Departure valet luggage service is great!

[Cockatoos]

15 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

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:

 

[Cockatoos]

Thanks mahdnc. I see the departure flights from Miami need to be after 2pm. Unfortunately our flight with United/Air New Zealand departs at 1.45pm.😏

[kearney]

5 hours ago, jcpc said:

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

They will put it on your seapass account. You will see four separate charges for $25, labeled something like « misc charge ». Freaked me out the first time I saw it...then I remembered that they would handle this.

[varoo]

14 hours ago, ghstudio said:

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

 

Yep, know exactly what you mean.

Luggage valet and similar services are wonderful ................. until the trip when your own bags are the ones that don't show up at baggage claim at your final destination and you are the one left standing in line waiting to file a missing luggage report.

 

As those who work in the travel industry know, the more times your luggage gets transferred when it is out of your sight, the greater the chance that something can going wrong.

 

Ideally, your best chance of seeing your luggage at your final destination airport is if you check it in yourself at the departure airport for a direct, non-stop flight from point A to point B. 

 

But even that is not totally foolproof, as airlines sometimes need to hold back luggage or even pull bags off and send them on a later flight, for one reason or another. 

When that becomes necessary, if you are flying first class, your bags are less likely to be the ones that get pulled than if you are flying in steerage.

 

[Redtravel]

Aside from the long lines at the pier, we did not wait at the airport. We had no lines checking in, security check by TSA was the quickest, and our AA credit card let us avoid baggage fees. We also used uber from pier to FLL with less than 5 min wait. Cost about $10.  For people who don't use uber, there were taxis and shared private shuttles waiting.  Car rental vans were also quite visible. If you have a reservation with a car pickup at FLL, rental agencies have free shuttles to the airport. 

[jcpc]

8 hours ago, kearney said:

They will put it on your seapass account. You will see four separate charges for $25, labeled something like « misc charge ». Freaked me out the first time I saw it...then I remembered that they would handle this.

Thanks.  We saw the charges today.  Guest Relations onboard Edge told me that I would have to pay at the airport for any airline fee for checking bags.  I could not imagine how that would be accomplished! Less than stellar info provided by Guest Relations onboard Edge!!!

Edited January 20, 2019 by jcpc

[Tracefan]

We all have our own comfort levels and opinions. That said, I think the luggage valet is one of the best things since sliced bread. Not only do you not have to find your bags in the cruise terminal then drag them around with you, tipping everyone you come in contact with, it saves you from waiting in the baggage check-in line at the airport. You get to skip right over to wait in the always delightful TSA line.  Not having to worry about the weight restriction is also another huge stress reliever.  I would definitely use the service anytime available as I feel all the advantages are well worth the $25 pp fee they charge. And if your bags are lost (hopefully temporarily), you’re on your way home and have more clothes and underwear there, right!😛 I am one of the lucky ones that has experienced lost bags (flying to Ireland). Never a pleasant experience but hey, I got to buy some new stuff on the airline’s dime. (They did eventually arrive 2 days later.)

 

Sadly for me, the last I heard the service is not available in San Juan which is where I’ll be sailing out of next week. 🙁  

 

Save travels everyone. 

Edited January 20, 2019 by Tracefan

[boscobeans]

19 hours ago, Redtravel said:

 Luggage forward delivers to your final destination or your home. 

 

 

???  We have used Luggage FORWARD in the past.    It picks up our packed luggage with the ship's luggage tags already attached and delivers it to the correct cruise ship on the day you are scheduled to sail. 

 

You do not see you luggage from the day it is picked up at your home until it is delivered to your stateroom door.

 

The bag(s) get to the local delivery area a few days before you sail but are only delivered to the ship on the actual sail date.

 

You get a tracking number as well.

[kearney]

2 hours ago, jcpc said:

Thanks.  We saw the charges today.  Guest Relations onboard Edge told me that I would have to pay at the airport for any airline fee for checking bags.  I could not imagine how that would be accomplished! Less than stellar info provided by Guest Relations onboard Edge!!!

Probably the same guy who told me I did not need a customs declaration form for the watch I bought on board.... wrong.

[kearney]

I looked into luggage forward in the past... to ship two bags <50 pounds from Port Everglades to Atlanta will cost... one way $248... and will arrive in 5 days... if I want it in one business day.... $548 (cost of inside cabin for one on some cruises). Oneway using Luggage Valet on Delta is $100... I just have to get the bag from airport home. I just can't justify the nearly $150 premium for that...Also I am sure it is very convenient but first thing I do when I get home is laundry, if I don't bags will sit forever.... I had thought of shipping bags to the ship... but being completely packed 5 days in advance is a challenge... yes I do layout stuff weeks in advance, but I don't tend to actually pack until a day before...  But it is a great concept... my other problem frankly is lack of experience with it... what happens if bags don't arrive... for some reason (despite having lost luggage in the past)... I actually trust the airline to get it to the other end... now if I had multiple stops... perhaps I would have less confidence.

[love to cruz]

Does anyone know if the San Juan, Puerto Rico offers luggage valet service?

 

[George C]

This is free with some suites , we like it only problem was once bags went to a different terminal than we landed at dfw airport and it was a pain to collect it. 

[Tracefan]

7 hours ago, love to cruz said:

Does anyone know if the San Juan, Puerto Rico offers luggage valet service?

 

 

I was on the Eclipse last year sailing out of Miami. At that time , the service was only available in Florida ports and Seattle. I have not heard that it’s has changed but am really hoping it has. 

[ghstudio]

I just read the posted form...and no statement about customs.  I wonder what happens if they find fruits/vegetables of any kind in your luggage....or liquor (or other items above the USA allowance)...or that watch you bought on board.  I'm just very surprised that they don't even mention customs allowances....or have any disclaimer about luggage content or condition or liability on the form.

 

Something is not right....I just can't believe that celebrity's lawyers have ever seen this form.

Edited January 21, 2019 by ghstudio

[jagoffee]

On 1/19/2019 at 10:59 AM, ghstudio said:

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

I do not think it will change the probability of you using this great service, but the Celebrity system is set up to prevent you from exiting the ship until after your luggage is cleared by customs.  I know because I tried once.

[h20cruzer]

I have used and it's a great service.  Does anyone know if they offer this program from Vancouver BC. We are returning from an Alaska cruise and would love to use again.

Norma

[Cruise Raider]

6 hours ago, h20cruzer said:

I have used and it's a great service.  Does anyone know if they offer this program from Vancouver BC. We are returning from an Alaska cruise and would love to use again.

Norma

 

I've heard that luggage valet is not available from Vancouver ... luggage forward may be available but it is a lot more expensive and not set up by the cruiseline.  

I believe Seattle, Fort Lauderdale and Miami are the only disembarkation ports that offer this service at this time.  

[eyecantwait]

I'm hoping we can do this when we fly out of Seattle in August 2020.

If we end up taking a red eye flight home it would be nice not to have to drag the luggage around when we get off the ship.

Angela

[mahdnc]

On 1/24/2019 at 11:18 AM, h20cruzer said:

I have used and it's a great service.  Does anyone know if they offer this program from Vancouver BC. We are returning from an Alaska cruise and would love to use again.

Norma

 

50 minutes ago, eyecantwait said:

I'm hoping we can do this when we fly out of Seattle in August 2020.

If we end up taking a red eye flight home it would be nice not to have to drag the luggage around when we get off the ship.

Angela

 

Here is the luggage valet availability by port and airline according to an FAQ on Royal Caribbean's website: Luggage Valet

 

The photo of the Luggage Valet flyer (Celebrity Reflection) that I posted earlier in this thread appears to be consistent with the Royal Caribbean website when looking at the language for Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

 

So there is good reason to believe that Luggage Valet will likely be available for Celebrity passengers on cruises ending in Seattle, but not Vancouver.  We will see.

Edited January 25, 2019 by mahdnc