outside, easily accessible pocket can't hurt.

Have a wonderful cruise.

I don't put the itinerary, but copy of my Name and phone number. I've in the past done passport info too. This cruise I will put in info for the ship we are sailing on and phone numbers.

I put a copy of my itinerary in my luggage.

Probably not a bad idea. Also include your pre cruise hotel information.

When travelling far we nearly always now like at least a two day stay before our cruise, preferably a couple of days longer. There are just so many things that can prevent you, let alone your luggage, arriving on time. The more connections, the more risk of flight delays/missing connections. I would also hope this is long enough for my baggage to catch up with me if we are separated.

If everything goes according to plan I have a nice little city break and the opportunity to get over jet lag before the cruise starts.

We have hotel details clearly on our suitcases but have never bothered with cruise details.

Call me over cautious but I always have changes of underwear in the hand luggage too just in case I arrive minus bags!

Do any of you pack a copy of your cruise itinerary in your checked luggage?

 

I started thinking what if the luggage gets lost and how would it find us?

 

I don't generally bother to put a copy of my itinerary in my suitcase, and here's why: The airline already knows where I'm going. When they tag the bag it has a barcode on the tag, and that gets scanned along the way to help ensure that the bag gets where it's going. If my suitcase and I don't end up at our final airline destination at the same time, I'm going to have to talk to the airline anyway, at which point details of where my bag should be delivered upon arrival will be determined. Of course, I always arrive early for a cruise, so there is extra time built in for my bag to get to me. The vast majority of the time, when one's bag doesn't arrive with them, it isn't "lost," it just wasn't put on the plane for one reason or another, and will generally be on the next flight in. Truly "lost" bags are few and far between in the grand scheme of things. I do put my name, cell phone number and email address on my personal luggage tag, but as the airline already has that information, that is more for if some other pax mistakenly picks up my bag and walks off with it and realizes later.

We always have a cell phone picture of our luggage.

Inside each bag we have our hotel and ship names and the dates we're traveling.

Each bag has a tag with our last name and three cell phone numbers - one for each of us and our daughter who's at home.

Good luck!

Always put itinerary in bag. I have worked for airlines for years in the states and a here in the Caribbean. If your bag is misplaced/ mislabeled. the tag may have come off. There is more than on "small medium roller bag with beach clothes in it. Just your home address is not good. You don't want it sent there while you are still on vacation. A full itinerary will assist in reuniting your bag with you.

What a fantastic trip you have ahead of you - I'm envious!

 

IMHO, putting your itinerary in the outside pocket of each checked bag is a wise move. Adding your cell/mobile phone number would be a personal choice.

 

I've heard of people who put their cruise baggage tags on the luggage before they leave home so if the bag is delayed, it will be properly routed to the ship. To me, that seems more likely to cause confusion, and the tags could be torn off. But an extra cruise luggage tag and the itinerary in an outside, easily accessible pocket can't hurt.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

Not the best idea. Most airlines will have you remove any other destination tags that are on the suitcases that are not related to the flight you are taking. This causes confusion for airline workers, and for scanners. The only thing that will not be removed is your luggage identification tag.

Not the best idea. Most airlines will have you remove any other destination tags that are on the suitcases that are not related to the flight you are taking. This causes confusion for airline workers, and for scanners. The only thing that will not be removed is your luggage identification tag.

Celebrity advises cruisers to put their luggage tags on 'before you leave home'.

.....which we have done every time we cruised, and we have never been asked to remove the tags or have them torn off in transit.

I questioned Celebrity about the wisdom of putting tags on before flights and they explained it was just in case your bags get separated from you in transit. The tags won't confuse scanners as they won't register at all.

Celebrity advises cruisers to put their luggage tags on 'before you leave home'.

.....which we have done every time we cruised, and we have never been asked to remove the tags or have them torn off in transit.

 

I questioned Celebrity about the wisdom of putting tags on before flights and they explained it was just in case your bags get separated from you in transit. The tags won't confuse scanners as they won't register at all.

Hi,:) Celebrity may suggest it but that doesn't mean it is correct. It

is, as you say "a suggestion"......I don't take it.

When I cruise I usually arrive a day early and since I am staying

at a hotel pre-cruise, I choose to put my luggage tags on before I leave

my hotel before heading out to the port.

Different strokes for different folks;)

I don't generally bother to put a copy of my itinerary in my suitcase, and here's why: The airline already knows where I'm going. When they tag the bag it has a barcode on the tag, and that gets scanned along the way to help ensure that the bag gets where it's going. If my suitcase and I don't end up at our final airline destination at the same time, I'm going to have to talk to the airline anyway, at which point details of where my bag should be delivered upon arrival will be determined. Of course, I always arrive early for a cruise, so there is extra time built in for my bag to get to me. The vast majority of the time, when one's bag doesn't arrive with them, it isn't "lost," it just wasn't put on the plane for one reason or another, and will generally be on the next flight in. Truly "lost" bags are few and far between in the grand scheme of things. I do put my name, cell phone number and email address on my personal luggage tag, but as the airline already has that information, that is more for if some other pax mistakenly picks up my bag and walks off with it and realizes later.

This past week, I read an excellent article on lost luggage and how modern baggage handling has helped to reduce lost and delayed bags. Still, there are thousands of bags that going missing every year, and the article pointed out that a major cause of lost items is the tags getting ripped off the bags, both those attached by passengers and the bar coded airline tags. Truly lost bags are certainly not few and far between according to the article and the industry members interviewed. The article strongly recommended placing a copy of your flight itinerary in an outer pocket of your bag so that the airlines can identify the owner and the final destination of the bag.

Would recommend doing it. We did this flight route a few years ago and when we landed in Auckland found out our luggage wound up in Alaska. Luckily we had a 2 day layover before sailing and they used our itinerary to forward them to us in time.

Do any of you pack a copy of your cruise itinerary in your checked luggage?

 

I ask because we are leaving for Sydney in a few days for an Sydney to Auckland cruise. We are flying Delta to LAX then Air New Zealand from LAX to AKL then onto SYD. I started thinking what if the luggage gets lost and how would it find us? My hope is that by flying in to Sydney 1 day early it would catch up with us but you never know.

 

Do you include your itinerary or what else do you do?

Would recommend doing it. We did this flight route a few years ago and when we landed in Auckland found out our luggage wound up in Alaska. Luckily we had a 2 day layover before sailing and they used our itinerary to forward them to us in time.

We did a trip very similar to yours a few years ago except we flew directly to Sydney and then back to Auckland.

It was a good thing we had 4 days in Auckland before our 35 day cruise! Because that's how long it took them to find and deliver our luggage.

We did have the itinerary inside each piece , just in case, but it was the airline tag they used to identify the bags (which never left the Sydney airport, btw. They were just placed in some corner. :( The computer showed the bags being sent on to Auckland with us and we had to convince someone to do a hand search of "lost" bags in Sydney to finally find them.)

We also had a change of clothes and underwear in our carry-on, thank goodness. By the 2nd day I was having nightmares of 35 days in the two outfits I had with me. :eek:

Better safe than sorry. Do it!

We always have a cell phone picture of our luggage.

 

Inside each bag we have our hotel and ship names and the dates we're traveling.

 

Each bag has a tag with our last name and three cell phone numbers - one for each of us and our daughter who's at home.

 

Good luck!

That's a good idea, taking picture of your luggage with the cell phone. Reminded me of a recent show on Mighty Ships on the Oasis. Family of four got to check in and realized they packed their passports in their checked luggage which were somewhere on the ship. They did find it but locating the luggage would probably have been easier if they had a picture.

We always put our itinerary with phone numbers, etc inside the luggage, I also put it in the carry ons just in case.

This is true for American and United for sure....

1. Put nothing on the outside of your luggage other than a name tag.

2. If your luggage does not appear within 30 minutes of flight arrival go to lost luggage office and report it.

3. Your luggage has a tracking form just like a ups package, advise them of your travel plan and they will contact you via cellphone or instructions you give them as to returning your property.

I know this firsthand as United lost my luggage 2 years ago coming home from chile (took 3 days but I was home) and American lost it 3months ago, delivered to my hotel later that day (on next plane for reasons only those idiots know).

Pretty sure most if not all airlines use the same tracking systems these days, my big worry is damaged luggage not lost but that's just me I guess.

The photo of your luggage idea is brilliant!! I will do that from now on. TY

I always take a photo of my luggage too.

For inside the luggage, I have a Word doc that I change to suit the upcoming cruise with this information:

All flight numbers, carriers, dates and all connections for beginning & end flights

Itinerary of the cruise

The cruise line, ship name, booking number and cabin number with a contact phone for the cruise line.

Pre/post hotel information including address

My contact information including email and cell phone number

Emergency contact information

I just stick this inside the zippered "lid" of the suitcase so it's easy to find.

That's a good idea, taking picture of your luggage with the cell phone.

 

We always put our itinerary with phone numbers, etc inside the luggage, I also put it in the carry ons just in case.

I always take a photo of my luggage too.

 

For inside the luggage, I have a Word doc that I change to suit the upcoming cruise with this information:

 

All flight numbers, carriers, dates and all connections for beginning & end flights

Itinerary of the cruise

The cruise line, ship name, booking number and cabin number with a contact phone for the cruise line.

Pre/post hotel information including address

My contact information including email and cell phone number

Emergency contact information

 

I just stick this inside the zippered "lid" of the suitcase so it's easy to find.

I had tags made for the outside of the luggage that mention to look inside the front pocket for itinerary. ;)

Here is an example of the paper that I place in each suitcase, including our carry-on. This is from our last trip. I keep a copy in my Word documents and change details as needed.

Deliver to:

Our names

Oct. 17th – 20th (Leaving for port 21st)

The Montague on the Gardens - London

15 Montague Street

Bloomsbury

London, England

WC1B 5BJ

United Kingdom

+44 (0)207 637 1001

10/21 (until 3:00 pm)

Cruise Port –

Southampton, England

Celebrity Eclipse-

Stateroom #xxxx

Day Date Port Arrive Depart

Day 1 Wed, Oct 21 Southampton, England 4:30PM

Day 2 Thu, Oct 22 At Sea

Day 3 Fri, Oct 23 Vigo, Spain 9:00AM 4:00PM

Day 4 Sat, Oct 24 Lisbon, Portugal 8:00AM 6:00PM

Day 5 Sun, Oct 25 At Sea

Day 6 Mon, Oct 26 Las Palmas, Gran Canaria 10:00AM 7:00PM

Day 7 Tue, Oct 27 Tenerife, Canary Islands 7:00AM 4:00PM

Day 8 Wed, Oct 28 Funchal (Madeira), Portugal 8:30AM 3:00PM

Day 9 Thu, Oct 29 At Sea

Day 10 Fri, Oct 30 La Coruna, Spain 12:00PM 7:00PM

Day 11 Sat, Oct 31 At Sea

Day 12 Sun, Nov 01 Southampton, England 6:00AM

Email – xxxx Cell – xxxx

Home Address – xxxx

Celebrity advises cruisers to put their luggage tags on 'before you leave home'.

.....which we have done every time we cruised, and we have never been asked to remove the tags or have them torn off in transit.

 

I questioned Celebrity about the wisdom of putting tags on before flights and they explained it was just in case your bags get separated from you in transit. The tags won't confuse scanners as they won't register at all.

I always fly in a day or two early. My first cruise, I did as suggested by the cruise line. The airline staff removed the baggage tags for the cruise line stating that the cruise line tags would interfere with the airline tags, and cause issues with the baggage handlers. This could result in lost or delayed luggage. I had packed my unused cruise line luggage tags in my carry on luggage. After I go to the hotel, I put the spare luggage tags on my suitcases.

I fly Delta, and was told policy stated that the only thing allowed to hang on the outside of a suitcase (other then airline tags) was a personal identification tag. Nothing else hanging - no pom poms, not fancy ribbons, no cute key chain decorative items, etc. Cute things to help one more easily find their suitcases after they are unloaded onto the conveyor belts. Each time I fly I see staff ask people to remove things from the outside of their suitcases before they are accepted.

I do put a copy of my itinerary inside of an outside pocket of each suitcase that has home phone number, hotel I am staying at, and cruising information.

Has anyone used thetileapp. You put the tile in your luggage. Then you can track it.

Thanks everyone for the great tips! I have taken the advice of a few and have put our name, address, flight info, hotel, cruise line name/ship, cabin # and cruise itinerary in the front outside pocket of all luggage including the carry-on.

Hopefully this helps in the case that our luggage decides to take a trip different than what we had in mind. :)

Not the best idea. Most airlines will have you remove any other destination tags that are on the suitcases that are not related to the flight you are taking. This causes confusion for airline workers, and for scanners.

I'm pretty confident that airline baggage handlers know exactly what an airline baggage tag looks like. It's appearance is entirely different from a cruise tag. ;)

Still, there are thousands of bags that going missing every year, and the article pointed out that a major cause of lost items is the tags getting ripped off the bags, both those attached by passengers and the bar coded airline tags. Truly lost bags are certainly not few and far between

I'm certainly not advising anyone NOT to put their itinerary inside, just saying that it's a rare case in which it would be needed. And I would argue that truly lost bags ARE few and far between. While there may be thousands of bags that go missing, there are millions that are checked, so it's a small %. And yes, airline tags can get ripped off, but it's not frequent....again, once you consider how many bags are checked every day. I fly enough every year to have elite status with my airline, check at least one bag on almost every trip, often two bags, and can't remember a tag every getting ripped off. And they actually add the tag as well as a second tag that is a sticker. Again, not saying bit doesn't happen but in the grand scheme of things it really doesn't happen all that often. If you feel better putting your itinerary inside your bags, then by all means do it. I don't do it routinely, but there are situations in which I might. :)

This is true for American and United for sure....

1. Put nothing on the outside of your luggage other than a name tag.

2. If your luggage does not appear within 30 minutes of flight arrival go to lost luggage office and report it.

3. Your luggage has a tracking form just like a ups package, advise them of your travel plan and they will contact you via cellphone or instructions you give them as to returning your property.

 

I know this firsthand as United lost my luggage 2 years ago coming home from chile (took 3 days but I was home) and American lost it 3months ago, delivered to my hotel later that day (on next plane for reasons only those idiots know).

 

Actually, some airline apps will allow you to track your luggage. I can often check the app after boarding and before take-off and see if my bag has been scanned onto the plane. Once or twice it hasn't, and rather than wait 30 min, I've gone straight to the airline baggage office upon landing and arranged for delivery to me since it usually comes in on the next flight.

As for why your bags weren't loaded it could be any number of reasons: weight and balance restrictions, tight connection, fell off a conveyor and wasn't caught in time, who knows?! ;)