Luggage at end of trip

[kathyemma]

Last year on RCCL I was able to pay an additional 15 per person so I wouldn't have to deal with my luggage. I put them outside my room the night before and didn't see them until I landed at Dulles Airport. It was WONDERFUL!! The ship came into Port Canaveral. Do you know if HAL offers something like this? I am sailing on them 11/18 out of Ft Lauderdale.

 

Kathy

[Copper10-8]

Last year on RCCL I was able to pay an additional 15 per person so I wouldn't have to deal with my luggage. I put them outside my room the night before and didn't see them until I landed at Dulles Airport. It was WONDERFUL!! The ship came into Port Canaveral. Do you know if HAL offers something like this? I am sailing on them 11/18 out of Ft Lauderdale.

 

Kathy

 

No they don't, sorry. They used to have something similar prior to 9/11. More power to you that you were able to arrange that with RCI. Just wondering how RCI was able to get those bags through TSA (and airline check-in) with you and others (who did the same) not being present:confused:

[kathyemma]

But I wasn't going to ask or complain. It was the best $30 I ever spent on a cruise.

[SandyMc]

John - Both Celebrity and RCI offer this service and it is WONDERFUL! :D We had a late flight out of San Diego last March and signed up for the service. They did indeed take our luggage the night before and gave us our boarding passes for our flight. We never saw our luggage again until Dallas. That service left us free to explore San Diego for the day with no luggage hassels! The only line we stood it at the airport was security.........wish everyone offered it! :rolleyes:

[hammybee]

While I can appreciate the convenience, this is a loophole in security that I am not entirely comfortable with.

[msraye]

On the land side, this is offered by Disneyworld and as others have said it is a wonderrul thing!! First trip I didn't wind up with a back ache!

[BumperII]

While I can appreciate the convenience, this is a loophole in security that I am not entirely comfortable with.

 

It is a shame you weren't flying when the last change in the rules took effect on August 4. That was the day that even hemoroid ointment was regarded as a threat to national security. The TSA began just taking everything out of carry on luggage that was even moist, let alone liquid.

Of course, after they confiscated all that stuff, nothing blew up, either on the plane, or the airport, or the trash dumpster. The agents were obviously confused and remain as lost as a goat in a hailstorm. The last evaluation even they admitted that they are only slightly better than no security at all. What they are providing is a sense of security. People can, and still do drive pickup trucks through airport secutity.

Most of us are pretty moderate in our views and really aren't looking for any more dragons to slay. The luggage from the over fifty cruise crowd really doesn't pose much of a threat.:D

[King Neptune]

It may just have been an Alaskan Cruise deal out of Vancouver but they did offer for an extra charge to have your luggage checked all the way to your final destination for you. Same as you, we left our luggage out the night before and didn't see it again until we were home.

[Copper10-8]

It is a shame you weren't flying when the last change in the rules took effect on August 4. That was the day that even hemoroid ointment was regarded as a threat to national security. The TSA began just taking everything out of carry on luggage that was even moist, let alone liquid.

 

Of course, after they confiscated all that stuff, nothing blew up, either on the plane, or the airport, or the trash dumpster. The agents were obviously confused and remain as lost as a goat in a hailstorm. The last evaluation even they admitted that they are only slightly better than no security at all. What they are providing is a sense of security. People can, and still do drive pickup trucks through airport secutity.

 

Most of us are pretty moderate in our views and really aren't looking for any more dragons to slay. The luggage from the over fifty cruise crowd really doesn't pose much of a threat.:D

 

Come on now Bumper II, I know you didn't miss a certain plot from the UK by a group of "nice gentlemen" around that time who had plans all laid out and in hand to blow up a number of passenger airliners using liquid explosives and/or combinations of liquids and gels. Interesting how these "prospective martyrs" keep coming up with different ways and schemes to cause harm to innocent people including you and I.

Now, neither you and I (nor anyone else here, I'm willing to bet) were/are privy to just how they were going to accomplish this and, spefically, with what types of liquid(s) and/or gels. That's why those rules were changed. Inconvenient for the travelling public? You bet, but better to err on the side of caution, confused agents or goats in rain storms notwithstanding. Yes, unless they build something like the former Berlin wall around all commercial airports, you can probably drive pick-up trucks through some perimeter fences/gates but we're not talking about that!

 

HAL did have a similar program in effect prior to 9/11 where you could get your luggage checked shoreside by airline personnel and it was trucked straight to your aircraft. Very convenient, I agree! That all changed after 9/11 so I was surprised to read about the program RCI and apparently Celibrity (owned by RCI) now have in place. Last time I was aware, you could not check luggage without physically being present. I think that's what Hammybee and myself were wondering about in regards to this new program. There's also something still in effect called positive passenger bag match for international flights.

BTW, am I hearing you correct that you want to spare the over fifty cruise ship crowd from having to go to security checks because they pose no threats to anyone?

[bepsf]

Now, neither you and I (nor anyone else here, I'm willing to bet) were/are privy to just how they were going to accomplish this and, spefically, with what types of liquid(s) and/or gels.

 

BTW, am I hearing you correct that you want to spare the over fifty cruise ship crowd from having to go to security checks because they pose no threats to anyone?

John--

 

My understanding is that the types of gels that are non-detectable as explosives yet can be used to create explosives create such a nasty stench when its mixed that its hard to miss, and are so incredibly volatile on their own that they would likely catch fire before they could even be brought aboard the aircraft (just look for the wild-eyed dude who's carrying his duffelbag like it's made of glass...) Apricot-flavored facial scrubs, contact-lens solutions and Minty-fresh toothpastes don't exactly fit this description, do they?

 

And I know this is probably incredibly un-PC, but searching little-old-ladies and taking away their knitting needles while allowing angry & poorly dressed mid-20's single men of certain ethnic origins and holding non-US passports to go past without a second glance at their hand luggage just isn't very smart.

 

I have the feeling that the last time someone in their mid-50's coming from a ship with cruiseline tags all over their luggage disrupted a flight, it was because they ordered a couple too many Scotch & Sodas - not because they were part of some quasi-religious/political plot.

[Sunshine91]

The luggage from the over fifty cruise crowd really doesn't pose much of a threat.:D

 

But all it's gonna take is one. Do you want that one to be the plane or ship you are on?

 

And if the luggage is not with you, what's to prevent someone with nefarious intentions from slipping their contraband into your bags?

[sail7seas]

I'd be afraid I'd never see the luggage again.

 

As it is, I always call it a miracle when I see our bags arrive on the baggage claim carousel. No sense giving another opportunity for it to be 'misdirected' and never seen by my eyes again!!!

 

[BumperII]

But all it's gonna take is one. Do you want that one to be the plane or ship you are on?

 

And if the luggage is not with you, what's to prevent someone with nefarious intentions from slipping their contraband into your bags?

 

Well, as it stands right now, there really isn't much of anything to prevent someone with nefarious intentions from slipping their contraband into your luggage anyway. We found out that we had several hundred convicted felons working in airport security here in Philadelphia, particularly those from private security agencies.

Copper, your response really amazes me. If you read carefully what I wrote, it hardly approaches the translation.

The TSA is first and foremost a bandaid, where the first priority is political correctness, and where every decision including staffing is subordinate to political expediency. Here in Philadelphia, the TSA head was a political hack who couldn't organize his own sock drawer and got fired for putting his inlaws on the payroll.

As you know, there are levels of response and they need to be planned in advance. The possibility of mixing stuff on board and the steps to be taken should have been in the planning rooms years ago, and the agents should all have been trained on what to do in such an eventuality That idea wasn't new in law enforcement circles, we developed contingency plans for that scenario back in the late sixties, and have been training and updating interagency operations ever since.

 

I don't know what your background is, but I take it you are in law enforcement. I retired after forty years in the business three years ago. Trust me, the TSA wasn't ready to respond. They were flying by the seat of their pants, choosing to do something absolutely usless rather than get caught doing nothing at all. As long as the politicians insist that the agency focus on suspect things rather than suspect persons (dare I say profiling?) the level of security will remain less than optimum.

[BumperII]

 

BTW, am I hearing you correct that you want to spare the over fifty cruise ship crowd from having to go to security checks because they pose no threats to anyone?

 

They already are. Maybe ninty or ninty five percent of people pack their bags and set them out the night before debarktion. Those bags are out of their control until claimed and taken for the most part to an airport. I suspect that precious few open their luggage and search through it before taking it to the airport. The luggage technology is terrific, but it is only as good as the folks operating it. I actually saw one of those machines, manned by maybe half a dozen agents. Two of the agents were engaged in a bitter argument, and the others were destracted and watching them. Nobody was paying any attention at all to what was going through the scanner.

And yes, it drives me nuts every time I see them hand wand some 75 year old invalid with stainless steel knees and hips while they wave the middle east twenty something crowd on by.

[Copper10-8]

Brian and Bumper II, I guess you and I can agree to disagree on this topic and, specifically, about TSA's reputation. Are they perfect? Nope but they're a heck of a lot better than what was in place prior to 9/11 and I'm refering to the low-paid, low educated, unmotivated private security employees, some with criminal records, then manning airport metal detectors and checkpoints. When you go abroad, especially in Europe, you'll find a lot of passenger checkpoints manned by full-time police, either local or federal. I would much prefer that even to TSA but that's not going to happen here.

I was surprised to hear about this "check your luggage on board" program apparently now in place by RCI and Celebrity. From a security standpoint, I personally don't like the fact that you can now put your bag outside your cabin door and you won't see it again until your plane lands. Convenient? Sure! But I don't like giving these jihad a$$wipes more chances and opportunities to harm us!

[BumperII]

That is why one has to focus on suspect people rather than suspect things. The possibilities for the criminal to manipulate things are infinite, limited only by the immagination of the improviser.

[Copper10-8]

BTW, "profiling" is a "bad" word as, I'm sure, you know. One of my guys stopped an individual of a certain race last Sunday for perfectly good reasons and the first thing that came out of this gentleman gang banger's mouth is "you're profiling me"

We all know who committed these attrocious acts against our country and what part of the world they came from, yet you can't single them out because it's not "politically correct". That's why everybody get's searched and wanded including old ladies with knitting needles and 75-year old invalids with steel knees and hips. I'll be the first to tell you that that looks like caca but if you do go to "profiling" the first law suit will be filed the next day!

I got a feeling this thread is pretty close to being locked up so I'll stop now. If you want to continue our discussion, let me know and I'll give you my e-mail address. BTW, nothing but respect for someone with forty years in the business!

[bepsf]

...but they're a heck of a lot better than what was in place prior to 9/11 and I'm refering to the low-paid, low educated, unmotivated private security employees, some with criminal records, then manning airport metal detectors and checkpoints.

 

Better? Not really - we just have more of the same inept uneducated unmotivated...

 

IMO - We need an airport security system more like what Europeans & Israel have had since the 70's. Pax list names & ID's should be cleared long before boarding w/ no 'same-day, last minute' ticket sales and more luggage should be checked (for free, in the terminal, an hour before departure minimum) w/ just a single med-small carry-on bag allowed in- cabin. I'd gladly pay a little more and take a little more time for a meaningfully more secure system - the current situation is just a stupid mess.

 

I agree - there's probably little/no security from ship-to-airport w/ the RCCL/X system - wouldn't take 5 minutes to stop the truck and slip a small device into someone's unzipped outside pocket (the ones that nobody ever locks on checked luggage nowadays), and knowing that it merely exists makes me feel somewhat less secure now.

 

I think it would be a very interesting article for Carolyn or one of her writers to investigate and inform us what security steps RCCL/X has for this program - and what security cruiselines in general have in place for handling our luggage and ensuring that items are not added to/taken from our bags w/out our knowledge.

[hammybee]

[quote name=Copper10-8

 

HAL did have a similar program in effect prior to 9/11 where you could get your luggage checked shoreside by airline personnel and it was trucked straight to your aircraft. Very convenient, I agree! That all changed after 9/11 so I was surprised to read about the program RCI and apparently Celibrity (owned by RCI) now have in place. Last time I was aware, you could not check luggage without physically being present. I think that's what Hammybee and myself were wondering about in regards to this new program. There's also something still in effect called positive passenger bag match for international flights. QUOTE)

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

This got me thinking and researching. Immediately following 9/11, two measures were recommended to strengthen the safety of U.S. aviation, abandonment of advance seat selection and implementation of 100% positive passenger bag match, similar to what has been in effect in Europe and Asia since the 80's. From what I can tell, continuing advance seat selection is encouraged but not required and positive bag matching is not be performed for domestic and/or connecting flights.

 

The bottom line seems to be perceived passenger inconvenience,challenges in TSA planning and execution and to some extent, funding. That latter is most interesting given that it has been determined that the costs associated with these security measures is about 40 cents per bag.

 

It is apparent that RCCL and X have taken advantage of the delayed implementation and offer their passengers a convenience for a fee.

 

And so, more than 5 years after 9/11, U.S. aviation remains at higher risk for non present terrorism, (ala Pan Am 103) than most flights anywhere else in the world.

 

My appologies for threadjacking, pun intended.

[hammybee]

It is a shame you weren't flying when the last change in the rules took effect on August 4. That was the day that even hemoroid ointment was regarded as a threat to national security. The TSA began just taking everything out of carry on luggage that was even moist, let alone liquid.

Of course, after they confiscated all that stuff, nothing blew up, either on the plane, or the airport, or the trash dumpster. The agents were obviously confused and remain as lost as a goat in a hailstorm.

 

You are right Bumper, I was not flying on 8/4/06 and incurred no perceived inconvenience. Conversely, do you want to take a guess where I was on 9/11/2001? There was a lot of inconvenice that day too.

 

Again, my appologies to the OP for taking this further.

[BumperII]

You are right, I don't know where you were on 9/11. I do know where I was, it was a life defining moment, like the assassnation of President Kennedy. The point I was trying to make was that we need to have effective strategic and tactical plans to deal with a myriad of possibilities. These things can be managed as the TSA demonstrated when six weeks after the fact they came up with a much more workable plan that should have been in place and ready to go into effect at a moments notice, thirty years before it happened.

When the TSA reacted to the news on 8/4, they didn't start out by asking people going through security to pack stuff in their checked luggage. What they did was start confiscating stuff without so much as an announcement. They didn't know what posed a threat, so they just took everything. I'm not opposed to security measures, if I thought it would improve safety, I would gladly give them the whole darn suitcase!!

Copper, you are right, this thread is about ready to get locked. After forty years in the business, I have become cynical beyond cynicism, so I'm going to sign off on this too. My apologies to OP.