How to I.D. my luggage from yours???

[KAJOKG]

I use all of the above!!! I also wrap a tan luggage strap around the black bag and that's mostly how I identify my luggage. Magellan (a travel supply catalog) is selling bright colored wrap around name strap with velcro closures. You wrap them around the handles of you luggage with you name clearly printed on top. If someone goes to pick up the luggage, they will clearly see your name. I haven't ordered any yet, but plan to soon. Their web site is http://www.magellans.com.

[mii]

the same way that I mark our 'black' suitcases....but I'm not gonna tell you how that is :p cause then someone else will duplicate my way and I will once again never find it :D ...So it's my little secret (that stands out in a crowd!!)

June

 

You know Junebug has a point. I thought about telling this board how we mark our luggage but then I thought maybe someone else would take our idea and run with with so I am sorry but I am not going to tell anyone either.:D

 

Marilyn

 

p.s. By the way it did work last week when we came home from our cruise. Spotted that luggage right off the bat.

[Pam in CA]

After taking my first cruise a few years ago after a long hiatus, I realized that my black luggage was going to be too difficult to find. So, I bought a very large and a weekender suitcase at Marshalls that are a deep purple. They are very easy to spot either on the pier or on an airline carousel. Nowadays, I use the Magellan florescent pink handle wraps on both handles as well as a large luggage tag.

 

As I've gotten more efficient packing for cruises, and the need for more formal wear has lessened, I got a medium-sized (25") suitcase that I took on a couple of cruises, including my recent 21-day cruise. Unfortunately, one handle was torn off (there went the luggage tag) from the hotel to Manaus, and the other handle was torn off on the flight home, so there went all of my identification. That suitcase has been tossed away (I'm getting compensated for the cost of the bag by Princess), so I've ordered a brand new 26" suitcase that's half-hardsided, half-soft and has strips of color on the sides from Eagle Creek. It's pretty unique and should be easy-to-spot. This time, I ordered it from a luggage specialty store and it's got a lifetime guarantee.

[Drumbum1977]

SPRAY PAINT! A big yellow smiley face on them......best thing I ever saw!

[gg3]

Just returned from Hobby Lobby and they have sheets of super stick, double sided tape. So you can take any fabric, ribbon, pictures - lay them on one side of tape sheet, cut it out and press onto luggage. Really individualize your luggage. gg

[June Bug]

I will tell you of a funny way I saw that someone marked their bags on our last cruise.....with big strips of white tape on the sides and written in black magic marker on them in HUGE letters was "NOT YOUR BAGS!" :D

June

[zimmerjulie]

Loved reading everybody's ideas!

 

Here is part of a thread that I started on another board, with the same black suitcase dilemma.

 

"Hi All,

I received a classic black suitcase and was thinking of ways to alter it so that I can distinguish it from the thousands of other black suitcases filling airports, cruise terminal luggage pick up areas, etc. I do the "colorful tassel tied on the handle", but was thinking of something a bit different.

 

I thought of the big, boxy travel trunks plastered with stickers of the various tourist sights memorialized and displayed by the traveler. I thought of the sew-on, embroidery-type patches for backpacks, scout sashes, military ops, etc. and wondered if there was anything like this for cruise ships.

 

I think it would be neat to have sew-on, or maybe sew-on/iron-on patches for all of the ships. It would be an inexpensive memento, small and easy to collect. People could use them for scrapbooking, sun hat embellishment, ways to ID other Cruise Critic members;) , etc. Best of all, I could buy a patch for each cruise, then sew them all on my bag to have a cool suitcase/memory board/conversation piece that would add to the excitement and fun of the trip!

 

Has anyone seen anything like this? What do you think?"

 

I have, as yet, been unsuccessful in getting all of the cruise lines to create these embroidered patches and sell them in the gift shops;) . I searched online and found reference to a series of articles about how to paint your suitcases, but couldn't find the magazine at the craft stores, and don't have a lot of confidence in my painting abilities anyway.

 

I thought the white tape "NOT YOUR BAG" idea was so funny. I'd have to add a winking smiley on, as well, but might have to try this.

[sunprincess]

I have green luggage, not black. Same thing. I have multiple luggage tags on them along with ribbons tied to the handles.

[Steamboatin]

Spray painted our luggage with the International Orange emergency warning colored spray paint. Than in center sprayed white circle with our initials painted black in the white circle. It is certainly ugly but easy to identify.

[Blamar]

Our last name starts with W' date=' so I used silver duct tape to mark a huge W on each side of each black bag. I can see it coming down the luggage carousel from a mile away. ;)

 

I think this would be a great idea with the exception that I would miss the luggage because I would only see the piece with the big M on it. :)

[MichTraveler]

I use florescent tape I got at my fishing & tackle store. One time I left my bag with a hotel porter for the day. "What's it look like?" Black, 22" American Tourister, Wheels, with Red florescent tape on all sides. Got it immediately after I mentioned the tape :D Mostly I try to just use carry-on and not check luggage.

[marcruiser]

Our last name starts with W' date=' so I used silver duct tape to mark a huge W on each side of each black bag. I can see it coming down the luggage carousel from a mile away. ;)

 

Now I know how to meet you on our cruise, just look for the duct tape W's!

Haven't figured out exactly how we'll mark our luggage this trip. Have bright color luggage tags and ribbons. But after reading these I'm afraid the ribbons we have are too plain...oh well, guess I'll have to hit the craft store. See you soon, I hope.

[LARGIN]

I make 2 large laminated luggage tags for each suitcase. Each one is 4" x 6" in size. One is specific to the cruise and shows a picture of the ship on one side and the itinerary on the other along with our name, cell phone and cabin number. The other has our name and cell phone number on both sides.. The luggage is Travelpro Platinum and also easy to spot.

[SaltwaterTwo]

Electrical ties. Plentiful at Home Depot and other hardware stores. They are cheap. They come in bright colors. They are almost indestructible and cannot be removed with out cutting them off. I take extras and give them to our cruise mates. We all use the same combination of colors, for example, bright red and blue, (you can add a third and fourth color if you like) and that way we look out for each other's bags on disembarkation or at the bagage place in airports.

 

 

Saltwater Two. Saltwater, that's me. Two, that's my DW

 

[CruiseFever]

We use the black and yellow striped hazard warning tape that you might see on the floor around some area you are not supposed to be in. It's available at hardware stores as is multicolored duct tape which also works nicely.3

 

We put a strip of the hazard tape on all surfaces of the luggage so that any way it happens to tumble down onto the luggage carousel it can be seen from afar.

 

[seastar2]

bright yellow police caution tape tied to the handles....I recyled some tape left near my house after the road was closed.....:D

 

With the new weight limits I doubt that I will be using the huge black bags and will definitly get a color or pattern when I replace the bags...lugggage big enough for a small child to live in excedes the 50lb airline limit real fast.

[MaryPoppinz]

I make 2 large laminated luggage tags for each suitcase. Each one is 4" x 6" in size. One is specific to the cruise and shows a picture of the ship on one side and the itinerary on the other along with our name, cell phone and cabin number. The other has our name and cell phone number on both sides.. The luggage is Travelpro Platinum and also easy to spot.

 

I also do something similar with a laminated 4x6 UltraBright paper that I make into a luggage tag and replace each time we travel. I include our personal information, hotel information, and itinerary on it.

 

I also put a copy inside the bag.

[camperhawk]

Maybe not with "policy" but took the blue rubber tourniquets from my job. They don't come off and worked perfectly!

[gg3]

:D One of the easiest ways that I used in the past to I.D. luggage was to put "cloud" stickers on green leather luggage (vinyl, I'm sure:p ). There are soooo many varieties of stickers, and these clouds could be seen a long way off and they never came off, even when I donated them to Goodwill, the clouds were still there. Lots of easy, cheap, great ideas.

[gg3]

Ok - I am now officially "almost packed", and have all the luggage decorations to make ours stand out from all the other black luggage. This will be my last luggage notice, since we leave 6/24 - but wanted to say what I found to mark the luggage. I'm using a neon "pink/gold/blue" looking curly ribbon on handles + neon hot lime ribbon. Then I will use bright flower stickers on all sides of luggage. Now I'm not saying this is "classy looking" :) . Don't you know hubby will think that is great - :rolleyes: - but he really won't care if we locate it quickly. I think the trick is to try and find something big enough, bright enough, and different enough to stand out in the sea of black luggage. gg

[regnig]

I've gone to the fabric store and got the most vibrant color material I could find and tied big bows on the handles of our luggage. I've also seen people take duct tape and make a huge initial on the outside of their bags! It was VERY noticable!

 

Deb

 

I'd swear Deb must have seen our luggage. Our Wal-Mart has a section of material at $1.00 a yard and I've purchased a yard of the most gawd awful orange knit that probably would glow in the dark. I cut wide strips and attached one to each handle (some cases have more than one) of each suit case. In addition I've used red duct tape on all sides of each case. In this manner it makes no difference how the luggage is sitting we can always see one of our identifiers and I no longer worry about finding our pieces in that sea of luggage. Putting just small pieces of something on the main handle doesn't always work if the case is turned on it's end. The last two years at Port Everglades when we disembarked all our luggage was together rather than spread all about. I guess the baggage handlers figured it was so ugly it needed to stay grouped with it's friends! :D

[caxxandra]

oh! I know! I'll bring big ugly stickers and take the plastic sheet it sat on with me, so when I got the cases back at the terminal I can peel off the stickers, put them back on the plastic sheets inside the bags, and TA-DA! Nice looking suitcases again!

 

*lol*

 

Have to make some really fun one's. Like Mr.Bean with his Teddy or Austin Powers, Mini Me and there posse!

 

/Sandra

[trawalru]

My daughter recently bought lime green luggage. On our last trip to St. Martin, everybody had the red bags she had so we made the change. I personally don't like the color but she loves it and its bright. Can't miss it.

 

For or next cruise, I plan on using some camo duct tape my husband has.

[skibozo]

For or next cruise, I plan on using some camo duct tape my husband has.

 

.....ummmm, if the camo works, how do you find them?!?!?! :D

[jnc411]

Hi, we use the plastic hawaiian leis that you get at party supply stores. Brighter the better and I even mix the colors orange/green or red/yellow. Tie them around the luggage handle , wrap a couple times, couple knots, it will not come off and it sticks out like a sore thumb in the stacks of luggage. When we got off the ship in Ft Lauderdale last time , it was a mess, luggage everywhere , people everywhere. But we saw our luggage right away, same thing at the airport. Works for us. And you can mix the colors up anyway you want so it will be different from anyone else : )

And yes you do have to be careful at the airports, people do walk off with your luggage with out checking, so this readily identifies your luggage.

Cori