Delayed Baggage Question

[kygal]

I just got off the phone with the airlines. They informed me there "might" be a chance that my luggage will arrive later than I do in San Diego..which was fine..until they said it might not make it there until 6 pm and our ship leaves at 5 pm. In which case our luggage will catch up with us in Hilo..5 days later :eek: We do have travel insurance..but I have no clue how it works..other than you call the 1-800 number if you need them..has anyone else had their luggage delayed..and how did you survive?
thanks for any help you can offer

[peaches from georgia]

:confused: What time are you arriving in SD and why is your luggage not arriving with you?

[SacDr]

I assume that you must change planes somewhere and thats when the luggage gets screwed up.
Pack a carry-on with as much as you can for everyday use as well as medications, toilet articles etc. and take it with you when you board. Don't bother with formal wear in the carry-ons. We had a tablemate on a Transcanal cruise who wore the same clothes for rive days. He wasn't a very happy camper.
Will cross fingers for you and see you on board.
Cheers,
Sacdr

[kygal]

peaches from Georgia-we have to fly from a very small airport..and so all of the luggage may not "fit"..(now is a great time to find this out) so they send it on the next flight out..

SacDr..you are right..I am now repacking..and seeing how many clothes I can fit into my carryons..(not much i am sure)...

thank you both for your replies...and SacDr..NO laughing when you meet us ..if we still have our winter clothes on LOL

[Charliesmom]

I would call the airline to see if there is some way you can help the situation. Can you pack smaller bags? Can you pack a larger bag? Can you pay extra to make sure that your bags get priority over someone elses since you have a time problem and they may not? Put a smile on your face when you call - be sweet and creative. If one person won't help you, ask to speak with their supervisor.

Another thing you can do is to call the secretary of the president of the airline and explain your problem. I would try the other remedies first. Use the secretary as a last resort.

Good luck.

Roberta

[garydm]

You might consider using Virtual Bellhop which will pick up your bags at your home a few days before departure and deliver them to the ship. Not inexpensive but beats wearing the same clothes for 5 days! I know you can do this on Crystal, but uncertain on other lines. You can check their site at www.virtualbellhop.com

Gary

[kygal]

Thanks CharliesMom and GaryDM...
I called them and they said that since there are empty seats on the plane there is a good chance that my bags will be sent on time..coming home may be a different story ....(heck I really DON'T need my luggage when I am at home):eek:
I will call them again and ask them if I could possibly pay an extra fee ...that is a great idea CharliesMom! GaryDM..that is a very nice site..I will check that out also..but I live WAY in the boonies and I am not sure they could even find me here :D

[gizmo]

If you cannot get any answer before you fly try this. Arrive at the airport early. Be sweet and explain your situation when you check in. Ask if your bags can be tagged priority. Since you said this was a small airport, I have no idea how small, but if they don't have a priority tag, maybe they can still tag it someway.

Good Luck

[Sage]

Kygal,

You are going to be fine. Just do as the others suggested and be extra sweet. Everything will be fine. I am so happy for you, and I know that you are going to have a wonderful cruise. Be sure and give Linda and Lou a big hug for me. I look forward to your review when you get back. Try not to worry about anything, and just have fun.

[kygal]

thanks Gizmo..I will do that! It can't hurt to ask and I will be extra sweet to them (more than my usual sweet self) LOL
Sage..I hope that you have a wonderful cruise..I can't wait to hear all about it..and I sure will give Lou and Linda a hug and tell them you sent it!!

kygal

ps..i guess if my luggage is lost ..that will give me a good excuse to stay in my swimsuit for a few days LOL
we will make the best of this adventure of a lifetime :)

[sail7seas]

In TSA's efforts to make us all feel safer on planes these days, I thought no luggage was allowed on a plane if there was not a passenger aboard that flight to whom it belonged?

If the luggage does not go with you on your flight........how does your tiny little airport plan on putting it on some plane on which you will not be flying?

Good luck. Hope it works out fine for you.

[elmorejj]

Well it has happened to us more than once, thankfully on return journeys. Our luggage has come in late, either due to tight connections or bumped flights etc. The luggage would arrive in Columbus, sans us, and be delivered to our home......jean :cool:

[kygal]

sail7seas..being a first time traveler..I would never have imagined they would send someones luggage on the next flight out....but I sure am glad I called..because I really didn't have many clothes in my carry on ..now I at least have several casual outfits ..just in case!

elmorejj- I grew up in Worthington, Ohio and used to have relatives in Obetz!! I just "smile" when I read one of your posts! I actually had offered to drive to Columbus to fly out and the TA thought it would be easier to fly from Huntington, we shall see!! And that is very nice that they "deliver" it to your home!!

[arzz]

Actually it happens all the time at small airports served only or primarily by little regional props (the regional jets have more cargo space and unlike the props they do not need to do things like redistribute the passengers in the cabin to even out the weight load before take off). First time it happened to us we were both surprised and upset as no one warned us of the possibility -- but at the boonies airport they just took it all in stride because it is a daily event. Our motel had everything that we needed to get through the first night without our bag as it happens all the time. We met the fellow who had the contract to deliver delayed luggage into town and it makes him a fine living.

Delayed luggage is an inconvenience but fine as long as you are not trying to catch a cruise! We do, however, now try to book on the regional jets when traveling to the boonies as the luggage usually goes with you when you travel the jets.

[Esme]

Jean - happened to us to on a return flight home from FFL. Arrived home, no luggage so we checked with the desk at the aiport and were told it was on the next flight - our flight had too much baggage weight, so guess who's was taken off. :eek: Right - ours! :p Next flight was arriving just an hour after ours so we waited around the airport for it.

Good Luck kygal - hope everything works out for you and you enjoy your cruise to Hawaii. Lucky gal - we've done it twice and loved it. :)

[sail7seas]

So much for TSA 'keeping us safe'. :(

[MBeamTX]

The airline knows when you've caught an earlier flight but your luggage didn't. You, on the other hand, generally don't learn that your baggage was delayed until you arrive at your destination. How could you plan some mayhem around the possibility that your luggage might get bumped? I don't see the security risk involved in putting it on a later plane at the airline's discretion - although you'd probably come in for some serious questioning if you "volunteered" to have your baggage travel later.

Am I missing something?
Susan

[Krazy Kruizers]

Remember that kygal said that she lives in a small town with a small airport. So she will be taking one of those small commuter flights to connect to a larger flight to get to San Diego. Those commuter flights have weight restrictions.

Coming back from New York a couple of years ago we were on a small commuter flight and only 6 out of 18 of us had luggage when we arrived in Pittsburgh. Since it was the last flight from New York that night, the others were told that their luggage would arrive on the first flight the next morning. We felt sorry for the one girl - she had a business meeting at 10 and was told to come back after 9 AM to get her piece of luggage. All 4 of our pieces of luggage made it onto the plane.

[sail7seas]

The airline wouldn't deliver the delayed bags to people's homes when it arrived? Passengers had to return to the airport to get it?

[stanjj111]

Can you send your luggage to a holding station in SD and then have it delivered to the ship? If you have your luggage at the airport the day before they may be able to fit it on to an earlier flight and then you can pick it up at the airport when you arrive. Whatever happened to the new security that says that you must travel with your luggage?
Good luck

[Krazy Kruizers]

The girl to which I was refering to was here on business from New York and was staying in a hotel down town. I have no idea why everyone else was told to come back and claim their own luggage.

[kygal]

Thanks for all of your help and advice..I think I have managed to "roll" 4 outfits a piece into our carryon luggage..so if we end up in San Diego without luggage..we will at least have something to change into while we wash the clothes we are wearing LOL!!...Whatever happens ..we will make it through somehow!! This is our first ever "real" vacation and I refuse to let a little "delayed" luggage ruin our trip!...
I can't wait to come home and read all that I will have missed while we are gone..and to share our trip with all of you!
We will be leaving for the airport at 5 am ..so I better try and catch a nap!

~kygal:o

[Globaliser]

In TSA's efforts to make us all feel safer on planes these days, I thought no luggage was allowed on a plane if there was not a passenger aboard that flight to whom it belonged?No, the security principle is that the passenger cannot plan to have the bag travel on a different flight. The idea is that so long as the passenger may be on the same flight as the bag, and does not know whether or not this is the case until after landing at the destination, it reduces the risk of the unaccompanied bag being used as a weapon. That's also why the airline won't tell the passenger that the bag's missed the flight until after arrival.

I don't know whether this has been happening more in the last year or so, but overloading may have been a factor in this accident (http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2004/AAR0401.htm) (full report in PDF form here (http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2004/AAR0401.pdf)), which caused regulators and airlines all over the world to pay more attention to weights on smaller airliners.