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Luggage tags (attach before or after flight?)


pthjudy
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We have always attached our cruise luggage tags before taking a flight to the port. We have those plastic sleeves so the tags won’t rip and I always print up extras. A few years ago we flew into Orlando a day before a Disney Cruise. One piece of luggage was sent by mistake to a Disney ship that was departing that day. Fortunately it was intercepted and it was returned to the airport a few hours later. Now I hesitate in flying with the cruise tags attached. We are flying into LAX in a few weeks. Has anyone had a related problem? What do you do when you fly to a cruise?

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Attach after your flight if going directly to Port or if staying over one night, then at the hotel before you leave for the port the next morning. I have attached mine usually in the evening, at the hotel. This avoids them getting damaged by the airport. I also attach my tag holders with the small zip lock ties instead of the plastic ones that come with it.I would keep your tag & holders with you in a carry on or purse.

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We attach one tag per suitcase before our flight. Print several copies of the tags and put them in your carry on luggage. If they get lost, which has happened to us, they still may get them to the ship. In fact that very thing happened to us. Airline lost them, and we had the hotel, insurance and princess on the lookout for them. We assumed we’d have to wait until the first port, but they appeared in our cabin the first night after dinner.

 

Once we get to our pre cruise hotel, we attach more tags, then drop them at the pier.

 

 

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If you have always been in the habit of attaching the ship luggage tags when flying in the day before you are lucky that your bags being inadvertently sent directly to the port has only happened once.

 

Even the one time I flew in the morning of the cruise (yes, I know, shame on me) I left the tags off until getting to the baggage claim and using the cruise line rep's stapler--which you are free to do even if not using the ship's transfer.

 

Since you have plastic tag holders there is absolutely no reason to put them on your bags any sooner then right before checking out of the hotel. Yes there is the argument that having the ship's tags on your bags from the moment you leave home could be helpful if your airline loses a bag and does not recover it until after you sailed, and thus will forward it to the ship at the next port. But I say you bag has less of a chance of getting lost without tags that are extraneous to the airline. And the idea that bags could easily find you mid-cruise has proven usually untrue.

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....

 

Even the one time I flew in the morning of the cruise (yes, I know, shame on me) I left the tags off until getting to the baggage claim and using the cruise line rep's stapler--which you are free to do even if not using the ship's transfer.

 

....

 

We plan to fly in the morning of our next cruise as the day before is Mother's Day in the US. We're arriving early and also using EZ-Air so not really worried. It will be the first time in a long time we have done this but did plan to apply cruise tags to our luggage at the baggage claim.

 

What I'm interested in, Fishywood, in the quoted statement, do you mean that the cruise line rep will accept your luggage even if you're not using the ship's transfer or did you mean you can just borrow the stapler? If Princess will take the luggage there that would be wonderful to not have to move all that stuff to the faster shuttle we intend to use.

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I was only saying that the rep will let you use their stapler.

 

However if you lay back and observe the rep simply instructing those passengers with Princess transfers to "just toss your bags onto that large trolley over there"--what's to stop you?

 

...other than your sailing from a port where the porters demand everyone on the bus identify their bags as they come off--for the sole purpose of extorting a tip. Your bags may end up going for a swim in that case.

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I was only saying that the rep will let you use their stapler.

 

However if you lay back and observe the rep simply instructing those passengers with Princess transfers to "just toss your bags onto that large trolley over there"--what's to stop you?

 

...other than your sailing from a port where the porters demand everyone on the bus identify their bags as they come off--for the sole purpose of extorting a tip. Your bags may end up going for a swim in that case.

 

Ah rats. I think we won't risk that and just schlep them to our own shuttle ... thanks for replying!

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My mother in law is a stickler for detail. For her cruise, I helped her tag her bags. The Princess instructions explicitly state to attach the tags before getting to/into the plane. This is what we did, even though it is literally a piece of folded paper stapled around the bag's handle. Everything went just as it should have!!

 

I did print a second tag and put it in an exterior pocket of the bag, just in case the first one ripped off during the flight.

 

If I we're going myself, I would use a plastic bag tag upon arrival at the destination airport. This may be a bit paranoid, but past experience has led me to this. Which means it may not be paranoia!

 

OTOH, could there be a situation where one leaves the airport before their bag's arrival, and it only makes it to the ship because it is pre-tagged?

 

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Personal preference, I guess! I put mine on after I arrive at my destination, but I like to fly in a day or two early. I use the plastic holders, just more convenient.

 

I have luggage tag holders on my suitcase and I put my destination hotel plus the ship in case my luggage goes astray as I always take connecting flights.

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The key is to attach the tags at your last "stop" before going to the ship. If you are flying in on the day of the cruise--home airport to destination airport to ship--you can put them on before leaving home or at the destination airport. If you are flying in a day or more early and going to a hotel, doing other stuff before the cruise, or whatever, we place the cruise tags on at the last stop before the ship. Usually this is a hotel.

 

Disney's instructions are very different from Princess'. DCL makes the point that you should apply them as I explained above. Princess just says to apply them before leaving home.

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The key is to attach the tags at your last "stop" before going to the ship. If you are flying in on the day of the cruise--home airport to destination airport to ship--you can put them on before leaving home or at the destination airport. If you are flying in a day or more early and going to a hotel' date=' doing other stuff before the cruise, or whatever, we place the cruise tags on at the last stop before the ship. Usually this is a hotel.

 

Disney's instructions are very different from Princess'. DCL makes the point that you should apply them as I explained above. Princess just says to apply them before leaving home.[/quote']

Thank you so much for pointing out the policy differences. It clarifies what happened on our last Disney Cruise and makes me more comfortable in attaching the tags at home.

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I don't see any good reason to put cruise tags on a bag that is being checked with an airline. What's the rush? Place the tag in and inside pocket and after arriving at destination, rip off the airline tag and apply the cruise tag. Seems simple enough.

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Everyone has their own approach.

 

We just wait till we claim our luggage and we attach it when we go to the port. If from airport to port we attach it after claiming luggage and if from hotel to port on the morning of embarkation we attach them at the hotel.

 

Keith

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Everyone has their own approach.

 

We just wait till we claim our luggage and we attach it when we go to the port. If from airport to port we attach it after claiming luggage and if from hotel to port on the morning of embarkation we attach them at the hotel.

 

Keith

We do the same! Love the plastic tag holders.

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