This luggage transfer thing

[cruisinbuddy]

Who can tell me which airlines are included with this from San Juan. I'll be on the Crown P. coming home on the 16th of Feb. and my flight isn't til 4:45. I tried the search, but EVERY thread with "luggage" comes up. We're flying Northwest. Any info would be great, thanks.

[ljtinney]

I have actually been trying to find this out for my cruise on the Crown in Jan. I had clients on the Crown last month who were able to do this. They were flying United and said they had to still claim their luggage in San Juan and take them to a designated area.....they thought it was great.

 

After 3 very long calls to Princess (so far) here's what I've found out. Ports on their list are LA, Vancouver, Anchorage, San Francisco and Seattle. I asked a few times about San Juan and they could not find anything. The airlines included are AA, Alaskan, Continental, Delta and United. They are working with a company called "bags". You can check out their site at www.airportbags.com. On this site it does include San Juan and 10 or so airlines....including NWA.

[cruisinbuddy]

Darn, not Northwest Airline. Thanks ljtinney, hey maybe things will change by the time I cruise in Feb.

[ljtinney]

We're flying US Air. I plan on checking with the pursers desk once I get there. Since San Juan is not even on the Princess list, yet they are providing this on the Crown, anything is possible.

[Host CJSKIDS]

We're flying US Air. I plan on checking with the pursers desk once I get there. Since San Juan is not even on the Princess list, yet they are providing this on the Crown, anything is possible.

 

I emailed the company and they are indeed working with the Crown and Princess in San Juan. It all depends on which airlines that you're taking. The representative told me that my airline, American was participating and it's $15 per person with each person getting to check 2 bags.

[West Coast]

It's also available in Ft Lauderdale.

We just came off the CB and would have loved to have used the service but it's only good for domestic flights.

 

It's $15 per person.

 

You fill out a form, giving your flight details, etc. This needed to be handed in by the Tuesday (Sunday-Sunday cruise) evening. You would then be delivered your airline luggage tags and airline boarding passes.

 

When you get off the ship you still make your own way to the airport but without your luggage.

 

Here's the like to the company they have partnered with to offer the service:

http://www.airportbags.com/

[rolo123]

nwa is on the list

[janandjon]

We were just on the Crown12/8 to 12/15. I know American Air and US Air were two of the airlines you could use this offer on. We flew American air. We signed up on board (form sent to your cabin based on you personel info --so fill out that air flight info form available on line and fax it back to Princess).On thursday nite we received our ship baggage tickets,boarding passes which had our baggage claim nos. on it and the airlines baggage tickets. We had a late flight 6;40 pm. so we took the rain forrest excurshion. We were off the ship around 8:30am and got back to the airport around 1:45PM.

When you get off the ship you find your bags--go through customs and either carry or utilize the porters available to tote your bags to the waiting trucks, marked for the appropriate Airline. At this point you must put on the airline baggage tickets that they send you with your boarding passes. They will take your bags to the airport and ckeck them in.

When filling out your exceptience form make sure you ask for the proper amount of baggage tickets.

[turquoisesea]

We were just on the Crown12/8 to 12/15. I know American Air and US Air were two of the airlines you could use this offer on. We flew American air. We signed up on board (form sent to your cabin based on you personel info --so fill out that air flight info form available on line and fax it back to Princess).On thursday nite we received our ship baggage tickets,boarding passes which had our baggage claim nos. on it and the airlines baggage tickets. We had a late flight 6;40 pm. so we took the rain forrest excurshion. We were off the ship around 8:30am and got back to the airport around 1:45PM.

When you get off the ship you find your bags--go through customs and either carry or utilize the porters available to tote your bags to the waiting trucks, marked for the appropriate Airline. At this point you must put on the airline baggage tickets that they send you with your boarding passes. They will take your bags to the airport and ckeck them in.

When filling out your exceptience form make sure you ask for the proper amount of baggage tickets.

 

Great information, Janandjon! One question... Did your bags go on your plane or did they go on an earlier flight? I am very worried about this. Our flight from San Juan to Phila. doesn't leave until 4:30 and there are several earlier flights. I would hate for our luggage to be sitting (or spinning:eek: ) in the PHL baggage claim all day! We would likely never see it again! By the way - was the rain forest worth the trip?

[ljtinney]

Just got an email back from "airportbags" and they informed me that US Airways is NOT a participating airline out of San Juan:(

[Lynda90]

Just did the valet thing this past Tuesday. It's one of the best things Princess has implemented. It's a no brainer. We didn't see our luggage until we got to our home airport in Portland, Oregon. Princess had a special bus to a/p for valet people. Took us directly there when they called us from Explorer's Lounge. No fuss, no lines, just right on bus and to a/p. Our luggage was one of the first off in Portland. We were on Alaska Airlines which is one of the airlines participating in the service. They even gave us our boarding passes so we did not have to print them. Went directly to gate (and through security, of course). You will not be sorry if you use it. For $15 it's a bargain. Wonder how long until that price gets raised. :p

[DrivesLikeMario]

Great information, Janandjon! One question... Did your bags go on your plane or did they go on an earlier flight? I am very worried about this. Our flight from San Juan to Phila. doesn't leave until 4:30 and there are several earlier flights. I would hate for our luggage to be sitting (or spinning:eek: ) in the PHL baggage claim all day! We would likely never see it again! By the way - was the rain forest worth the trip?

 

I believe one of the TSA's rules is that your luggage must travel with you on your plane, not on some other one. I think it's to prevent bombs being placed on other flights or something like that. ;)

[turquoisesea]

I believe one of the TSA's rules is that your luggage must travel with you on your plane, not on some other one. I think it's to prevent bombs being placed on other flights or something like that. ;)

 

Thanks, I hope they stick to that. Twice I have had my luggage on a different flight. Once was a Usair flight to Ft. Lauderdale (for a cruise) and they apparently couldn't put half the bags on the plane because they had to send bags that didn't make it the night before. :eek: That was fun!

[DrivesLikeMario]

I know they used to send your bags on ANY flight that was going to your destination, but not anymore from what we've been told & seen. I could be wrong, but that's what we've heard recently.

 

Many times, you'll see airplanes stopped on the tarmac and bags off-loaded for passengers that didn't get on the flight or you'll hear airline agents say "you can't get on the earlier flight since your bags are already loaded on the later flight", etc.

[turquoisesea]

Just got an email back from "airportbags" and they informed me that US Airways is NOT a participating airline out of San Juan:(

 

Oh no! Lauren is correct! :eek: I e-mailed them too, hoping she was wrong. But, no! Airportbags does not servive USAIR in San Juan. This is a big problem as we have a late flight and wanted to tour. Does anyone have any other suggestions? :confused:

[Pam in CA]

I know they used to send your bags on ANY flight that was going to your destination, but not anymore from what we've been told & seen. I could be wrong, but that's what we've heard recently.

That was the "good old days" pre-9/11. If what they're doing at other airports is similar to Vancouver, they take your luggage but you are not allowed to go off on your own; they take you to the airport to check in. At least that's the way I think it works.

[Daniel1313]

The way I understood it was you left your bags outside your door and they took them away and you did not see them until you got to your home airport. Does it not work this way???

 

Thanks

[parisbully]

Do you have to pick up your bags outside the ship? And then take them to the truck? Doesn't really seem like that much of a time saver.

[FritzG]

I believe one of the TSA's rules is that your luggage must travel with you on your plane, not on some other one. I think it's to prevent bombs being placed on other flights or something like that. ;)

 

Slightly off topic, but when we did our last land trip to Maui 2 years ago, we got to Houston's airport in time for an earlier flight to CLE. We were told we couldn't switch to that flight because they couldn't get our luggage on in time, and the rule was you had to travel with your bags. We sat in the airport for 6 hours until our flight. When the baggage came out our bags weren't there. We went to the Continental's baggage claim office--guess what, our bags came in on the earlier flight!

[ljtinney]

The participating airlines out of SJ are American, Delta, United, Continental and Jet Blue. You must be signed up for this by Tuesday in order to check your luggage.

 

 

Oh no! Lauren is correct! :eek: I e-mailed them too, hoping she was wrong. But, no! Airportbags does not servive USAIR in San Juan. This is a big problem as we have a late flight and wanted to tour. Does anyone have any other suggestions? :confused:

 

We were off the ship just after 10am. We took a taxi to the airport and was able check in for our flight leaving at 5:30. Got our boarding passes and checked our luggage and left to go back to OSJ to meet some friends.

Took about an hour in total.

 

The way I understood it was you left your bags outside your door and they took them away and you did not see them until you got to your home airport. Does it not work this way???

 

Thanks

 

At some ports they take your luggage right from your cabin but in San Juan you have to collect them and take them outside to the trucks just outside the terminal.

 

Do you have to pick up your bags outside the ship? And then take them to the truck? Doesn't really seem like that much of a time saver.

 

Yes it would be a time saver.......it would have saved us an hour and 2 taxi fares.....$44 in total as opposed to the $30 if we could have done it.

[TravelnAl]

That was the "good old days" pre-9/11. If what they're doing at other airports is similar to Vancouver, they take your luggage but you are not allowed to go off on your own; they take you to the airport to check in. At least that's the way I think it works.

 

The reason it works that way in Vancouver is because you are an "in-transit" passenger in a foreign country and technically do not enter Canada. If you want to spend time in CA, you cannot use this service.

[usetobeacagirl]

I'm confused about what you are talking about with the luggage. Are you saying when you fly to San Juan you can't take your luggage to the ship? enlighten me please! Thanks, Robyn

[harmonymouse]

I think the posters on this thread are talking about two different services.

One option is Princess Luggage Valet. This service is $$$. They pick up your bags at your house 1 week before the cruise and send them through DHL like a package. Will be waiting for you at the ship. At the end of the cruise you go through customs then take your luggage to the Princess Luggage Valet drop-off area. They will be shipped back to your home, again through DHL. You will get home before your bags.

Here is the link about it on Princess' website, which also gives you which ports this is available at and ballpark prices (starting at $90): http://www.princess.com/learn/answer/before_you_leave/luggage.jsp

 

The other option is "On-Board Check-in". Offered through participating airlines at participating ports, and is just $15 pp, which is what I think the majority of the posters were referring to. Basically most of the major airlines allow you to check-in and give your baggage to them at the pier after exiting customs. They should be able to fill you in on this at the Purser's (sp) desk once you are on board, and I think there is also a sheet about it delivered with the Patters one day. You flight has to be the same day as disembarktion, and has to be AFTER 1 PM in order to use this option. And of course must be on one of the participating airlines.

 

I hope this helped to clear up the confusion.

 

Turquoisesea - we did the rainforest tour while in San Juan for our last cruise. When you take the tour through the cruise line (at least this is how it was with RCCL), they just load your bags onto the understorage in the tour bus, and your luggage rides along while you tour the rainforest. It was a heck of a lot better than sitting in a crowded airport all day (what we did the first time around), so yes, to me it was worth the $.

[Daniel1313]

The name of the service is Airportbags.com. I sent them a email and they said that your flight cannot be before noon, not 1:00 P.M.