Who's responsible for theiving porters?

[Froufie]

I don't believe you can bring 'regular' sized luggage on board WITH you - luggage has to be screened and only the carryon size fits thru the xray machine used when boarding the ship with your 'carryon' bags/purses/laptops etc. (as in an airport).

 

Not sure how to avoid this issue. I use colored cable ties - at least I can tell if someone has been inside the suitcase - and yes always pack valuables with me - but still would not want anyone searching thru my stuff or taking any of my beloved 'cruise wardrobe'! :D

 

I would certainly stay on top of Carnival - as mentioned you did not LOSE anything - it was stolen from you!

[eap1986]

wow I hope you didnt put anything like electronics in your checked bags. What did they take. Sounds like a problem since Carnival says on the cruise ticket its not their responsibility.

 

Hey, Firefly, would that be on my printed boarding passes somewhere? Or the contract that you sign prior to sailing?

[firefly333]

Agreed!

 

But....I was not referring to carry-ons. I meant it you walk you larger bags to the security/screening area yourself and do not use a porter.

 

You cant. You have to check them in at the porter desk or just leave them in the baggage area and walk away. (what Im saying is they will not allow you access to where they screen the checked bags)

 

I try to do carry ons as often as possible. (cant carry on larger suitcases). I have read of electronics being stolen before... so know to never put them in checked luggage. They arent going to steal my underwear and clothes.

[FoolUKnot]

I will always lock them from now on! I guess I haven't been on enough cruises to know that the porters don't actually work for the line itself. If I had known that before, I would have NEVER handed my bags over to them in the first place.

 

Carnival used to point out on their website that the porters were not their employees and to lock your luggage. I'm not sure what liability the longshoreman's union has. You might try filing with them. If they actually cared, they would have surveillance cameras set up to catch pilfering.

[eap1986]

They are not acting like you lost the items, don't equate legal terms with them thinking that you had anything to do with the items being gone. Lost means either you know where they are or you don't. If you don't know exactly where something is, it is lost.

 

You are right about that. Still... that's not what someone who has been stolen from wants to hear. But you make a good point.

[Colorado Kat]

I saw somewhere that the cable ties are not considered to be "locked" luggage. So cruise line staff can clip them off and look in your luggage to look for bottles, etc. If you do not want them opening your bags, you need one of those padlocks. Then they have to call you down, so you are present when they go thru your luggage.

[Akgoalie7]

I'm sorry and feel your pain. I've had valuables swiped from my checked in luggage. Ever since I have NEVER put anything of "value" in my luggage. If they want my stinky socks/underwear/t-shirts they can have them. All of my laptop stuff, DSLR camera stuff, and anything electronic/valuable I carry on. That includes airplanes and boats.

[nytraveller53]

WOW! That is actually kinda scary...:eek:

[alwayshappytocruise]

WOW! That is actually kinda scary...:eek:

 

.....and gross.......

[dclark]

I don't understand why cruisers have to tolerate greedy,unneeded porters. Graduate from highschool (or just dropout) get in the union and if the $100k+ you get from inflated union wages and extorting "tips" from hardworking cruisers isn't enough, just steal stuff from their suitcases!

When we cruised out of pier 91 in Seattle, we didn't have to contend with porters, just take your suitcases up to to the scanner area, like an air port and board the ship- that's how it should be.

If wants to make cruising more affordable, they can start with setting up a no porter option. They can do it, the unions can't stop them.

[dan40]

I had some things stolen from my suitcase by a porter in San Juan. The reason we know this for a fact is because this person put his/her sweaty, nasty "continental shipping" work shirt in where the stolen items were placed. (Continental Shipping is the company the porters work for in San Juan.) We were also in our room when the bags were delivered, so no chance it could have been a passenger.

 

Carnival says they are not responsible. But Carnival also gives the porters access to guest luggage and the right to go through the bags to look for items not allowed on board.

 

Any thoughts on this?

 

Actually, Carnival or any cruiseline does not 'give' dock workers [porters] permission to handle the pax luggage. The docks and dock procedures are locally "owned" and all cruise lines are required to follow the dock rules as presented to them. The porters have 'ownership' of luggage loading and the cruiselines or commercial shipping companies are not allowed to supply their own loading personnel even if they wanted to do so.

[wentworth]

What do you cut the ties with once the luggage is delivered to your cabin?

[billie5]

you did not LOSE anything - it was stolen from you!

I thought this issue had been clarified by a great many previous posters, but evidently not. (Or people do not read)

 

"Lose" has a much broader meaning than just to mislay. For example, "cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense." I would say, in this case, it was in a very physical sense.:)

 

Bill

[kicia]

You can cut the plastic ties with a nail clipper.

[deborahjo]

OP did you have a card in your luggage that was gone thru. I have always had a card with the number of the employee who searched my bag.

[cowetamom]

We use zip ties as well. I carry my nail clippers and small scissors in my carryon. They did open my luggage on the Valor during our Christmas cruise and they took out my travel steamer and left me a note that they would return it on the last day.

 

We always zip tie everything just in case. No it might not keep them out, but atleast they might think twice about it.

[wentworth]

We use zip ties as well. I carry my nail clippers and small scissors in my carryon. They did open my luggage on the Valor during our Christmas cruise and they took out my travel steamer and left me a note that they would return it on the last day.

 

We always zip tie everything just in case. No it might not keep them out, but atleast they might think twice about it.

 

 

Our problem is that we need to fly to port. We would have to pack the

small scissors/or nail clippers in the luggage.

[habby]

I saw somewhere that the cable ties are not considered to be "locked" luggage. So cruise line staff can clip them off and look in your luggage to look for bottles, etc.

 

Yes, this is true.:o

 

Our problem is that we need to fly to port. We would have to pack the

small scissors/or nail clippers in the luggage.

The TSA will allow small (maybe blunt-end only?) and nail clippers in carry-ons. We do it all the time.

[dan40]

I don't understand why cruisers have to tolerate greedy,unneeded porters. Graduate from highschool (or just dropout) get in the union and if the $100k+ you get from inflated union wages and extorting "tips" from hardworking cruisers isn't enough, just steal stuff from their suitcases!

When we cruised out of pier 91 in Seattle, we didn't have to contend with porters, just take your suitcases up to to the scanner area, like an air port and board the ship- that's how it should be.

If wants to make cruising more affordable, they can start with setting up a no porter option. They can do it, the unions can't stop them.

 

51 cruises and over 2000 air flights under my belt. I have always given my luggage immediately to the closest porter at docks or the Red Cap at the curb of airports whenever possible. NEVER have I ever locked a bag and never have I packed valuables in checked luggage. Missing items in 50 years of travel? ZERO.

Do I tip? Certainly! Not from "extortion," but because I don't want to lug a bag around and they do it for me. If they make a million dollars a minute, its none of my business.

[dclark]

51 cruises and over 2000 air flights under my belt. I have always given my luggage immediately to the closest porter at docks or the Red Cap at the curb of airports whenever possible. NEVER have I ever locked a bag and never have I packed valuables in checked luggage. Missing items in 50 years of travel? ZERO.

Do I tip? Certainly! Not from "extortion," but because I don't want to lug a bag around and they do it for me. If they make a million dollars a minute, its none of my business.

 

That's great, real wonderful. However, I want the choice of being able to "lug" my luggage myself without "tipping" some dirtbag porter.

Look, this isn't the 1920's anymore- people don't travel with wooden travel cases that need legions of porters to load onto the trans atlantic cruise ship. Luggage of today is light and has wheels, is easy to move. I have no problem bungy cording multiple bags and pulling them, if I can get them from the parking lot to the airline counter, moving them 20' from the shuttle van to a screener is a piece of cake.

[uppitycats]

Our problem is that we need to fly to port. We would have to pack the

small scissors/or nail clippers in the luggage.

 

 

Small manicure scissors and/or small nail cllippers can be packed in your carry on. I just put them in the clear zip bag with my "liquids". They see them, pass me on through.

[sunquest76]

Just a note regarding locking/cable tie on a piece of luggage. We saw a You Tube video showing how to "get into your luggage if you lose the key". All that is needed is a ball point pen and 30 seconds. In the end, you can't even tell the bag was opened! DH tried the trick on our bags and voila - instant access! Locks or ties may be a deterant, but not absolute.

 

OP, so sorry your belongings were disturbed. I'd be annoyed too!

[happy cruzin]

Just a note regarding locking/cable tie on a piece of luggage. We saw a You Tube video showing how to "get into your luggage if you lose the key". All that is needed is a ball point pen and 30 seconds. In the end, you can't even tell the bag was opened! DH tried the trick on our bags and voila - instant access! Locks or ties may be a deterant, but not absolute.

 

OP, so sorry your belongings were disturbed. I'd be annoyed too!

 

 

What's the old saying....."locks are for honest people"!! :eek: ;)

[FoolUKnot]

Just a note regarding locking/cable tie on a piece of luggage. We saw a You Tube video showing how to "get into your luggage if you lose the key". All that is needed is a ball point pen and 30 seconds. In the end, you can't even tell the bag was opened! DH tried the trick on our bags and voila - instant access! Locks or ties may be a deterant, but not absolute.

 

OP, so sorry your belongings were disturbed. I'd be annoyed too!

 

That's assuming you can slide the zipper pulls around. There are ways to prevent that. Combine that with a locking luggage strap (or chain and padlock), and even it the zipper is ripped out, the suitcase won't open very far.

 

Of course, there is no absolute security and too much might encourage someone just to steal the whole case and deal with it later.

[cowetamom]

Our problem is that we need to fly to port. We would have to pack the

small scissors/or nail clippers in the luggage.

 

 

I also fly to the port. We just did this on American the week of christmas. My makeup bag was in my carryon and it had my clippers and my small blunt scissors in there and I did not take it out of my carryon and they said nothing.

Sometimes I will put clippers in my checked suitcase in one of the outside unlocked compartments. Never an issue.