Luggage Forward

[retafcruiser]

Has anyone used luggage forward to ship luggage after a cruise? I am not talking about sending luggage from the ship to the airport; rather from ship to home. My concern is how it is handled upon disembarkation. Do you have to claim your bags and then find the shipping people? I will be cutting it close to get to the airport and can't spend much time involved with shipping the bags.

[sharks48]

We've done it twice - both times for FLL - and were completely happy with the experience. Really nice not to have to look for your bags in the terminal or fuss with them in the cab. They also printed our boarding passes for us, so, no worrying about that (we were on Southwest, so it matters when you check in).

 

Definitely would do it whenever possible.

[Keith1010]

sharks48. Are you saying you did not have to claim them at the Port Of Everglades.

 

We use Luggage Free and Luggage Concierge but also know that Luggage Forward is a very similar service but we have always had to claim luggage at any USA port, go through customs and then turn it over to the lunge rep.

 

Keith

[avian777]

sharks48. Are you saying you did not have to claim them at the Port Of Everglades.

 

We use Luggage Free and Luggage Concierge but also know that Luggage Forward is a very similar service but we have always had to claim luggage at any USA port, go through customs and then turn it over to the lunge rep.

 

Keith

 

We have had the same experience (3 times) as sharks48 related above.

 

Here's what Luggage Forward says about its service:

 

"Luggage Forward is the most trusted door-to-door luggage delivery service. Shipping luggage ahead to your destination creates a true luxury travel experience. Luggage Forward can send luggage to your hotel, cruise ship, golf course or vacation home within the United States, Europe, Asia, South America, Australia or virtually any other destination. Sending luggage allows you to save time at the airport by avoiding the long check-in lines and skipping the wait at the baggage carousel. Luggage Forward offers a wide range of services to fit the needs of demanding travel schedules including luggage pickup and delivery to any cruise ship. Stop carrying heavy, bulky luggage, golf clubs or skis to and from the airport when you travel. Experience total travel convenience from Doorstep To Destination™ with our luggage shipping service."

 

If you have any questions or concerns not addressed by LF's statement above, I'd suggest you call LF.

 

Smooth sailing!

[janmcn]

Just did it last week on our disembarkation in Ft. Lauderdale.

We had a late afternoon flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Austin, TX after a 3-week Caribbean cruise.

The night before disembarkation, we received our boarding passes (more about that in a minute) and "tags" and put those on our luggage as usual and placed the luggage outside our cabin before bed.

We disembarked in the morning, never having to pick up or see our baggage, and proceeded to a Ft. Lauderdale tour we had signed up for (highly recommend) that toured Ft. Lauderdale and then dropped us at the airport.

 

(Side note here: you turn in your customs papers as you exit the terminal...some people have said that every now and then, people in the Luggage Direct program are singled out and have had their baggage checked, but it's a random thing.)

 

The Caution: The "Boarding passes" you receive (at least in our case for Southwest) were not TRUE Boarding Passes...you need to go to a kiosk or the desk to get the "official BP." You will NEED THAT for TSA and Boarding your flight. I don't know about other airlines, but ours looked official, but was not. It also didn't have my usual "TSA Approved" note on it.

 

We arrived in Austin and our bags came down the chute with everyone else's...fine...no damage...no problems.

 

So...would do it again when we can (not all airports allow it). For $20 per bag it was nice to not have to worry about them.

Edited March 19, 2016 by janmcn

[Cruise NH]

I think the OP is asking about shipping luggage from the ship directly to their home, not to the airport/plane as addressed in some of the answers.

We've done it with Cunard so I can only speak to that. We had our bags shipped from LA to home but we had first stopped in Hawaii so we had already gone through customs there (such as it was).

 

When we got into LA we were told we would have to gather the luggage ourselves and bring it to the shipper, but that didn't happen. The Cunard people had gathered all the 'to be shipped' bags and had already put them aside. That was nice...but it would have been nicer if we had known since we spent some time looking for our bags.

 

Now, if we had not gone through Hawaii first, we understand we would have had to go through customs in LA and would have had to collect our own bags and bring them through ourselves.

 

I don't know your itinerary but I imagine the same would be true. I would think your question on this would be better directed to HAL and not the luggage company.

[durangoscots]

I have done it a number of times at FLL. That is shipped from the ship to my home - not traveling with me to the airport and then home airpot. It left the ship in the usual manner.... I had to pick it up at the terminal and carry it through customs (with the aid of a porter) then handed it off to Luggage shipping who then sent it on to my home. Since I was going to make a detour on the way home, they actually held it for a week before shipping so that I could be at home to receive it.

 

Susan

[retafcruiser]

I had to pick it up at the terminal and carry it through customs (with the aid of a porter) then handed it off to Luggage shipping who then sent it on to my home.

 

Just how hard is it to find the shipper? Since I have never done this, I have never looked to see who was standing around the terminal. I can't waste 30 minutes looking for the shipper.

[RuthC]

Just did it last week on our disembarkation in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

(Side note here: you turn in your customs papers as you exit the terminal...some people have said that every now and then, people in the Luggage Direct program are singled out and have had their baggage checked, but it's a random thing.)

OP is asking about Luggage Forward. You are answering about Luggage Direct. They are not the same thing, so your answer is confusing the issue.

[durangoscots]

Just how hard is it to find the shipper? Since I have never done this, I have never looked to see who was standing around the terminal. I can't waste 30 minutes looking for the shipper.

 

Very easy .... they are just outside the building exit. If you have a porter (and I did since I had two large suitcases) they will take you directly to them. But they are easy to spot.

 

Susan

[KirkNC]

When I looked into this before it seemed very expensive.

[cl.klink]

I have done it a number of times at FLL. That is shipped from the ship to my home - not traveling with me to the airport and then home airpot. It left the ship in the usual manner.... I had to pick it up at the terminal and carry it through customs (with the aid of a porter) then handed it off to Luggage shipping who then sent it on to my home. Since I was going to make a detour on the way home, they actually held it for a week before shipping so that I could be at home to receive it.

 

Susan

 

Interesting. How much that cost you?

 

- Joel

[durangoscots]

Interesting. How much that cost you?

 

- Joel

 

I honestly don't remember... it is not cheap and the cost varies with the size of the luggage. However, at my age I can not haul suitcases around and I was coming off long trips in all cases so it was worth it.

 

Susan

[cl.klink]

I honestly don't remember... it is not cheap and the cost varies with the size of the luggage. However, at my age I can not haul suitcases around and I was coming off long trips in all cases so it was worth it.

 

Susan

 

 

Thanks

- Joel

 

 

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