Would You Pay for Advance Bag Check-In?

[jhannah]

American Airlines is offering advance luggage check-in for those who are flying home. They currently offer this with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Norwegian Cruise Line (as well as some convention centers and hotels.) You drop your bags off at a special location, pay $10-20, get your boarding passes, and claim your luggage at your final destination. This means not having to find your bags in the cruise terminal and not having to schlep your bags into the airport for check-in.

 

Since there is a charge, would you be willing to pay for this service if offered by Holland America? I'm sure if they did it they would have to include Northwest/KLM. But if your airline was a participant with HAL, would you gladly pay to have your bags taken care of?

[lka1012]

I might, especially if I could ship my luggage both ways!

[lardan]

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes

[gizmo]

No, No, No....I would not pay an airline to do this. I think it is a rip off.

 

Before 911, you could check in with Delta right on the ship. You claimed your luggage, but you would have the porter take it to a Delta truck that was parked outside. It was a convience not only for pax but also for Delta since the Delta workers did not have to handle all that luggage at the check in counters.

 

There was NO charge for this.

[sail7seas]

No........just another place and way by which it could be lost or stolen.

 

We always do a post-cruise hotel stay anyway so we need to bring our luggage with us. ;)

 

[sail7seas]

No, No, No....I would not pay an airline to do this. I think it is a rip off.

 

Before 911, you could check in with Delta right on the ship. You claimed your luggage, but you would have the porter take it to a Delta truck that was parked outside. It was a convience not only for pax but also for Delta since the Delta workers did not have to handle all that luggage at the check in counters.

 

There was NO charge for this.

 

They also gave us a meal......such as it was!!!

[grannynurse]

Isn't HAL already doing this? I know I've seen it here on the boards from some posters coming back from Alaska. Something about an option being given onboard to have luggage taken from the ship directly to the airport and routed to destination. Sorry I don't remember the OP, and I might have seen it on the roll call boards.

GN

[boomerSexyK]

I think this would be a great service for those that want it ... count me into the "want" category..:D I would love to put out my luggage the night before and not have to see it again until I arrived at my home airport. Unless of course, I was one of those lucky ones doing a follow-up cruise in which case I think I might need a change of "jockey's" !!

[Joanandjoe]

Our vote of "not sure" really means "it depends". If we were going directly to the airport, there would be some small benefit to checking in and getting rid of the luggage on the ship. We might pay $10, probably wouldn't pay $20. If, on the other hand, our flight were many hours after we got off the ship, it would certainly be worth $20 so we could spend some time in the departure city without having to worry about luggage. For now, we'll skip the problem, since both of our 2006 cruises are from our NYC home port.

[sail7seas]

And what happens to your luggage which was taken from the ship, to the airport when your flight is cancelled? Or you get caught in the security line and missed your flight? Does it fly without you? I thought all bags had to be matched to pax on board the plane. So, if you are late, where does it go?Yes, I realize, the same situations can exist when you tote your luggage with you to the airport. Luckily, we have not faced those circumstances and don't know what happens.

[jhannah]

There was NO charge for this.

And there used to be no charge for food on an airplane. Welcome to the new millenium!

[Chorts]

We used this service when we returned from our Alaska trip aboard Mercury. Our flight wasn't until 3:30 and we were off the ship at a little after 8 a.m. By having our luggage taken to the airport and getting our boarding passes ahead of time, we were able to play in Seattle for most of the day without the worry of what to do with our luggage. If we had to schlep our luggage around, we would have gone directly to the airport along with everyone else on the cruise and it would have been a pain in the patoot. This way, our luggage went, we played, and for $1.75 each, we took the city bus to SeaTac when were ready for the airport.

So, the answer is, you bet......I would absolutely do this again. In fact, we're looking to book flights for the late afternoon when returning to port. We'll definately do this again.

[gizmo]

And there used to be no charge for food on an airplane. Welcome to the new millenium!

 

You call that "stuff" they served food ? :D

[Tricia724]

And what happens to your luggage which was taken from the ship, to the airport when your flight is cancelled? Or you get caught in the security line and missed your flight? Does it fly without you? I thought all bags had to be matched to pax on board the plane. So, if you are late, where does it go?

 

After our February cruise, we were flying home from Miami, and unfortunately the one direct afternoon flight was not available when we booked. So, we took a small (and I do mean small) commuter plane to Tampa where we caught a non-stop home. When we arrived, USAirways paged us to come to their office to pick up our bags. We were told that because the commuter plane couldn't handle baggage, our suitcases had to be rerouted and arrived long before we did. So, our bags got the direct flight while we went the long way around.

 

Sometimes your luggage isn't with you even when you think it is.:rolleyes:

 

I think it would be a nice option to be able to send your luggage on through to the airport....and if it was something that fit into our plans, I'd pay for it.

[elmorejj]

It was great back in the day when Delta and USAirways came on board and did boarding passes and luggage tags for you. You had to retrieve your luggage in the hall, go through customs and have the porter take it to a truck for the airport. I would probably do it for a small fee as my DH is disabled and it is left to me to find the luggage and take charge of it. ........jean:cool:

[Odd Ball]

Pay for it ? The airline must be making a ton of money. :rolleyes:

Not being served food on the airlines is a blessing.

 

On another note, What ever happened to security ?

[rkacruiser]

After our February cruise, we were flying home from Miami, and unfortunately the one direct afternoon flight was not available when we booked. So, we took a small (and I do mean small) commuter plane to Tampa where we caught a non-stop home. When we arrived, USAirways paged us to come to their office to pick up our bags. We were told that because the commuter plane couldn't handle baggage, our suitcases had to be rerouted and arrived long before we did. So, our bags got the direct flight while we went the long way around.

 

Sometimes your luggage isn't with you even when you think it is.:rolleyes:

 

I think it would be a nice option to be able to send your luggage on through to the airport....and if it was something that fit into our plans, I'd pay for it.

 

This poster's comments remind me of a situation I had flying from LAX to Detroit on Northwest.

 

I was the very last person boarding the plane. There was no room for my carry-on. Flight attendent said she would check it and it would be put in the luggage hold. During the flight, I was told by her that the door had been closed by the time she got the bag to the front of the plane and that I should pick the bag up out of the First Class closet when leaving the plane.

 

Great, I thought. My carry-on is traveling First Class while I am "enjoying" cattle class!

[RuthC]

Not have to schlepp my own luggage? You betcha! Where do I sign up? :D It's hard enough on a short cruise to lug one suitcase and a carry-on; on a longer cruise I need two suitcases and that carry-on. I've only got two hands, folks. :rolleyes: And I don't look like a pack-horse. :eek:

[HALOnlyCruiser]

I remember pre 9/11 when United (and other airlines) had a desk at the pier and you dropped off your checked bags and got your boarding pass. It was wonderful. Security being what it is these days, they have discontinued that. However, on my last Seattle departure after an ms Amsterdam cruise, we were flying home on Alaska and were dropped off at a tent north of the terminal with our bags so we could check them without standing in the regular ticket counter line. I don't know if they still do this. Maybe someone who disembarked and went straight to Sea-Tac this year can tell us. I guess I will find out for myself in three weeks! Fifteen days til sailing!!!!

[sail7seas]

After our February cruise, we were flying home from Miami, and unfortunately the one direct afternoon flight was not available when we booked. So, we took a small (and I do mean small) commuter plane to Tampa where we caught a non-stop home. When we arrived, USAirways paged us to come to their office to pick up our bags. We were told that because the commuter plane couldn't handle baggage, our suitcases had to be rerouted and arrived long before we did. So, our bags got the direct flight while we went the long way around.

 

Sometimes your luggage isn't with you even when you think it is.:rolleyes:

 

I think it would be a nice option to be able to send your luggage on through to the airport....and if it was something that fit into our plans, I'd pay for it.

 

 

So much for all that show about all the security we are getting in airports/on airplanes.

 

What happened to no bags fly on planes that cannot be matched to a passenger on that flight??? :rolleyes:

[LAFFNVEGAS]

We did something simaliar to this when flying home from Vancouver on the Ryndam the first part of May. Our luggage was picked up the last evening like normal and we did not have to take it thru customs or nor did we even see it till we arrived in Las Vegas. I actually thought this was great. It was worth every penney we paid. They also got our boarding passes for us and and we were prechecked in. I highly recommend this to anyone flying home directly after the cruise out of Vancouver:)

[kelmac]

Lauren and I usually do a post cruise hotel, so this may not be a service we need. Sure is a lot less people at the airport the morning after a cruise.:)

 

Enjoy!

Kel

[Tricia724]

What happened to no bags fly on planes that cannot be matched to a passenger on that flight??? :rolleyes:

 

I have a feeling that is one of those "rules" to make you and me feel better....and should one of us wish to send a bag ahead to our destination, we will be informed that no bags are permitted on the plane unless the passenger is also on the plane.

 

The airline, however, apparently has more options. Let's face it....everyday bags are mistakenly put on the wrong planes and then have to be reshipped to the correct destination. Add to that the luggage that is deliberately put on other planes for one reason or another....like ours....which means that at any given time there are a lot of orphan suitcases separated from their owners floating around in space.

 

In our case, the only thing that annoyed me was that no one told us our bags would have to be shipped on another flight, and we stood like idiots staring at the rotunda for half an hour before USAirways paged us. :( Better late than lost, I guess.