what every cruiser needs to know about lost luggage

[cmaygar]

Exactly...I've used this service for my 2 Alaskan cruises on HAL and it worked magically. I know that it is not offered at any foreign ports. When I used the valet service, I needed to apply for the service on the first or second night of the cruise and fill out the paperwork for our luggage and boarding passes. The OP apparently didn't follow the luggage retrieval instructions.

 

Perhaps he used this service for an American-based cruise and assumed that he could do it again. I don't see how RCCL is liable for his negligence. He basically abandoned his luggage due to his own negligence.

[cmaygar]

For our 54 day trip next yr, with cruises and land trip I would love to know how to pack 54 days into a rollaway carry on luggage. Better go take that packing class next week. :)

 

You better have a budget set aside for laundry service! You'll need it!

[cmaygar]

We know that he didn't purchase valet service because that service is not offered by RCCL in any non-U.S. ports as plainly stated on the RCCL website. With that said, he was responsible to retrieve his luggage from the baggage claim area and ensure that it was loaded into his transfer vehicle to the airport.

[Paulxyz2004]

Don't leave the port without it!!:rolleyes:

 

 

That´s about what I got out of this thread as well, but then it´s something I knew already:rolleyes:

 

When I read the OP the first Thing that came to my mind was ambulance chaser.

 

I guess if someone doesn´t understand how international travel works and doesn´t read the provided documentation, said someone better stay at home.

 

Making a mistake and abandon ones luggage is one thing but to scream foul and blame others for the mistake is certainly not something well received by me.

[Mom.to.2]

I feel badly for the OP. Let's not be "mean behind the screen." He made an honest mistake (albeit HIS mistake, not the cruise line's) and doesn't need us to taunt him. It's true, the OP still doesn't 'get it' that he essentially abandoned his luggage, but we're beating a dead horse here. Let's learn something from this thread and move on.

 

The takeaway lesson: YOU (the passenger) are responsible for claiming your luggage at the disembarkation port, and making sure your luggage comes with you to the airport. Do not leave the port until you have all of your luggage, or have filed a report with the cruise line that clearly documents your luggage is missing.

[rdeluxe]

In response to a number of questions raised - First, the tag does not have a space at write Airline & Flight number. I wrote it on & clearly precisely out of caution, in case something like what did happen happened. I did not expect it but figure if RCCL had the bag or found it somewhere, they would have the goo sense to call the airport. It, of course, had my name & Roomnumber, so it would have taken about 5 minutes to figure out who it belonged to.

 

On the paper given out the day before - and I should note pertient info regarding this should have been given in Ticket materials provided before cruise - there is one place where it says be sure to claim your suitcase once you get off the boat. Further down, however, there is language that refers, in effect, to the Valet program, where they load it for you. As mentioned, when I go off the boat, there were no bags anywhere in site. But since I was instructed to get on bus, I assumed bag, which had in bold print the bus number on it, would be placed on the bus. As to who brought their bags with them and who did not, I can't say. At the airport, I did overhear a couple other people ask the RCcL person where their bags were, because they were not there. But I don't know their circumstances.

 

And aqs to other comments about hpw it is hoped I learned something, the one thing I learned is don't count on a cruiseline to do what is their responsibility. I followed their instructions to a T -but they obviously did not unload luggage in a timely manner - after all they picked it up the night before, they never advised anyone before or after disembarkment that it would be awhile before luggage was unloaded, or be sure not to get on bus until all the luggage is unloaded, so you can claim your bag, etc. So it was a safe assumption it would be put on the bus, and as one of a busfill of passengers, I was hardly in a position to demand that the bus go nowhere until RCCL could prove to me the suitcase had been put onboard.

 

It appears the critics have never had to encounter this situation. Let me know your thoughts when you've done everything you were instructed to do and your luggage disappears. And RCCL says to you tough luck, its your fault.

[cmaygar]

you still have not answered the question did you sign up for luggage valet (or whatever they call it) where they were supposed to take your suitcase to the airport or did you just assume they would take your suitcase to the airport?

 

RCCL does not offer this service outside of specific U.S. ports - period. That is plainly stated on the RCCL website. There is no way he could have signed up for a program that does not exist in European ports on RCCL.

[ticktoneer]

In response to a number of questions raised - First, the tag does not have a space at write Airline & Flight number. I wrote it on & clearly precisely out of caution, in case something like what did happen happened. I did not expect it but figure if RCCL had the bag or found it somewhere, they would have the goo sense to call the airport. It, of course, had my name & Roomnumber, so it would have taken about 5 minutes to figure out who it belonged to.

 

On the paper given out the day before - and I should note pertient info regarding this should have been given in Ticket materials provided before cruise - there is one place where it says be sure to claim your suitcase once you get off the boat. Further down, however, there is language that refers, in effect, to the Valet program, where they load it for you. As mentioned, when I go off the boat, there were no bags anywhere in site. But since I was instructed to get on bus, I assumed bag, which had in bold print the bus number on it, would be placed on the bus. As to who brought their bags with them and who did not, I can't say. At the airport, I did overhear a couple other people ask the RCcL person where their bags were, because they were not there. But I don't know their circumstances.

 

And aqs to other comments about hpw it is hoped I learned something, the one thing I learned is don't count on a cruiseline to do what is their responsibility. I followed their instructions to a T -but they obviously did not unload luggage in a timely manner - after all they picked it up the night before, they never advised anyone before or after disembarkment that it would be awhile before luggage was unloaded, or be sure not to get on bus until all the luggage is unloaded, so you can claim your bag, etc. So it was a safe assumption it would be put on the bus, and as one of a busfill of passengers, I was hardly in a position to demand that the bus go nowhere until RCCL could prove to me the suitcase had been put onboard.

 

It appears the critics have never had to encounter this situation. Let me know your thoughts when you've done everything you were instructed to do and your luggage disappears. And RCCL says to you tough luck, its your fault.

Well said rdeluxe. As a fellow CC'er I'm sorry for the quite blunt and almost ignorant responses from some people to your thread - I refer to those points that go beyond discussion and opinion.

 

Hope your cruises work out in the future.

[rdeluxe]

I must say, it is remarkable how so many of you just have blinders on. Fors instance, the poster who said I should have picked up the suitcase at the baggage claim area. There wasn't any, period. 10 buses were parked next to the boat. I've been told that is impossible. Wrong. Long at the website for services that pcik up passengers. There was no unloading and taking to a terminal. We did not stop at any terminal, assuming there is even one there anymore. The bus left the port - it was the first one - before mopst of the luggage was unloaded from the boat(if not all). For all I know everyone who got on my bus brought there's along - I don't know that but I'm amazed that so many of you can't get it, that there was no luggage or luggage area and I was directed to get on the bus which thereafter left the port.

 

Good luck when this happens to you. And when you get the same response from RCCL I did. Only way they can blow passengers off is because passenger sbuy into what they are selling, such as stories about customs terminals which are nonexistent, and the like,.

[Steppy08]

I'm not sorry for anyone's responses. This is a public forum. You can't stand the heat, get out of the fire.

 

This is just another typical example of someone not reading/understanding/following directions then blaming everyone else for the results. The end.

[cmaygar]

I simply don't buy any of this. While I haven't travelled in Europe since 9/11 (my last trip across the pond was in 2000), I doubt security has gone anywhere but up since. No matter where I travelled, which country I was in, or what the conveyance was that I was using, I never encountered any situation where my luggage and I could be out of sight of each other when boarding a plane, train, bus, taxi, or any other third party transportation. If I wasn't there to point out and identify my luggage, it wouldn't be loaded.

 

Absolutely true. I've been traveling to and from Europe 5 separate times since 2003 (3 Med cruises included) and there is no way in the world that anyone could assume that your bags will be checked on an airline without you personally checking them in. Valet service is not offered by RCCL or any cruise line to my knowledge outside of specific U.S. ports only.

[ticktoneer]

I'm not sorry for anyone's responses. This is a public forum. You can't stand the heat, get out of the fire.

 

This is just another typical example of someone not reading/understanding/following directions then blaming everyone else for the results. The end.

Yawn !!!

[reallyitsmema]

In response to a number of questions raised - First, the tag does not have a space at write Airline & Flight number. I wrote it on & clearly precisely out of caution, in case something like what did happen happened. I did not expect it but figure if RCCL had the bag or found it somewhere, they would have the goo sense to call the airport. It, of course, had my name & Roomnumber, so it would have taken about 5 minutes to figure out who it belonged to.

 

On the paper given out the day before - and I should note pertient info regarding this should have been given in Ticket materials provided before cruise - there is one place where it says be sure to claim your suitcase once you get off the boat. Further down, however, there is language that refers, in effect, to the Valet program, where they load it for you. As mentioned, when I go off the boat, there were no bags anywhere in site. But since I was instructed to get on bus, I assumed bag, which had in bold print the bus number on it, would be placed on the bus. As to who brought their bags with them and who did not, I can't say. At the airport, I did overhear a couple other people ask the RCcL person where their bags were, because they were not there. But I don't know their circumstances.

 

And aqs to other comments about hpw it is hoped I learned something, the one thing I learned is don't count on a cruiseline to do what is their responsibility. I followed their instructions to a T -but they obviously did not unload luggage in a timely manner - after all they picked it up the night before, they never advised anyone before or after disembarkment that it would be awhile before luggage was unloaded, or be sure not to get on bus until all the luggage is unloaded, so you can claim your bag, etc. So it was a safe assumption it would be put on the bus, and as one of a busfill of passengers, I was hardly in a position to demand that the bus go nowhere until RCCL could prove to me the suitcase had been put onboard.

 

It appears the critics have never had to encounter this situation. Let me know your thoughts when you've done everything you were instructed to do and your luggage disappears. And RCCL says to you tough luck, its your fault.

An airline doesn't advise you that it will be a while for your luggage to be unloaded yet you waited for your luggage prior to your cruise.

 

Your luggage didn't disappear, you didn't retrieve it.

[LittleBud'sMom]

I'm not sorry for anyone's responses. This is a public forum. You can't stand the heat, get out of the fire.

 

This is just another typical example of someone not reading/understanding/following directions then blaming everyone else for the results. The end.

 

Must be nice to be perfect. :rolleyes:

[rdeluxe]

You'll find below the cases I included in my claim to RCCL. For those who know all there is to know about cruising, and where legal responsibility lies, don't even bother reading them. No doubt you'll say the courts have no idea what they're talking about.

 

Holmes v. North German Lloyd Steampshirp Co. 184 N.Y. 280(App.N.Y. 1906)

Scire v. American Export Lines, Inc., 93 N.Y.S.2d 457(S.Ct.N.Y. 1949)

Wirth v. S.S. Acadia Forest and Lash Barges, 537 F.2d 1272(5th Cir. 1976)Lechowitzer v. The Hamburg Packet Co., 28 N.Y.S. 577(N.Y. 1894)

 

There are plenty of other cases out there. I included these because they are authority later cases rely on and clearly set out the principles involved, and why those principle have been adopted over the centuries.

[rdeluxe]

What is the point of RCCL putting their Lost Luggage phone number in Miami on each luggage tag they hand out, if they're not open on Sundays? I suspect just as many passengers need their assistance on Sundays as any other day of the week.

[ticktoneer]

Must be nice to be perfect. :rolleyes:

Ha ha ha !! LIKE

 

(And I LOVE your Yorkie)

[Aquahound]

rdelux, perhaps it got lost in the mess of this thread and if already explained, I apologize. Im asking, not flaming. I'm just trying to wrap my head around what happened. You say you marked your bag with your bus number. Did you know your bus number when you put your bags out the night before? :confused:

[Mel8730]

Such hostility here...Sheesh! Did some of you get up on the wrong side of the bed today? First of all, the OP came back and replied...3 times now. Cut him some slack. Second of all, hiding behind an internet personna and being rude is really a form of bullying. It's not a nice thing to do.

 

Play nice...please...for the sake of all of the lurkers who have never posted (and now are afraid to).

 

 

Here here! I've seen some incredibly rude responses today. I thought this forum was supposed to be helpful...

[rt1092]

You'll find below the cases I included in my claim to RCCL. For those who know all there is to know about cruising, and where legal responsibility lies, don't even bother reading them. No doubt you'll say the courts have no idea what they're talking about.

 

Holmes v. North German Lloyd Steampshirp Co. 184 N.Y. 280(App.N.Y. 1906)

Scire v. American Export Lines, Inc., 93 N.Y.S.2d 457(S.Ct.N.Y. 1949)

Wirth v. S.S. Acadia Forest and Lash Barges, 537 F.2d 1272(5th Cir. 1976)Lechowitzer v. The Hamburg Packet Co., 28 N.Y.S. 577(N.Y. 1894)

 

There are plenty of other cases out there. I included these because they are authority later cases rely on and clearly set out the principles involved, and why those principle have been adopted over the centuries.

RDeluxe are you an admiralty trained lawyer?

If you are you will realize suing a cruise ship company is next to impossible (unless you are taken off the ship via ambulance gravely injured, etc.) When you sign your documents you give up most of your rights to sue.

I've been in the nautical industry for 40 years and watched many times as our lawyers made mincemeat of the amulance chasers. No nuisance claims.

 

Just be happy you got your luggage back.

[ahecht]

Here here! I've seen some incredibly rude responses today. I thought this forum was supposed to be helpful...

 

This seems par for the course here at cruisecritic. Post a complaint about RCI and get attacked and insulted. No wonder so many people don't bother coming back after their first post.

[labeachcomber]

FWIW, I don't think I've been nasty or mean. If making multiple responses is considered to be mean, then I'm guilty. But I'm just trying to ask questions and figure out how something like this could have happened.

 

rdelux, perhaps it got lost in the mess of this thread and if already explained, I apologize. Im asking, not flaming. I'm just trying to wrap my head around what happened. You say you marked your bag with your bus number. Did you know your bus number when you put your bags out the night before? :confused:

 

That's what I'm trying to figure out as well. The OP has said he purchased one of the RCI shuttle bus transfers. Having never taken one of these, I'm unfamiliar with how it works. The OP implies that each bus was assigned to each Departure group number. It seems that the OP was the first off the ship, as he says there was no luggage whatsoever on the dock. So we're to assume that the OP was in Group 1? From my experience, the first people off the ship are the people that elect to do Self Disembarkation, where you carry off your luggage on your own and off you go to the airport. Perhaps the OP mistakenly chose/was put in this Self Disembarkation group?

 

So if he was in Group 1, there is a bus that says "Group 1"? And then presumably buses that say "Group 2, Group 23, Group 46, etc.?" It seems to make sense that if you purchase the transfer, they will assign you a bus, so they can keep track of how many people are in each bus and that there is some order as to loading the bus. The OP says that the bus left "when it was full". So does the driver know how many people are supposed to be on the bus? All of the Group 1 people were accounted for? Or do you just leave when it seems like there are no more seats?

 

I'm wondering if everybody carried off their luggage and loaded it into this bus, as the OP states himself that he saw people with luggage, but he was unaware of whether or not everybody had carried off their own luggage. I'm guessing that might be the case.

 

Coming from a family of attorneys, one thing I've learned is that you can never win an argument with a lawyer. Glad that the OP was able to resolve the situation. Would be interesting to see if anybody else who has been on this same sailing and itinerary could comment on the departure process.

[Travel R]

Deleted.

[LittleBud'sMom]

ha ha ha !! Like

 

(and i love your yorkie)

 

 

ty :)

[S.A.M.J.R.]

In response to a number of questions raised - First, the tag does not have a space at write Airline & Flight number. I wrote it on & clearly precisely out of caution, in case something like what did happen happened. I did not expect it but figure if RCCL had the bag or found it somewhere, they would have the goo sense to call the airport. It, of course, had my name & Roomnumber, so it would have taken about 5 minutes to figure out who it belonged to.

I'm curious. You saw the tag didn't have anywhere to put airline/flight number/(presumably) hotel. When did you think you were going to see your bag again (before you set it in the hallway)? Was RCI supposed to have everyone's post-cruise travel plans?

 

On the paper given out the day before - and I should note pertient info regarding this should have been given in Ticket materials provided before cruise - there is one place where it says be sure to claim your suitcase once you get off the boat. Further down, however, there is language that refers, in effect, to the Valet program, where they load it for you. As mentioned, when I go off the boat, there were no bags anywhere in site. But since I was instructed to get on bus, I assumed bag, which had in bold print the bus number on it, would be placed on the bus. As to who brought their bags with them and who did not, I can't say. At the airport, I did overhear a couple other people ask the RCcL person where their bags were, because they were not there. But I don't know their circumstances.

 

And aqs to other comments about hpw it is hoped I learned something, the one thing I learned is don't count on a cruiseline to do what is their responsibility. I followed their instructions to a T -but they obviously did not unload luggage in a timely manner - after all they picked it up the night before, they never advised anyone before or after disembarkment that it would be awhile before luggage was unloaded, or be sure not to get on bus until all the luggage is unloaded, so you can claim your bag, etc. So it was a safe assumption it would be put on the bus, and as one of a busfill of passengers, I was hardly in a position to demand that the bus go nowhere until RCCL could prove to me the suitcase had been put onboard.

 

It appears the critics have never had to encounter this situation. Let me know your thoughts when you've done everything you were instructed to do and your luggage disappears. And RCCL says to you tough luck, its your fault.

Please read the sections I bolded. You DIDN'T "follow their instructions to a T" because the instructions say "to be sure to claim your luggage when you get off the boat".

 

When you say there's "language" regarding the Valet program, do you remember if the language said anything along the lines of "If you are signed up for the Valet program... "?