Shipping clothes to avoid baggage fee?

[o2bnoz]

Hi,
I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas about this? I can get cheap airfare, but the baggage fees are a killer. I was just thinking that maybe if I sent a box of clothes ahead of us, that it might be a good plan. Has anyone done this? And if so, are there any places where you can actually ship things and have them held?

We will be staying at a timeshare, and I don't know that I trust them to hold on to the clothes and have them there for us. Since we're going in February, we would shipping 'mostly' clothes that we wouldnt' be using at home in Ohio.

It sounds like a great idea, but I'm thinking there is probably a flaw in my logic. Obviously we would ship things back at the end of the trip, too. It certainly can't be as expensive as 3 bags at $35 each, each way!!!! Geez... that's $210. Even if we got it down to 2 bags, it would be $140. That is steep!

Any thoughts or ideas are greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Sorry if this is in the wrong area...

 

[Justsyd2]

Here's a good thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2437212&highlight=shipping+clothes+to+resort

 

[hercamore]

Aren't your carryons free?

Should be able to get quite a few kids clothes in a 21 incher.

herc

 

[o2bnoz]

Thanks for the thread!

And yes, Herc, you are right, I will be able to get quite a few things for my son into a carry-on. I think the main issue is that we don't want to have to carry a million things. My parents will be with us (80 and 76) and I don't want to be so overloaded with things that I can't help them. Also want to be able to enjoy the trip (does anyone enjoy the travelling part? ) or at least not feel exhausted after getting there.

I will have to see what I can do. I also thought that by having something to send back, I wouldn't have to keep an eye on how much I buy We don't get to Disney all that often and sweatshirts take up a lot of valuable suitcase space!

Thanks for the thought, though... now I will need to do a little "practice packing".

 

[ceecee]

Clothes weigh quite a lot and though it would be cheaper, it's a hassle! We ship to FL a lot (all the relatives live there and we are in OH) it's costly and while you could ship parcel post who knows when it would arrive. I don't like the large carry ons either. So many people are trying to carry everything so they don't pay the fees the overhead bins are packed, which delays things when they run out of room. Then there were several women on our flight this month that could not even lift the bags!!! One lady's bag was so heavy she could hardly pull it and it kept getting stuck. Pack light, do laundry midweek and pay one fee. We take 2 smaller (we could carry on but don't) bags for the 3 of us and we stay 8-10 days. I do laundry once.

 

[o2bnoz]

Thanks Ceecee, I guess this is the kind of thing I was looking for. I was only thinking of the positive aspects of shipping and not the negatives. I am one of those people who likes to have a very small carry-on, what most would consider to be a medium sized purse. I just don't think it's right to bring a suitcase on to the airplane. I am always the one who gets stuck with the overhead bin that is jammed full and no one can get things out and I'm straining my back to help people.... so I don't want to be one of those people.

We will be in a condo, so the laundry will be no problem. I just need to learn to pack light. I've never been good at it. I think I need EVERYTHING when I travel! I need to change from the "just in case" sort of packer to the "only absolutely necessary" type.

Back to the drawing board. I'll start figuring in the baggage fee and just find the best rate!

Thanks all!

 

[Nicolepa]

3 bags for 3 people, one of them being 5? I can pack for 2 weeks for 3 in 1 large suitcase. We now have 5 in our family and I use 2 large suitcases and the second one is not full.

3 changes of clothes for everyone, nothing red. 2 pairs of shoes MAX. 1 semi-dressy outfit. (Needed for the first week when visting relatives, if we are just doing Disney I don't pack). 1 pair of PJ's.

I do 1 load of laundry a day. ( DVC washer in room.) Put it in while we are making breakfast. Throw it in the dryer when we leave. Takes 5 minutes.

You are not going to the middle of nowhere. You can get things you forget either on property, or delivered. Worst case scenario you take a taxi to Wal-Mart. Or order it on Amazon and have it delivered next or 2 day.

 

[traveljunkie2]

About shipping clothes: my sister came to visit for the weekend once and just had a carryon piece of luggage. Somehow we managed to forget it at home when we took her to the airport for her return flight! I had to mail her clothes to her. She had maybe three changes of clothes and it cost about $8 to go from Oregon to Seattle. The box was smaller than her carryon (maybe 10x10x8"), because she hadn't overpacked the luggage and didn't bring any toiletries other than a toothbrush.

We have considered mailing clothes when we visit family because we hate the checked baggage fees, and we don't want to drag around luggage. But I think the cost of shipping would add up pretty fast. You may want to look into the flat rate shipping boxes to send stuff home. We always come home with at least two bags more than we arrived with!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Don't look at it as $140 or $210 for the luggage; instead, add $35/$70 per ticket, for some of the passengers. What airline are you flying that charges $35 per checked bag? I thought the legacy carriers are $25, or $23 if you pay in advance?

The ONLY way I would recommend shipping is if you could guarantee date and time for your arrival day, after you got to the timeshare. You don't trust 'them' to hold your shipment, so you NEED to be there for the delivery. You could see about shipping to a UPS Store, but I'm sure there's an extra charge for that, and then you'd have to find it.

 

[NHdisneylover]

]Don't look at it as $140 or $210 for the luggage; instead, add $35/$70 per ticket, for some of the passengers.[/B] What airline are you flying that charges $35 per checked bag? I thought the legacy carriers are $25, or $23 if you pay in advance?

The ONLY way I would recommend shipping is if you could guarantee date and time for your arrival day, after you got to the timeshare. You don't trust 'them' to hold your shipment, so you NEED to be there for the delivery. You could see about shipping to a UPS Store, but I'm sure there's an extra charge for that, and then you'd have to find it.

This is how I look at it too When I compare flight costs I price the TOTAL and compare apples to apples.
For example--we recently booked tickets from Frankfort to London:
The conventional wisdom is that RyanAir is the cheapest airline--but they have a lot of extra fees for every little thing AND they fly out of a much less convenient to get to airport. So I priced it out per person based on cost to get to the airport (or park there--which is what we do for FRA), having one bag to check each and the airfare. Lufthansa came in at 35 Euro per person cheaper that way (happiness because I like Lufthansa and the flight times are good). Yes, RyanAir's base price was lower, but the over all cost to us was higher.

 

[tink2dw]

Use Space bags to pack in!! they work well and one time when maintenance didn't have a vacuum we sat on them on the floor and forced the air out!! It worked like magic.

 

[crisi]

Some hotels (the convention ones at Disney) charge a fee for having packages shipped. I'd suspect that if more people start shipping luggage to avoid the fees on the planes, Disney will put fees in at all the hotels (and likely with no notice). They don't have a lot of luggage storage space and between people checking in early and enjoying the parks while their room is being cleaned, people leaving bags while they cruise, grocery deliveries...the space can get pretty full. So you might want to be aware of that possibility. Unless you are staying at a convention hotel now, I don't think its likely you'll be charged for bags, but they have that ability.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Agreeing with crisi. My favorite hotel in Las Vegas charges sliding fees to accept as little as a letter! Fortunately, I know people out there and could ship my stuff early; more fortunately, I choose an airline that doesn't charge for luggage . At least not the first bag, and I can manage for a week or more with one suitcase. And a laundromat if necessary... ideally one with wash & fold service

 

[ccgirl]

When staying in a timeshare we pack very little as we have the washer/dryer. I do the laundry on the 3rd day and last day. I am able to get everything in a large suitcase for a family of 4. I use the gallon ziploc bags and push the air out. Or, do as a PP stated and use the space saver bags. Since you are at a timeshare I assume you have a rental car? Purchase the toiletries once you get down there and just toss them when you are done. Still cheaper than spending the $$$ on checked baggage. My DH and myself are goint to FL for 4 days in Nov and each are only carrying a carryon. I know you said you feel bad bringing a suitcase as a carryon but as long as it is within the size limit you are fine. I hear you about the hassle. I would just pack one large suitcase and wear the sweatshirts and heaviest shoes down. Pack the rest and buy toiletries etc down there. I think shipiping all that down would be just as cost prohibitive - not to mention what would happen if the clothes didn't get there in time. Have fun!

 

[bettymae1121]

How about a mix of checked and carry-on?

I've used a small backpack as my carry on, I love it because it keeps my hands free when going through the aiport, and it fits under my seat rather than having to go in the overhead bin. Perhaps you can check one large suitcase for the bulk of your items (just make sure it weights less than 50 pounds) and just use backpacks for your carry on. Back packs can hold a surprising amount of stuff if you pack right. If you do it this way, you'd only have to pay one fee for the checked bag.

 

[maddiesmom0116]

I have never shipped to Disney but I have shipped back before, almost every trip. I ship a fairly large box of stuffed toys and snacks etc... for about $10. I wish I could tell you the weights, but I don't record them or anything.

I do one checked bag and we each do a smaller carry on, then mail back anything we buy. I have to do a checked bag, because I cannot survive on the small amount of liquids you can have. I need more conditioner for my thick hair then that and at $35 a bottle(only sold in liters), I would not buy there and leave the left overs, it is cheaper for me to do a carry on with just that.

There is a UPS store not far from DTD to ship from.