White Star Service.

Has anybody used this service and how much does it cost?

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Has anybody used this service and how much does it cost?

 

 

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It's expensive but works. See https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/before-you-sail/white_star

There may be alternatives like couriers etc.

It's expensive but works. See https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/before-you-sail/white_star

 

 

 

There may be alternatives like couriers etc.

Thanks. There is other couriers in this country might do a combination. The other half is thinking we ought to factor in the expense😄

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I used it and was very happy with the service. I used it to send one large bag to the ship from the U.S. before a cruise so I could enjoy a couple of days before the cruise in Paris and London without having to haul around a lot of luggage. I ended up also using the service after the cruise for sending the bag to Washington from New York. Needless to say, I was concerned about whether the bag would get to the ship before we sailed, but it was there and everything worked out fine.

Has anybody used this service and how much does it cost?

 

 

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Wouldn't do it any other way!! Have used it four times now and no problems! However, I hope I didn't just

Jinx myself as I'm sailing again in July!

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I used it and was very happy with the service. I used it to send one large bag to the ship from the U.S. before a cruise so I could enjoy a couple of days before the cruise in Paris and London without having to haul around a lot of luggage. I ended up also using the service after the cruise for sending the bag to Washington from New York. Needless to say, I was concerned about whether the bag would get to the ship before we sailed, but it was there and everything worked out fine.

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I've used the service three times, each time to ship a bag from the US to Southampton. It's expensive, but the good part is that it will be delivered to your stateroom. I'm not sure if that's possible with another carrier.

You can call or email them for a price quote. The least expensive is up to 30 pounds, and I think it was something like $225. Part of the expense is that the carrier is also your customs agent, seeing your luggage through their checkpoints. Shipping domestically is cheaper.

You need to make arrangements no later than 3 or 4 weeks before the sailing, and pickup is usually about two weeks before. DHL is the carrier, and you'll have a tracking number so you can see where your luggage is. Our bag was collected at our home on April 24 and was in Soton on the 29th, for QM2's May 9 departure.

As the credit card commercials say, not having to drag around an extra piece of luggage...priceless!

Has anybody used this service and how much does it cost?

 

I used White Star Service for my large bag from NY to MD because I was making a train connection at Penn Station, difficult at best. We arrived 12/22 and the luggage was at my door 12/27. Cost discounted about $70 for the one bag.

Wow. That time frame (Apart from the price) is quite ludicrous.

Does anyone know if you can leave your bag with the purser to hand over to White Star when arriving in NY? White Star told me the purser would handle this but I have seen others say you have to claim luggage and go through customs before handing it over to FEDEX

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Does anyone know if you can leave your bag with the purser to hand over to White Star when arriving in NY? White Star told me the purser would handle this but I have seen others say you have to claim luggage and go through customs before handing it over to FEDEX

 

 

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The purser has always told us that we had to claim our luggage and go through customs before White Star would come to our rescue.

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Does anyone know if you can leave your bag with the purser to hand over to White Star when arriving in NY? White Star told me the purser would handle this but I have seen others say you have to claim luggage and go through customs before handing it over to FEDEX...

If you are disembarking in NY arrangements to ship your luggage home can be made on board. Once you pass through US Customs there is an addended drop off area to leave your bag. If "home" is outside the US the only items you will be able to send back are previously worn clothing and shoes. No souveniers, no electronics, no jewelry. This is due to international customs regulations and tariffs.

I was told by White Star in the US that the baggage could be handled by the purser. I used a luggage shipping service on another cruise line once and we definitely had to claim luggage and clear customs then drop it outside. Sounds like the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. I reside in the US so that isn’t a factor.

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I was told by White Star in the US that the baggage could be handled by the purser. I used a luggage shipping service on another cruise line once and we definitely had to claim luggage and clear customs then drop it outside. Sounds like the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. I reside in the US so that isn’t a factor.

 

 

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You always have to take your own luggage through US customs in NYC regardless of nationality UNLESS you've already cleared at a previous port like Bar Harbor or Newport for example.

When we were on the QV in 2015 we cleared customs in Hawaii so when we got to LA we could walk right off, Cunard had already gathered up all the White Star luggage for us.

If you are disembarking in NY arrangements to ship your luggage home can be made on board. Once you pass through US Customs there is an addended drop off area to leave your bag. If "home" is outside the US the only items you will be able to send back are previously worn clothing and shoes. No souveniers, no electronics, no jewelry. This is due to international customs regulations and tariffs.

I think it's an insurance thing, too. Or maybe theft avoidance? We're shipping a bag from Yorkshire to Southampton, and the rules of no electronics, no jewelry, no liquids were the same as shipping from the US to Southampton. I don't know what the rules are for within the US.

Interestingly, we learned that the rules for "left luggage" (Excess Baggage Co.) at train stations in the UK have the same restrictions. Liquids are probably a potential mess issue. And the rest is probably to avoid being accused of theft.

Hi. Does anyone know how the White Star luggage service works when coming from NY and docking in Southampton? We want to send home (to the US) a suitcase after a crossing. Does the guest have to claim their own luggage on the pier and have it picked up by White Star there, or is the luggage left outside the cabin the night before departure to be picked up by White Star and you don't see it again until it is delivered to your home?

In case you don't get a specific reply, I can offer a more generic one. We've not done it in Southampton, and after a few years, the situations where we used White Star on Cunard or another line blur, but in both situations, we were given a clear folder with the docs to attach to the bag (and perhaps a special color tag) and we left them with the rest of our bags in the hall. We picked it up with the rest of our bags (again, there may have been a special color). We needed to take the bags through customs. On the other side, there was a counter (or guy under a sign with a cart) to drop the bags off. (no signing [the bags have the info] just a drop and a wave).

Of course, you can schedule the delivery to happen after your return home.

In case you don't get a specific reply, I can offer a more generic one. We've not done it in Southampton, and after a few years, the situations where we used White Star on Cunard or another line blur, but in both situations, we were given a clear folder with the docs to attach to the bag (and perhaps a special color tag) and we left them with the rest of our bags in the hall. We picked it up with the rest of our bags (again, there may have been a special color). We needed to take the bags through customs. On the other side, there was a counter (or guy under a sign with a cart) to drop the bags off. (no signing [the bags have the info] just a drop and a wave).

 

Of course, you can schedule the delivery to happen after your return home.

Thanks, Mark, for your detailed and helpful reply.

Anyone have any experience of using the White Star luggage service in Australia? (Does it even exist there?)

Looking to send the "cruise clothes" from QE in Melbourne to QM2 in Perth about four weeks later.

Both ships are in Sydney in between these dates and it would be so much easier if they could just transfer the baggage from one ship to the other, but I'm sure they're going to say no.

Regards, Colin.

In case you don't get a specific reply, I can offer a more generic one. We've not done it in Southampton, and after a few years, the situations where we used White Star on Cunard or another line blur, but in both situations, we were given a clear folder with the docs to attach to the bag (and perhaps a special color tag) and we left them with the rest of our bags in the hall. We picked it up with the rest of our bags (again, there may have been a special color). We needed to take the bags through customs. On the other side, there was a counter (or guy under a sign with a cart) to drop the bags off. (no signing [the bags have the info] just a drop and a wave).

 

Of course, you can schedule the delivery to happen after your return home.

By the way, when leaving Red Hook a couple of weeks ago, I kept an eye out - and on the long hallway after customs, there were two spots with signs and someone to take the luggage. One was for "Luggage Forward" and one was for "White Star Service."

- Mark

By the way, when leaving Red Hook a couple of weeks ago, I kept an eye out - and on the long hallway after customs, there were two spots with signs and someone to take the luggage. One was for "Luggage Forward" and one was for "White Star Service."

 

- Mark

Were they staffed or just an area set aside? It's been awhile since we've come in through Red Hook and we always self-disembark, I know the corridor you're talking about.

I never noticed people there or signs but then again I didn't use White Star on those trips. On our next T/A we will still self disembark but will have White Star take some of our luggage so it would be good to know they are there first thing in the morning.

Were they staffed or just an area set aside?

There were people beneath the signs to accept the bags. (...and, yes, it was THAT long hallway. The spots were along the left wall as you exited.)

- Mark

I have used this service for years both for domestic and international shipping and I would never travel with out it. The paper work is significant. You have to have a manifest with shipped items detailed and prices. You get $2000 insurance, I usually increase it to $4000 for modest cost. Your manifest value should be (magically) equal to or less than the insurance. You need to have several copies of your passport as well.

In the US, Cunard asks for a copy of all paperwork so that if necessary they can intercede and provide copies any where along the line. I have gotten to the point that I keep a master copy of my list, and use it to pack from. That way you don't forget anything. And it simplifies the completion of the paperwork.

I usually ship one 50lb bag and the cost to Europe/UK is $450 with Fedex shipping when I get home included. And in my opinion worth every penny. When I return to Brooklyn, the bag goes with me through Customs and Immigration and is left at the White Star location to be shipped home. If you going the other way, there is a similar arrangement in Southampton.

You can ship domestically either by air or ground. Air is second day, ground takes about a week from NYC to Texas.

Anyone have any experience of using the White Star luggage service in Australia? (Does it even exist there?)

 

Looking to send the "cruise clothes" from QE in Melbourne to QM2 in Perth about four weeks later.

 

Both ships are in Sydney in between these dates and it would be so much easier if they could just transfer the baggage from one ship to the other, but I'm sure they're going to say no.

 

Regards, Colin.

Hello Colin.

I haven’t used the White Star luggage service in or to Australia but I have used Luggage Forward from Southampton to send a case to Melbourne, Australia. That worked perfectly well including delaying delivery of the case until my return home. A quick search hasn’t revealed any information on White Star luggage in Australia but I see that the Luggage Forward service does operate within Australia- they use DHL to transport the items. It’s very expensive but the convenience is huge.

Hope that helps in some small way.