Cruise line transfers

[PKB]

It has been many years since we purchased transfers from airport to the pier.  Can someone explain the procedure?  I remember not touching my luggage from airport baggage claim until it arrived at our cabin.  Is that still the procedure?

[mom says]

Wouldn't that depend on the port and airport? I can't imagine arriving at an airport in another country and not having to bring my luggage through Customs.

[rhblake]

In today's world, most if not all, cruise lines require that you retrieve your own luggage.

[Jim_Iain]

I believe the OP is talking about Luggage Valet.    This service is a for fee service where in select U.S. ports and Select Airlines you can sign up for it about 5 days before the end of the cruise.    You leave you luggage out the night before the end of the cruise with special luggage tags and you retrieve it at your home airport.   They also provide your boarding pass.

 

 

Edited January 30, 2020 by Jim_Iain

[PKB]

My question is referring to basic transfers from the airport to the pier.  The passenger claims bags at baggage claim then turns them over to designated cruise line employees.  Get on a bus and ride to the pier.  Cruise line then sees to putting bags onboard.  Passenger next sees bags when they are delivered to their cabin.  This is the way it was done years ago.  My question is whether this is still the procedure?

 

I am guessing the procedure is different now given the higher levels of security.  

Edited January 30, 2020 by PKB

[ghstudio]

We have found that just taking a cab or reserving a driver/car costs about the same, if not less than Celebrity charges for 2 people on a transfer and far less if you are more than 2.  It also is more flexible, we don't have to sit on a bus waiting, etc.  To be fair, although we would be considered elderly, we are used to rolling our own suitcases and never use a porter at the airport.  We drop the bags with the porters at the pier which are right where they drop you off and walk to check in.   

 

If you take the celebrity transfer, they will collect your bags after you leave customes....so you don't have to wheel them all the way to a cab....and then you will wait, either in the terminal or on a bus. 

 

Pick whichever works for you....

[cruisestitch]

I don’t believe that  Celebrity ever did an “airport to the ship” baggage transfer such as the OP describes. Perhaps that was on another cruise line.

[Luvcrusn]

I have taken X transfers from the airport to the ship but not since 2013. That was in Puerto Rico for a cruise on Summit and we would never consider taking a X transfer again unless it was in a country where we didn't speak the language. We claimed our luggage and then took it to the transfer meeting point where we turned it over to X. We then waited in the airport for 2 hours for other arriving passengers on other flights to arrive before departing for the ship. We paid twice as much as we would have if we'd taken a taxi. The bus driver was waving a bottle of rum as we drove to the port and was driving as if he was inebriated. Never again!

[JBare]

17 hours ago, PKB said:

My question is referring to basic transfers from the airport to the pier.  The passenger claims bags at baggage claim then turns them over to designated cruise line employees.  Get on a bus and ride to the pier.  Cruise line then sees to putting bags onboard.  Passenger next sees bags when they are delivered to their cabin.  This is the way it was done years ago.  My question is whether this is still the procedure?

 

I am guessing the procedure is different now given the higher levels of security.  

 

Thats exactly what happened on our last cruise with Celebrity in October last year. Arrived at Rome airport, gave backs to Celebrity staff, got on bus, bags outside cabin on Edge later in the day. This may well depend on how many people Celebrity expect to arrive at an airport at any given time and only certain airports. They have lists of people on certain flights if booked with them.

Edited January 31, 2020 by JBare
punctuation

[cruisestitch]

I stand corrected and now wonder if this happens at any other ports?

[JBare]

51 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

I stand corrected and now wonder if this happens at any other ports?

 

Well for us, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dubai, Rome and Venice. I think these are ports where large numbers of passengers for a cruise arrive very close together from a number of flights so not much waiting around, never waited more than 15 mins.

Edited January 31, 2020 by JBare