Departure valet luggage service is great!

[DreadPirateRobert]

Just off the Reflection’s 14 night Caribbean cruise. We are fairly new to Celebrity so maybe this is old news to you veterans. Celebrity offers a luggage service that is fantastic. For $25USD per person they will not only do your airline check in and print your boarding passes but you don’t touch your luggage until you get off your last flight. There’s no looking for your luggage in the termina, no loading it in and out of cabs or Ubers. It gets tagged the night before and it’s gone.  You get the form from Guest Services, fill in some information and your tags arrive the night before. The $25 is charged to your account. Of course that doesn’t cover any airline baggage fees. 

We had a fairly late flight out of Fort Lauderdale yesterday and decided to knock around the Bahia Mar beach area for some shopping and lunch. Having to drag our luggage around all day would not have been fun. Sadly, despite 19 years of cruising we still overpack.😉

 

[boscobeans]

I'm now in my 70's and if and when we cruise from ports that require flying I dread lugging our bags around cruise terminals, airports and hotels.    We always fly ahead for a pre-cruise day or so in case of flight problems.

 

We now, if flying, avoid the problem and not only use Luggage Valet on our returns home but also use Luggage Forward heading out for our cruise.

 

Granted it isn't as inexpensive as Luggage Valet however there is also no need to tip porters at airports, hotels, cab rides and cruise ports.  

 

They pick up your luggage (already tagged with your cruise luggage tags) at  your home and it is delivered to your SHIP on the day of your cruise.  It can also be shipped to hotels as well.  

 

All we have to worry about are our 2 rolling carry-ons and our bags get delivered to our stateroom door.

[NLH Arizona]

48 minutes ago, DreadPirateRobert said:

Just off the Reflection’s 14 night Caribbean cruise. We are fairly new to Celebrity so maybe this is old news to you veterans. Celebrity offers a luggage service that is fantastic.

 

Just wondering, is the luggage insured until it gets to your airline?

[boscobeans]

3 minutes ago, NLH Arizona said:

Just wondering, is the luggage insured until it gets to your airline?

 

Unless there is some exclusion for luggage loss, theft etc. when the luggage is being handled by a third party in your policy and the policy is in effect when the problem arises I don't see why not...  

Remember when getting insurance, to make sure the dates of coverage include ALL your travel time not just the days on the ship.

[ghstudio]

We have had enough luggage lost over the years that the last thing I want to do is to put my luggage on a third party carrier (it's not celebrity doing the luggage transfer any more than it's celebrity running excursions they sell)....any problems, I suspect the help you'd get from Celebrity is "here's the number of the delivery service we use".  Insurance would be through your travel insurance policy.  Finally, if a bag is lost, who do you contact...the airline (who says they never received it) or the delivery service (who says they gave it to the airline).  Did I mention that customs can be an issue.....'oh, we couldn't transfer your bags because customs stopped them for inspection and found eight bottles of scotch".  I know...I'm throwing out lots of negatives but the phrase to remember here is...."the service is good, until it isn't"

 

I

[boscobeans]

21 minutes ago, ghstudio said:

."the service is good, until it isn't"

 

I

 

Very true and is part of what we all accept as our normal daily life.

 

I guess we could  deliver our own mail instead of trusting it with the postal service or do any number of other things ourselves rather than farm them out to others.

 

I'm over 70 and have only had 2 pieces of mail ever lost and so far not one piece of luggage either lost or delayed after about 30 years of travel, 20 of those being on cruises involving flights and non-flights.

 

I guess it must be my lucky rabbit's food.  LOL

[ghstudio]

2 minutes ago, boscobeans said:

 

Very true and is part of what we all accept as our normal daily life.

 

I guess we could  deliver our own mail instead of trusting it with the postal service or do any number of other things ourselves rather than farm them out to others.

 

I'm over 70 and have only had 2 pieces of mail ever lost and so far not one piece of luggage either lost or delayed after about 30 years of travel, 20 of those being on cruises involving flights and non-flights.

 

I guess it must be my lucky rabbit's food.  LOL

 

Everyone makes their own decisions.  We just don't find it very difficult to find our bags and wheel them through customs/immigration (and we are also over 70).  We do have many friends and family that have lost luggage and more than a couple of pieces of mail as well as more and more packages that were "delivered" but never arrived.  

 

Baggage delivery service is great and we'd use it if we were going to do something between getting off the ship and boarding a plane or we had any difficulty with bags (we pack bags we can handle)....but if we're just heading to the airport, it' just not an option I'd use.  

 

My post was really to get folks to think about their decision.....don't just jump at something that looks good or because Celebrity offers it......just like travel insurance. 

[boscobeans]

36 minutes ago, ghstudio said:

 

Everyone makes their own decisions.  We just don't find it very difficult to find our bags and wheel them through customs/immigration (and we are also over 70).  . 

 

Since all of our numerous cruises out of FLL involved flying to and from the port as well as hotel stays because of weather worries we DO find it difficult to some degree rolling bags from terminal to cab, to hotel, to airport and home.  The same  goes for the reverse getting to the ship when beginning our vacation.

 

We do it our way and can see how from all your loses and those of your friends and family you choose a different course of action.

 

 

[Canuker]

Does anyone know if this also applies to forwarding luggage to a hotel, rather than to a flight at the airport?

[boscobeans]

9 minutes ago, Canuker said:

Does anyone know if this also applies to forwarding luggage to a hotel, rather than to a flight at the airport?

 

Luggage VALET offered by the cruise line to make your return home AFTER a cruise only delivers your bags to specific airports with  certain time restrictions as listed on the form they have on board.

 

Luggage FORWARD picks up you luggage from a location of your choice and delivers it to a location of your choice when you want it delivered, hotel, motel or port. If you choose to have it go directly to your ship you will attach  your luggage tags to the luggage before it is picked up and they will bring it to your ship on the morning of your cruise and it will be delivered to your stateroom as if you checked it in yourself. 

 

Edited January 19, 2019 by boscobeans

[grandgeezer]

2 hours ago, ghstudio said:

 

Everyone makes their own decisions.  We just don't find it very difficult to find our bags and wheel them through customs/immigration (and we are also over 70).  We do have many friends and family that have lost luggage and more than a couple of pieces of mail as well as more and more packages that were "delivered" but never arrived.  

 

Baggage delivery service is great and we'd use it if we were going to do something between getting off the ship and boarding a plane or we had any difficulty with bags (we pack bags we can handle)....but if we're just heading to the airport, it' just not an option I'd use.  

 

My post was really to get folks to think about their decision.....don't just jump at something that looks good or because Celebrity offers it......just like travel insurance. 

 

  Just like cruises.

[mahdnc]

DreadPirateRobert, we were on the same awesome sailing with you although unfortunately, I don't believe we got to meet each other. 

 

We are not new to Celebrity, but this was the first time that Luggage Valet was made available to us and so we used it.  Our experience (link) was the same as yours--it was great and worth the cost.  

 

[Cruise Raider]

One more nice feature of Luggage Valet is they don't weigh your luggage so it doesn't have to be right under that 50 lb mark.  However, if for some reason, you don't qualify and it is over the 50 pound limit, you will have to either pay the overage fee or figure out how to repack it before turning it into to be checked at the airport.  It doesn't happen often, though ... but I've heard of it happening once or twice.  

 

Friends of mine used the Luggage Forward and it's not so restricted ... but very pricey.  They loved it, though and said it was worth every penny they paid for this service.  They were traveling all over Europe with their elderly mother before the cruise so didn't want to drag all their cruise luggage with them.  It was picked up at their home in the states and delivered to their stateroom on the cruise.  

[DreadPirateRobert]

1 hour ago, mahdnc said:

DreadPirateRobert, we were on the same awesome sailing with you although unfortunately, I don't believe we got to meet each other. 

 

We are not new to Celebrity, but this was the first time that Luggage Valet was made available to us and so we used it.  Our experience (link) was the same as yours--it was great and worth the cost.  

 

This was only our 3rd Celebrity cruise and I’m hooked.  Did Carnival for lots of years due to price and Galveston only being about 4 hours away. Now the little touches and the service we experienced on Celebrity are worth paying and traveling for. 

As to the luggage service, it’s just one more  thing that helps to make a relaxing vacation. Another plus to us was that Southwest only allows luggage check in 2 hours before a flight. After our Canal cruise in 2018 we had to sit around until luggage check opened up for our flight rather than the breeze through we did yesterday. Clearly this program isn’t for everyone but it works for us and I’m glad to see it. 

[Redtravel]

Luggage valet is nothing like Luggage forward. Luggage valet checks your bags to your final airport. Luggage forward delivers to your final destination or your home. Luggage valet only saves you identifying bags on the pier. At $25/ bag, it doesn't save you much time. It may be a good option if you have a late plane and want to go out and about before checking in. You still have to wait for your bags at your final airport. Disembarkation yesterday from Reflection was impacted by the government shutdown. No problem finding our luggage. There were very long lines waiting to go through Customs and Immigration. Only 2 agents were working. We hired a porter to carry our luggage. Porter took us to a special line used by porters. That way we bypassed a huge wait. We met folks we used luggage valet. Since they had no luggage, they didn't need a porter. They waited in long lines to clear customs. Seems like a good idea? Think again.

[kearney]

18 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

Luggage valet is nothing like Luggage forward. Luggage valet checks your bags to your final airport. Luggage forward delivers to your final destination or your home. Luggage valet only saves you identifying bags on the pier. At $25/ bag, it doesn't save you much time. It may be a good option if you have a late plane and want to go out and about before checking in. You still have to wait for your bags at your final airport. Disembarkation yesterday from Reflection was impacted by the government shutdown. No problem finding our luggage. There were very long lines waiting to go through Customs and Immigration. Only 2 agents were working. We hired a porter to carry our luggage. Porter took us to a special line used by porters. That way we bypassed a huge wait. We met folks we used luggage valet. Since they had no luggage, they didn't need a porter. They waited in long lines to clear customs. Seems like a good idea? Think again.

Luggage valet checks you into your flight and provides you with boarding pass. Next time you see luggage is at the airport when you arrive at your final destination. I like it because I DH has mobility issues... so I have to handle bags at airport... and (because I worry about airlines over booking) I like to make sure I get checked in early... so I wait around to log onto a computer promptly 24 hours in advance. It appears that they can do this earlier....  anyway it takes a lot of stress out of the journey. They also do the bag fee step and it just shows up on the final cruise bill. I felt it was worth it... I usually tip the porter $10-15 bucks anyway... then if I can find a guy at the airport ... a few more bucks... yeh it cost more...but frankly more value than a days worth of beverage package.

[kearney]

One more note... last cruise... everyone walked off the ship past facial recognition and out... Because we bought something on the ship over $800 we were stuck in line with the 1 customs agent ... from ship to exiting the terminal two hours... did not need a porter to avoid customs line... there was no line for those without declaration even with one agen... But we would have been better off buying item off the ship.

[mahdnc]

2 hours ago, Redtravel said:

Luggage valet is nothing like Luggage forward. Luggage valet checks your bags to your final airport. Luggage forward delivers to your final destination or your home. Luggage valet only saves you identifying bags on the pier. At $25/ bag, it doesn't save you much time. It may be a good option if you have a late plane and want to go out and about before checking in. You still have to wait for your bags at your final airport. Disembarkation yesterday from Reflection was impacted by the government shutdown. No problem finding our luggage. There were very long lines waiting to go through Customs and Immigration. Only 2 agents were working. We hired a porter to carry our luggage. Porter took us to a special line used by porters. That way we bypassed a huge wait. We met folks we used luggage valet. Since they had no luggage, they didn't need a porter. They waited in long lines to clear customs. Seems like a good idea? Think again.

 

Interesting point about being able to bypass lines by using a porter.  BTW, it is $25/person not bag which I am sure was a typo but I didn't want anyone to be led astray.

 

I am sorry that I did not knowingly run into you on any of the 15 calendar days aboard Reflection!  I trust you had a good cruise.

[jcpc]

Question:  where and when do you present your credit card to the airline to pay for Delta baggage fees?  Thanks.

[ghstudio]

Just a note on Global Entry.  Miami/FLL piers are not set up for global entry...but we always ask, just in case.  In every case they have taken us out of line and directed us to bypass the line for the next agent.  On one hand, that seems like cutting in line....on the other hand, we paid for the "service" so we should actually pass through dedicated lines as we do at airports....so they make do with what they can offer.  

 

Anyway...if you do have Global Entry, at least ask if they have a global entry line......at some point, they will have one.

[mahdnc]

4 minutes ago, ghstudio said:

Just a note on Global Entry.  Miami/FLL piers are not set up for global entry...but we always ask, just in case.  In every case they have taken us out of line and directed us to bypass the line for the next agent.  On one hand, that seems like cutting in line....on the other hand, we paid for the "service" so we should actually pass through dedicated lines as we do at airports....so they make do with what they can offer.  

 

Anyway...if you do have Global Entry, at least ask if they have a global entry line......at some point, they will have one.

 

that was essentially our experience at Terminal 25 yesterday when we got off Reflection.

[Cockatoos]

Does anyone know if this service applies to travellers departing for an overses destination point? After the cruise our flights leave from Miami, stop over in Houston before flying out of the US.

[dateacher]

49 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

that was essentially our experience at Terminal 25 yesterday when we got off Reflection.

We were allowed to bypass too when leaving the Silhouette in FLL last week.  We bypassed the line by having Global Entry.  You do need your card with you, however.  Fortunately, my husband had his and they let me join him. 

Edited January 20, 2019 by dateacher

[mahdnc]

24 minutes ago, Cockatoos said:

Does anyone know if this service applies to travellers departing for an overses destination point? After the cruise our flights leave from Miami, stop over in Houston before flying out of the US.

 

Luggage Valet was good for international destinations for all airlines in the Luggage Valet program except Delta.  This is the document that was delivered to our Reflection stateroom last week:

Edited January 20, 2019 by mahdnc

[SevenSeas1492]

1 hour ago, jcpc said:

Question:  where and when do you present your credit card to the airline to pay for Delta baggage fees?  Thanks.

 

 

When you fill out the Luggage Valet form for the cruise ship, it asks how many bags you are checking, and that amount is charged to your cruise account.  If you are exempt from baggage fees, such as fees are included in your fare class, you just explain why, and no baggage fees are charged.  We used this service in October and were extremely satisfied.