Luggage Tags

[RobinKY]

If you are flying when do you attached your ship luggage tags?  Do you bring a stapler with you, get one at the pre cruise hotel or do the luggage crew at the port have them?  

[Globaliser]

19 minutes ago, RobinKY said:

If you are flying when do you attached your ship luggage tags?  Do you bring a stapler with you, get one at the pre cruise hotel or do the luggage crew at the port have them?  

 

I've always asked the staff at the pier to staple the luggage tags. (I'm definitely not going to lug a stapler around for the convenience of the cruise line.)

 

If I've even printed them out, that is - which more and more often I have not even bothered with doing. The staff at the pier can always write out a luggage tag for you.

 

At any rate, don't put them on for your flight(s).

[hallasm]

I always fly to the destination at the latest the day before - put tags on the luggage when I leave the hotel - it is always possible to borrow a stapler at reception.

[CruiserBruce]

Same here. Always put them on at the hotel, or the pier

[jsn55]

I couldn't bear the thought of ugly paper luggage tags to start off my cruise!  I bought clear plastic tag holders from Amazon.

[em-sk]

When checking out of the hotel, ask to borrow a stapled for a minute or two at the front desk.  They always have a stapler handy.

[Astro Flyer]

3 hours ago, jsn55 said:

I couldn't bear the thought of ugly paper luggage tags to start off my cruise!  I bought clear plastic tag holders from Amazon.

We use the same reusable plastic tag holders after a stapled & taped paper tag was nearly torn off by the porters from the pier & to our cabin. We replaced the flexible plastic attachment straps with the thin braided wire straps for more security.

 

We also don’t attach luggage tags before flights & only before boarding. We found a PDF form to put into our luggage tag holders for flights. On the outside are instructions to remove it if necessary & inside is our travel itinerary if they get delayed to hopefully catch up with us. Inside our suitcase we also leave a sheet of paper with our itinerary.

 

Another measure I’ve ready about is placing an Apple AirTag in checked bags in an effort to know their location. We haven’t tried it yet but will do it for our next trip.

 

Edited June 3 by Astro Flyer

[CDNPolar]

They are not needed until you are passing your luggage over to the cruise line, so after you claim your luggage at your final destination.

 

Lucky for us Viking use a plastic type tag that affixes without a staple.  This is an innovation but not without a cost associated mailing them out in advance.

[SoloAlaska]

Do not put them on before your flight. I am also a big fan of the plastic tag holders and have both sizes which fit most cruise lines. 

[happy42cruise]

 

The plastic tag holders also protect the tags from rain which is a plus. 

[CDNPolar]

On 6/12/2024 at 5:00 PM, SoloAlaska said:

Do not put them on before your flight. I am also a big fan of the plastic tag holders and have both sizes which fit most cruise lines. 

 

No, these should be attached when you collect your luggage at your final destination and when you are surrendering your luggage to the cruise line.  If you have to arrange your own transportation to the ship, don't attach them until you are at the cruise terminal.  If the cruise is picking you up at the airport, attach these at the time you pass your luggage over.

 

These tags are ONLY for the cruise line to get your luggage to your cabin.  They are in danger of being damaged or lost if you attach them before your flight.

 

 

[SoloAlaska]

35 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

 

No, these should be attached when you collect your luggage at your final destination and when you are surrendering your luggage to the cruise line.  If you have to arrange your own transportation to the ship, don't attach them until you are at the cruise terminal.  If the cruise is picking you up at the airport, attach these at the time you pass your luggage over.

 

These tags are ONLY for the cruise line to get your luggage to your cabin.  They are in danger of being damaged or lost if you attach them before your flight.

 

 

I’m not sure why you’re responding to me. I said to NOT attach before a flight.

[cruiselvr04]

Use clear tags from Amazon to slide ship luggage tags into after your flight but before you get to the ship.  We also have put air tags inside the lining of our suitcases to try to keep track of them. 
 

I have put itinerary’s on tags before but honestly I doubt anyone would even look at them so I don’t do that anymore.  
 

I have luggage tags on the outside of each suitcase with names and address plus inside each bag is also a full size piece of paper with a waterproof sleeve with name and address.  If our bags are permanently lost it won’t be due to poor labeling but someone not returning them. DD lost her luggage on her honeymoon, on the way.  Never saw them again.  Someone in Mexico got some very nice, new clothes.  

[jsn55]

9 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

Use clear tags from Amazon to slide ship luggage tags into after your flight but before you get to the ship.  We also have put air tags inside the lining of our suitcases to try to keep track of them. 
 

I have put itinerary’s on tags before but honestly I doubt anyone would even look at them so I don’t do that anymore.  
 

I have luggage tags on the outside of each suitcase with names and address plus inside each bag is also a full size piece of paper with a waterproof sleeve with name and address.  If our bags are permanently lost it won’t be due to poor labeling but someone not returning them. DD lost her luggage on her honeymoon, on the way.  Never saw them again.  Someone in Mexico got some very nice, new clothes.  

I advise you to continue your excellent practice of putting info inside your bag.  All the tags were torn off my bag JFK-FCO between Continental and Alitalia.  Some kind soul finally opened my bag and saw my ID plus my full itinerary with dates.  It took 4 days, but my bag got delivered to my Roma hotel. I do tags, ID in upper outside pocket, full ID and itinerary inside the bag, the first thing you'd see if you opened it.   I am the ultimate clothes horse, very hard to fit, and I was devastated.  I still do the triple ID on every trip.  

Edited June 18 by jsn55
thought

[CDNPolar]

8 hours ago, jsn55 said:

I advise you to continue your excellent practice of putting info inside your bag.  All the tags were torn off my bag JFK-FCO between Continental and Alitalia.  Some kind soul finally opened my bag and saw my ID plus my full itinerary with dates.  It took 4 days, but my bag got delivered to my Roma hotel. I do tags, ID in upper outside pocket, full ID and itinerary inside the bag, the first thing you'd see if you opened it.   I am the ultimate clothes horse, very hard to fit, and I was devastated.  I still do the triple ID on every trip.  

 

Agree.  Anyone who is NOT putting a full page or some sort of identification inside their luggage is risking a lost bag.  It is not uncommon for luggage tags and the airline baggage tag to be separated from a bag.

[FlyerTalker]

10 hours ago, jsn55 said:

I advise you to continue your excellent practice of putting info inside your bag.  All the tags were torn off my bag JFK-FCO between Continental and Alitalia.

 

Probably the reason that Continental went out of business a dozen years ago.

 

It just took a few more years to similarly affect Alitalia.

 

 

[Petronillus]

The Amazon plastic tags are sturdy and reusable and cheap.

Just search on "Cruise luggage tags."

It took me three cruises to get the hang of it but now it's a must-have product.

 

[Ashland]

We always get our luggage tags from the porter at the pier...give them our cabin number and they write it on....we watch them load our bags onto the cart and we're good to go.

[SoloAlaska]

On 6/20/2024 at 2:21 AM, Ashland said:

We always get our luggage tags from the porter at the pier...give them our cabin number and they write it on....we watch them load our bags onto the cart and we're good to go.

porters who put your luggage on carts aren’t at every port. There’s always a way to get a tag however.
 

In Anchorage the lineup to get a tag was about 20-30 minutes long when going to board the train. Or I could just walk by the giant line with my luggage and drop it off. Next time I saw it was at my cabin door. There was no carts since the luggage goes onto a big truck and heads to the pier while we took a beautiful scenic train ride.

 

Rome/Civi doesn’t really do the porter thing either you just go through a small line and hand over your luggage to a guy at a table which then goes onto getting scanned before being put on a cart. I did forget to bring my tags on that cruise and he did write one up for me though. 

[FlyerTalker]

A lot of this discussion is very cruiseline-dependent.  The more mass-market, the more you need to use the company-provided tags.  Cruise a luxury line and they will tag everything for you without you having to do anything more than saying your cabin number.

 

 

[CDNPolar]

13 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

A lot of this discussion is very cruiseline-dependent.  The more mass-market, the more you need to use the company-provided tags.  Cruise a luxury line and they will tag everything for you without you having to do anything more than saying your cabin number.

 

 

 

We booked a river cruise two weeks before departure this last December.  This was with Viking River.

 

We did not receive our tags in the mail - not enough time.

 

The airport rep did not have tags.

 

We handed over our luggage with the rest of the viking people. We had to wait for our key because of the time we arrived, so when we got our key the luggage was there.

 

 

[jsn55]

20 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

A lot of this discussion is very cruiseline-dependent.  The more mass-market, the more you need to use the company-provided tags.  Cruise a luxury line and they will tag everything for you without you having to do anything more than saying your cabin number.

 

 

I think for $3 or 4 grand, I can tag my bag myself!  

[FlyerTalker]

28 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

I think for $3 or 4 grand, I can tag my bag myself!  

 

There's a lot more than just luggage tags for those extra thousands.

 

 

[SoloAlaska]

25 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

There's a lot more than just luggage tags for those extra thousands.

 

 

I can also take another 3-4 cruises for those extra thousands.