Luggage weight/size concerns

[TenerifeSharon]

Sharon,

We're meeting in the bar at the Marriott at 7 PM on the 16th. Since we're doing the Hunter Valley wineries tour that day, we may be a bit late AND will certainly be dressed casually! I've told our Roll Call that you may join us, so just make your presence known :) or should we all wear red carnations or some such???

 

Thanks, Sheila, we will certainly try to meet you there. I will probably recognize you from your avatar and we'll be the ones that are even more overweight than usual (and that's overweight) -- after being aboard Mercury for 14 days!! Maybe Hugo will - briefly - wear his TENERIFE baseball cap (depending on how formal the bar looks!) or carry it in his hand very obviously.

[mes531]

Hope you all have a fantastic trip. We will wave as our ships pass, we sail from Auckland on 2/14 and arrive in Sydney on the 26th, also staying at the Marriott. :) :)

[kehlx2]

Syl,

Have a wonderful cruise! We board on Feb 17 so hope Sharon takes as good care of Merc as you do :) Can't wait to see your posts!!

 

Thanks Sheila I am sure we will have a GREAT time..I am so looking forward to this trip. :cool:

[kehlx2]

Syl - wishing you a fantastic cruise (happy 46 1/2!) and have a great time at the Marriott beforehand. Do your best to "sweet talk" them into an upgrade! It would be wonderful to meet in Auckland but, alas, we'll be waiting to board. Where are you staying when you arrive in Auckland? Or will you be flying out on the same day? One of these days we will have to meet since we keep following each other around on one cruise after another:D

 

Sheila - I promise to take good care of your ship. Where did we decide to meet on the 16th? Or did we??:eek:

 

Yes we are staying over (will fly home 7pm the 5th)--will stay at the Rendevous Hotel--it used to be called Carlton..have no knowledge of this hotel--sure hope it will be ok..I think I checked TripAdvisor on it..we are taking a tour all day EARLY on the 3rd--& they are to drop us at hotels or mid CBD--so I do have a map--not near as close to their Quay as Marriot. We have Plaza Club at the Auckland hotel--I have no problem paying to upgrade at the Marriot-- wil ask nicely if they have any rooms left on the Executive level..then if they do ask if they have any that might face the bridge with just a touch of ship terminal showing..;) I LOVE to see the ship in the harbour.

[Globaliser]

I've rather lost track of who's going where when, but I hope you all have a great time!

[TenerifeSharon]

I've rather lost track of who's going where when, but I hope you all have a great time!

Thanks, Globaliser. And thanks for all the help you've been to many of us with all of our questions -- big and little! Whenever it is that we finally get to our hotel in AKL (luckily 9 days before our cruise and hopefully for the date on which our arrival is actually planned), I will be very happy to know that everything worked out -- especially considering all the independent online bookings (flights, hotels, rental cars, tours, etc. etc.)

[Tampa Girl]

I read on the Quantas website for travel from the U.S. to N.Z. and Australia, that we are allowed one carryon plus a personal item; i.e. briefcase, laptop, backpack, etc. Will we be o.k. with DH carrying his small backpack plus what I refer to as a camera case, in which all our electronics will be packed. I may be fudging on the description a bit, so consider the case to hold a good-sized video camera. Any thoughts? I agree with the woman who was packing a week's worth of clothes in her carryon. I don't trust the airlines to assure that we and our luggage will arrive together.

 

 

Virginia

[SheilaNC]

Virginia,

It sounds like you'll be OK to me. One thing that I've done before when I've been concerned about carrying 2 things is to take a larger carry-on (but within the appropriate size limits) and put both of the smaller ones inside the larger one. Good luck!

[ozland]

Virginia.......I did the Qantas flight from LAX to Auckland in December......had a small carry-on (their weight restriction for carry-ons is 15 lb. -- mine empty weighed half that!) I also had a VERY LARGE purse/handbag. No problem.

 

DD had the same but her carry-on was a little larger and she had her laptop in it. It was borderline in weight and just by *eye-balling* it the agent suggested she move her laptop from her carry-on to her VERY LARGE purse.

 

From that experience, I would say the camera case would be just fine.

 

Have a great cruise. :)

[Karynanne]

For those of you flying Air New Zealand, I just spoke with a rep, and they confirmed that "cabin luggage" is 15#, plus a purse/handbag is allowed.

 

Question: Have any of you flown out of SFO to AUK, and had your "cabin luggage" weighed? Is it weighed at the actual gate? I was told that it IS weighed at the gate, and if it's over-weight, items are discarded.

 

What are your experiences?

 

Thank you in advance,

 

Karyn

[SheilaNC]

Karyn,

I did that flight last March and I have no memory of carry-ons being weighed. But I only had a large computer case and purse so it wasn't an issue with me. My best suggestion is to weight your carry-ons at home and be sure that you're not over the weight limit. I think all airlines are being more careful now due to the price of fuel.

[Tampa Girl]

Thank you all for your input. Discretion being the better part of valor, I have opted to replace the "camera bag" with a smaller bag, much the size of a medium pocketbook, to be carried by DH. We will both be also have a carryon. Each item must not exceed 15 lbs.

 

Karyn, did the Quantas rep refer you to their regs which define "personal items" to include items other than handbags? These additional items seem unique to only those traveling to and from the States.

 

 

 

Virginia

[Karynanne]

Thank you all for your input. Discretion being the better part of valor, I have opted to replace the "camera bag" with a smaller bag, much the size of a medium pocketbook, to be carried by DH. We will both be also have a carryon. Each item must not exceed 15 lbs.

 

Karyn, did the Quantas rep refer you to their regs which define "personal items" to include items other than handbags? These additional items seem unique to only those traveling to and from the States.

 

 

 

Virginia

 

Virginia, it wasn't Qantas...it was Air New Zealand. And they did say that you could have a purse/handbag AND a roller/wheelie bag, as long as it is 15# or under.

 

I was also told that "cabin" luggage is 15# for safety reasons. In case of turbulence, and if a piece of luggage falls from an overhead bin, safety regulations state that no piece can be over 15#. Anything more can be harmful to a person, if hit with flying luggage.

 

Karyn

[Tampa Girl]

Well... that certainly reassures me that nothing larger than a 15-lb.l bag is going to hit me on the head! And I was thinking it was because of fuel costs that the 15-lb. limit was imposed on these long flights. Isn't it 40-lb. on domestic airlines for carryon baggage?

[Globaliser]

I was also told that "cabin" luggage is 15# for safety reasons. In case of turbulence, and if a piece of luggage falls from an overhead bin, safety regulations state that no piece can be over 15#. Anything more can be harmful to a person, if hit with flying luggage.

Well... that certainly reassures me that nothing larger than a 15-lb.l bag is going to hit me on the head! And I was thinking it was because of fuel costs that the 15-lb. limit was imposed on these long flights. Isn't it 40-lb. on domestic airlines for carryon baggage?

The leading cause of passenger injury in the airline industry is being hit by items falling from overhead lockers. And it doesn't even have to be in turbulence. It is amazing how many people open lockers after arrival without even giving a passing thought as to whether something might fall out.

[tobes]

I did the pre cruise trip to Ayers Rock and Port Douglas with my Celebrity Cruise and Qantas absolutely strictly enforced their weight restrictions on those short flights between Sydney and Ayers Rock, Ayers Rock and Cairns, etc. If someone was even a few ounces over, they were asked to take something out and given a paper bag to carry it in. It really made no sense to me since it was all still going on the flight anyway but thats how it was. Judy:cool:

[Tampa Girl]

As they say . . . forewarned is forearmed! Thanks, Judy.

 

 

 

Virginia

[lucky dawn]

If you booked your air tickets 'through' from SC to Australia you qualify for trans-Pacific weight restrictions and are allowed 70 pounds.

[trvlgrlmn]

We just returned from our wonderful cruise on the Sapphire Princess. We left the USA on Dec 31 and returned on Jan 22. Needless to say we were gone for awhile and packed for the trip. We flew Qantas from LAX to Sydney then connected to Cairns. We each had 2 checked bags and one carry on. No problems. After enjoying our 4 nights in Port Douglas we went to the airport for our return flight to Sydney to catch the Sapphire Princess. What a shock when we were told we could only have one checked bag and our carry on was too large. We were told our other checked bag would cost $135 and this did not include the carry on. There were 5 of us, all with the same luggage. We tried to plead our case. We finally spoke to a supervisor who agreed to allow each of us to pay $100 each for our luggage. So we had to pay $100 to get our luggage to Sydney.

 

The rule I have learned is one checked bag, 20 Kg, which is approximatley 40 lbs.

 

A very expensive lesson!

[Tampa Girl]

Trvlgrmn - I guess that is because you were traveling within the country as opposed to just to and from the U.S.? Checking the Quantas website, I see that the weight limit on travel to and from the U.S. is 70 lb. and 2 bags. But . . . for domestic travel, the limit is 44 lbs. Good thing to know for people who are planning on traveling domestically upon arrival in Australia or N.Z.

[mochuck]

I just read this on the Qantas website:

 

If your itinerary includes a flight to/from or via the USA, US Territories, Tahiti, South America or Canada, you are entitled to two pieces (one piece for infants) of checked baggage on all Qantas and QantasLink operated flights within your itinerary,# regardless of whether these flights appear on the same or a separate ticket. You will be required to provide proof of your international ticket at check-in indicating travel to/from or via the USA, US Territories, Tahiti, South America or Canada.

 

So if ground crew are telling you otherwise they obviously are not familiar with their own regulations. Perhaps all you people from North and South America and US territories who are coming to Australia (with Qantas) should print out this page and keep it with your travel documents.

 

http://www.qantas.com.au/info/flying/beforeYouTravel/baggageChecked

[kenexx]

We just returned from our wonderful cruise on the Sapphire Princess. We left the USA on Dec 31 and returned on Jan 22. Needless to say we were gone for awhile and packed for the trip. We flew Qantas from LAX to Sydney then connected to Cairns. We each had 2 checked bags and one carry on. No problems. After enjoying our 4 nights in Port Douglas we went to the airport for our return flight to Sydney to catch the Sapphire Princess. What a shock when we were told we could only have one checked bag and our carry on was too large. We were told our other checked bag would cost $135 and this did not include the carry on. There were 5 of us, all with the same luggage. We tried to plead our case. We finally spoke to a supervisor who agreed to allow each of us to pay $100 each for our luggage. So we had to pay $100 to get our luggage to Sydney.

 

The rule I have learned is one checked bag, 20 Kg, which is approximatley 40 lbs.

 

A very expensive lesson!

 

That is not a good experience at all. You should take the time to visit the

feedback page at Qantas and let them know what happened and refer them to the baggage rules as posted above regarding people from the US being allowed 2 checked bags on domestic flights within Oz.

 

IMHO you should be refunded the excess baggage charge you had to pay.

 

Maurice

[lucky dawn]

My husband and I had 2 checked bags each . All 4 bags were very close to 70 lbs each. We made the same flight from Cairns to Sydney on Quantas with no additional charges.

I would go back to Quantas and try and get a refund however be warned Quantas does not have a customer first policy.

[lucky dawn]

My husband and I had 2 checked bags each . All 4 bags were very close to 70 lbs each. We made the same flight from Cairns to Sydney on Quantas with no additional charges.

I would go back to Quantas and try and get a refund however be warned Quantas does not have a customer first policy.

[Globaliser]

After enjoying our 4 nights in Port Douglas we went to the airport for our return flight to Sydney to catch the Sapphire Princess. What a shock when we were told we could only have one checked bag and our carry on was too large. We were told our other checked bag would cost $135 and this did not include the carry on. There were 5 of us, all with the same luggage. We tried to plead our case. We finally spoke to a supervisor who agreed to allow each of us to pay $100 each for our luggage. So we had to pay $100 to get our luggage to Sydney.

In addition to what mochuck says (you shouldn't have been charged at all), the charge should only have been AUD 20 + GST per extra bag (ie AUD 22).