Luggage delivery service. Home to cabin.

[Shawninrye]

Hi.

I have found a few threads on this subject but all appear outdated.

I am wondering if anyone has used the service of door to door luggage delivery of late. It seems like such a wonderful idea. A splurge of sorts. The company (I think there are just three) comes to your door and picks up your luggage and the next time you see it is in your cabin!

I figured if I set aside a dollar a day between now and my January cruise I will have it covered!

Any experiences?

[CruiserBruce]

Some details, please. Where..what home area..what port are you sailing from...

[navybankerteacher]

Thinking this a great idea, I just went on line with a major luggage shipping outfit - they advised that they do not deliver luggage to ships.

 

I imagine the time constraints make it too risky for them to offer guaranteed service. To any fixed address, precise timing does not matter - but luggage for a cruise cannot be left off before the time the porters start accepting bags for a particular ship - and cannot be left off after check-in stops. There is perhaps a six hour time window - which if they were to miss it, would leave them with the very difficult obligation to somehow get luggage to the first port of call.

[fishywood]

I figured if I set aside a dollar a day between now and my January cruise I will have it covered!

 

I see from your other posts you are on Rhapsody of the Seas sailing January 21. The roughly $75 you will be putting aside is unlikely to cover the cost of even one bag. Shipping luggage from home direct to the ship by common carrier usually runs several dollars per pound, with a minimum charge per order well past triple digits. Each cruise line usually has one preferred carrier they have arranged with to accept delivery at each specific embarkation port. A fast search of the RCI website found nothing, so my best advice if you are interested would be to call RCI or your TA if you used one to get the name and rates of their preferred carrier.

 

ETA: to address the concerns re timing in the above response, pickup from home is usually 2 to 3 weeks prior to sailing with delivery to the port several days before the ship arrives. Despite the hefty fees it is down to you to track the shipment and make sure the bag is at least in the port city a week or so before, and your responsibility to confirm that delivery is showing scheduled for the correct day or sooner.

Edited November 2, 2016 by fishywood

[CruisingAlong4Now]

Seabourn uses Luggage Forward and we've always been pleased with their service. It's great to travel with only a small carryon, knowing everything else awaits at the ship.

 

Always waiting in cabin when we arrive. Arrives home shortly after we do.

 

http://www.luggageforward.com

[navybankerteacher]

Seabourn uses Luggage Forward and we've always been pleased with their service. It's great to travel with only a small carryon, knowing everything else awaits at the ship.

 

Always waiting in cabin when we arrive. Arrives home shortly after we do.

 

http://www.luggageforward.com

 

Does Seaborn pick up from your home? What do they charge?

[SadieN]

Seabourn uses Luggage Forward and we've always been pleased with their service. It's great to travel with only a small carryon, knowing everything else awaits at the ship.

 

 

 

Always waiting in cabin when we arrive. Arrives home shortly after we do.

 

 

 

http://www.luggageforward.com

 

 

 

Does Seaborn pick up from your home? What do they charge?

 

 

We just used Luggage Forward to ship a package to Rome, LAX-FCO. Cost was $250 for a 50# box. DD received the box 35 hours (non-expedited) after it was picked up. They answered every question we had in a timely manner.

 

Be very aware of shipping restrictions. Including no perfume, no nail polish.

 

Website was user friendly and gave pricing quickly. Noticed they ship to cruiseships.

 

Don't work for them, just an extremely happy costumer.

Edited November 2, 2016 by SadieN

[Shorex]

Luggage Free and Luggage Concierge also ship to/from cruises. Luggage Free pricing is based on delivery speed, whether domestic or international origination and destination, and weight. For an example, a fifty pound bag shipped domestic to domestic within a time frame of 5 business days would be $2.20 per lb or $110. Some people are willing to pay for the convenience.

[capriccio]

I've never used it but Princess has a program using DHL and FedEx (http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/pre_cruise/prepare.jsp):

 

Princess Luggage Valet delivers your bags from your home to your stateroom. No more hauling baggage through the airport, no more checking or standing in the crowd at the baggage claim. With Princess Luggage Valet you can enjoy the ultimate in ease and convenience when you travel. Make it a carefree escape with the new Princess Luggage Valet Service.

 

 

Princess Luggage Valet Service is provided by DHL Worldwide Express and Federal Express. Domestic and international shipping is available. Rates start as low as $90 US per piece each way for domestic express shipments and $250 US per piece each way for international. Rates are based on shipment size, weight and destination and include limited Shipment Value Protection. Reservations must be secured at least 35 days prior to your sailing date. Domestic shipments are typically scheduled for pick up 7 days prior to the sailing departure date and most international shipments are typically scheduled for pick up 14 days prior to the sailing departure date. Service is also available for post cruise shipping.

[Ashland]

While this sounds convenient...I would be too concerned my bag might not show up in time or at all :eek:

[Silver Sweethearts]

Hi.

I have found a few threads on this subject but all appear outdated.

I am wondering if anyone has used the service of door to door luggage delivery of late. It seems like such a wonderful idea. A splurge of sorts. The company (I think there are just three) comes to your door and picks up your luggage and the next time you see it is in your cabin!

I figured if I set aside a dollar a day between now and my January cruise I will have it covered!

Any experiences?

 

Basing it on using Luggage Forward (which we have with no problems - the last time from Maui to Montreal) and one 50 pound bag being shipped from Rye, New Hampshire to your ship in Fort Lauderdale (just guessing this route is correct), the cost would be $124.00 for basic service (bag picked up six business days before cruise). It is so nice not to have to mess with luggage. Some things are just worth the money.

[Shawninrye]

Thank you so much for the information. Yes the trip for the bag would be Rye NH to Tampa RCCI Rhapsody.

They guarantee if luggage does not arrive then they refund your money. The company I would use would be luggage forward.

Of course I would not put anything of value i.e. Medications, IPad etc...

I would like to be able to put my two allotted bottles of wine so I will need to read the fine print to see if that is allowed.

I also would not send my good luggage. I stopped by Salvation Army and picked up the best piece of luggage for $5.00.

The only other item of value would be my snorkel equipment. But this way I could bring some beach towels, some worn out tennis shoes, things I could leave behind.

To start my vacation I need to drivie to bus station in Portsmouth, hiking with luggage 1/4 mile through whatever weather there is to,the bus.

Tipping bus driver. Waiting at airport for luggage to be unloaded. Waiting to check in luggage.

Waiting for luggage in Tampa. Lugging it to the hotel. Lugging it to the cruise ship. Going through the inspection line.

For $125 it is well worth it to me. I couldn't afford to do this each time I took a trip but this is my second cruise in 13 years. It's my splurge.

I am not spending a nickel on drink packages.

A 50 pound bag is $124.00 and they pick up about a week and half before travel.

I will report my experience with the company but I feel they would be more vested in my luggage than the airlines as this IS their business.

[Shawninrye]

Just checked no alcohol.

[luddite]

My in-laws did it with a HAL cruise and they were very impressed by the service.

[CruisingAlong4Now]

Another advantage of pre shipping your luggage is that that the last week right before your cruise you're totally relaxed. No more thought of having to pack.

 

:) :) :)

[MrsPete]

I looked into this once -- not for a cruise, but for another vacation upon which we had a couple quick connections, and we were looking to make our lives easier. After investigating, I decided not to do it for several reasons:

 

- The cost. Oh, the cost.

- We'd have to have our bags packed quite some time early AND arrange for early pick-up.

- Having the bags picked up for the return trip would also've been problematic. I think it might've had to do with weekend dates?

- We just had trouble trusting with 100% certainty that our bags'd be where they were supposed to be.

 

I also compared the cost of mailing our things (in cardboard boxes) via UPS to our hotel. That would've been cheaper, but it was still expensive.

 

And, of course, I'm talking about numbers from several years ago. It could be different today, or your specific travel plans could be different.

 

In the end, we did what we always do: Traveled with carrry-ons only. And it was fine.

Edited November 6, 2016 by MrsPete

[kitty9]

I ship for every cruise I take, using Luggage Concierge. They send all the paperwork to my house, I attach the shipping form to the bags along with the luggage tags for the ship, and UPS picks up the bags usually 10 days before the cruise departs. The bags are delivered to their local agent and he delivers the bags to the ship first thing the morning of departure. When we disembark, the agent is waiting for us and he takes our bags to ship home. The cost from my house in Pa to Miami or Ft Lauderdale is around $550 for two bags, round trip.

 

I've shipped for cruises on Celebrity, Oceania, RCI, HAL, Crystal, Seabourn, Silversea, Cunard and Princess.

[Shawninrye]

Now that's the info I was looking for! Thanks Kitty.

I'm going for it.

[Keith1010]

Hi.

I have found a few threads on this subject but all appear outdated.

I am wondering if anyone has used the service of door to door luggage delivery of late. It seems like such a wonderful idea. A splurge of sorts. The company (I think there are just three) comes to your door and picks up your luggage and the next time you see it is in your cabin!

I figured if I set aside a dollar a day between now and my January cruise I will have it covered!

Any experiences?

 

There are three major companies that do this:

 

Luggage Free

Luggage Concierge

Luggage Forward

 

I have used the first two several times.

 

The amount of paperwork depends whether you are sending the items from the USA to a USA port or sending them out of the country.

 

If inside the USA no details are needed on what is contained in your luggage.

 

If sending them outside the USA or back to the USA from a location outside the USA you will need to provide an itemized list of what is inside the luggage. It can be more of an estimate.

 

I would price out one, two or thee of the companies.

 

With luggage free for a slightly higher fee they will provide a two hour window for pickup at your house and will also wrap the luggage in plastic although they cannot guarantee that it won't be removed from the shipping company.

 

With luggage free you are charged per pound. With luggage concierge you are charged per suitcase. For domestic to domestic locations luggage concierge has a set price up to 60 lbs and for locations between the USA and outside the USA it is up to 70 lbs.

 

I recommend either of these two companies.

 

This is not a slight against luggage forward. I have not used them.

 

One suggestion. Each company will give you a date which by your luggage needs to be picked up to get to the ship by your sailing date. Back it up one week so if something goes wrong they can still get the luggage to the ship in time. Also on your own luggage tag that you put on your luggage include your e mail address and cell phone number. This is in addition to the tags that the shipping companies would place on your luggage.

 

Keith