LOST LUGGAGE ** Please help!!!**

[travellover39]

[quote name='Mel&Ken']Cathy....

I am trying to stay cool - I know you get more bees with honey than with vinegar! ;) Its not always easy - like when they say they called you 10 days ago and you know they didn't!

I will call my insurance broker now to see what our home coverage includes - I am sure I will have to be settled with Celebrity first before I go that route.

I too keep thinking it will just turn up someday - what a pleasant surprise that will be. :D

Melissa[/QUOTE]

I'm so sorry to hear what Celebrity has not done for you. I'm quite shocked in fact and sad:( Not that anything will make you feel better but a airline lost my Mother's luggage while travel home from Italy. It showed up 1 year later on her door step. Just left there, no knock, no door bell, nothing. Hope it shows up! Good Luck to you.

[maggieq]

I was still hoping they would be found. So annoyed for you and sad for the loss of your things. Is it possible to speak with a manager?

[tnjnmt]

I just want you to know the offer to pick up either little or bigger souvenirs when we go to Italy in November still stands. We leave the 10th of November, so if you would like ANY thing, just let me know.
I can not imagine the amount of frustration you are experiencing!
Tara

[carolslc]

[quote name='retafcruiser']The emphasis is on Celebrity "doing the right thing", but where does their responsibility end? Once the luggage is off the ship in the baggage area, why should Celebrity be liable if someone steals or walks off with it? Just the devil's advocate here because this could really be a bucket of worms![/QUOTE]

I have never cruised before. But Celebrity is asking you to give them your bags for them to take off the ship. I understand why as it would be a mess if everyone tried to get on elevators with their bags the next morning. But I think they are responsible for them until they give them back to you. Which means they should be in a secured baggage area until you get them again. If they can't match ID or claim check to the bag due to too many bags and too little time, then at least have some sort of numbered cards and areas, and you can't get the bags unless you have a card that matches the numbered area where your bag is. At least that limits the number of people that could get them. It sounds like they just leave the bags in an area with no supervision. People could mistakenly or maliciously walk off with someone else's bags and it's not Celebrity's responsibility? It sounds like a flawed system to me.

[Mel&Ken]

I guess maybe I would feel differently if I thought they were stolen. It just doesn't add up to me. If someone mistakenly took them there would be bags left over - there was not.

So I am left to fathom that someone just decided to steal not one bag but two bags from the same cabin and same family - not the expensive luggage that was all over the warehouse, but my two, plain jane bags. Even reps at Celebrity and the port didn't think that was likely at all.

Even still, there is an implied trust when you are asked, actually encouraged to put your bags outside your door at night so they can deliver them to you. If that system is flawed and they can't protect your belongings for 12 hours - well then that is an entirely new problem I would say.

[Mel&Ken]

[quote name='tnjnmt']I just want you to know the offer to pick up either little or bigger souvenirs when we go to Italy in November still stands. We leave the 10th of November, so if you would like ANY thing, just let me know.
I can not imagine the amount of frustration you are experiencing!
Tara[/quote]

Tara you are SO sweet! Thank you for your offer. Italy is actually the one country we didn't lose out on. Spending 3 days in Rome before and after the cruise we had agreed not to buy anything until the last three days. And for some reason the souvenirs we bought in Sorrento and Positano were in Ken's backpack and not our luggage so we came home with a stash of lemon products! I really do appreciate the offer though. ;)

[If only]

[quote name='Mel&Ken']Cathy....

I am trying to stay cool - I know you get more bees with honey than with vinegar! ;) Its not always easy - like when they say they called you 10 days ago and you know they didn't!

I will call my insurance broker now to see what our home coverage includes - I am sure I will have to be settled with Celebrity first before I go that route.

I too keep thinking it will just turn up someday - what a pleasant surprise that will be. :D

Melissa[/QUOTE]

I am sure your property insurance will cover everything & have Celebrity pay your deductible. Normally your insurance co will ask if you made a Police report? I wish you luck, it is no way to end a holiday. Edited October 16, 2013 by If only

[retafcruiser]

[quote name='carolslc']It sounds like they just leave the bags in an area with no supervision. People could mistakenly or maliciously walk off with someone else's bags and it's not Celebrity's responsibility? It sounds like a flawed system to me.[/QUOTE]

It is flawed - just like retrieving luggage at an airport. When was the last time (if you check luggage) you had anyone at the airport check your claim check against the bags? That has always been my experience cruising as well. Anyone can take my bags and be gone with them.

[carolslc]

[quote name='retafcruiser']It is flawed - just like retrieving luggage at an airport. When was the last time (if you check luggage) you had anyone at the airport check your claim check against the bags? That has always been my experience cruising as well. Anyone can take my bags and be gone with them.[/QUOTE]

But at the airport I'm there watching as my bag comes off the conveyor belt. I would never leave my bags sitting around in the baggage claim area for hours. And it's my choice to check my bags if I want on an airline. I can always choose to pack less and carry them on, and I usually do. My understanding is that the cruise ships want you to give them your bags rather than handle your bags yourself the day of disembarkation?

Technology is a wonderful thing. What if they put barcoded tags on the bags like the airlines do, and scanned them as they move from the hallway to the storage area, then out to the baggage claim area. At least if the bags aren't there for pickup, they'll know the last place they were. It seems like there may also be some way to tie the barcodes to the sea pass card so that bags can be associated to an account and checked out quickly and securely without someone doing a manual check, but that is much trickier and more expensive.

In a cost/benefit analysis, it wouldn't make sense to the cruise line though. These incidents probably don't happen all that often, and with a $300 per bag reimbursement limit, assuming receipts can be found (I'd be up a creek), it just doesn't cost them that much. I think that's short-sighted as the OP obviously spent a lot of money with Celebrity.

This has made me re-think my packing strategy though!

[The Big Booper]

I'd be willing to bet that all the mass market cruise lines have a similar maximum loss limit on bags lost.

As others have said file a claim against your homeowners insurance.

As a self employed CPA it drives me crazy when clients are so cavalier about pitching receipts so quickly. You can buy a 6x9 expandable wallet with 13 pockets. I just take all the credit card receipts for a month and just put them in the proper pocket and put the wallet in a drawer. Next month repeat. With rental properties and my own business there are many slips each month. The whole year when finished takes a space of 6x9x2 inches and I have [B]ALL [/B]credit card slips for the year, sorted by month.

Hope everything works out for the OP.

[Dorset Cruiser]

We 'lost' our two suitcases due to a disembarkation glitch in Brooklyn two weeks ago. When we finally made it to the luggage hangar, they were not in our designated colour area. We asked around and were directed to the 'person in charge'. He had no idea and suggested we, along with him, walked around the hundreds of suitcases still waiting to be claimed. Nothing! We started to panic and were then directed to a remote desk. When we approached, there were our two suitcases which someone had obviously moved out of our coloured row. I agree that no suitcases should be moved out of their designated area until the staff are sure that everyone is off the ship and that there is no-one left to claim any remaining suitcases.

[Iamthesea]

Sorry that you have not yet found your luggage. :(

I am curious what type of luggage (and color) you had.

In one post, you stated [QUOTE][FONT=Arial]we cover a max of $300 per bag”. I laughed. Was she kidding? [B]My suitcase is worth more than that[/B].[/FONT][/QUOTE] and then in another you stated [QUOTE]So I am left to fathom that someone just decided to steal not one bag but two bags from the same cabin and same family - [B]not the expensive luggage that was all over the warehouse, but my two, plain jane bags.[/B][/QUOTE]

We have what I thought was pretty nice Delsey Lite, bright blue luggage and our suitcases didn't cost nearly $300 each. So it made me wonder what it was that you had that cost so much, but was "plain Jane"? Thieves may go for the luggage that looks nicer than most.

I also wanted to point out that the dock workers (those that take luggage to the ship and that take luggage from outside the ship to the warehouse after the cruise), are not Celebrity employees. So unless it could be proven that the luggage disappeared from the ship before the luggage left the ship, there is no recourse.

I think what made me saddest about your loss was your mother's PJ's. I know how you feel and I am so sorry. I lost my mother last year and am wearing her bathrobe and slippers, plus I took her feather pillow. :(

I do hope that a miracle will happen and your things will show up at the doorstep. Just in case, have you checked this site to see if you see anything familiar?
[COLOR=#00802a][B]unclaimedbaggage[/B].com[/COLOR]

[Mel&Ken]

[quote name='Iamthesea']Sorry that you have not yet found your luggage. :(

I am curious what type of luggage (and color) you had.

In one post, you stated and then in another you stated

We have what I thought was pretty nice Delsey Lite, bright blue luggage and our suitcases didn't cost nearly $300 each. So it made me wonder what it was that you had that cost so much, but was "plain Jane"? Thieves may go for the luggage that looks nicer than most.

I also wanted to point out that the dock workers (those that take luggage to the ship and that take luggage from outside the ship to the warehouse after the cruise), are not Celebrity employees. So unless it could be proven that the luggage disappeared from the ship before the luggage left the ship, there is no recourse.

I think what made me saddest about your loss was your mother's PJ's. I know how you feel and I am so sorry. I lost my mother last year and am wearing her bathrobe and slippers, plus I took her feather pillow. :(

I do hope that a miracle will happen and your things will show up at the doorstep. Just in case, have you checked this site to see if you see anything familiar?
[COLOR=#00802a][B]unclaimedbaggage[/B].com[/COLOR][/quote]

I guess I should be more careful in choosing my words - sorry for the confusion. Our luggage is Delsey just like yours. We bought them about 18 months ago and they retailed at Sears for $349. I got them on sale for half price @ $175 but that's not what they would cost me now to replace them. That is what I meant by my luggage is "worth" more than that. I leave for Vegas in 3 weeks - if I need to buy a new suitcase I don't have the luxury of waiting weeks or months for the best deal on what I want to buy.

They are plain brown suitcases and as I looked over every single bag in that warehouse I can tell you I saw tons of designer bags, flashy bags and bags that obviously cost quite a bit of money. That is what I meant by mine being plain.

As for dock workers not being Celebrity employees I disagree that it lets Celebrity off the hook. I work at a bank. If you deposit your cheque at my branch and Brinks loses the cheque as they transport it to central processing it's my bank you're going to hold responsible and I can tell you as a manager I would take accountability for that loss. It's me you trusted with your cheque. Now I would have to deal with Brinks but that is between my bank and the companies it chooses to contract with. If the dock workers are losing/stealing/mishandling bags - 100% I think this becomes Celebrity's problem. That of course is only my opinion - I recognize many people disagree. :cool:

It makes me smile that you wear your mom's robe and slippers. Funny how something so small can bring such comfort isn't it? It's nice that you have those to hang on to.

[Iamthesea]

I can relate to that. My husband is a banker. ;) Boy the headaches he has. :rolleyes:

I see Delsey bags all over for sale. I am pretty sure that we did not pay more than $125 per bag, also about 4-5 years ago. Check Amazon, eBags, maybe even Zappo's online. Do you have a TJ Maxx? They have them periodically. Edited October 17, 2013 by Iamthesea

[Mel&Ken]

I'm sure I can find a sale too. We live in Canada so it tends to be more expensive over here. When I shop in the states I can find some great deals! We may just borrow luggage for Vegas and take our time buying new bags.

I liked the Delsey, I love the spinners....would like to find lighter bags this time. I've gone the super cheap route before with the 4 piece set for $99. To start we only ever use the biggest one. I also found the really cheap sets didn't hold up well against the airline travel.

At Costco last weekend I saw a Samsonite bag for $149 I think - I want to show Ken and see what he thinks. It was black though - I really, really don't want black. I saw your blue at Sears this week - you have no trouble finding your bag on the carousel do you? ;)

[The Big Booper]

Macy*s frequently has 50% off sales on luggage. Are they in Canada?

[RickT]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. My guess is that someone found your luggage, but decided to walk off with it instead of doing the right thing and notifying the cruiseline. I'm just surprised it doesn't happen more often.

Hopefully insurance will come through and cover most of what you lost.

As far as luggage, check out The Bay. When they have their Samsonite luggage sales you can't beat it, especially if it's on a discontinued model. Sign up for their e-mails or just check their website every week or so.

[warmwinds]

I don't understand why they make you jump through hoops with the receipts for a mere $300 per bag - who in the world does not have at least $300 worth of stuff in a bag?? I think produce the receipts, etc., when you are disputing that offer, but not worth making you go through the aggravation for the minimum amount. Since you are disputing it I guess you had to get the ball rolling on gathering everything anyway.

And I hate to say it, but if I were a thief, yeah I'd look for the most expensive bags to grab.

[Iamthesea]

The OP clarified that her bags were not the most expensive. ;)

[quote name='Mel&Ken']I'm sure I can find a sale too. We live in Canada so it tends to be more expensive over here. When I shop in the states I can find some great deals! We may just borrow luggage for Vegas and take our time buying new bags.

I liked the Delsey, I love the spinners....would like to find lighter bags this time. I've gone the super cheap route before with the 4 piece set for $99. To start we only ever use the biggest one. I also found the really cheap sets didn't hold up well against the airline travel.

At Costco last weekend I saw a Samsonite bag for $149 I think - I want to show Ken and see what he thinks. It was black though - I really, really don't want black. I saw your blue at Sears this week - you have no trouble finding your bag on the carousel do you? ;)[/quote]

I forgot that you are in Canada. Yes, our blue bags are easy to spot, but they are popping up more and more. I almost grabbed the wrong one off the carousel the last time we cruised. DH stopped me. :D

[attilamom1217]

Mel&Ken,

I think I saw in one of your early posts that you had travel insurance. Contact them. They will most likely tell you that you will need to send the insurance company the receipts as well as Celebrity's reimbursement information and denial above $300/person.

Without receipts, you will probably not get the entire replacement cost, but you probably will get more back than what Celebrity will send you.

I don't keep receipts once I wear clothing (and once the bill is received) since I can't return it at that point. Therefore, I would be in a similar situation if the cruise line and/or air line lost my luggage.

Hopefully, your luggage was just 'misplaced' and will return to you eventually.

[Been There, Planning That]

Too late for you, Mel and Ken, BUT as soon as we buy a new piece of luggage I literally attack it with Duck Tape. I've seen some 'pretty' stuff at Costco, but have a roll or two of stuff to use up first. And yes, luggage is more expensive in Canada, even on sale.

 

Now this ugly approach wouldn't prevent loss thru' carelessness on the part of handlers, either air or ship, but I like to think it would deter a thief. And it sure makes it easy to spot and ensures it wouldn't be picked up by accident. I'd been told that the scarves many attach are in danger of catching in the carousels.

 

Too late for you, but an ugly idea to consider in the future.

 

Ruth

Edited October 17, 2013 by Been There, Planning That

[Mel&Ken]

Trust me, there was nothing pretty about our luggage!

 

As I have said, I really find it hard to believe that just our bags were stolen not to mention both of them. As many people have suggested I think they were likely mishandled and went somewhere they weren't supposed to go and now they're either just sitting there abandoned or someone then decided to be dishonest and take advantage of the situation.

 

I have most of our receipts and submitted them to Celebrity to start the claim process. Any insurance claims can only be started after that is settled.

 

As for shopping for our new luggage, I am fortunate to have access to stores in both Canada and the USA and I am a skilled bargain shopper. It's just a matter of narrowing down what we want and then watching for the best deals. :p

 

One thing I can say, I have a really, really good excuse to go shopping! :eek:

[RickT]

As for shopping for our new luggage, I am fortunate to have access to stores in both Canada and the USA and I am a skilled bargain shopper. It's just a matter of narrowing down what we want and then watching for the best deals. :p

 

One thing I can say, I have a really, really good excuse to go shopping! :eek:

 

Just got the latest Bay Days flyer (sale starts tomorrow) and it shows Samsonite Rhapsody Traveler luggage on sale at 75% off! :D

[woldig120]

We are from the UK and it is likely that this company only covers UK travellers. The company is called Calluma. There is something similar in the USA called Trace Me Luggage Tracker. As I said, we have never had occassion to use this service and I hope we never will but it does give some degree of reassurance when travelling. I hope I'm not breaking any CC rules by posting this information.

We have stickers on the outside of our cases which are provided by a firm in the UK. This means that if the case is lost, the finder can phone a UK number and we can then be contacted. I know the system works as I lost a set of keys which were returned to me as I had a small tag attached to them with the phone number on it. Well worth the small yearly premium.

[TeaBag]

I have not been back to this thread for a while and I was hoping it had a happy ending. I am so sorry about your lost bags.

 

I had a bag destroyed by BA. It hung over the wheels of a luggage cart and every single garment in the garment bag had the right shoulder torn away. I was paid $20/lb! I am still looking for silk dresses and good sweaters for $20/lb! :mad: I am a receipt keeper and I had most of the receipts for the clothes. I submitted my claim to our house insurance and got a check for over $2000. If you don't get any more than the $300, I would claim through your property insurance. Good Luck. I hope you enjoy your trip to Vegas.