DCL Dropped a cart of luggage in the water

[ladyofthetramp]

oh man... That is bad. For the most part we try and pack light these days and carry on our bags. Airlines too can be problematic. If a storm rolls in while your bags are being loaded and the workers have to leave the runway, you watch your clothes/suitcase get pelted by the pouring rain. No fun.

 

[jo-jo]

oh man... That is bad. For the most part we try and pack light these days and carry on our bags. Airlines too can be problematic. If a storm rolls in while your bags are being loaded and the workers have to leave the runway, you watch your clothes/suitcase get pelted by the pouring rain. No fun.

Years ago, that's what happened to us. We came home on late flight. Got luggage out of car. But didn't touch it until next day. Open it up to find everything soaked. Called airline, they said when there is lightening in the area, the luggage handlers have to leave the carts and head inside. Since then I pack everything inside a large clear trash bag inside the luggage. Not going to help with dropping in water, but will with a rain storm.

 

[MamaMermaid]

That really stinks.

 

[nancipants]

Yikes. Good reminder to not just carry on our devices, but also sound machines and baby monitors. You can't replace/launder those!

 

[minniebeth]

I'm really sorry for the people that happened to!
I just recently sailed the Dream out of Miami and thought the porters were pretty pushy as we were getting off of the DCL bus at the port. They were shouting out to make sure to identify your bag and then now is the time to tip your porters~ with their hands out literally in your face. They went on about how they get all the heavy luggage (true) to your cabins safely. Of course it's expected to tip them, and we do, generously. I know they work hard. But I think I'd want my tip back if they (accidentally) dumped my luggage in the water. Funny not funny.

 

[DCLMP]

Because cruise employees are perfect robots who would never make a mistake and nothing ever goes wrong for them?

Laptops and phones are valuables which should be in your carry on.

Because they are human and mistakes happen? It happens everywhere, like in a supermarket where it sometimes happens that a full cart of sodas get topped over, in a bakery a full bag of flour dropped to the floor.

It is not that this happens on every cruise. Whatever industry you are in, there are mistakes made when humans are involved. Also by competent people.

Yes people make mistakes. We've all made mistakes and we've probably all gotten in trouble for them. No one knows if it was a mistake, intentional, are just incompetence. It's all speculation, but what a way to ruin a vacation. I would not compare dropping a bag a flour owned by the company you work for to dropping several peoples valuable belongings in to the ocean. It happens frequently enough that it seems like their needs to be some protocol changes.

 

[MrMarcus]

I have see some ports have cargo nets strung between the ship and the dock under where luggage was being loaded. I am curious if they had one that failed -- maybe not secured or that it ripped from too much weight.

 

[Karin1984]

Yes people make mistakes. We've all made mistakes and we've probably all gotten in trouble for them. No one knows if it was a mistake, intentional, are just incompetence. It's all speculation, but what a way to ruin a vacation. I would not compare dropping a bag a flour owned by the company you work for to dropping several peoples valuable belongings in to the ocean. It happens frequently enough that it seems like their needs to be some protocol changes.

I prefer to think that people are good and that they do not deliberately drop bags into the ocean.
Why is incompetence your first thought?

if a protocol change is needed, it's still not the worker but management who makes the protocols.

 

[lklgoodman]

I have see some ports have cargo nets strung between the ship and the dock under where luggage was being loaded. I am curious if they had one that failed -- maybe not secured or that it ripped from too much weight.

If they don't use those there, hopefully they will from now on.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I prefer to think that people are good and that they do not deliberately drop bags into the ocean.
Why is incompetence your first thought?

if a protocol change is needed, it's still not the worker but management who makes the protocols.

I agree. Odds are good they are very much pressed for time to get it done as quickly as possible. If you rush, you’ll make mistakes.

I have no idea how much they make but if it’s crappy pay, odds are there’s a lot of employee turnover.

 

[lucyem]

On our second dcl cruise my soft sided suitcase arrived stained brown partly on one side. I don't remember if it arrived to the room that way or as we left the ship. Luckily it did not soak through. I don't check bags often but I am pretty aware of what I put in my bag and how. And I still have that suitcase, it'll probably last forever just because I want it to break

On our first cruise the kiddos got to watch our suitcases loaded on the ship. We all had bright colored suitcases so they were easy to spot in the big pile being wheeled out to the ship. I have photos somewhere.

 

[Fuzzycaterpillar1]

This is not the first time this has happened. I really don't get how dock workers can be so incompetent.

It's Miami. I lived there and some people show up late, give minimal effort, take tons of breaks and are annoyed if you ask them for help with anything

 

[DCLMP]

It's Miami. I lived there and some people show up late, give minimal effort, take tons of breaks and are annoyed if you ask them for help with anything

That's everywhere.

 

[CaseyCruiser]

How did they manage to do that!

 

[Genie+]

These lyrics won’t get out of my head while reading this. Disneyitis?

Under the sea
Under the sea
Darling it's better
Down where it's wetter
Take it from me

Up on the shore they work all day
Out in the sun they slave away
While we devotin'
Full time to floatin'
Under the sea

 

[Kennywood]

These lyrics won’t get out of my head while reading this. Disneyitis?

Under the sea
Under the sea
Darling it's better
Down where it's wetter
Take it from me

Up on the shore they work all day
Out in the sun they slave away
While we devotin'
Full time to floatin'
Under the sea

I’ve got swimsuits and flip flops aplenty
I’ve got cameras and laptops galore
(You want sunglasses? I’ve got twenty!)
But who cares?
No bid deal.
I want more!

 

[DCLMP]

I agree. Odds are good they are very much pressed for time to get it done as quickly as possible. If you rush, you’ll make mistakes.

I have no idea how much they make but if it’s crappy pay, odds are there’s a lot of employee turnover.

Maybe they are quietly quitting. It seems to be a thing.

 

[anricat]

I feel like they have nets that I've seen in PC, right?

 

[Cheburashka]

oh man... That is bad. For the most part we try and pack light these days and carry on our bags. Airlines too can be problematic. If a storm rolls in while your bags are being loaded and the workers have to leave the runway, you watch your clothes/suitcase get pelted by the pouring rain. No fun.

That happened to us on our flight from Paris to Amsterdam. There was a delay at the Paris airport, and heavy rain. When we arrived in Amsterdam, one of our suitcases was completely soaked, all the way through. We had to spend the next morning at a nearby laundromat, and borrowed fans from the hotel to dry out the bags themselves.

That was soft-sided luggage. I now only travel with hard-sided luggage. Not completely waterproof, obviously, but much less likely to get the contents soaked from rain.

I still wouldn't bank on one of those surviving a fall into the ocean, though.

 

[BlueBayou]

My dad traveled a lot for business. One time in the 70s they somehow got jet fuel on a small soft sided suitcase dad had. The suitcase had some sort of rubber or petroleum lining so the inside items weren’t actually damaged. But they gave him money for the suitcase itself. But they let him keep the suitcase. I remember going out into the garage to ride my bike the day after he got home and I would not have wanted to light a match in the garage. He ended up throwing the suitcase away.