Luggage Tags New Cruisers Beware

[Ocean Boy]

Celebrity is the only line I've sailed in the last few years that still sends luggage tags. RCI, HAL, Princess, and Carnival all require you to print your own. With the exception of Royal Caribbean, even suite guests print their own.

 

It's not a big deal. In the general scheme of things, it's certainly not worth getting all worked up because you have to print tags.

 

And they don't even require it. Since the change we just show up at the port, tell the porter we need tags, and he writes them out and attaches them. So now his tip actually gets me a bit more service than just moving our luggage two feet onto the cart from where I dropped it on the ground.

[gritsnc]

I guess it boils down to expectations. It takes me all of 5 minutes to print 3 tags in color. No issue for us.

 

Do they have to be printed in color? I printed mine at work and we only have black and white ink. Oops. I guess I'll have to print my tags from home.

[Aquahound]

Black and white is fine....as long as the room number and ship quadrant is visible.

 

(my quote function isn't working for some reason)

[akcruz]

Do they have to be printed in color? I printed mine at work and we only have black and white ink. Oops. I guess I'll have to print my tags from home.

 

Black and white is fine....as long as the room number and ship quadrant is visible.

 

(my quote function isn't working for some reason)

Yes they can be black and white. Realized we were one tag short on a recent cruise. Went to the hotel service center and made a black and white photocopy. No issues at all. As Aquahound stated just make sure your info is clearly visible and you will be fine.

 

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

[robtulipe]

Do they have to be printed in color? I printed mine at work and we only have black and white ink. Oops. I guess I'll have to print my tags from home.

 

Black and white is fine....as long as the room number and ship quadrant is visible.

 

(my quote function isn't working for some reason)

 

We do the same, B/W only and never have had a problem.

In fact for our last and upcoming cruise, both on Anthem, I wonder if these tags are necessary as the porters put on a Royal IQ tracking tag on all of the luggage and we have name tags on. I not sure if that tag visibly show your cabin # so a scanner may have to used for that. I'll have to check that out in just over a week.

Also the luggage tag shows our C&A status if that helps at all expedite us receiving our luggage quickly. :D :confused:

Edited February 27, 2016 by robtulipe

[NewSalt]

I bought the clear plastic luggage tag holders and use them now. It's very easy.

 

But before I had them, I used my laminator to protect the tags. I always volunteered to laminate our travel companions' tags, too. I love using my laminator, but now I have to be content with laminating my insurance cards.

 

I know, small things amuse small minds.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

I bought the clear plastic luggage tag holders and use them now. It's very easy.

 

But before I had them, I used my laminator to protect the tags. I always volunteered to laminate our travel companions' tags, too. I love using my laminator, but now I have to be content with laminating my insurance cards.

 

I know, small things amuse small minds.

For those folks who want to take the easy way to address this matter...

 

Just print out your cruise document last page (with the luggage tag on it) as many times as needed, and slide that paper tag into this clear tag holder:

 

These are inexpensive and durable. We've reused them multiple times:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/store/product.cfm?ID=46

 

Easy Peasy!

[brillohead]

I'd much prefer to save the $35 and print them myself in black and white at home.

 

The lines that send them to you "for free" aren't really doing it for free... they are jacking up the cost of your fare, then sending you "free" tags. :rolleyes: I'd rather save the $35 and use that money to go on a snorkeling excursion instead. :cool:

 

It takes me less than five minutes to print and attach tags.... I certainly don't make $35/five minutes at my job, so that's a no-brainer for me!!! :D

[poncho1973]

I love the analogy, and am a big user of LED bulbs. However, did you mean to say that they cost a fraction of the energy of of old bulbs. Or maybe you are amortizing the cost over the much longer lifetime.

 

I meant both. The cost to run it and the cost over the lifetime.

 

Even the higher up-front cost is coming drastically down. I was in HD the other day and saw a 4-pack of LED bulbs for like $14. A 4-pack of incandescent bulbs used to be like $8-$9 if I remember correctly.

 

 

I'm mostly with you, but the prices and bulb formats aren't quite there yet. We have an open kitchen/family room area that has 17 recessed can fixtures that use PAR30 short neck halogen floods. I'd want to replace them all at the same time so that they all looked the same when turned on. That would cost me $350-400. I'll just keep buying replacement halogens for $6 each as long as my Lowe's still carries them. I wonder if we'll start using lumens rather than referring to equivalent incandescent wattage levels in my lifetime. :)

 

Back to the original thread of making fun of the OP... :D

 

We had the same problem. We wound up doing them in groups. The 3 over the island together, the 4 in the eat-in, the 2 over the sink, etc.

 

We have the BR30s and have some of the same in the hallway and near our linen closet, too. So if 1 in a cluster burned out and I had 2 more that were still fine, I pulled all 3. I just kept the halogens that were still good in the closet and used those to replace the hallway/linen lights.

 

It took about 3 years with all of those spares, but those halogens have a flat awful lifespan, so it wasn't too long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the main subject, even if you print out the entire booklet and the tags at home, it couldn't cost you more than a few cents worth of ink/paper.

[Clarea]

... Even the higher up-front cost is coming drastically down. I was in HD the other day and saw a 4-pack of LED bulbs for like $14. A 4-pack of incandescent bulbs used to be like $8-$9 if I remember correctly. ...

Yes, just in the last year, the prices have come down dramatically, and the selection is much better.

[Biker19]

Even the higher up-front cost is coming drastically down. I was in HD the other day and saw a 4-pack of LED bulbs for like $14. A 4-pack of incandescent bulbs used to be like $8-$9 if I remember correctly.

When the law went into affect I started stocking up - basically bought a 4 pack incandescent (40W or 60W) almost every time I was in either HD or Walmart - on average I paid about $1.50 . BTW, the math only works if the advertised lifespan of the newer bulb is true - I got nowhere near that with the curly fluorescent bulbs, haven't tried LED yet.

[poncho1973]

When the law went into affect I started stocking up - basically bought a 4 pack incandescent (40W or 60W) almost every time I was in either HD or Walmart - on average I paid about $1.50 . BTW, the math only works if the advertised lifespan of the newer bulb is true - I got nowhere near that with the curly fluorescent bulbs, haven't tried LED yet.

 

I can't ever remember paying that little, but good for you. I know every time I bought cheap bulbs they never lasted very long. I would buy the name brand incandescent bulbs back then just to squeeze more life out of them. I've almost forgotten what it's like to constantly have bulbs burning out here and there.

 

 

 

 

I have 2 curly CFLs in my carriage lights outside my garage that have almost 9 years on them so far and they are on from dusk to dawn every single day on a timer. That's exceptional in this Florida heat. I have already purchased LEDs to replace them, but they are holding on to spite me at this point.

 

I have 8 CFLs in 2 of our bathrooms. Also almost 9 years on them.

 

Our master bath has 8 LED that have about 2 years on them. Our LED BR30s have about 5 on the oldest and I just replaced the LAST HALOGEN over the garage door entrance this past weekend. That one doesn't get a ton of use because we usually just walk past it and turn the real lights on, so it lasted forever!

[tinkertwo]

I didn't know any mass market cruise line still

mailed luggage tags free.

 

Disney Cruise Lines does.

 

 

so I am new to rcl. I understand I print them at home but where do these plastic holders come from? if I print them on paper do I just staple them on or use glue? how exactly does this work? and if the paper gets wet it will either blur or crumple and fall off.

anyone help the newby understand???

tia

[Clarea]

Disney Cruise Lines does.

 

 

so I am new to rcl. I understand I print them at home but where do these plastic holders come from? if I print them on paper do I just staple them on or use glue? how exactly does this work? and if the paper gets wet it will either blur or crumple and fall off.

anyone help the newby understand???

tia

Plastic holders:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Cruise-Luggage-Holders-Caribbean-Celebrity/dp/B00M5MDAS0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456759726&sr=8-1&keywords=cruise+luggage+tags+royal+caribbean

 

If you don't want to use the holders, you can fold the paper as directed and staple around the bag handle.

[goneclear]

Disney Cruise Lines does.

 

 

so I am new to rcl. I understand I print them at home but where do these plastic holders come from? if I print them on paper do I just staple them on or use glue? how exactly does this work? and if the paper gets wet it will either blur or crumple and fall off.

anyone help the newby understand???

tia

 

After you print them, they show you how to fold and staple them. You can then cover them with clear tape to protect them or buy the plastic sleeves to put them in. Just go to amazon and search for Royal Caribbean Luggage tag holders. I Use mine over and over again.

[tinkertwo]

Plastic holders:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Cruise-Luggage-Holders-Caribbean-Celebrity/dp/B00M5MDAS0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456759726&sr=8-1&keywords=cruise+luggage+tags+royal+caribbean

 

If you don't want to use the holders, you can fold the paper as directed and staple around the bag handle.

 

thank you!! I just found them on cruise critic but they have wide and narrow and I wasn't sure what I needed (my eyes glassed over just trying to figure it our).

i'll try and order from amazon.com. they may reject my order because we are Canadian and they often will not deliver to us.

 

again, thank you.

[lv2bcruzin]

I actually prefer the printed ones in the plastic tag holders over the mailed ones. We save the mailed ones from our suites just to have as a souvenir, but IMHO they don't look as nice as the ones you print.

 

We actually save a printed one from every cruise, get it laminated, and use as a Christmas tree ornament.

Edited February 29, 2016 by lv2bcruzin

[Clarea]

thank you!! I just found them on cruise critic but they have wide and narrow and I wasn't sure what I needed (my eyes glassed over just trying to figure it our).

i'll try and order from amazon.com. they may reject my order because we are Canadian and they often will not deliver to us.

 

again, thank you.

I like these because of the steel loops and grommets in the plastic tag. These have been very durable for us. We also use them for the departure tags, as I've had a departure tag get ripped off a couple of times, and have to go searching for where they put untagged luggage.

[goneclear]

thank you!! I just found them on cruise critic but they have wide and narrow and I wasn't sure what I needed (my eyes glassed over just trying to figure it our).

i'll try and order from amazon.com. they may reject my order because we are Canadian and they often will not deliver to us.

 

again, thank you.

 

True, certain things Amazon will not ship internationally for what ever reason but you should be fine with the luggage tags. They shipped mine to Trinidad.

[jagsfan]

Disney Cruise Lines does.

 

 

 

 

 

so I am new to rcl. I understand I print them at home but where do these plastic holders come from? if I print them on paper do I just staple them on or use glue? how exactly does this work? and if the paper gets wet it will either blur or crumple and fall off.

 

anyone help the newby understand???

 

tia

 

 

A lot of people wrap clear shipping tape around them and then staple them on. I'm thinking if they're flying they wait till they arrive to attach them. So you have to have access to a stapler.

The first cruise where I had to print my tags, I Googled cruise tag holders and found the ones I've used probably ten times. Now there are a lot of sources, including, I think, the Cruise Critic store.

[FLACRUISER99]

I print mine out 4 per page with this tool then put them in the holders.

http://www3.zansstuff.com/luggage-tags

Edited February 29, 2016 by FLACRUISER99

[brillohead]

If flying in (and so needing to attach them when not at home), you can do it at the hotel front desk as you're checking out -- just ask to borrow their stapler. The Airbnb place I stayed at in Fort Lauderdale had a mini-stapler and a box of staples right there for people to use. :)

 

Another thing you can do (it's a bit more "arts and crafts" than just folding and stapling, but it works and no stapler is needed at your destination) is print and fold them at home, then place a long strip of clear packing tape over the whole thing and leave a couple inches of an extra "tail" of tape hanging over on one end. (Your paper is 11.5" long, so make your tape around 13" or so.)

 

Then take another piece of packing tape, slightly longer than double the length of your "tail" and fold it in half, sticky sides together. This gives you a little tab that you can attach to the sticky part of the "tail" but because it's made of the tape's non-sticky side, the tab can be easily removed. Your luggage tag can now be packed in your suitcase without the tape sticking to anything.

 

(If your tape is wider than the folded luggage tag, just apply the tape to the tag before folding it -- then you won't have any sticky edges hanging over to worry about.)

 

When at your destination, all you have to do is remove and discard the tab (exposing the sticky part of the tail) and then attach the tag to the handle of your bag -- wrap it around and use the sticky tail to attach to the opposite end of the label.

 

Basically, it's like creating "peel-and-stick" labels at home.

[tinkertwo]

True, certain things Amazon will not ship internationally for what ever reason but you should be fine with the luggage tags. They shipped mine to Trinidad.

 

nope, they will not ship to Canada :( . on the bright side though, they have a similar product at amazon.ca that can be shipped to me so I should be good. :)

[robtulipe]

nope, they will not ship to Canada :( . on the bright side though, they have a similar product at amazon.ca that can be shipped to me so I should be good. :)

 

That's why Amazon likely won't ship from the US to Canada as they want you to buy on the Cdn site. ;)

[tinkertwo]

That's why Amazon likely won't ship from the US to Canada as they want you to buy on the Cdn site. ;)

 

they do ship to Canada, its when the private sellers come in to the picture that items will not get shipped. I shop from the .com often as they have movies and books that aren't always offered from .ca and when our dollar was better it was often cheaper to purchase items from .com.

when it comes to the private sellers on amazon, they have the choice as to whether or not they want to bother with the customs and shipping. more often than not they don't.