Sending luggage from my home in Qld to ship in Sydney

[sanne]

We will be cruising from Sydney White Bay cruise terminal in January on a longish cruise. Both of us are struggling with lifting and dealing with large/heavy suitcases.
 

Some  of our US friends use a company that picks up their luggage at home and the next time you see it it’s in your cabin. And visa versa if they are doing land tours after their cruise. 
 

I’ve searched but so far without success for a company that does this in Australia . Would love to hear if anyone had any information that I could follow up. Thanks. 

[Cbtours]

12 minutes ago, sanne said:

We will be cruising from Sydney White Bay cruise terminal in January on a longish cruise. Both of us are struggling with lifting and dealing with large/heavy suitcases.
 

Some  of our US friends use a company that picks up their luggage at home and the next time you see it it’s in your cabin. And visa versa if they are doing land tours after their cruise. 
 

I’ve searched but so far without success for a company that does this in Australia . Would love to hear if anyone had any information that I could follow up. Thanks. 

Is it necessary to bring large heavy suitcases? Even for long overseas trips we never take more than medium suitcase each. 🥰

[Aus Traveller]

I haven't heard of a company in Australia offering this service. Maybe my husband is a worrier, but he absolutely wouldn't do it. Too many things could go wrong. Maybe you could look at new suitcases - ones that are easier to roll along.

 

I am going on the world cruise next year and will take one large suitcase, a cabin-size roll along and a large handbag that straps on top. I can manage this on my own. The only thing I can't do it haul a fully-laden suitcase (up to 32kg on my USA trip) off the luggage carousel at the airport. I get around this by smiling nicely at someone nearby and asking for help. 

[sanne]

14 minutes ago, Cbtours said:

Is it necessary to bring large heavy suitcases? Even for long overseas trips we never take more than medium suitcase each. 🥰

Heavy for us is anything over 15kg. And if it’s just a warm weather 2 week cruise we can manage. 

[Cbtours]

Just now, sanne said:

Heavy for us is anything over 15kg. And if it’s just a warm weather 2 week cruise we can manage. 

Ok, fair enough. That’s certainly not a large case here in Aus. I’ve not heard of such a company.

[sanne]

1 minute ago, Aus Traveller said:

I haven't heard of a company in Australia offering this service. Maybe my husband is a worrier, but he absolutely wouldn't do it. Too many things could go wrong. Maybe you could look at new suitcases - ones that are easier to roll along.

 

I am going on the world cruise next year and will take one large suitcase, a cabin-size roll along and a large handbag that straps on top. I can manage this on my own. The only thing I can't do it haul a fully-laden suitcase (up to 32kg on my USA trip) off the luggage carousel at the airport. I get around this by smiling nicely at someone nearby and asking for help. 

Thanks for your suggestions. We have the most lightweight suitcases and hand luggage you can buy in Australia. All new with great wheels. 

[Aus Traveller]

Undoubtedly you would like to be self-sufficient, but I have had to face the fact that in circumstances such as outlined by you, I have to ask for help.

 

As you already have great luggage, the only other suggestion I have is for you to plan carefully. For example, you can probably roll your luggage at home to where it will be put in a car. Ask the taxi driver (or whoever takes you to the airport) to put it in the vehicle, then take it out at the airport. Roll the cases into the terminal where there would probably be someone (maybe an airline employee) who could lift the bags onto the scales. At Sydney airport, smile nicely to get someone to lift the cases off the carousel. Whether you go by taxi or shuttle bus to the terminal, the driver can load your cases, then unload them at the other end where you can wheel them to the luggage drop-off area.

 

All the best.

[LittleFish1976]

I've used a service called Luggage Forward to send a heavy suitcase from the end of a cruise in Portsmouth in the UK to my home in Melbourne which was such a help as I had further land travels to do and didn't need the winter clothes and shoes I had for the first part of my trip.

 

I've just checked and they don't provide a service from Brisbane to Sydney but I did find a search website which will offer suggestions of companies to use. https://www.dtdcaustralia.com.au/

 

I didn't notice one that was a 'home-to-port' one specifically but that may be possible if you do some searching through the companies they suggest. I guess the other alternative would be if you have friends in Sydney who could receive the cases from the delivery service at their address and you could somehow get them from there (in a cab with the driver to help? Usually there's someone from the port to meet taxis and take the luggage straight to checking it in ?) once you arrive in Sydney.

 

I understand how hard (even impossible) the management of your bags can be; it adds a level of difficulty that can make travel impossible. I don't know why there aren't more services popping up to help people with this.

[OzKiwiJJ]

21 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

 

I am going on the world cruise next year and will take one large suitcase, a cabin-size roll along and a large handbag that straps on top. I can manage this on my own. The only thing I can't do it haul a fully-laden suitcase (up to 32kg on my USA trip) off the luggage carousel at the airport. I get around this by smiling nicely at someone nearby and asking for help. 

We switched to medium-large suitcases with overnight bags that fit on top after trying to lug large suitcases on and off trains in Europe many years ago. The two bag combos are much easier to manage.

[LittleFish1976]

If it's any help someone has just mentioned this company on another thread on this board https://oacis.io/

 

If you are flying Virgin airlines they will (for a fee) take your suitcase form the port (or your home) and check it into your flight for you (but you would still confront the suitcase at your arrival at home airport). It would be worth contacting them to find out if they can move the cases from the port to your home or vice versa.

 

 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, sanne said:

We will be cruising from Sydney White Bay cruise terminal in January on a longish cruise. Both of us are struggling with lifting and dealing with large/heavy suitcases.
 

Some  of our US friends use a company that picks up their luggage at home and the next time you see it it’s in your cabin. And visa versa if they are doing land tours after their cruise. 
 

I’ve searched but so far without success for a company that does this in Australia . Would love to hear if anyone had any information that I could follow up. Thanks. 

Some great advice already. 

 

How are you getting to White Bay? I am just trying to figure what points you would need to lift/carry your luggage among places where it can be comfortably wheeled (airport, railway stations etc).

 

Once at the cruise terminal, there is a short walk on even concrete to the baggage drop area, and then you only have a small bag to handle your essentials. Any cab or shuttle driver would happily assist to get your luggage onto the kerb.

 

PS, just read the QLD in the title, and figure you are flying. I figure there is no lifting from the time you arrive at Brisbane airport.

Edited September 4, 2022 by arxcards
PS

[buchhalm]

Hi.

I believe a company called Pack and Send can do that.

Website is www.packsend.com.au

They have a "Live chat" function where you can start asking questions 

[sanne]

Thank you so much for all your very helpful replies. 

We are very well travelled, all over the world many times  during the last 25 years pre Covid….retired in our 50s to enable  us to do this. But age and mobility problems  have got in the way of travelling as easily as we did in the past. So now we have to look at how we can continue with our travels and get as much help as we can find.
 

We no longer do land based holidays, cruising is perfect whatever mobility problems you have, it’s just the challenge of getting to the ship and then back home. 
 

Not having to deal with suitcases on and off flights, in and out of pre cruise hotel stays, is very appealing. As I’ve mentioned in my first post, many of our American friends use a luggage service with great success. It costs of course, but for us it’s worth it if we could find such a service in Australia. 
 

I will check out all your suggestions and let you know what I find as this may be useful in the future for some people, who can still manage their luggage now,  but have difficulties later on and  still love to cruise.