In Amsterdam, but no luggage

[MoneyGuy]

Cruise leaves in two days. We got here about 12 hours ago and no word from KLM. I don't know which airline lost it but someone had better find it. Any advice?

[paul929207]

I would call the last airline to see status of luggage. Verify they have addresses for when and where you will be.

[LHT28]

Keep checking with the airline

 

Do you have the baggage claim tickets ...can they trace them that way?

At least you have some time to get them before the cruise

best of luck

[Keith1010]

I would call the airline and also ask for someone at the airport who is a supervisor.

 

Hopefully they will find it.

 

Keith

[6rugrats]

Cruise leaves in two days. We got here about 12 hours ago and no word from KLM. I don't know which airline lost it but someone had better find it. Any advice?

Need more information. Did you file a missing bag claim before you left the airport (I hope).

 

What was the last airline you were on before arrival?

[donaldsc]

Also plan for the worse and make plans as to where you are going to go to buy a lot of stuff fast - just in case.

 

 

DON

[cb at sea]

You've got 2 days....that gives you a cushion! Hopefully, your itinerary and phone number are in an unlocked, outside pocket of the bags.....so they'll know who it belongs to and how to contact you.

 

Good luck! I sure would hate this to be a start to my vacation!

[barante]

So here is a guy turning to us for help -- when he knows he should be dealing with airlines -- after advertising himself in previous posts as a financial expert who has saved a pile of money by refusing to buy insurance.

I guess it says something about the authority of CC that one would appeal to us, from Amsterdam.

[6rugrats]

So here is a guy turning to us for help -- when he knows he should be dealing with airlines -- after advertising himself in previous posts as a financial expert who has saved a pile of money by refusing to buy insurance.

I guess it says something about the authority of CC that one would appeal to us, from Amsterdam.

You are right. I note this post from the OP:

 

I can't believe the buy in on cancellation insurance. I can pretty much guarantee that every one of you will pay more for the insurance than you'd lose if you didn't have it. Take all the payouts and jack them up by 40% and that's what they take in.

 

I'm an insurance agent. I've never bought it and have never needed it and have saved more than the cost of a missed trip.

 

I'd have to totally disagree with this post. I purchased a trip insurance policy for ~$105. Had to cancel the trip due to medical problems. My claim is for ~$4000. Seems a good trade off to me.

 

Perhaps if OP had purchased travel insurance, he could simply call the insurance company and get some help from them.

[Essiesmom]

My agent automatically purchases travel insurance from TravelGuard. With your policy, you get barcode stickers/tags for your luggage that tell them where a lost bag should go...EM

[maryann ns]

If you did not immediately file a claim at the airport you have a big problem. If you did and they find your luggage they will get it to you, even flying it to the next port for your ship.

 

We lost luggage at the Amsterdam airport many years ago. It was our fault as we did not have back up id labels, let alone the itinerary, etc. in an outside pocket.

 

We were able to describe it and it was found (at our stopover airport because all the labels had come off). It was delivered to our B&B in Amsterdam.

 

We lost skis coming home from a ski trip (actually I think the plane was overloaded and they removed a lot of bags) and they delivered them to our local ski hill the next morning so we could go skiing.

 

Lessons to learn as others have said:

 

1. Label baggage well and put information in the pockets.

 

2. Always have travel insurance.

 

3. Always have a change of clothes in your carry on.

 

4. Cross pack if travelling with others.

 

With insurance money you could buy clothes and other essentials to get you through a few days.

[klauer]

Some practical advice would be to buy a few things that you will need if your luggage doesn't arrive on the ship when you depart. I did this in San Juan when my luggage didn't arrive at baggage claim, and Delta's computer system was down so I didn't have any assurance that my bags were actually being traced. Suprisingly the luggage arrived at my cabin door before dinner! Everything I bought was stuff that I eventually used/wore.

[SadieN]

Obviously too late for OP but on the luggage tag I always out our destination and our office addresses and phone numbers on our luggage tags.

 

OP might not believe in trip cancellation insurance but now he probably wishes for lost luggage insurance.

 

Another reason we try to always do carryon.

[barante]

Even though I think the OP got a dose of poetic justice dealt on him in Amsterdam, in the spirit of charity and goodwill I hope he will get his lost luggage back. Insured or not, a total loss in the ever-changeable European weather can be a disaster. Not only could it turn a vacation into nightmare but the financial consequences could be considerable.

Didn't include that into your calculations, MoneyGuy, did you? Hope this will change your scummy attitude. The rest of us are not stupid.

[fleckle]

Cruise leaves in two days. We got here about 12 hours ago and no word from KLM. I don't know which airline lost it but someone had better find it. Any advice?

We travel a lot and have had this happen enough times throughout the years that it is no big deal to us.

That is why we always carry all necessities and enough clothing to get by for at least 3 or 4 days in our carry-on bags.

 

If our checked luggage does not show up at airport baggage claim, we simply file the missing luggage report, get a tracking number, and head for our hotel. There is absolutely no need to go shopping for anything because we have everything that we really need with us.

 

A missing bag is a minor annoyance, but hardly a major catastrophe.

9 times out of 10 missing bags turn up on the next flight, or the next day, and are delivered to you.

 

Just notify the front desk at your hotel so that they will be expecting it and will accept it for you if it arrives while you are out or asleep.

 

You were smart to get to Amsterdam two days early. The odds are strongly in your favor that your checked luggage will show up and you will have it before you need to board the ship for your cruise.

 

But even if it should not, the European ports are so close together that your bags can catch up with you at a down line port if necessary.

 

You did file a missing luggage report at airport baggage claim when you landed, didn't you?

 

If you fly with major airlines, they typically give you a tracking number for each bag that lets you track its progress by phone, or online, or both. Most hotel rooms have internet access these days so you can track the progress of your missing luggage right from your hotel room or lobby.

 

It is very rare that luggage is really lost. Most of the time it is simply delayed or mis-routed.

 

Good luck! Hope you will come back here and let us know how it works out.

[CapeCodCruiser]

Hopefully your luggage will catch up with you - most of the time it does.

 

After a couple of close calls with checked luggage we decided we had used up all of our grace and the next one would be lost forever. For the past 15 yrs we have traveled only with carry-on - no worries that way and we don't haul around a bunch of stuff we don't really need or use!

[ab0si]

I really do not understand the gleeful comments regarding insurance. Trust me, folks, the expected claims are lower than the premium. This simply means that over sufficient occurrences insurance will cost, not save, you money. It is SUPPOSED to work that way. Insurance is useful when the amount of loss is greater than one can comfortably handle .. you are paying for your losses being smoothed out, that's all.

[sail7seas]

OP,

I hope you luggage catches up with you before you board.

I'd hate if our luggage got lost no matter how much I had in our carryons.

We keep absolute necessities with us but I want our clothes, shoes and whatever else I packed. If I didn't want it, I wouldn't have packed it. ;)

 

Good luck.

[MoneyGuy]

So here is a guy turning to us for help -- when he knows he should be dealing with airlines -- after advertising himself in previous posts as a financial expert who has saved a pile of money by refusing to buy insurance.

I guess it says something about the authority of CC that one would appeal to us, from Amsterdam.

 

Thanks for your understanding. I won´t get into the reason for my philosophies on insurnace now.

 

 

 

 

We flew Westjet then KLM. We have made a report with KLM. All the necessary reportsare filed as required and we have tracking numbers and so on. Still nothing but I hope it shows up in the next 24 hours. It´s amazing all the stuff you have to replace. I hope it´s not necessary but we have to plan for the worst.

 

Thanks to all for the advice. We´re still working on it and are hopeful.

[maryann ns]

Another thing I have learned to do is take a photo of what I have packed. If nothing else it will remind me of what is missing. Even more important is a photo of each piece of luggage. These are on my camera and can be of great help when filing a missing luggage report.

[LHT28]

We flew Westjet then KLM. We have made a report with KLM. All the necessary reportsare filed as required and we have tracking numbers and so on.

Just curious

Do Westjet transfer luggage to KLM flights???

If not it may still be back in the airport where you changed planes unless you rechecked the bags with KLM

May have even been sent to your home if you did not claim them

 

Just a thought

 

Enjoy the shopping trip :D

[ab0si]

Just curious

Do Westjet transfer luggage to KLM flights???

If not it may still be back in the airport where you changed planes unless you rechecked the bags with KLM

May have even been sent to your home if you did not claim them

 

Just a thought

 

Enjoy the shopping trip :D

 

Yes, WestJet has a luggage agreement with KLM

[LHT28]

Yes, WestJet has a luggage agreement with KLM

 

Good to know

Thanks

73's

[travelfirst]

My luggage didn't arrive in Venice in October but I was staying in a hotel overnight and after I got on the cruise ship the next day the luggage did arrive.

We had filed a report at the airport when we realized our luggage wasn't there. That is the first time in all the years of travelling that my luggage didn't arrive with me..

I always pack a bit of everything in my carryon so I could get by if I had to.

 

I have booked my flight to Amsterdam for March with KLM, I have never flown with them but thought the non stop flight was better than going with Lufthansa and making that long run through the Frankfurt airport again.

Hopefully my luggage will arrive with me.

[fleckle]

When you check a bag for international flights, they either tag it through to your final destination, or to a connecting airport where you need to claim the bag and re-check it.

 

Your baggage claim check stub should show the intended routing (airport codes and flight numbers) for however far the bag was checked.

 

Looking at your claim stub will show the final destination to which they checked it, something you should always do in any case as soon as you check a bag for any flight.

Many airport codes are similar, varying by only one letter.

 

But just because a bag is tagged to go on certain flights does not mean it will necessarily be routed that way.

 

If your bag doesn't show up at the final airport listed on your claim stub, it is important to file an official report and have the relevant information entered into the computer system. Never assume that the airline would just go by instructions someone wrote on a piece of paper and stuck into a pocket of the bag.