Furious with Holland America!

[Seago2]

Very cogent post considering your well justified anger. Of course it's HAL's responsibility and no one else's. The question is their limitation of liability as spelled out on your cruise contract. Seems pretty clear. However, one would think that they would go the extra mile to keep a passenger happy in such a clear cut instance as this (it wasn't as though you were sneaking the bags home in your purse). The repeated delays in getting back to you are inexcusable.

 

Just as a side note: I've had an issue with a key card on a cruise and it's enough to drive you out of your mind. By the fourth or fifth card when they helpfully tell you you might be demagnetizing them with a cell phone or another card (does no good to say you haven't picked up your phone or a credit card in days) you can get really peeved. Standing in line repeatedly for the same thing is not the way to spend your cruise.

 

ETA: where are the bags? One need only think of the repeated instances where postal carriers or UPS guys throw items away. They just had a guy in the news this week throwing packages in a ravine. Who knows...

Edited July 8, 2014 by Seago2

[solocanadian]

Come on Hank..Let's not be so quick to blame HAL..How do you know that another person other than a HAL employee didn't take their luggage from the terminal?

 

Airlines take from one week & sometimes up to a month looking for lost luggage.. On the back of airline tickets there is a caveat about what an airline will pay for lost luggage..Some only pay $200 max..As another poster mentioned HAL has it in writing that they are only responsible for loses up to $100..

 

Suggest you read this article:

 

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/rights-luggage-lost-50128.html

 

The OP had a theft on another cruise line several years ago & was even told by many people to next time purchase insurance & she still doesn't purchase insurance..

 

We've been purchasing flood & hurricane insurance for 27 years & have never had a flood or never had a hurricane hit our town.. But if a flood or hurricane hits tomorrow & damages our home, we will have the insurance to repair or replace our damages..

 

On Page 6 of HAL's "Know Before You Go" booklet it reads:

 

Quote BAGGAGE POLICIES & PACKING ADVICE

Baggage Insurance: Although we try to handle your bags

carefully while they are in our possession, please be aware that

Holland America Line cannot guarantee there will be no loss

of, or damage to, your baggage or belongings. For this reason,

we suggest you purchase baggage insurance before you leave

home. Your travel advisor can provide you with additional

information if you are interested in this option. Unquote

 

When you've been hit once & warned about insurance would you not have the common sense to protect yourself the next time? I'm sorry the OP & her Mom had to go through this, & hope their luggage will be found but this should be another lesson learned

I had a large black suitcase go missing at San Fransisco after a Canal cruise. I had to carry on to the airport to check in to my flight. Cell phones were not prominent then and I had to keep phoning Hal on a pay phone. My bag finally showed up and I was paged to go to curbside at the airport. I was already in the departure lounge. This was before 9/11 so security was not that tight. Long story short, Hal limo driver said some one else had probably taken my bag and didn't notice it right away. Just goes to show you that this kind of thing can happen.

[navybankerteacher]

I agree that it is beyond the bounds of coincidence that both bags from one cabin are missing and agree they never made it to the terminal.

 

It is not beyond any bounds of coincidence that both bags from one cabin are missing. The fact is that the two bags, together, were handled in an usual (if not unique) fashion. What would actually be hard to understand would be if one was available while the other vanished. This is not to say that a passenger should not be able to assume that bags handed to a steward the night before debarking would be taken off the ship - but speculating on there being an unlikely coincidence misses the point entirely.

[Surreyman]

When I got to the bit where you said you had no insurance to cover lost luggage, you lost any sympathy I had, sorry.

 

Stuff can be lost or stolen anywhere in the world. Insurance is essential.

[serendipity1499]

 

Originally Posted by serendipity1499 View Post For some reason you are quoting me Serendipity 1499..But I didn't write that..Rochelle did..I don't understand what is happening as this now is the second time I've been misquoted..Please see your above post..

 

thanks..

 

SNIP

 

I may have missed this, but have you been in contact with the port itself? I would bet a decent sum of money on this issue being a port one and not a HAL one. I don't believe your bag is sitting on the ship - they need space and clean that out completely.

 

My guess:

A) Your bag is in the ocean - I've seen this happen before, once in Boston and once in Colombia.

B) Your bag was stolen, either on purpose or inadvertently. This could be by a cruiser or a port employee.

C) Your bag is sitting somewhere - maybe in a lost and found - at the port itself. It's been a while now and likely abandoned property so chances of getting it back IMO or slim to none.

 

Agree that one bag could fall into the water but two, I would doubt.. However , No 2 or 3 are other possibilities..

[travelinjones]

This thread made us curious at the requirements for US Airlines when they completely lose your luggage.

 

According to the Airline Consumer Protection website of the US Department of Transportation, the airline may limit the settlement for lost bags -- but the limit is $3,300 per passenger-- not anywhere close to HAL's supposed $100 limit. (see language from website below)

---------------------------------

If your bag is lost, damaged, delayed or pilfered, the airline is free to invoke a limit on the settlement that it offers you. The current limits are:

 

Domestic passenger trips: $3,300 per passenger

 

International passenger trips: 1,131 Special Drawing Rights per passenger. See http://www.imf.org for the current value of a Special Drawing Right.

 

 

If the depreciated value of your bags and their contents are more than these limits, you may want to ask the airline if it sells "excess valuation" to increase the limits. Or you can purchase travel insurance that will supplement the airline coverage. Some elite credit cards provide such coverage automatically if your airline ticket is charged to that card.

-----------------------------------------------------

Edited July 8, 2014 by travelinjones

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...If the depreciated value of your bags and their contents are more than these limits, you may want to ask the airline if it sells "excess valuation" to increase the limits...

 

I think depreciated value is the key term here. Unless your stuff is almost new, with receipts to back up your claim, my guess is they give you next to nothing. That is the way homeowners insurance works, in my experience, unless you pay extra for replacement value.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Ryndam2002

[USN59-79]

This thread made me curious as to what insurance my credit card provides for lost luggage. I have American Express associated with Costco. Looks like they will pay $1250 per person plus an additional $250 for high value items like jewelry. The caveat is that the ticket must be bought with the AMEX card. Not a lot, but better than $100.

[serendipity1499]

I think depreciated value is the key term here. Unless your stuff is almost new, with receipts to back up your claim, my guess is they give you next to nothing. That is the way homeowners insurance works, in my experience, unless you pay extra for replacement value.

 

Agree completely... We have replacement value on our Homeowners Insurance & it is not cheap! Also have a high deductible on the flood policy..

 

If we have a disaster, we have to show receipts &/or pictures of the items we are claiming were lost or damaged..

[waASPCrusier]

When I got to the bit where you said you had no insurance to cover lost luggage, you lost any sympathy I had, sorry.

 

Stuff can be lost or stolen anywhere in the world. Insurance is essential.

 

Where does the OP say she doesn't have insurance ? The OP only said they didn't buy extra insurance. Most people are covered fine between credit cards and homeowners for this specific case in regards to luggage, as evident to what USN59-79 said. Now before anybody jumps in not in the least talking about medical/evacuation coverage.

[peaches from georgia]

It is not beyond any bounds of coincidence that both bags from one cabin are missing. The fact is that the two bags, together, were handled in an usual (if not unique) fashion. What would actually be hard to understand would be if one was available while the other vanished. This is not to say that a passenger should not be able to assume that bags handed to a steward the night before debarking would be taken off the ship - but speculating on there being an unlikely coincidence misses the point entirely.

Actually I am entirely agreeing with you and maybe wasn't clear. I don't think it is a coincidence at all that both are missing; whatever was done with one was done with both of them at the same time. Chalking it up to coincidence that it just happened to be that both these bags from one cabin disappeared separately and had nothing to do with each other, in other words that it was sheer coincidence that they both are missing, is not believable.

 

Whatever happened to both those bags happened at the same time and it appears it happened at the time they were turned over in the elevator lobby when both bags were together. If they were put in the large luggage bins with other luggage they no longer would have been handled together.

[soccerpapi]

I am sorry this happened to you. I hope you get your bags back.

 

It appears that something went wrong when you gave your bags to the guys at the elevator or someone picked up your bags before you got to the terminal to claim them.

 

My guess would be that something happened to the bags the night you handed them over near the elevator and did not leave the bags outside your door. It seems to be the most likely scenario, since both bags are missing.

 

After the bags are taken from the hallway, they are placed on carts and in bins with many other bags. This is my reasoning that the 2 bags were misdirected, stolen or lost at the beginning of the process. Once the bags were mixed with others, it would be very strange that they would both be missing.

 

Best of luck with resolving this issue.

 

soccer

[rochelle_s]

 

One question. I just reread the entire thread and didn't see this answered specifically- when you gave your 2 bags to the cabin steward(s) in the elevator lobby, were they added to a pile of other luggage in the lobby that had already been collected from the hallways by the stewards or were yours the only 2 bags in the lobby at that time? I think this is important. If yours were the only 2 bags with these stewards in the elevator lobby somehow starting right then they never made it to the luggage bins where all the luggage is taken to go to the terminal. If they were added to a pile of a lot of other luggage right there in the elevator lobby when you handed the 2 bags to the steward it is beyond belief that by coincidence your 2 bags were the only ones that didn't make it to the terminal.

 

Our new friends were in cabin 128. When we were leaving the stewards were in the white crew area in the middle of the ship. This is where we saw them and I asked about the time for the bags being out. They said as soon as possible and I said okay I will go get them now..

 

We crossed through the atrium/landing area to our side of the ship to cabin 177. I took our two bags and instead of just leaving them at the end of our little hallway I just kept going with them (it was likely less than 100 feet). It front of the elevators was where they were standing. I handed off the two bags. I said "Terima kasih" (thank you) to which they all responded with a pleasant "Sama-sama". I then went down the stairs and to the casino.

 

I honestly cannot recall if there were additional bags right there in front of the elevators. There were definitely plenty of bags in the white crew area behind the elevators, a mere few feet away.

 

As for it being my 'fault' as someone else stated because I broke with 'procedure' I cannot agree. To me it was just natural to keep walking towards them with the bag as opposed to getting there and saying "Okay they are out now "and pointing in the direction of my cabin....Like I was telling a dog to fetch a bone.

 

Hope the deck pic gives a better idea.

 

 

Rochelle

[Laminator]

 

As to the security. yes there were dogs present. I saw two with their handlers. What their exact role was I could not tell you. I agree that the extra security did not seem to be interested in the passengers at all. My point was just that security was heightened in the area. That combined with the remote location makes it next to impossible for some stranger to walk up and make off with two suitcases.

 

We saw only a couple of the large carts for luggage. There were two in use for the luggage being shipped from the Grand Voyage passengers, which we checked three times for ours bags. Then there was one that had the incoming crews luggage on it. This was brought from another area for us to check just in case. No luck with these larger carts.

 

There were maybe three porters working. They had hand held dollies and not big racks of luggage. Even if they were over zealous how did they manage to scoop two extra bags and those two bags be from the same cabin?

 

 

Rochelle

 

I simply feel that is the most likely scenario. It may have been pax who simply pointed the bags out from a distance to the porter as they looked similar. An honest mistake that does not help you at all. Who knows.

 

We cruise HAL often on specific Club 21 sponsored events. Club 21 sets it up where several of us are the last ones to leave the ship. On our last cruise while we were sitting in the Neptune Lounge waiting to leave I received a phone call from a HAL rep letting us know we forgot our luggage. I told them we were still on the ship. I thought it was a nice gesture.

[rochelle_s]

Just as a side note: I've had an issue with a key card on a cruise and it's enough to drive you out of your mind. By the fourth or fifth card when they helpfully tell you you might be demagnetizing them with a cell phone or another card (does no good to say you haven't picked up your phone or a credit card in days) you can get really peeved. Standing in line repeatedly for the same thing is not the way to spend your cruise.

 

Even worse when you have to go pee!:eek:

[chrispb]

I'm surprised that HAL's insurance only covers up to $600 - not worth having in my opinion. Or did I read that right?

 

OP Hope your luggage turns up.

[Surreyman]

Where does the OP say she doesn't have insurance ? The OP only said they didn't buy extra insurance. Most people are covered fine between credit cards and homeowners for this specific case in regards to luggage, as evident to what USN59-79 said. Now before anybody jumps in not in the least talking about medical/evacuation coverage.

 

She says she didn't purchase insurance to cover her possessions. If she is covered through credit card or in some other way she should claim through them, but she is silent on that point. However the fact that she believes HAL should pay and doesn't discuss her own insurance would suggest a lack of coverage.

 

Things go missing, get lost, get stolen, that's life and you insure against it, or effectively self-insure.

 

Cruise lines and airlines will only pay out the basic required by law so unless you only pack a t shirt or two, you will have to look elsewhere.

[peaches from georgia]

..........

I honestly cannot recall if there were additional bags right there in front of the elevators. There were definitely plenty of bags in the white crew area behind the elevators, a mere few feet away.

 

As for it being my 'fault' as someone else stated because I broke with 'procedure' I cannot agree. To me it was just natural to keep walking towards them with the bag as opposed to getting there and saying "Okay they are out now "and pointing in the direction of my cabin....Like I was telling a dog to fetch a bone.

 

Hope the deck pic gives a better idea.

 

 

Rochelle

If it sounded like I was blaming you for breaking procedure, I wasn't at all. I was just interested if at the point you handed your 2 bags to a steward there was other luggage around the lobby that your bags were added to or if your bags were alone and separate from other luggage. If both your bags ever got mixed with all the other luggage it just isn't possible that only your 2 bags went missing but no others.

[RDC1]

There have been several reports of missing/stolen luggage on just about all of the cruise lines in European Ports. More that seem of the all the luggage from a given cabin variety.

 

Now if you look at how the luggage from a given cabin might all vanish some of the possibilities are tags not applied, incorrect tags applied, luggage ending up in the same container and container miss routed or stolen, luggage miss routed dur to error in handling (someone misread tags), luggage having the same brand and is intentionally targeted to be stolen.

 

The cruise line bag handling process works pretty well, but it does not have a good process for correcting errors. For example if a bag gets misrouted there is really not a process to track it down and get it back. The cruise line doesn't really care because their loss is low and the error rate is low enough that those that stop cruising with them due to a problem is not a large number and does not impact their bottom line. The cost of implementing a better solution will more negatively impact their bottom line.

 

Whenever I cruise I always get travel insurance that provides coverage up to $3000 per passenger. I also use a credit card that also provides up to $3000 per passenger (gives me two alternatives to file and the credit card provides better coverage for purchase of items to cover the gap in case they are found at some point) When I check a bag for disembarkation I always put two tags on each bag, as well as contact information and travel schedule inside of a pocket on the bag. Every cruise you can see some bags sitting off to the side because the tags are missing (either not put on or ripped off in the process)

[waASPCrusier]

She says she didn't purchase insurance to cover her possessions. If she is covered through credit card or in some other way she should claim through them, but she is silent on that point. However the fact that she believes HAL should pay and doesn't discuss her own insurance would suggest a lack of coverage.

 

Things go missing, get lost, get stolen, that's life and you insure against it, or effectively self-insure.

 

Cruise lines and airlines will only pay out the basic required by law so unless you only pack a t shirt or two, you will have to look elsewhere.

 

Actually when it was brought up to the OP about credit card coverage she said she was going to look into it. Now granted it was 14 hours ago...she should have been back with an update on that.....:rolleyes:

 

I use a credit card for everything, from the benefits of points/cash back, the extra insurance, secondary receipts, and the ability to float the money for up to 45 days how can you go wrong.

 

Check the benefits you receive with the credit card you used to pay for the trip. My credit card covers up to $5000 for lost luggage. Maybe you can file a claim with them.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. That is worth a try.

 

 

Rochelle

[rochelle_s]

If it sounded like I was blaming you for breaking procedure, I wasn't at all. I was just interested if at the point you handed your 2 bags to a steward there was other luggage around the lobby that your bags were added to or if your bags were alone and separate from other luggage. If both your bags ever got mixed with all the other luggage it just isn't possible that only your 2 bags went missing but no others.

 

I did not think you were blaming me. A couple of others had. I just added that in there as it seemed topic appropriate. I probably should have been more clear especially as I had started off with quoting you.

 

 

Rochelle

[Surreyman]

Actually when it was brought up to the OP about credit card coverage she said she was going to look into it. Now granted it was 14 hours ago...she should have been back with an update on that.....:rolleyes:

 

I use a credit card for everything, from the benefits of points/cash back, the extra insurance, secondary receipts, and the ability to float the money for up to 45 days how can you go wrong.

 

Oh yes, so long as you remain master of your credit card and pay it all of by the due date it is effectively a free loan with benefits.

[SmokeOnTheWater71]

First off you don't get sick with cold air in the casino that's not true.Next people that steal for a living know what their doing you left your bags with people you don't know were they your cabin guys or some one else. Think if both bags were missing that means you where targeted the bags were taged the other people saw took the bags and that's it.Now if your bages were labled with your name phone number address 99% of people would return your luggage if your told to leave your bags out side your cabin do it don't give them to anybody by the elevator not a good idea and you can't fight co. polices face it their gone we all make mistakes just don't leave your bags wher they aren't suppose to be.

[sppunk]

This also reaffirms my position to always self disembark and carry our luggage off ourselves. Granted many won't have this ability due to mobility issues or some other thing but I tend to really want to never let my bags out of my sight.

[waASPCrusier]

Oh yes, so long as you remain master of your credit card and pay it all of by the due date it is effectively a free loan with benefits.

 

Exactly, something not all people understand, my rule if you can't afford to pay for it when you charge it, dont :)