Crown Princess - Laptop stolen during embarkation

[floridalover5623]

All notes/claims will follow you forever. The insurance companies use a central clearing house...anyone who has homeowner's or auto insurance are in the database.

 

I found that out the hard way. No one told me many years ago never to call an insurance company to even ask about possible damage to a home.

 

I'm kind of weird in that I like to color coordinate my lock, luggage tag, and handle pad. I *did* get a note teling me that my luggage had been searched, but TSA also cut off my TSA approved lock and discrded it. That kind of ticked my off because the are supposed to be able to open it and put it back where they found it!. My sister's lock got cut off on a different trip.

You see how easily they got into your suitcase so what makes you think anyone else can't do the same thing, especially if they don't care about doing any damage in the process.

[TracieABD]

To the OP- I hate this happened to you. It is a shame that some people can't leave other people's stuff alone. :(

[Aussieflyer]

....

You see how easily they got into your suitcase so what makes you think anyone else can't do the same thing, especially if they don't care about doing any damage in the process.

 

But they need to have a set of bolt cutters or similar if there is a lock whereas if a case has no lock it is just a matter of unzipping and rifling through. No one says that locks will keep your possessions safe, just that they will deter the opportunistic thief.

Australians must be different as as a rule they lock all luggage that is checked. We find the idea of leaving luggage unlocked odd as well as that officials will cut off TSA approved locks specifically designed for them to open.

[RDC1]

But they need to have a set of bolt cutters or similar if there is a lock whereas if a case has no lock it is just a matter of unzipping and rifling through. No one says that locks will keep your possessions safe, just that they will deter the opportunistic thief.

Australians must be different as as a rule they lock all luggage that is checked. We find the idea of leaving luggage unlocked odd as well as that officials will cut off TSA approved locks specifically designed for them to open.

 

If the bag has a zipper it can be opened by using a pen to pop the zipper. Do not even need to remove the lock. Can then close it by pressing the two sides of the zipper back together. If done correctly one cannot even tell it was done. If done incorrectly, it appears that the zipper popped open due to handling.

 

Hard side bags are a bit more secure, but with soft sided zippered bags locks are useless.

[Aussieflyer]

If the bag has a zipper it can be opened by using a pen to pop the zipper. Do not even need to remove the lock. Can then close it by pressing the two sides of the zipper back together. If done correctly one cannot even tell it was done. If done incorrectly, it appears that the zipper popped open due to handling.

 

Hard side bags are a bit more secure, but with soft sided zippered bags locks are useless.

True, zippers are the weak link. We have Pacsafe luggage - the zippers are much stronger. I don't like shell luggage at all. Have had it in the past and found it a pain to pack/unpack etc. Others love it though.

Then again we do not put valuables in our checked luggage and when we are on the way home, it is usually the dirty laundry (in bags I might add) that it packed at the top.

[floridalover5623]

If the bag has a zipper it can be opened by using a pen to pop the zipper. Do not even need to remove the lock. Can then close it by pressing the two sides of the zipper back together. If done correctly one cannot even tell it was done. If done incorrectly, it appears that the zipper popped open due to handling.

 

Hard side bags are a bit more secure, but with soft sided zippered bags locks are useless.

 

My solution is to carry all my good stuff & who cares if they want to ruffle through my underwear, socks & T shirts. :D

You can't keep them out so why try?

[Pierlesscruisers]

I thought the cruise lines all x-ray the bags looking for contraband before delivering it to the staterooms. Am I incorrect?

 

The bags are x-rayed by longshoremen on the pier before they are ever put on the ship and not by Princess employees on the ship.

 

Tom

[Pierlesscruisers]

Cruise line employees are the ones who scan the carry-on bags.

On embarkation day, the carry-on bags are actually scanned by the security personnel on the pier not cruise line employees as none of the people processing embarking cruisers are cruise line employees, at least not on Princess ships. It used to be the case at Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. but that ended after 2014.

 

Tom

[Pierlesscruisers]

Just curious then how the ship's personnel find the booze in checked bags that they then invite you to the "naughty room" to answer for?

 

When the checked bags are scanned on the pier prior to being sent to the ship, the bags that appear to have contraband items (weapons, bottles of alcohol, etc.) are separated from the other "clean" bags and sent to the ship's security personnel.

 

Tom

[barbie5401]

For us - anything that we can't afford to lose goes in our carryon. Maybe one of the reasons we don't get to the ship very early, we prefer after 1:00 so we can leave our carry on in the cabin. All med's go in the safe as well as wallets, passports etc.

[floridalover5623]

For us - anything that we can't afford to lose goes in our carryon. Maybe one of the reasons we don't get to the ship very early, we prefer after 1:00 so we can leave our carry on in the cabin. All med's go in the safe as well as wallets, passports etc.

 

On Princess you can always leave you bags in the cabin no matter what time you board.

[karena1]

OUCH!! Perhaps now hubby will listen to you? This is precisely why all my electronics go in my carry-on, regardless of the weight.

 

Same here - ipod, jewelry, kindle, camera, money, etc all go in my carryon tote (not a suitcase) and does not leave my sight until I can take it down to the cabin and put it all in the safe.

 

In fact, when we go to Punta Cana, DR I even put my electronic cords in my carryon as they have cut off my locks (not just opened the TSA locks but literally cut them off and threw them away) b/c they thought there might be electronic devices in there b/c cords were in there. This year when I carried my cords on, no bags were opened.

Edited May 18, 2016 by karena1

[moki'smommy]

I've had my carry on opened at the airport for "too many wires in there." But at least I'm standing there when that happens!

 

I've also had luggage inspected when I bought a box of 6 Christmas ornaments which had metal tops and wires attached.

 

But yes, anything of value needs to be in a carry on.

[Loonbeam]

Just to clarify, not ALWAYS true. If there is a delayed boarding or a cabin requires extra cleaning due to something like Noro, specific cabins may not be available immediately on boarding. Normally yes, but I wouldn't pack specifically to that requirement.

 

On Princess you can always leave you bags in the cabin no matter what time you board.

[notentirelynormal]

Reporting it to the insurance company will only cause a bad mark on your insurance record even if you don't collect a dime from them. We had an experience years ago with damage to a rental home & I called them first before seeing what actually had occurred. I never collected anything but till this day they have it on my record about the incident. (and it's a different company !)

 

For sure. I filed a claim when we lost our camera in Cozumel. A year before I had filed a claim when my wedding ring was stolen from my house. My insurance company dropped me. This was a major insurance company. One of the biggies. After they dropped me I was blackballed and my insurance rate increased by almost 50%. Back before computers so you had to go through the phone book. It took me calling companies for almost 4 hours before I found one that wouldn't penalize me. My claims total less than $3000 and that is about what they were going to charge me every year for my $60,000 house for minimal coverage.

 

DO NOT GO THROUGH YOUR HOMEOWNERS UNLESS IT IS MAJOR.

 

I have no sympathy to your situation though. You knew better but did it anyway is not a valid defense. Don't get me wrong. I've done stupid things before but I still have to own the mistake.

Edited May 19, 2016 by notentirelynormal

[SadieN]

On Princess you can always leave you bags in the cabin no matter what time you board.

 

 

Hasn't been the case on some of our recent cruises.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[IsanTom]

Sorry to hear about your theft!

[floridalover5623]

Hasn't been the case on some of our recent cruises.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Even if you room hadn't been cleaned yet you could always have dropped off your luggage, put items in the safe and went on your way. There's no need to carry anything with you while they finish.

[fl.princess]

I wanted to follow up on my post in that we did received a check for the full amount of the laptop we claimed on the Princess Travel Insurance. It took some time for the claim to process but we are happy that they came through.

 

We did not submit to our homeowner's insurance but provided our coverage information to Princess showing that we would not have met our deductible if we filed with our homeowner's insurance.

[gotta cruise again]

Thank you for updating the story and happy to hear the successful resolution!

[Colo Cruiser]

I wanted to follow up on my post in that we did received a check for the full amount of the laptop we claimed on the Princess Travel Insurance. It took some time for the claim to process but we are happy that they came through.

 

We did not submit to our homeowner's insurance but provided our coverage information to Princess showing that we would not have met our deductible if we filed with our homeowner's insurance.

 

 

Thats great!

[JF - retired RRT]

Thanks for the end of the story. So many times, we never hear what the resolution is.

[TracieABD]

I am so glad it worked out for you!

[bigenna]

What a relief, happy it turned out so well in the end.

And thanks for posting - always a good reminder for the rest of us.

[nanabananna]

Anyone used packing cubes?

 

What if packing cubes are used will they go through that and wreck inside the cube to?

 

I was thinking of using them to keep an organized suitcase.