Suitcase Question

[wrongwaywatson]

DH and I are looking at replacing our luggage.  In the past, we have used soft sided luggage that is very light and would pack inside each other and they slid nicely underneath the bed on our cruise.   After seeing how they have been beat up the past few years, we are thinking of getting a hard sided case instead.  However, I'm wondering if they would still slide under the bed?  Does anyone have a big hard sided case that they have done this with?  thanks!

[Colo Cruiser]

Ours hard side ones are pretty big. 29” I think. Never had any issues putting others inside and sliding them under. If the frame hangs down just lift up the bed frame a bit and slide them under.

[Bwana Tom]

I don't believe you will have any problem at all. We travel with 2 very large hard sided cases and on our recent trip on the Royal they easily slid under the bed. I would be sure to get the cases that have wheels that will allow the cases to roll in any direction. That was a great innovation in suitcases. Another tip that I might pass on is the use of bright colored straps. Not only do these help to secure the integrity of luggage, they make locating your luggage much easier when it comes time to picking them up either at the dock site or at the airport. Ebay has these at very reasonable prices.

Have a great cruise.

Tom  

[voljeep]

agree about the straps - with our 25 inch black softsided luggage ( yeah, noone else has those ) , we got some off amazon that had flowers by some famous artist ... really stand out and got a couple of comments at both the pre-cruise hotel and ship ...

 

EDIT - Van Gogh - Sunflowers  ( just checked order history ... )

Edited November 10, 2019 by voljeep

[wrongwaywatson]

Thanks!  The past 10 years we have had plain black suitcases that look like every other one coming off the conveyor belt, LOL   I tied some bright neon green ribbon on them and they are super easy to spot now.  Unfortunately, last spring one of them got pretty beat up and tore a bit.  Watching the way the airlines and Port Personnel handles them, I'm not surprised!

[Bwana Tom]

1 minute ago, wrongwaywatson said:

Thanks!  The past 10 years we have had plain black suitcases that look like every other one coming off the conveyor belt, LOL   I tied some bright neon green ribbon on them and they are super easy to spot now.  Unfortunately, last spring one of them got pretty beat up and tore a bit.  Watching the way the airlines and Port Personnel handles them, I'm not surprised!

I have often wondered if when the airline baggage handlers go on vacation themselves if they stand back 10 feet from the trunk of their car and throw their bags inside. A few years ago when one of my bags was damaged I actually asked the attendant at the airport that question while I was filling out the claim. Needless to say, I didn't receive an answer.   

[toescat]

I my DH and I have tried many different suitcases over the years we’ve been cruising since May 1984 and together we been cruising since 1996. For the past 10 years we’ve been using a rolling duffel bag that the bottom half of the bag is zippered separately and you open it up and it’s a garment bag.  When you zipper that close then you can unzip the top portion of the duffel and place other items that do not need to lay Open and flat. I have an example of one of ours in the picture below. Ours are slightly different as we have pockets on both sides where my husband puts his socks on one side and he puts his undergarments on the other side. Believe it or not his suit or tux fits beautifully along with several shirts in the garment portion of the bag. We used to use the hard sided but they weighed too much and we once we got a note that we had to go to security to get our bag. We were told that the bag was too heavy and they needed us to open it and remove some of the other items in it. I also think they just wanted to see what was so heavy in there it was my suitcase and of course I am a typical woman who never knows what she wants to wear.

[SempreMare]

 

I switched to these ultra-light hardshells 8 years ago.  

 

Spent 2 hours in a New York City luggage store - both the main level and the basement, trying out a million brands.  LOVED the ultra-lights from Samsonite over all others. These feel like they weigh nothing, when everything else same size weighs "something".  These is the large size and I've never gone over the airline limit.

 

after a work trip to Dubai:

https://www.ebags.com/product/samsonite/cosmolite-30-28-spinner/338845?productid=10546212

[scott4020]

1 hour ago, toescat said:

I my DH and I have tried many different suitcases over the years we’ve been cruising since May 1984 and together we been cruising since 1996. For the past 10 years we’ve been using a rolling duffel bag that the bottom half of the bag is zippered separately and you open it up and it’s a garment bag.  When you zipper that close then you can unzip the top portion of the duffel and place other items that do not need to lay Open and flat. I have an example of one of ours in the picture below. Ours are slightly different as we have pockets on both sides where my husband puts his socks on one side and he puts his undergarments on the other side. Believe it or not his suit or tux fits beautifully along with several shirts in the garment portion of the bag. We used to use the hard sided but they weighed too much and we once we got a note that we had to go to security to get our bag. We were told that the bag was too heavy and they needed us to open it and remove some of the other items in it. I also think they just wanted to see what was so heavy in there it was my suitcase and of course I am a typical woman who never knows what she wants to wear.

 

I love the High Sierra luggage. 

I travel a lot for work and I was replacing bags every six months. Bought High Sierra and I have had the same bags for five years. 

[fredflint]

My daughter loves her rolling duffel and we actually  just picked up the smaller carry on version it worked great for a 6 day trip I just took where I could only do a carry-on bag.  That said I would encourage bringing some cable ties to secure the zippers and the bad my daughter uses has a strap across the middle so you can cinch in down so things do not shift so much.

We use hard sided Delsey helium suitcases and they are very light.  Our model also used 3 clamps to hold the suitcase together vs a zipper they work really well when you have a full suitcase.

 

the bag looks like this  109 bucks 

 

 

https://www.ebags.com/product/high-sierra/kennesaw-30-drop-bottom-wheeled-duffel/352484?productid=10608664&cat=travel-duffels&country=US&currency=USD&ebcpkey=keywords&sourceid=ADWPRODUCTH&adtype=pla&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5Iroq5Hg5QIVjMJkCh0oOgqKEAYYASABEgJKG_D_BwE

[toescat]

53 minutes ago, scott4020 said:

I love the High Sierra luggage. 

I travel a lot for work and I was replacing bags every six months. Bought High Sierra and I have had the same bags for five years. 

They are great after 10 years one of our wheel broke and I contacted High Sierra and they sent me a new wheel assembly and my husband replaced it easily. For cruises what I really love is they slide right under the bed and we don’t see them again until it’s time to pack and put outside our cabin door!

 

[wrongwaywatson]

Wow!  Great suggestions everyone!  Thank you.  Giving me several things to think about!

[SempreMare]

I'm trying to remember where I was (which country) when I saw a cool display with the Samsonite Cosmolite.  From searching Photos app, it was in the Hong Kong airport in March.

 

 

 

 

It really is astonishing how light + strong it is at same time.

 

Some eye candy pics from Singapore's Marina Square Mall in 2018: 

I was totally smitten by this carbon fiber-ish gold silver combo...

 

 

 

For a moment I wished there was something wrong with my 8 yr old versions...

 

Long term wear update:

My Samsonite Cosmolites 

-  Have never been punctured or sliced like my old soft-sided luggage was

-  Have never needed repair of any kind

- Protected all fragiles, jewelry, and liquids from being crushed without worrying about finding separate internal hardshells protecting them

- Kept my clothes dry during torrential downpours at airports

- Never put me over the weight or size limit (total inches) 

 

I debated 1 wheel vs 2.   I thought 2 would be more durable.  But double-wheel'd versions seemed to add a pound.  I went with just 1 and have had no problems.

 

Before I visited the New York City luggage store in-person,  I read detailed reviews in FlierTalk.com discussion forums.  I thought I'd end out with Rimowa which had a lot of loyal fans.   (After being there for hours... the sales person joked he'd have to hire 5 more people if other customers were as thorough).    

 

When I picked up the Samsonite and all other brands,  it was obvious the weight advantage was a big deal to the overall experience.  Inside functionality was similar.  

 

Final Advantage (for me) of Samsonite luggage in general: 

Samsonite is more "everyday luggage" brand vs a status symbol brand.   I feel that, when traveling, it's a good idea to avoid overt status symbols.  Especially as a solo female traveler on work trips.

 

Edited November 11, 2019 by SempreMare

[caribill]

20 hours ago, wrongwaywatson said:

we are thinking of getting a hard sided case instead.  However, I'm wondering if they would still slide under the bed?  Does anyone have a big hard sided case that they have done this with?  thanks!

If it does not fit with it closed, open it up and it will then fit.

[getting older slowly]

Another point   get different sizes.....

 

We have three ( large / almost large / medium ) ..... Why ????   So they all fit inside each other......

 

They are fabric with Plastic reinforcing round the sided ( and 4 wheels  stand up very well ) 

 

Great for storage at home and under a cruise bed

 

Cheers Don

[scott4020]

16 hours ago, SempreMare said:

 

 

My Samsonite Cosmolites 

 

 

Those are pretty and pretty expensive. 

[Lucky TGO]

OK my friends you seen all the rest now here’s the best (see photo) I never had any trouble getting it under my bed. 

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

 

 

 

I’m sorry I couldn’t help myself 😁😁

Edited November 12, 2019 by Lucky TGO

[SRF]

I have put a 29" Samsonite hard sided F-lite suitcase under the bed.  I did have to lift the bed slightly to get past the rails, but it fit fine and no, I did not touch it when lying in the bed.

 

I used to travel with one of those rolling duffles with a hard lower section.  But they tend to be heavy.  It worked fine in the days of 70 pounds per bag, but at 50, you are losing a lot of ability to pack stuff.

 

My current luggage is Briggs and Riley Torx.  VERY nice.  And lifetime warranty, against ANY damage.  Does not matter if the airlines or you damage it, they will fix it.  Not cheap, but may be cheaper in the long run.

 

My luggage before this was Delsay Titanium 3.0.  I liked them, but I retired several piece due to various damage that was not covered.

[SempreMare]

@scott4020

 yea, there are definitely cheaper options.  I was open for any option that met my requirements of ultra-light,  hard shell, and reliability.

 

The eBags $385 price for the 28" Cosmolite is actually pretty good based on camelcamelcamel.com      I paid at least current Amazon prices > $4xx 8 years ago.

 

I have recouped at least $250 of that  thanks to

 

- to 49 lbs being < 51 lbs on 3 occasions at the Southwest ticket counter on the return trip home. $75 fee avoided.  "Overweight items from 51 to 100 pounds and oversized items in excess of 62 inches but not more than 80 inches will be accepted for an overweight and oversize baggage fee of $75 per item." 

 

- to the large size meaning I only need to take 1 suitcase, saving the second baggage $40 fee several times 

 

 

Best place in the US to buy luggage is Orlando, Florida. Orlando has a bazillion luggage stores.

If you are buying Samsonite, best place I've seen in Orlando is here on Black Friday

 

Edited November 12, 2019 by SempreMare

[lenquixote66]

On 11/10/2019 at 8:22 AM, wrongwaywatson said:

DH and I are looking at replacing our luggage.  In the past, we have used soft sided luggage that is very light and would pack inside each other and they slid nicely underneath the bed on our cruise.   After seeing how they have been beat up the past few years, we are thinking of getting a hard sided case instead.  However, I'm wondering if they would still slide under the bed?  Does anyone have a big hard sided case that they have done this with?  thanks!

We just bought a hard case.We will find out next month if there will be any problems

[ldubs]

On 11/11/2019 at 6:39 PM, Lucky TGO said:

OK my friends you seen all the rest now here’s the best (see photo) I never had any trouble getting it under my bed. 

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

 

 

 

I’m sorry I couldn’t help myself 😁😁

 

 Nothing a little duct tape won't handle.  Be good as new.  

 

 

[lenquixote66]

On 11/11/2019 at 9:39 PM, Lucky TGO said:

OK my friends you seen all the rest now here’s the best (see photo) I never had any trouble getting it under my bed. 

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

 

 

 

I’m sorry I couldn’t help myself 😁😁

That was the way to travel before suitcases were invented .

[clo]

35 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

We just bought a hard case.We will find out next month if there will be any problems

But you drive, right?  So that should reduce your risk?

[clo]

2 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

That was the way to travel before suitcases were invented .

Did luggage precede cardboard?  🙂

[lenquixote66]

1 minute ago, clo said:

But you drive, right?  So that should reduce your risk?

I have not been able to drive since Sept.2003.Mrs.66 drives ,however,we never go long distances any longer by car.