Tell your travel woes....

[Kaleigh]

Ever get to your destination, but your luggage doesn't????? Every time I fly US AIR to Nantucket, I get here, but my luggage doesn't. It is a pain in the as*!!!! My son flew here from RI and his luggage was messed up too,but it wasn't US AIR, it was Cape Air. I had to go tothe airport 3 times yeterday to pick up different bags that we were missing. Anyone else go through this??? I know some people will say to only bring on carry ons, but I can't do that as I have a very bad neck,and can't be lugging stuff on my own. Tell you horror stories,if any hints can hep prevent anyone from going through this travel hel* it will be worth it.

 

[pearcrazy]

We just returned from our trip to Kauai. On the trip out we made in no problem but none of our three pieces of luggage did. We were on Hawaiian Airlines to Honolulu but had to take Aloha Airlines to Lihue. About half of the people waiting for luggage didn't get any. We waited for the next two flights to come in (they come about every 35 minutes and the Aloha people assured us they would be on one of them) but no luck.

We went ahead and left our cell phone number and address on the island (which was 26 miles from the airport). They gave me their number to call for an update. When I did call-- no one ever answered. Customer service was closed, but the recorded message on that number said to give them SIX days to find the luggage before filing a claim. SIX DAYS!!

We would be leaving in 6 days. My cell phone had no service on that side of the island so they couldn't call me. We decided to venture out for dinner and decided to just swing by the airport again for an update.

Our luggage had indeed arrived but was brought over by Hawaiian Airlines and was at their baggage area at Lihue. I had to laugh out loud at the Aloha baggage rep. Here we were standing at the airport and she tells us that the luggage should be delivered by the morning. HELLO!!! we just drove 26 miles back to the airport, no way in hell we were leaving without it!! We were still wearing the same wrinkled jeans and t-shirts we'd put on almost 20 hours earlier.

The luggage made it back home with us on the same plane thank goodness and we had a wonderful time in Kauai.

 

[ame]

US AIR is HORRIBLE with luggage. I have had so many problems with them, and my best friend has had hers lost or stolen EVERY SINGLE TIME SHE HAS FLOWN. SHe stopped bringing anything other than a bigass tote purse with a couple changes of clothes and some Tide.

I refuse to check my bag tomorrow.

 

[ame]

OMG that sucks!

 

[Jennifer5973]

If you can, stuff everything in carry-ons. Get a big garment bag and a few mix N match pieces and take it on the plane. It is such a hassle saver!

 

[Kaleigh]

It won''t happen to you ame, don''t worry. But just in case, pack a bathing suit,or whatever in your carry on!!!

 

[ame]

I am packing a big tote purse and a small rolling case. That''s all we are bringing. I hope I don''t overshop.

 

[Kaleigh]

That''s good and remember that if you buy stuff,you can always have them send it to you.

 

[sjz]

My husband always gets kind of irritated with me because I only want to use carry-on luggage and not check anything. He thinks I''m just paranoid...

. But I''ve heard too many horror stories from friends about losing luggage, or having it shipped to the wrong city or whatever. I tend to travel light, anyway, so it''s not a big deal for me. As far as shopping light? Heck no! It''s just easier to have your purchases shipped directly to your home. Most of the time, the packages arrive home before I do...lol. I don''t even have to ship things home too often, though. I tend to buy expensive, small things that I can WEAR home, if you know what I mean

.

 

[IrishEyes]

many places nowadays offer deals where if you spend a certain amount, they will ship your merchandise free of charge back to your residence so that you don''t have to worry about flying with it and losing it. When my husband and I were in Ireland last month, we went to the Waterford Crystal place. They were having a deal where if we spent 200 Euro, they would ship it back to the states free of charge, and they even had a guy there to engrave something on the crystal if we wanted to. So we bought a beautiful crystal vase and a big crystal picture frame. On the frame we had them engrave '' Ireland, May 2005'' on the bottom. It took about three weeks to arrive, but it was well worth it, as it was heavy and I didn''t want to worry about having it damaged on the plane ride home.

Knock on wood, I''ve never had any luggage go missing. I usually fly American Airlines, although I''ve also flown United and Continental a few times. Whenever I travel through the US, I only bring a carryon, it''s just easier. When I fly international, I have to check because I''m usually going for a few weeks and have alot to bring.

I''ll keep in mind not to fly US Air!! That''s just ridiculous! How frustrating, you''re on vacation, supposed to be having a good time, and instead you are stuck without the stuff you packed!

 

[Mara]

the first and only lost luggage we ever had was on our HONEYMOON in Tahiti last year. god it was horrible. we arrived after our flight at something like 11pm after flying for 5.5 hours, and our luggage wasn't there. of course i freaked out. i had tons of new clothes i wanted to try of course...not to mention we only had the clothes on our back and an extra tank and undies i'd thrown into my bag!! thank GOD we had all our prescriptions and things like that with us, toiletries...that was the really important stuff.

luggage took about THREE DAYS since the day we arrived to get there. i was so sick of wearing the same clothes, we'd bought bathing suits and spent about 70% of our time in them so that was the good part...we bought some Tide at a local store and i hand washed our clothes each nite in the sink.

the worst part was the communications with the Tahitian airport people, first off they spoke French and only broken English so it was really frustrating trying to communicate to them how important LUGGAGE is...they seemed really laid back and noncholant about the whole thing, of course because THEY didn't have to wash their clothes in the sink each nite!!

i let greg handle speaking with them each time, we had to call each day...the luggage was found and it was lost in LA or something, so it was supposed to be put on a plane out to us the next day. only one flight from LA to Tahiti per day. well somehow the next day it never made it on the plane. at this point i was freaking out thinking if they even HAD it, who knows. finally i speak with the Tahitian luggage guy myself, since greg was too polite for my frustrated taste at this point. so i am on the phone trying to get some assurance that the luggage WILL be on the next flight (Tide was running out!!)...this guy just was giving me nothing but 'we'll do the best we can'...which was driving me nuts.

i very rarely lose my temper but when i do, it's explosive. at this point i was just so filled with frustration...i stared over at greg looking back at me...and i let loose and kicked this little rattan chair that was sitting right at my feet. it was pretty well made, but my bare foot made contact with it and sent it flying across the room and right at greg (not on purpose!). he ducks. at this point i am sure he is wondering WHO did he marry?? then my foot started throbbing, the Tahitian guy mumbled some more 'we'll tries' and we hung up. i also very rarely cry, but after that i sobbed for about 20 minutes while clutching my throbbing foot, more out of pain and frustration than anything. greg just hovered, unsure what to do but pat me consolingly. finally he told me...well we can enjoy ourselves or worry about the luggage...so after that i was pretty much over it. foot took a few days to just stop throbbing, greg took pleasure in telling me that's what i got for losing my temper...finally luggage arrived next AM...i was so happy to see our stuff!!

the funniest part was that the clothes were so anti-climactic after all the drama AND the lasting part was that it took my foot literally a month to heal where it didn't feel bruised on top anymore. when i got back from the honeymoon a week later and went back to kboxing a week after that, my foot hurt when i kicked the bag. lasting reminder not to lose your temper on your honeymoon!!!

so the moral of my long story here? pack a carry on that has at least a change of clothes or two, your toiletries, prescriptions and anything else you require to be with you at all times. oh and if you are going on vaca, throw a bathing suit in the carryon! now i am more paranoid and always do this for both of us when we travel and check luggage.

 

[IrishEyes]

OMG Mara, that is the funniest (in a sad kind of way!) story I''ve heard in a long time!! How awful, on your honeymoon no less! I''m ALWAYS doing things like that - losing my temper and going ballistic while Matt just looks on helplessly! I learned a long time ago that I have him do the talking first, since he is like Greg and is SO POLITE! But...after all his politeness gets us nowhere, I step in and start cussing people out. At this point, they think I''m really psycho and crazy, they get scared and I usually get results!

When we were leaving Dublin last month, I got INCREDIBLY drunk at the Clarence hotel in Dublin the night before we left to go home. So the next morning, we are up at 7 am to check out and haul our very heavy luggage down to the bus station to go to the airport. Needless to say, I was NOT feeling good at all!! I kept feeling like I was going to pass out or throw up! So we get to the airport and my head is pounding. I can''t believe I have a 7 and a half hour flight ahead of me. I tell Matt that I need some aspirin BAD, since I am a loser and packed my aspirin in my big luggage bag that has already been checked. So we are in this little coffee and bagel shop in the airport and Matt is all nice and polite and goes to the guy behind the counter " Uh sir, excuse me, sir? Do you have any aspirin for my wife? Do you sell any around here?" The Irish dude behind the counter just looks back at him blankly and goes (in an incredibly heavy irish brogue) " What? Aspirin? What is that?" and Matt says "Oh, ok, tylenol maybe?" Again, the dude looks at him like he''s insane. "I don''t know, I don''t know what you mean", he replies. So by now, my head is feeling like it''s going to explode and I can''t believe this ENGLISH-SPEAKING guy doesn''t have any clue what freakin'' tylenol is! I lose it and cut Matt off as he''s about to ask again and go, "ASPIRIN!! TYLENOL?! PANADOL? SOMETHING FOR MY DAMN HEADACHE! DO YOU SELL ANYTHING FOR A HEADACHE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!" The guy is still clueless and now looks offended. "forget it!" I scream to Matt, "let''s just GO!"

yup, I lost it! I got lucky on the plane, as the flight attendant had some in her purse. But that is usually how things go with my hubby and I! He''s mister laid-back, I''m the loose cannon! Funny, because to look at us, you would think HE would have the bad temper! He''s 6 feet tall, big burly guy. I''m this little 5 foot 2 girlie-girl!!

 

[Mara]

Haha, that sounds like something I would do. Greg is VERY polite...he has the best manners I have ever seen and sometimes it's TOO polite! aka on the way back from Palm Springs when we just wanted to get home already, we were driving on Hwy 5 which is tedious at best filled with tons of truckers driving from LA to Northern CA or similar. He was letting them all in to pass other trucks which definitely messes with you when you are trying to average 75 on the freeway. After an hour of this, I said....'What are you doing? Are we on a leisurely stroll here or do we want to get home before next week?' He said 'Okay now you drive, I relax!' at our next stop, so I did and we made it home in record time and I did not let any random people in front of us either unless it was absolutely necessary!

He said he was impressed AND he got to relax on the rest of the drive.

Though there are definitely times when it behooves us to let him handle things....you catch more flies with honey and all that and he definitely has loads of charm. But then there are the times when a little temper or strong will on my end can go a long way...

..as I am sure you well know!

Funny...I have said this in the past, Greg is a pretty mellow individual...and he always told his friends years before he met me that he wanted a woman who could 'throw him around'. Not technically of course! But someone who was strong willed and opinionated...and who also was strong physically...he didn't want a small wilting flower. Well, he definitely got what he wanted!!

 

[IrishEyes]

LOL, don''t even get me started on the driving! He drives like a grandpa!! All slow and nice to other drivers, even when they cut him off. Me - I''m a lunatic. I learned to drive in Chicago, and us Chi-town drivers are not known for being considerate! I''ve calmed down alot in the last few years, but I''m like 90mph, get up on the back of the car in front of me type driver! Yup, I''m one of the those drivers that other people would deem an a**hole! Funny, because if a car is too slow, I''m like " Come on grandma, move it!!", but if a car goes whizzing by me (meaning over 100 mph!), I''m all " Geez, slow down a**hole!"

I know, I know...

I know what you mean though about the catching more flies with honey. Most of the time, he does get results. Which infuriates me because it means I need to learn to be nicer!

 

[sjz]

Date: 7/4/2005 2:31:11 AM
Author: IrishEyes
LOL, don''t even get me started on the driving! He drives like a grandpa!! All slow and nice to other drivers, even when they cut him off. Me - I''m a lunatic. I learned to drive in Chicago, and us Chi-town drivers are not known for being considerate! I''ve calmed down alot in the last few years, but I''m like 90mph, get up on the back of the car in front of me type driver! Yup, I''m one of the those drivers that other people would deem an a**hole! Funny, because if a car is too slow, I''m like '' Come on grandma, move it!!'', but if a car goes whizzing by me (meaning over 100 mph!), I''m all '' Geez, slow down a**hole!''

I know, I know...

I know what you mean though about the catching more flies with honey. Most of the time, he does get results. Which infuriates me because it means I need to learn to be nicer!

There is something about Chicago drivers...my husband is also Mr. Laidback if there ever was one...EXCEPT when he''s driving!!! He grew up in Chicago, and even drove a cab there for a short stint when he was in college. He becomes a totally different person when he gets behind the wheel of a car. Especially when we are in Chicago. Then he''s totally impatient, he''s honking the horn at everyone, passing every car he can, and cussing people in Polish! He doesn''t even normally cuss in English.

Since he is so laid back and never gets excited or loose his temper outside of an automobile, it kinda freaks me out when he does it while he''s driving. So a lot of times if we are in the car together (espeically if it''s MY car) I insist on doing the driving.

 

[perry]

Some of us cannot just use carryon''s.

I must travel with medical equipment. Thus my carryon is medical equipment and my briefcase with my portable computer (used to read/set the medical equipment if I am having problems - I have Dr perscription to do so).

Over the years I have been fortunate in that I have only had relatively minor problems with luggage (sometimes it was on the previous or the next flight).

I have had my suitcase broken, but did not loose anything because long ago I adopted the stratagy of tying a rope arround it to keep people out of it (now use a strap with my new piece).

The worst story was from years ago when I chanced upon a person who was a gun hater. In those days I traveled with a handgun properely packed in my luggage. The rules are that you have to declare that you have it, and affirm that it is properely packed (locked in a hardcase, unloaded, etc). Standard procedure. I flew so often that some of the Airline Agents recognized me and all I had to say was "I need a handgun declaration card." No problem.

Well one day - during an absolutely dead time at the counter, and hours before the flight - I checked in. The process that occured was beyond description and I later found out that "she" violated every rule in the book. I was forced to buy - on the spot - another gun case at an exhorbanent price, and I don''t want to describe what happened next (she insisted that she was the supervisor when I asked for one, and refused my request to move to a private secure area to repackage the handgun).

End of story, my luggage was broken, and I ended up getting a refund for the gun case I did not have to buy, repair cost for my suitcase, and a half price coupon for my next flight. It did take weeks to work through the complaint department.

I also noticed on my next trips through that airport that she was no longer at the counter.

The fact is that the federal laws have not changed on traveling with handguns that much (the rules on ammo have slightly changed), and anyone can still take them in their checked luggage as long as they are properely cased and declared. I doubt that you will hear much from others on this forum, but lots of people in the US do travel that way (and have all the necessary permits where required).

Perry

 

[sjz]

I had a few strange experiences coming back from the Bahamas a few years ago. I had purchased some souveniers to bring back. One was a spiderman water pistol for my son, and a had also purchased a couple of cute little dolls made of cloth for my mom and my sister. As my luggage was going through the x-ray machine at the airport, the alarms started going off. The security people opened my luggage and started going through my clothes, including my underwear. They were looking for a weapon! Turns out the water pistol showed up on the scanner, and they thought it was a gun. It was made of plastic, but it had some kind of metalic paint on it, and it showed up. They scolded me for it! LOL! And this was pre 9/11.

When we got back to Chicago and were disembarking the plane, the drug sniffing dogs were everywhere. They immediately ran up to me and started sniffing my carryone like crazy. I was like "now what?" This time it was the dolls. I had them in my carry on bag. The security people made me empty out my bag, and one of them wanted to cut open the dolls to make sure I wasn''t trying to smuggle something illegal in them. Another security guard finally intervened and said that they had already dealt with this situation in the past with the dolls. Turns out in that case, they used something similar to hemp to stuff the dolls, and it always set off the dogs...lol. The funniest part is that my husband had a whole suitcase full of rum that he was bringing back with him, and I had been worried that we would get in trouble for that, since my hubby refused to declare it in customs...lol.

That same trip, my husband had exchanged quite a bit of US currency for local currency in Chicago before we left so that we''d have cash for tips and so forth. I was carrying it all with me when we got off the plane in the Bahamas. As we were waiting in line to go through customs, I saw a big sign that said it was illegal to bring local currency into the country! I was freaking out. My husband told me to chill, that it would be ok. I was practically shaking when walked through carrying my purse with all that money. They never even checked for illegal currency....whew! But it gave me a few bad minutes. I don''t even know if they actually enforce that or anything, but I didn''t know any better, and it was my first time travelling outside the US. LOL! Now I know that you don''t even need local currency, that US money works just fine.

 

[pearcrazy]

I did want to relate the horror story of another passenger who was travelling on our flight home the other day. We flew Hawaiian Airlines to Phoenix and then were on America West to our final destination. Apparantly there was a major problem the day before and lots of people had to spend the night in Phoenix and were now being squeezed onto overbooked flights the next day. Many of the couples flying together (myself and DH included) were no longer sitting together and we were left to our own to try and arrange better seating with absolutely NO HELP WHATSOEVER from America West. In fact, one man flying with his 3 year old son were separated by 13 rows and they refused to work it out for them to be together. Lucky for us and the man with his son and DH and myself were able to find some friendly passengers who would switch seats so that we (and they) could sit together.

One woman was complaining to the flight attendant that she had paid for a first class ticket and was now seated in coach. The flight attendant was very UN-apologetic about the whole thing and told the woman that they had a woman and her young child that had to both be given seats on the plane since they were bumped the night before and the only two seats were in first class. The woman asked her why a SINGLE flying coach passenger couldn''t be moved up to first class along with her and the woman and her child be seated in coach. That made perfect sense to me, I wonder why the people at America West couldn''t have figured it out? The flight attendant''s only other suggestion was for the woman to get OFF the plane and wait on standby for the next flight that left in 7 hours. What wonderful treatment of a passenger who''d paid for a first class ticket! When the woman inquired about getting a refund of her first class ticket, the flight attendant said she didn''t know how the woman was to go about it and to call customer service when she landed.

I did want to give kudos to Hawaiian Airlines. Pillows and blankets in every seat and hot meals served at no extra charge both ways. Friendly flight attendants and ground personnel. They''ve earned our business again.