Question about Bags (and do bags get lost?)

Im sure if I dig around enough I can find this answer, but not immediately seeing it so I will just post a question.

 

From what I am reading, my understanding is that I cannot carry-on a bag onto RC if its bigger than a carry-on bag for domestic flights. So what happens to the bigger bag? Do i drop it off when we check in? Just wondering if I should avoid a bigger bag if at all possible. Is it like the airlines where the bag might not make it on the boat? At least with the airlines, they deliver your bag to you at the destination (if you are there long enough). I don't think I would get my bag in the Caribbean.

 

Also, is it more hassle to deal with a bag that you have to check?'

 

We are doing a 9-day cruise. 9 days of clothes + snorkel gear for the family + my laptop + formal night clothing (suit) is a bit much and it would be easier to bring a large bag (especially since we are driving to the cruise, not flying)

It is, in fact, the opposite of airlines in almost every respect. Which is good news for you as you can relax and stop worrying about something that is stressing you.

First, think of airport luggage intake. Depending on the time and size of the airport you might have dozens of flights going through check-in with a lot of luggage. The luggage has to be sorted out so that each piece gets to the correct plane, out of maybe a couple dozen or more planes. Then down the road, if it not a non-stop the luggage needs to be transferred to some other specific plane, out of dozens, at the layover airport. It is a complicated system, and I still marvel when my luggage turns up on the carousel.

Now a cruise ship. You might have a couple (or even a few?) of ships embarking on any given day. And they are big enough that there is a lot of separation between where the people, and hence the luggage, are dropped off. There is never any commingling of the luggage between the two ships. No sorting. No layover transfers. The luggage goes right onto the ship with virtually no opportunity to go astray.

At *that* point some sorting has to take place as the luggage gets distributed to the rooms. Occasionally we hear of luggage going astray at this point, but since all the luggage is *somewhere* on the ship it generally gets sorted out. I can't recall too many reports of outright loss, and those few generally involved clueless pax who got the mistaken luggage and didn't say anything.

I hope this assuages your concerns. If you haven't been on a cruise before it can be a little hard to visualize how it works.

I hate to throw concern into what you talked about, however do know of friends of ours who recently were boarding a cruise and their luggage somehow got on a Disney ship. How that could have happened I can't say as they were boarding a different cruise line. The odds of that happening have to be extremely small. I would need to look back on their past cruises to see where they left from but believe it could have been Port Canaveral. They did get their luggage 2 to 3 days later when both ships arrived at the same port.

I hate to throw concern into what you talked about, however do know of friends of ours who recently were boarding a cruise and their luggage somehow got on a Disney ship. How that could have happened I can't say as they were boarding a different cruise line. The odds of that happening have to be extremely small. I would need to look back on their past cruises to see where they left from but believe it could have been Port Canaveral. They did get their luggage 2 to 3 days later when both ships arrived at the same port.

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I hate to throw concern into what you talked about, however do know of friends of ours who recently were boarding a cruise and their luggage somehow got on a Disney ship. How that could have happened I can't say as they were boarding a different cruise line. The odds of that happening have to be extremely small. I would need to look back on their past cruises to see where they left from but believe it could have been Port Canaveral. They did get their luggage 2 to 3 days later when both ships arrived at the same port.

Perhaps they had a shuttle driver like we did. See below for how it almost happened to my family.

Dont think that would happen at PC. The terminals are quite aways apart. Maybe Miami where they are all in a row.

Well actually that ALMOST happened to us once years ago (don’t remember which port). Drove in day before and took a hotel shuttle van to the port in the morning. Our Royal Caribbean cruise ship was at the second of the two terminals the shuttle stopped at and our luggage was GONE! The driver had unloaded our luggage from the back of the van at the first stop! :eek:

Driver hightailed it back to the first terminal and we frantically searched the luggage carts. Thankfully, we found our luggage on two of several full carts that were waiting to be loaded onto a Princess cruise ship. (The shiny neon green ribbons I had on all the handles of my black luggage helped immensely!)

I’ve always wondered what would have happened if they had started loading those two carts? Obviously, the porters never looked at the luggage tags before they tossed them in the carts. Would they just be run through the scanners and onto the huge carts on the ship? And then what would have been our chances of getting our luggage back before our ship sailed?!

After that extremely stressful experience, we always watched as passengers’ luggage was being unloaded if we were not the first stop on a shuttle. And I continue to use those shiny neon green ribbons on my new gray and yellow luggage.

~ Judy

Size of the scanners for carry on differ from port to port.

Some ports can handle full sized bags, others cannot.

But I see no reason to not check bags on a cruise.

I hate to throw concern into what you talked about, however do know of friends of ours who recently were boarding a cruise and their luggage somehow got on a Disney ship. How that could have happened I can't say as they were boarding a different cruise line. The odds of that happening have to be extremely small. I would need to look back on their past cruises to see where they left from but believe it could have been Port Canaveral. They did get their luggage 2 to 3 days later when both ships arrived at the same port.

I was going to say that I seem to remember a thread from a long time ago where someone's bag was found on another ship that was sharing the pier. I no longer remember the details.

I've never seen a sign saying not to tip the porters and many people do. I do agree that they don't really deserve much (if anything) for the minimal amount of work that they do. When we sailed on Oasis several years ago, I had to wait several minutes for one of them to just put my bags on the cart. I should have just done it myself.

 

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I tip them now as I do not print luggage tags since RCI stopped supplying them. So I tip them for writing out tags for me. I hardly think moving a bag from the sidewalk onto a rack is enough service to need a tip. I am perfectly able, and willing, to do that myself.

I could see that happening if a shuttle is off loading luggage at different terminals as he goes from one cruise line to another.The one time my husbands larger suitcase got lost for part of the day, one of the luggage holders with the metal loop got snagged on something in the shuttle and ripped off. The handle attached a new one but apparently that fell off which was why it didn't make it to our room. My husband had to go looking for it. I now use the Zip lock ties to secure my luggage holders.

Size of the scanners for carry on differ from port to port.

 

Some ports can handle full sized bags, others cannot.

 

But I see no reason to not check bags on a cruise.

We each travel with a 25" suitcase and carry it on with us. Have sailed from many ports both domestic and international and the 25" bag has fit through all the scanners. We like the ability to unpack early and enjoy our 1st day onboard.

Sue I never thought about trying to put the 25" through the scanner. I have pretty much down sized to carry on, a 22 ". I figure out my first week of clothes then repeat for 2nd week. 2/3 pair of evening shoes. rest is made up of blouses daily shoes, and essentials.

Gay

As soon as we got home I bought these luggage tag holders: https://amzn.to/2NUvhT3 Don't have to worry about the tag ripping, or getting wet, or otherwise being damaged at all, so provided us with piece of mind

I second these tags. We've had them for several years and they ROCK.

Yes it can happen. Does it happen often no. Your bag will make it on the ship. Odds are if it's lost it was delivered to another room in error. Guest services will help track it down. Odds of it being MIA the entire trip slim

One time on one of the smaller ships, not all our bags were delivered all the way to the room. They had set up a luggage "parking lot" so to speak down the corridor in an open area near the elevators. We found a couple of our bags there. Not sure if that's something they still do anymore anywhere.

Not that this is common by any means...but it did prove the worse can happen.

Cruising out of PC almost to the Jetty, we were sitting in the Viking Crown lounge on MJ last year.

Looked down to the water to see a large purple suitcase floating on out to sea next to us...trailing an obvious luggage tag. Oooops!! :o:eek::(

That one never showed up in the lost luggage department. :eek:

We actually lost a bag leaving the ship last year. The bags that you do not carry off get put in a giant room in an organized way, by sections. Still, you have to find your section, then find your bags in your section. Last year, someone else picked up one of my bags before we were released from the ship. They were 20 miles away from the port with my bag in his trunk because he didn't look at the tag. The bags were similar in size and shape, but my name was clearly on the bag. I think the debarking process (as is) creates more chance of bags being lost or stolen. In my case, it was an honest mistake and thankfully, he turned around and brought it back to the port. It delayed our travel plans home by about an hour, but I was grateful to get it back.

I have these Pom Pom like tassels on my luggage also wraps with my Screen name so hopefully mine will not get picked up by accident.:). Also since I am using the 22 " more now, Luggage goes with me from moment I board the plane to cruise terminal

Yes it can happen. Does it happen often no. Your bag will make it on the ship. Odds are if it's lost it was delivered to another room in error. Guest services will help track it down. Odds of it being MIA the entire trip slim

Well it might happen more than you think. [emoji6]

We have only cruised 4times so far and our 4th cruise my sons luggage was dumped and lost in the ocean. Along with few other people’s bags.

We only know this because we talked to another guest who saw a whole bunch fall in and apparently there was no rush to retrieve anything. This was the first time I used packing cubes and tightly packed everything so I’m sure it sunk like a rock. Thank god it wasn’t mine!

Be safe and carry on your important items.

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I could see that happening if a shuttle is off loading luggage at different terminals as he goes from one cruise line to another.The one time my husbands larger suitcase got lost for part of the day, one of the luggage holders with the metal loop got snagged on something in the shuttle and ripped off. The handle attached a new one but apparently that fell off which was why it didn't make it to our room. My husband had to go looking for it. I now use the Zip lock ties to secure my luggage holders.

This is exactly why we will never use a hotel shuttle again. Allure was the last stop for our shuttle so he made 4 stops before Allure. At each stop, one person from each family had to get off and make sure he did not unload the wrong luggage at the wrong pier. It took forever to reach Allure and was quite a hassle since the hotel did not properly load the luggage onto the shuttle at the start. No one wanted to risk losing their luggage and I can tell you the shuttle driver did not really care if he got it right or not. It was a very unpleasant experience.

One of the vile side of cruising are those that have truly LOUSY excuses for not tipping. You can check all large luggage, and small luggage with the porters.....be sure you have tags, if not, they do! Please do not stiff them...a selfish reason is that the luggage tag will not be "accidently torn off the bag.

Ships are way different from airlines. GO to an airport, there are 30, 40, 30o flights coming and going. On a ship, you go to one pier, for one ship. They 99.9% of the time "sweep" the staging area for any bags that might be there PRIOR to departure.

Tipping is part of the cruise culture, you will find a ton of bad excuses, please do not join that low class group.

One of the vile side of cruising are those that have truly LOUSY excuses for not tipping. You can check all large luggage, and small luggage with the porters.....be sure you have tags, if not, they do! Please do not stiff them...a selfish reason is that the luggage tag will not be "accidently torn off the bag.

Ships are way different from airlines. GO to an airport, there are 30, 40, 30o flights coming and going. On a ship, you go to one pier, for one ship. They 99.9% of the time "sweep" the staging area for any bags that might be there PRIOR to departure.

Tipping is part of the cruise culture, you will find a ton of bad excuses, please do not join that low class group.

In most cases I would agree with you, but not the longshoremen making 6 figures who are just doing the job that they are paid the 6 figures for. Unlike, say, ship's crew, the longshoremen are not paid a substandard wage in the expectation that tips will make up the difference. You can be sure the cruise lines don't tip them even though they have to handle are of the provisions being brought on board.

They don't make substandard wages that need to be tipped up, and there really is nothing 'above and beyond in what they do. So, no tip for them.

You might consider that a bad excuse, but I call it common sense.

1. All you need to do is drop the bag with the porter. Unlike airlines, the ship is directly in front of you, and the bags go straight to that ship. Kind of tough to get lost. However, on the ship, the bags are delivered by ship personal, and yes, sometimes they get to the wrong floor etc. Eventually, the couple of bags misplaced, will show up.

 

2. NO NEED TO TIP THE PORTER - and if you look, you might even find a sign that states that. The "porter" only places a bag on a cart. That cart, is touched by a dozen people, after that first person. Don't get the confused as a real porter that delivers a bag to your room or destination. Think of them as the person on the airplane as you look outside the window. They chuck the bag onto a cart, or belt. That's all they do. No one tips those people.

I have encountered folks that have:

1. Had bags put on the wrong ship when they boarded on a day with multiple ships in port at the same pier

2. Had bags that had to be retrieved from the water when an entire container got dumped when being loaded onto the ship (the ship paid for laundering all of the clothes and cleaned the bags, was 2 days before they got access to their belongings). The ship sent divers down to retrieve the bags from the bottom. Some floated and they were able to fish them out fairly quickly. Entertaining to watch from the ship.

3. Had bags left on the pier

4. Had bags delivered to the wrong room (the occupants just stuck them under their bed and never reported that they had the bags until the last night when they put their bags out and then asked the Steward what they should do with them)

While it is rare sometimes things do happen. Far more problems occur with baggage on airplanes on the way to the ship.

I will also say that I have never had a problem with my bags. But I do use clear plastic luggage tag holders both embarking and disembarking the ship and put two tags on each bag. Just in case.

Ships are way different from airlines.

Really? So you don't tip the flight attendant (who might make less that the porter at the pier) who helps you with that overweight bag you brought on board which you can't stuff into the overhead bin?

I've never seen a sign saying not to tip the porters and many people do. I do agree that they don't really deserve much (if anything) for the minimal amount of work that they do. When we sailed on Oasis several years ago, I had to wait several minutes for one of them to just put my bags on the cart. I should have just done it myself.

 

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I saw a sign posted when we boarded a HAL ship in Dover, UK. I literally had to force a tip into the porter's hand at which time he accepted it. I find that at International ports, tips are not expected but will be accepted with a smile.

My favorite tipping story is when we boarded a 4 night RCI cruise in Miami. I handed the porter a large bill. He looked at it and said "You don't need to tip me that much!'. I just said to keep it. :)

Kalliekae, that would be unacceptable, although we will take hotel shuttle if going with a group of friends to our ship, we will take a cab more then hotel shuttle. It all depends on how many are going at the same time and availability of the shuttle. i still can't figure out what my husbands bag got caught on to rip off the luggage holder with the metal loop, We. never found the tag and the loop was unusable. We stopped by one of the porters who slipped a new tag on but then that came off. Now all I do is carry on.

Yes it can happen. Does it happen often no. Your bag will make it on the ship. Odds are if it's lost it was delivered to another room in error. Guest services will help track it down. Odds of it being MIA the entire trip slim

Not lost but on a recent cruise our luggage was not delivered by 11PM. The Stewards could not find them . We found our suitcases in a large closet like room on the ship.

Not lost but on a recent cruise our luggage was not delivered by 11PM. The Stewards could not find them . We found our suitcases in a large closet like room on the ship.

Crazy! You can roam around the ship and found your missing luggage but a staff member couldn't. You deserved a tip. ;)