Lost luggage at end of cruise

[irishred]

Not on a cruise but I flew to Dublin and my bag was nowhere to be found. Filed my claim and spent two days in Ireland, then I flew on to Germany still sans bag. Turns out someone had taken my bag by mistake, and it took them three-four days to figure it out :confused::confused::confused:. So I didn't have my luggage for 5 days in total, because the airline had to fly it to Germany and then have someone drive it to my friends house in the middle of nowhere.

 

Thankfully I had two changes of clothes in my carryon, or my friends might have locked me out after a few days LOL.

 

Since then I have purchased a copper colored suitcase which stands out a bit more than the standard black/navy/red ones:cool:.

[Virtopia]

Hopefully your luggage turns up soon!

 

I've never had this happen to me personally, but since I'm in the hunt for a nice set of luggage, just makes me want to pick an off the wall colour or pattern so that nobody else would want to pick it up! LOL

[RoyalDiamond]

Nice. Thanks for your kind replies to my question! Express debarkation it is! :)

 

Truly hope the OP gets their bag bag soon. I, too, cannot even imagine how/why someone would just grab a bag and how they wouldn't know for certain it's theirs. Maybe a big family and too much to keep track of I guess. But the guy who took it home knowing it wasn't his? That's nuts! LOL

You can do the express debarkation, but don't think that you have to leave at the time that they schedule it. It's always the first group off, and sometimes it's like 6 or 7 am. That's too early for us! We ALWAYS carry our own luggage off (keep it in the room the night before), but we never leave the ship until later. Usually around 9 am, after breakfast, we grab our luggage, leave our room, and stroll off the ship! No waiting in some lounge for our number to be called!

[rascalious]

Where did you get those, please? Thanks.

Here is where we ordered ours: http://idmybag.com/

[sparky-elpaso]

I'm in the UK and you dont have your location on your profile so I'm assuming you're not near me, but if you google for personalized luggage straps I'm sure there must be a few suppliers. Mine were ordered online and took about a week to come.

 

Guess I should have looked at your id - didn't notice the London. Actually my location is in my name but you wouldn't be expected to know that El Paso is in Texas. :D

 

Off to have my friend Google do some searching for me. Thanks.

[tracysue]

im not a novice traveler - and yet - I was he one that grabbed someone's black roller bag..... noticed it when i got to the airport.....

we found a rccl person at the airport - gave the luggage to them, they got it right back to the port area, and no issues...... the rccl person called back there - and they id'd the person who was still there looking for their luggage (thank goodness) -

then - we had to find ours - unfortunately - had to wait for all the luggage to go to a central clearing location - etc....but finally - after 7 days - they found it - we had to pay for shipping - i didn't care at all...being it was my error!

 

i will always double and triple check now - and I am going to order those strapps with names right now - what a great idea! :rolleyes:

rccl will find your luggage - it just takes time.....

[ALSEAU]

It's called express disembarkation, or something like that, and we are seriously considering doing that next time. Yes, you keep your luggage in your cabin as opposed to placing it in the hallway the night before, and you actually get off the ship earlier than other passengers. Not a bad idea. Our missing suitcase had a bright red handle wrap with our phone number written inside, so it did have some distinguishing characteristic.

 

 

Unfortunately it is impossible to prevent rude self centered people from doing stupid things.

[msjaxson]

We were unable to find our luggage in it's designated place one time. Turns out the tag fell(torn) off & it was put in a special area. Took us about an hour to find out there was such an area. Yep it was there:o

We put bright pink duct tape on our luggage, a strip on each side. Very unique & easy to find. I would think it would discourage honest mistakes & thieves. We may look like hicks but who cares........

 

 

I put duct tape on mine too....works great until the time i left the terminal with my sisters luggage ( we did them the same LOL) ...realized it past customs and had to call her on her cell phone to grab mine....

[Linco711]

Sorry that you lost a piece of luggage. I hope that you get it back. I do not understand why people grab a piece of luggage that looks like theirs but they don't check the name tag. I have pulled a piece off of the conveyer belt @ port or airport, read the tag, and put it back on the belt if it is not mine.

On our last cruise we did the express departure and it was great. Aside from the fact that we had to leave the ship so early we loved the experience -- no need to put our luggage out the night before and we knew that we would have our own luggage. Since that cruise a couple of people told me that you really don't need to get off the ship so early. I don't know if that is true or not. I do know that I will use express on our next cruise even if we do need to depart early as it was a breeze.

 

We did express departure and it was very difficult for us to navigate through the ship to depart with our large bags..we found itnvery inconvenient. We being two women..

[monicajay]

We were unable to find our luggage in it's designated place one time. Turns out the tag fell(torn) off & it was put in a special area. Took us about an hour to find out there was such an area. Yep it was there:o

We put bright pink duct tape on our luggage, a strip on each side. Very unique & easy to find. I would think it would discourage honest mistakes & thieves. We may look like hicks but who cares........

 

My husband, myself and 2 teenagers all have the same luggage. Handles have all been duct taped with different bright colors. Each suitcase has a top and a side handle and both have been done. Not only does this help for strangers but it ensures we all easily end up with our own suitcase when traveling.

 

Some wild duct tape colors available in small sheets at Staples.

[Happy ks]

It's best to have at least 2 luggage tags on the outside of your luggage, plus your itinerary inside the case. This way, your bags will find their way back to you if lost or misplaced. I have even reduced my itinerary and folded it, tucking it into the luggage tag. Not only does it have the name of the ship, I also include hotel phone numbers and flight info, no home oe real personal info such as address, only cell number.

 

The only truly lost bags (as in forever lost) are the ones that are not identifiable or worse, stolen.

 

Fortunately we have never had a lost bag in 23 of our 25 cruises, 2 of the times we carried off our own bags. I hate carrying off our own bags.

 

A lot of luggage brands now have the tag embedded in the bag rather than hanging off the side, a feature you may want to check for if you're in the market for new luggage. I sell luggage part time, along with tons of luggage tags.

[Tucker in Texas]

This has happened to us three times.

 

The first time was many years ago in Miami when you were not given the option to self disembark. We signed up for a ship's tour and one piece did not appear. By the time we found it, the tour had left so we ate our tour fee. Not only that, we had to pay for a taxi to the airport whereas the tour would have terminated there.

 

For the past few years, we have self-disembarked because we live close to Galveston where our trans-Atlantics have ended. We have our son pick us up and then we run people to the airport.

 

On our fall 2010 TA we wanted a change and our cruise came into San Juan. We had a 1:30 flight out--plenty of time to get to the airport. We let them have our luggage rather than drag it around in the morning. One bag went missing. Three of us searched every color, every section. No bag. We were on our way to put in a claim when we stumbled across a dozen bags way off in a corner far away from the general area where bags were. Why they were there, who knows. Color tags still attached.

 

Think we would learn. Nooooooooo, This spring we ended our TA in Amsterdam and signed up for a city tour which would drop us at the airport at its conclusion where we were staying overnight to catch an early flight the next morning. They assured us our luggage would be first off so we wouldn't miss the tour. Liar, liar, pants on fire. One bag was missing. Finally had to give it up unless we wanted to miss the tour. The claim form they give you is absolutely worthless as far as trying to collect insurance on it. All it is is a description of the bag, where you are staying, your home address. The rest is full of words like "we're not responsible." Heck, you couldn't even prove you even gave them a bag to start with with that piece of paper. They said they would find our bag and forward it to the hotel.

 

At the hotel, no bag was there so around 4:00 we started getting serious about tracing it. The hotel found us a phone number of the Amsterdam port authority. We were redirected to two other phone numbers and finally ended up with someone in the general lost and found department of the port. He said he would have to go to the general warehouse and look for it. Cynical me figured he would hang up the phone, get some dinner, come back and say he looked and looked, no bag.

 

Surprise! He located the bag. He had it sent to our hotel later that evening. Mind you, not only did Celebrity have our information on their useless claim form, if they had opened up the unlocked bag, right on top was a printed itinerary we left for our family and neighbors detailing where we would be by date, addresses, phone numbers, etc. if they needed to get in touch with us.

 

The colored luggage tags were still attached so it wasn't a matter of them falling/ripped off. In fact, there were two on the bag as I always put at least two and even three if I can.

 

I can just about guarantee you if we hadn't been like a pit bull with a bone, we would never have seen that bag again. We were lucky we were staying that night; lucky we got a nice fellow to track it down. Once the cruise is over, you are toast as far as the cruise line goes.

 

I have two friends whose bags were lost between the disembarkation port and the airport when they were taking the bus transport from the cruise line. They never saw them again.

 

Cruise line said the transport lost it, transport said they never got it. A letter from an attorney (one of them's daughter) to the cruise to get reimbursed through the insurance they purchased from the cruise line changed the cruise line's story. "Prove you ever gave us the bag." Finally, many months later, one got reimbursed. Unfortunately, the other one passed away before the resolution and her estate didn't want to chase it.

 

I am, also, nervous about leaving my bag out in a hallway where anyone could get to it. Not that I have anything of value in it but the inconvenience of something taken out or worse, yet, something put into it. I don't know how a fellow criminal would retrieve the dope or whatever once I'm on shore but I don't want to find out the hard way

 

I disembark my own luggage from here on out even if it is a steamer trunk (lol).

 

Tucker in Texas

[smltwngrl76]

...........I have two friends whose bags were lost between the disembarkation port and the airport when they were taking the bus transport from the cruise line. They never saw them again.

.............

 

 

Ooooh, wonderful. We purchased the transfer from pier to airport from RCCL. Never thought about how that might affect what we need to do with our luggage. Will we even be permitted to do self debarkation?

 

One good thing is, my suitcase is hot pink with a neon green tie around the handle. :D

[retiredonthesea]

We also have our name printed on the straps of our bags, but also have a copy of each or our passports along with address and phone number in each of our bags. Never have had a trouble in the 13 cruises we've taken, but you just never know what might happen. We each have a "Screamin Eagle" Harley Davidson rolling duffle bags and have had many a person comment on how cool they are--just hope that someone doesn't try to take them on purpose!:eek:

[Tucker in Texas]

Ooooh, wonderful. We purchased the transfer from pier to airport from RCCL. Never thought about how that might affect what we need to do with our luggage. Will we even be permitted to do self debarkation?

 

One good thing is, my suitcase is hot pink with a neon green tie around the handle. :D

 

I would disembark with it and stand by the bus until I see them put it on if you can do that. Not sure how they handle the luggage for those that sign up for the transfer.

 

However, I would suspect they would let you tote your luggage to the bus because people will have carry-on's that they need the last night/early morning that would need to be stowed in the cargo bay.

 

Tucker in Texas

[Desertbelle]

After one of our cruises ending in Ft. Lauderdale, we couldn't find our large duffel bag that had most of our shoes, snorkeling gear and a lot of misc. items. My husband headed home (I was staying in Florida for a week more with my parents) and I dealt with the cruise line. They were less than helpful but promised to keep in touch.

 

The next morning at about 5 am I received a phone call on my cell phone from a Greyhound Bus driver who found my bag on her bus in MISSISSIPPI!!! Apparently it got loaded on her bus at the cruise terminal and when everyone in Mississippi got off it was sitting there all by itself. Fortunately, I make luggage tags for every trip that includes our itinerary, phones, etc. So it was easy for her to get in touch with me. The driver promised she would put the bag on a Greyhound to Las Vegas and a few days later the local Greyhound station called me to tell me it had arrived. The cable ties were untouched and the bag was in excellent condition. We were very relieved!

 

BTW the cruise line NEVER called me.

[kyriecat]

I've bought luggage straps similar to the ones below from Walmart or Target. I think they were $5 or $6 for two. They are about 1.5" wide and come in several colors. I used a black Sharpie marker to write my last name in a couple places on the straps. So far it has worked well, but we have neon blue suitcases. The addition of orange/red straps makes them extra visable. I also put one of my business cards with my cell phone number written on the back in all the pockets and inside the suitcase so if the tags go missing, someone can call me. I carry spare luggage tags with me so if one comes off I can replace it.

 

So far, I've only had my luggage mixed up once, but that was before I got unique luggage. Someone grabbed my bag from the luggage carousel at the airport. I saw theirs, which looked exactly like mine, but didn't take it because I checked the tags. Hubby and I had cross-packed so we had one bag of clothes but not the other and we were leaving on a cruise the next morning. We finally gave up waiting, filled out the missing luggage paperwork with the airline, and went to our hotel. Fortunately I had put my cell phone number in my bag. We got a call from the family that took the bag. Oddly enough, they were in the same hotel as us and even on the same cruise. We got the bag back but they had to go back to the airport to get theirs. Hopefully they learned to check tags.

 

[CaptData]

Yes. They lost my wheelchair (folding one). They found it 6 months later. I had already replaced it. Told them to give it to the nearest VA hospital as I am a veteran from Canada.

[vickiw0318]

To the first time cruiser who purchased the transfers....

 

If possible, I would just cancel the purchase and take a cab. I used to purchase the transfers all the time, but now I have found that cab fare to the airport in a lot of ports is the same cost as the transfers - especially if there are two of you. Just do a little research and compare the cost. You don't have to wait for the bus to fill and you'll remain in control of your bags.

[pollux]

No matter how you mark your bag it still can get lost.

The 2 times my got lost my bag was green and I painted the whole bag with flowers stripes it was so ugly my family said no one will ever have the nerve to walk the streets with that bag.

Sorry twice someone took it or left it somewhere.

Yes, it did always return to me later.

[Reijo]

We also put a red and white polka dotted ribbon on our bags. They're easy to spot. Actually, on our last three cruises, we've rolled off our own luggage. This last cruise was a breeze!

[HMH G]

Not to me, but it sure beats losing luggage BEFORE the cruise!!!! At least, you have stuff at home to wear!

 

 

Very true!!! I will never fly out the morning of the cruise ever again!

 

Our flights ran a little late, and all of our luggage missed the connecting flight. We show up in Fort Lauderdale and the luggage is no where to be seen! We were told they ended up in Georgia, and were being transferred on the next available flight. They expected the bags to be in within an hour of the cruise leaving, but if they didn't make by then they would be sent to our first stop, Nassau. Thankfully the bags arrived just minutes before the cruise left! :eek:

 

Oh, and I agree with whoever said to double up on the luggage ID tags. My husband's tag ended up ripping or falling off (it looked fairly heavy duty to me) so they only other way they could identify it was by the red ribbons we tied around the zipper.

 

Lesson learned!

[nicelypub@aol.com]

We just got a call from Royal Caribbean, and our bag was found at the port. They're shipping it out today. Yay!!!!!

[Puffinater]

We just got a call from Royal Caribbean, and our bag was found at the port. They're shipping it out today. Yay!!!!!

 

Gotta love a happy ending:D

[Sharon Sails]

I KEEP MY LUGGAGE WITH ME AT ALL TIMES! When we went on our TA in May, they couldn't find our bags. We were frantic! By 8 p.m., they had finally "found" our luggage. It sure was a fright. This trip (Cananda/New England on the 15th--this Sat.) I am carrying my luggage on and off MYSELF. It will NOT leave me. This is your best option if it's doable. We've done it before and have always been glad we have done so.

 

Sharon