Celebrity Lost Luggage- implies "tough"

[Vince3999]

I disembarked from the Celebrity Infinity in Valparaiso, Chile December 22.

I was booked on a Celebrity Santiago City Tour that was to end at the Santiago Airport.

Luggage was to be transported by separate vehicle to the airport. On arrival at the airport one piece of my luggage was not there. I contacted Celebrity from the airport and reported the missing luggage.

Several subsequent follow up calls to the Celebrity Lost Luggage Department has not found my luggage. Celebrity now states they do not accept responsibility for loosing my luggage and will not reimburse me for the luggage they lost.

The photos show how unsecured the luggage was at the airport. Anyone could steal all the luggage they desired.

 

 

 

[Cruise Raider]

Did you purchase travel insurance? Maybe they will cover it.

Sorry to hear you are having to go through this. I oftentimes wonder how so many airlines, cruise ports and hotels leave luggage so unattended. Nobody seems to check the tags when you are walking out.

We got out of a airport shuttle one time and this guy was walking away with our luggage. He kept insisting it was his....our luggage tag indicated it was ours. Oh...then he was oh so sorry. :confused:

Hope you get it back.

[welshfamily]

Worrying.

I can't count the number of times we have placed our luggage in a separate van to have it transported to the airport. We have always just collected it from a pavement similar to those in your pictures.

Why are Celebrity not excepting liability.?

I thought if you had transfers to the airport with them and your luggage went in a van you were covered. I do know, however, if you are traveling on a coach with the luggage placed underneath Celebrity are not liable for damage.

Celebrity will only pay $300 if liable. For more information there is a long thread about the lost luggage of Mel and Ken.

Sorry I don't know how to post a link.

[Jane2357]

What is with the $300.00 max for loss? That is so incredibly low and wouldn't even come close to paying for 1 evening gown. :mad:

[Andy]

What is with the $300.00 max for loss? That is so incredibly low and wouldn't even come close to paying for 1 evening gown. :mad:

 

Hi Jane,

 

Unfortunately, when picking up your luggage, the moment you step outside the cruise terminal, Celebrity (and I'm sure most other Cruise lines) will deny any responsibility. What the OP didnt share with us, is if the luggage transportation was arranged through Celebrity, or some other source. If it was via Celebrity, I'd think they should accept at least some responsibility.

 

I believe that travel insurance policies offer coverage, but it always pays to ask for specifics before making the purchase. I hope this is helpful !

[Vince3999]

I paid Celebrity to transport my luggage from the Infinity to the Santiago airport

[PennyB]

My luggage was 'lost' coming off the Solstice in Sydney last month. Someone took my luggage by mistake. Luckily we both were staying a few extra days in Sydney and it was returned to me at my hotel. When we filled out the lost luggage form at the pier, the Celebrity representative said that Celebrity's liability ended when it left the ship. If it hadn't been returned we would have gotten nothing from Celebrity and a meager amount from our travel insurance (barely covers the cost of the suitcase let alone the contents).

[Cindy]

I'm becoming more and more convinced that my days of putting my luggage out in the hall the night before we disembark are behind me. It just seems prudent to travel with no more than we can carry off, and eliminate that big gaping hole when our bags are out of our control.

[Feelin' Nauti']

Have you contacted the Lost and Found department?

 

Here is the email

luggagesupport@rccl.com

[BBsails]

We've never put our luggage out the night before disembarking. Never will.

 

Hi Cindy. You're doing a great job managing the roll call and website for our cruise in Europe later this year!

 

Betsy

[Fouremco]

I'm becoming more and more convinced that my days of putting my luggage out in the hall the night before we disembark are behind me. It just seems prudent to travel with no more than we can carry off, and eliminate that big gaping hole when our bags are out of our control.

Unless you always drive to your port of embarkation, or only use carry-on luggage, you are going to face a similar problem when you entrust your bags to the airlines. Quite frankly, I have more trust in cruise seaports than I do in most airports.

[phoenix_dream]

To each their own, but just wondering what would happen if everyone decided the 'rules' on this subject didn't apply to them and there were over 3000 people on disembarkation day trying to drag all their luggage with them in the elevators, corridors, etc.. I feel bad for anyone dealing with a lost luggage situation and definitely hope it won't happen to me, but sometimes we just have to put a little faith in the system for the good of all. :)

[CaroleSS]

To each their own, but just wondering what would happen if everyone decided the 'rules' on this subject didn't apply to them and there were over 3000 people on disembarkation day trying to drag all their luggage with them in the elevators, corridors, etc.. I feel bad for anyone dealing with a lost luggage situation and definitely hope it won't happen to me, but sometimes we just have to put a little faith in the system for the good of all. :)

 

Ha! why do you think it takes so long to board an airplane??? It is because everyone lugs their bags onto the plane! They carry on bags that are way too big, they overload the bins, other people can't find space, etc, etc.

 

While I can certainly understand why people don't want to have their belongings out of their site, it does tend to cause problems. The REAL answer if for someone to check your luggage claim stub to your luggage, but that would cause MORE delays! It is a no-win situation.

[K.T.B.]

Considering each ship is disembarking about 3,000 passengers with probably about 8,000-10,000 pieces of luggage, it's a wonder there aren't more bags that go missing. The mere fact that so few do indeed lose their luggage should tell people something.

 

To the OP: If Celebrity transported your luggage to the airport, they still have a legal responsibility for its safe return to you. Just by dumping it off does not relieve them of that responsibility. I'm going to assume you personally handed your bags over to the person transporting the luggage. And if you didn't, that means it was in Celebrity's "hands" the entire time. Again, still their responsibility.

[Vince3999]

I contacted Celebrities Lost Luggage Department several time. See my original post.

Edited January 6, 2014 by Vince3999

[Vince3999]

Have you contacted the Lost and Found department?

 

Here is the email

luggagesupport@rccl.com

 

Of course. See my original post

[travelberlin]

I think that Celebrity should refund for your lost luggage, the same way, that it should refund if people do not find their luggage at the pier. If they are not able to guarantee that people will find their luggage, they should not accept those luggages the night before.

In countries in which there is a certain insecurity in terms of other people taking the luggage, there are controls at the door comparing the check in ticket in your hand with the one in the luggage. This could be implemented by cruiselines.

Edited January 6, 2014 by travelberlin

[Andy]

I contacted Celebrities Lost Luggage Department several time. See my original post.

 

Hi Vince,

 

I think the role of the lost luggage department, is to say no to most all claims. It becomes nearly impossible to have any success with a direct claim, once the bags have left the terminal, and if you have not filed a report right then and there. Even then, other members have reported limited success.

 

I have 2 further suggestions for you. Contact Captains Club at 1-800-760-0654, or perhaps email Mr Bayley's office (He's the President of Celebrity) at ContactMichael@Celebrity.com . I've found the folks in Mr Bayley's department to be very helpful and friendly. With that said, I suggest keeping your expectations low, but I hope you have a favorable resolution.

 

Good Luck, and Happy New Year !

[Vince3999]

Considering each ship is disembarking about 3,000 passengers with probably about 8,000-10,000 pieces of luggage, it's a wonder there aren't more bags that go missing. The mere fact that so few do indeed lose their luggage should tell people something.

 

To the OP: If Celebrity transported your luggage to the airport, they still have a legal responsibility for its safe return to you. Just by dumping it off does not relieve them of that responsibility. I'm going to assume you personally handed your bags over to the person transporting the luggage. And if you didn't, that means it was in Celebrity's "hands" the entire time. Again, still their responsibility.

 

Yes Celebrity picked up my luggage from my room and was to transport to the airport.

[waterbug123]

Unless you always drive to your port of embarkation, or only use carry-on luggage, you are going to face a similar problem when you entrust your bags to the airlines. Quite frankly, I have more trust in cruise seaports than I do in most airports.

 

Many airlines now attach a bar code to your luggage and scan it every steop along the way, much like UPS. Assuming you keep your claim ticket, you can go on the airline website, enter the bar code number and see where your luggage is. i.e. Is it still sitting at the departure airport because maybe the plane was too heavy? Did it accidentally get mis-routed to Cleveland? Or did it go on an earlier flight to your final destination, after which your schedule connecting flight got delayed and you're now stuck in Atlanta waiting for the fog to lift? Mistakes still happen, but this technology goes a long way toward tracking "lost" luggage. Meanwhile, I'm not aware of any cruise line using that type of tracking technology.

[Fouremco]

Many airlines now attach a bar code to your luggage and scan it every steop along the way, much like UPS. Assuming you keep your claim ticket, you can go on the airline website, enter the bar code number and see where your luggage is. i.e. Is it still sitting at the departure airport because maybe the plane was too heavy? Did it accidentally get mis-routed to Cleveland? Or did it go on an earlier flight to your final destination, after which your schedule connecting flight got delayed and you're now stuck in Atlanta waiting for the fog to lift? Mistakes still happen, but this technology goes a long way toward tracking "lost" luggage. Meanwhile, I'm not aware of any cruise line using that type of tracking technology.

As a recent thread demonstrated, the tracking system that airlines are now employing only helps identify where the luggage was last scanned before it was lost or stolen. The other thread's OP's bags were sent on an earlier flight and haven't been seen since! While it might be comforting for the airline to know that the baggage handlers didn't misdirect the bags to Cleveland or wherever, it provides little solace to the OP that they made it to their intended destination before disappearing!

[carolslc]

Many airlines now attach a bar code to your luggage and scan it every steop along the way, much like UPS. Assuming you keep your claim ticket, you can go on the airline website, enter the bar code number and see where your luggage is. i.e. Is it still sitting at the departure airport because maybe the plane was too heavy? Did it accidentally get mis-routed to Cleveland? Or did it go on an earlier flight to your final destination, after which your schedule connecting flight got delayed and you're now stuck in Atlanta waiting for the fog to lift? Mistakes still happen, but this technology goes a long way toward tracking "lost" luggage. Meanwhile, I'm not aware of any cruise line using that type of tracking technology.

 

If I hand my bag over to an airline, and it never comes out on that conveyor belt at bag claim, you bet I'm holding the airline liable. Yet the cruise lines ask you to do the same thing, then put "not responsible" in the fine print in their contract somewhere, and everyone is supposed to be okay with it if your luggage never turns up. Perhaps if everyone starts self-disembarking with their luggage (as we are planning to do, and only using carry-ons), the cruise lines will start using available technology to improve their process.

[K.T.B.]

Yes Celebrity picked up my luggage from my room and was to transport to the airport.

 

Then they can say "no, not our problem" as many times as they wish, but, until your luggage is back in your possession, it IS their problem. They cannot absolve themselves of it just because they dumped it at the airport.

 

You hand it off personally at Point A, you get it back to you personally at Point B.

[Knolmom]

With all due respect, Kevin, I think you should read the thread regarding the lost luggage saga of Mel and Ken on this board. They put their luggage outside their cabin in July, and it has not been seen since. Celebrity claims they have no liability. So Kevin, how is it that their luggage has not appeared, they have filed all the necessary paperwork, to date, they have not been reimbursed? Celebrity states flat out that they are not responsible and uses the fine print....Amen. Who will force them to accept liability? How should the customer get the funds back from Celebrity? At Gunpoint? Easier said than done.

Edited January 6, 2014 by Knolmom
Incomplete

[Lsimon]

Vince3999 - Sorry you're having this issue. Seems to me that Celebrity would be responsible but either way the most they'll cover is their contractual liability of $300 which doesn't go very far in any event. Beyond that your only hope is insurance. You have at least three possible sources of insurance: (1) Any travel insurance you purchased; (2) Some credit cards include lost/stolen luggage coverage if you charged your entire trip with their card; (3) Your homeowners or renter's insurance might cover you so check with them as well.

 

Many airlines now attach a bar code to your luggage and scan it every steop along the way, much like UPS. Assuming you keep your claim ticket, you can go on the airline website, enter the bar code number and see where your luggage is. i.e. Is it still sitting at the departure airport because maybe the plane was too heavy? Did it accidentally get mis-routed to Cleveland? Or did it go on an earlier flight to your final destination, after which your schedule connecting flight got delayed and you're now stuck in Atlanta waiting for the fog to lift? Mistakes still happen, but this technology goes a long way toward tracking "lost" luggage. Meanwhile, I'm not aware of any cruise line using that type of tracking technology.

 

Bar codes and tracking do absolutely nothing for lost or stolen luggage. They only help with misdirected or delayed luggage. Once something is lost or stolen its location will no longer be properly reported in the system or it wouldn't be lost or stolen.

 

With all due respect, Kevin, I think you should read the thread regarding the lost luggage saga of Mel and Ken on this board. They put their luggage outside their cabin in July, and it has not been seen since. Celebrity claims they have no liability....

Actually, in the case you are referencing, I believe Celebrity has accepted responsibility up to their contractual limit of $300/pp. They made them jump through huge hoops to get there including submission of a detailed inventory with receipts. Of course the $300 limit is ridiculous but that is just a part of traveling. The rules are not fair but they are what they are. You have to familiarize yourself with them and decide if you will bear the risk yourself or shell out more money in advance for insurance to cover the risk. Risks to consider are cancellation, trip interruption, trip delay, missed connections, medical care, emergency medical transportation and lost or stolen luggage among other risks.

Edited January 7, 2014 by Lsimon