http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/custom/cruises/orl-
cruzcol1906mar19,0,7343852.story
CRUISE REPORT
Send luggage hassles packing
Some cruise lines will pick up your bags and deliver them to your
ship, but the service lightens your wallet.
Arline and Sam Bleecker
Special to the Sentinel
March 19, 2006
Let's face it: Cruising is fun, but getting to the ship isn't,
especially when it involves airport lines and hauling luggage.
In fact, recent news reports state more than 10,000 pieces of luggage
went missing last year on major airlines.
So it was with a sigh of "it's about time" that we learned of some
cruise lines taking the "lug" out of luggage.
Seabourn's door-to-door Personal Valet Luggage Service rids its
passengers of every suitcase headache. For a fee, the line arranges to
pick up luggage at your doorstep, delivering it directly to your
onboard suite. Forget airport check-ins and baggage-claim waits as
suitcases go round and round . . . and round. Another plus: no more
excess-luggage charges for the abundance of formalwear worn on its
posh cruises.
With the valet luggage service, you simply board your flight and meet
your ship. In between, the line handles everything for you. The stress-
free baggage program extends to pre- and post-cruise tours, too. For
international travelers, Seabourn even will handle customs clearance.
"Many people use [Personal Valet Luggage Service] to send their
formalwear to and from the ship," says Seabourn spokesman Bruce
Good. "For guests who are traveling before or after their cruises,
it's really handy to be free of the tux and formal gowns that they
won't be using except on the ship."
Good notes that the service is particularly beneficial to Seabourn's
golden-age passengers. "Moving through airports with your luggage is
not fun for any of us," he says, "but for some folks who are older or
somewhat incapacitated, it can be a real and formidable deterrent to
traveling at all."
Aye, but there's a rub: The service doesn't come cheap. If you live in
the United States and board a Seabourn ship in Europe or the Med,
you'll cough up a minimum of $360 per bag one way for luggage weighing
up to 50 pounds. If your bag tips the scales at something less than 75
pounds, it will cost $420. Take a cruise in Asia or South America and
you'll spend $375 for a small suitcase and as much as $425 for bulkier
ones.
On the other hand, hoi polloi can put their luggage in the hands of a
Royal Caribbean and Celebrity service that gives a little hand-holding
for a lot less money.
With "Onboard Check-in and Luggage Valet," the sister lines' premium
baggage-handling program relieves passengers of their luggage the
night before disembarkation. It's taken from outside your cabin and
transported directly to the airport. Before you disembark, the line
issues you your airline boarding pass, luggage tags and claim checks.
Kiss goodbye the tedium of trying to ferret out your bags from among
the thousands at the cruise pier and then toting them to the bus and
from the bus to the airline terminal.
According to Royal Caribbean/Celebrity, you can save up to two hours'
time for a cost of $10 to $20 per bag.
However helpful, this program solves only half the problem. It's
limited to return flights only and in a select number of ports. It's
available for Royal Caribbean passengers whose cruises end in San Juan
or Seattle, and was recently extended to Celebrity passengers whose
cruises conclude in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, San Diego, San Juan or
Seattle. Both brands also offer the service for arrivals in Vancouver.
To qualify, you must fly to a U.S. city on an expanding list of
airlines on the same day your cruise ends.
Royal Caribbean pilot-tested the luggage program at the port of
Vancouver during the 2003 Alaska cruise season. The 10-week test
involved two airlines and approximately 2,000 cruise passengers. In
2004 and 2005, the Vancouver service was expanded to include eight
airlines and about 52,000 passengers. Up to 75 percent of eligible
passengers opted for the service, the line's announcement notes --
averaging more than 500 passengers per sailing and nearly 65,000
pieces of luggage this year.
Regardless of which cruise line you plan to sail, you can make similar
arrangements with any of several independent international baggage-
handling services, such as luggagefree .com. Its service from your
home to your ship's cabin costs $40 for pickup, if you're within 40
miles of a major airport. Add $2 for each mile beyond 40. For delivery
within two business days, tack on another $2 for each pound of
luggage, $95 more for golf clubs and $135 for skis. For a suitcase
weighing 75 pounds, your wallet will be lighter by about $190 for a
one-way trip.
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