Barbados disembarkation luggage saturated

[mickrory]

Disembarked Britannia in Bridgetown on Saturday after very enjoyable Transatlantic crossing. Weather great until disembarkation day when it chucked it down all day.

Luggage wet through when taken off conveyer at Manchester Airport, unpacked at home and clothes saturated.

Still drying out the cases in front of the fire, can only assume cases left out in the open for hours at Barbados Airport, very disappointing end to our trip.

Anyone else similar problems?

[Eglesbrech]

Yes, we had the same in the UK and thankfully it was my case that was soaking wet and not my husbands with his kilt in it. Mine must have been on the top of the pile and in spite of the fact that we have waterproof cases the rain was so heavy it got in via the zips.

 

I ended up with water mark stains on an silk evening jacket that ended up in the bin as it would never be the same again. I also spend days trying to get everything dry.

 

At least it was on the way home as if it had been on the way out I would have had little to no dry clothing to wear.

[terrierjohn]

I would hope that an incident like this would be covered by your travel insurance, have you tried them?

[annieuk]

This happened to us several years ago - my husband's cream jumper became a wonderful shade of pink as it was next to a red jacket of mine!  Since then when I pack I always line top and bottom with polythene - those covers that dry cleaning come in, split down the sides, one on the bottom of the case and then another on the top when I've finished packing.  I do this even when we're holidaying in this country - you never know.  

[brian1]

5 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

Yes, we had the same in the UK and thankfully it was my case that was soaking wet and not my husbands with his kilt in it. Mine must have been on the top of the pile and in spite of the fact that we have waterproof cases the rain was so heavy it got in via the zips.

 

I ended up with water mark stains on an silk evening jacket that ended up in the bin as it would never be the same again. I also spend days trying to get everything dry.

 

At least it was on the way home as if it had been on the way out I would have had little to no dry clothing to wear.

That might have been embarassing,if his kilt had shrunk.

[Eglesbrech]

20 minutes ago, brian1 said:

That might have been embarassing,if his kilt had shrunk.

Oh his kilt “shrinks” every time we go on a cruise - round the wasteline!

[Eglesbrech]

4 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

I would hope that an incident like this would be covered by your travel insurance, have you tried them?

To be honest I never even thought to claim, I should have but too late now.

[kruzseeka]

4 hours ago, annieuk said:

This happened to us several years ago - my husband's cream jumper became a wonderful shade of pink as it was next to a red jacket of mine!  Since then when I pack I always line top and bottom with polythene - those covers that dry cleaning come in, split down the sides, one on the bottom of the case and then another on the top when I've finished packing.  I do this even when we're holidaying in this country - you never know.  

 

It happened to us at Gatwick when there was a deluge and we could see cases standing alongside the plane waiting to be loaded.   Easy to be wise after the event but like you annieuk we have tried to avoid it happening again.  We bought a roll of polythene (very thin - goes a long way) from Wilko to line our cases now.  It's with the paints/decorating area.

https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-functional-protection-roll-2-x-50m/p/0343139

We recycle it afterwards for other purposes- doesn't get round the plastics issue(!) but as described by others, it can cause all kinds of problems if the contents of your case get soaked especially on the outward journey where drying stuff may not be so easy.  

[rosebuds]

This happened to us after an overnight in Venice on Oceana.  On departure morning there was heavy rain in Venice and our luggage must have been outside at Marco Polo airport by then.  There was no permanent damage other than a paperback book, but since then we try to remember to protect the case with something waterproof.

[jeanlyon]

It can also be condensation in the aircraft hold.  I flew for 16 years and my case was often like that.

[Balaena]

Had a place in Barbados for a number of years and October until towards the end of December is rainy .. very heavy .. season. Always wrap your suitcases with polythene as they are lightly to get soaked between aircraft and coach and coach and ship and visa versa. Seen the soaked cases soooo many times

Bal

[emam]

So would the waterproof packing cases prevent your clothes getting wet. If the polythene roll does, those should especially as they will be thicker.

[Tablelamp]

During my travels, I have seen people put their cases through some sort of machine at airports and when the case comes out the other end, it is completely encased in plastic.

[emam]

10 hours ago, Tablelamp said:

During my travels, I have seen people put their cases through some sort of machine at airports and when the case comes out the other end, it is completely encased in plastic.

 

I have seen this when the Captain disembarked. I thought it was to with security, something to do with case being checked on leaving ship so not needing to at airport.

[hansol1966]

Have traveled as an adult since 1978  and have never had any damp/ condensation in my luggage ever...USA..Far East..Europe. 

[SargassoPirate]

We always, and I mean always, use 2 1/2 gallon plastic zip lock bags for packing.  We fold our clothes nicely and place them in the plastic bags with the zip lock partially closed.  Then I sit on the bag to squeeze out the air.  They save room in the suitcase, prevent wrinkles, and keep out things dry.

 

We once arrived in Hawaii after a plane change in Atlanta during a thunderstorm.  The bags coming off the conveyor were dripping wet.  People were mad and upset. One fellow pulled his violin out of a hard-sided bag and it was already warped.   The only thing wet in our bags were not fabric items that we didn't pack in plastic.

 

The suitcases dried out on our balcony while we sipped some wine and watched the ocean crash against the lava rock beach.

[mickey89]

We invested in robust non zip polypropylene cases by Samsunite. Superb quality, waterproof seal with TSA lock. Lightweight and  very robust, looks like new even after much abuse by airport handlers.