AlanS That's a travel saga that you will not soon forget!
I'm so glad you still thoroughly enjoyed your tour, albeit, missing a few pre-tour add-ons. Delta dropped the ball on many fronts. I this the "new normal"?
My rule of thumb is I NEVER check luggage outbound and rarely check luggage upon return, although there have been times when I just don't feel like being bothered with it.
There was a travel delay returning from my Antarctica tour. We were boarded on the plane and sat there for about 2+ hours due to extremely bad weather. We had sat in the lounge for about 2 hours prior to boarding. I guess they were really hoping the weather cleared. The decision was finally made to cancel the flight.
I remember being one of the first persons off the plane. With luggage in hand I was one of the first in line to get a hotel. I was at my hotel and snug as a bug in bed in no time while many other folks had a nightmarish time as they had to wait for luggage to be taken off the plane and then hope there were hotels available because at this point there were many many people vying for available rooms and transportation.
We booked our air for the Douro plus Lisbon/Madrid tour thru Tauck back around Christmas and it's just under Sam's $4k pp BC threshold. Was considering dropping the extra days on our own in Barcelona if the insurance wasn't going to cover those days or moving the whole trip to next spring (for other reasons), but worried what would happen to the airfare. Glad I got the insurance clarified.
PureLuxury - Did I read your post correctly. You do all of your tours via carry on luggage only?
If that’s the case I’m impressed. I could never do that since almost all of my carry on space goes to items I don’t check - camera gear, medications, etc. There’s no way I could get ~2 weeks of clothing in there as well.
Sam - you beat me to a similar post! Funny though, on one tour (forget which one) I had a smallish suitcase and the airport pickup (a woman) said to me, "That's all?" I responded, "I'm a guy."
Sam, go over to the Rick Steves forum where carry-on only packing is darn near a religion. Mention checking a bag and you might at well as admit to being a cannibal.
This is depressing me! But hey, I’ve flown to Africa in coach and many other long hauls and really Europe is fine in coach. Certainly from the East Coast….now I,’m not saying my husband would agree…. But if it is the difference between being able to go on a tour or not, I’d do coach
Speaking of bags, on our recently completed Treasures of the Aegean, we saw something we have never seen before - one couple checked EIGHT, yes 8, bags, at the airline counter!! I don't know if they were doing back-to-back tours, but it was more bags than the lady on our tour who was doing 6 back-to-back tours.
We probably should have gone back to back and saved a bunch of air fare … but we have a dog … or she has us. I know she thinks she owns me. We fly Nairobi, Amsterdam, SFO on July 8th, and then turn around and fly back to Amsterdam on August 22. That’s a six week turn around, but we can’t leave our dog for more than two weeks. It just will not happen.
Claudia - On Rick Steves tours there might be a greater incentive for traveling light. Do you have to porter your own bags on Rick Steves tours? If you go with only a carry on bag how often do you have to do laundry? I never have to do laundry on a two week tour if I pack a checked bag and have a back pack carry on. We’ve purchased full size luggage that only weigh 7 pounds each. That leaves 43 pounds for clothes and still fit within the normal 50 pound limit for a suitcase.
For me, I’ll check a bag to avoid doing laundry mid-tour.
Despite hitting some rather warm (hot) days, we made it though both J&E and Treasures of the Aegean without having to do any laundry, with one checked bag each. We put a few pieces of emergency clothing in my wife's small carry-on Biaggi. She also carried a purse. I only carried my 'man purse' with camera, misc camera accessories, and Bose headphones.
Yes, on RS tours you carry your own. Apparently the bus can't always get close and the hotels don't always have elevators. Definitely incentive to pack light. His guidebooks are pretty good at pointing out where laundromats are.
But even the independent travelers on that forum don't check bags.
I learn a lot on that forum because it's a wider range of travelers and their topic categories are more than just which tours RS offers. There are a fair number of people on it who actually live in Europe so you get a locals perspective.
I'll check a bag too unless I'm on one of his tours or doing a lot of independent travel on trains. Hasn't happened yet.
Sam - Only tour I've done laundry on was Aus/NZ. That's 3 weeks. IIRC, it was in Sydney, there's a nasty Chinese woman with a laundry about 2 blocks from the hotel that's the Tauck unofficial laundry stop.
8 Bags, I’m speechless! So selfish, I’m saying no more on that.
We too have bags that I think weigh less than 7 pounds and take back packs. I would not call our bags even full site but they carry a lot of things. Every way wheels. They are a very soft sided French brand, yikes I forget the name. They come in all sorts of fancy colors but if you shop somewhere like Macys for them like I did where there are limited colors, they cost less money. Ours are a medium blue grey color. The luggage does not look fancy, I don’t like to have expensive looking luggage, it has more potential of attracting thieves at airports where security is not so good.
The person here who I think has the best idea for luggage strategy is Terrilynn.
If Tauck would stop emphasizing jackets and smart casual, it would avoid so much hassle for everyone from the traveler, the airline handlers, the hotel porters and the TD who has to deal with people who have eight suitcases. We are on a tour, not the Met Gala.
We too do little laundry, though Africa is very cheap.
I just bought a Samsonite ultra-light bag in Porto (26" tall including wheels) to replace my luggage that was chewed up on a conveyor belt on my way to Porto via Paris. Just put it on the scale -- 6.5 pounds.
I can't even imagine the pain in the neck of wrangling 8 pieces of luggage. What the heck were they packing?
When we took our first Tauck tour it was the first time we had flown since airlines had gotten so strict with luggage sizes/weight. All the bigger bags we had were very heavy so we ditched them and bought lighter weight versions at Costco. My husband still uses his but they haven't worn all that well - mostly corner abrasions. I replaced mine with a Travelpro bought for under $50 from Tuesday Morning. I like it's design better and it's very light. But mostly I like that it's bright purple. I tried to talk my husband out of buying a black bag since they are so hard to spot on the carousel but he insisted. I tried tying colored ribbon to the zipper pulls to distinguish it but inevitably the bag arrived face down so you couldn't see them. Finally took inexpensive craft paint and stencils and marked all sides of his bag with stars and anchors (we're a navy family) and now it's much easier to spot and the paint has lasted after several trips.
On laundry, yes anything after 2 weeks on tour and we need a laundromat stop. Thankfully on both of our back to back trips we've found them. For London I used google to find one within walking distance of the Savoy. The google maps "nearby" feature is great for finding things near your hotel. For our trips last year - Switzerland and France - we had a few days on our own in Zurich and I had booked a modestly priced hotel that had laundry service. It was supposed to be a set price for a bag but the hotel never charged us. We handed them a bag crammed with laundry and a few hours later they knocked on our door with a basket of warm laundry. Easy.
Smiling Sam: PureLuxury - Did I read your post correctly. You do all of your tours via carry on luggage only?
If that’s the case I’m impressed. I could never do that since almost all of my carry on space goes to items I don’t check - camera gear, medications, etc. There’s no way I could get ~2 weeks of clothing in there as well.
Yes, Sam...you read that correctly. I use the Briggs & Riley Baseline CX Expansion International Carry-On for long trips (India/ AUS/NZ) and for shorter trips I sometimes may use the smaller CX B&R bag (not often). For Africa, I used a duffle bag...the TD was truly impressed. Every time I wore a new outfit, someone would ask--was that also in that duffle bag???--yep, I used the roll-technique. I've got packing down to a science. I love clothes and I'm very creative in putting outfits together.
I also carry a Billingham camera bag. It is roomy enough for the camera, iPad-mini, phone, passport, wallet, and all the needed accessories. I also pack a nylon Longchamp bag for souvenirs. Upon return, I usually carry that as well. That's one of the benefits of Business Class--you're allowed more on-board luggage. In addition to the fear of mis-placed luggage, I really dislike waiting at the luggage carousel. When I deplane, I want to head to my car and go home--and as soon as I arrive home, regardless of the time, I unpack my bags, sort the laundry and put the bags away. Holiday is over!
PureLuxury - I also carry a Billingham camera bag. It is roomy enough for the camera, iPad-mini, phone, passport, wallet, and all the needed accessories. I also pack a nylon Longchamp bag for souvenirs.
Since you have three bags (without the third bag you couldn't purchase anything on the trip) that you carry on it is getting more feasible to carry on, except the hassle of having to schlep three bags around with you through all the airports, on the planes, etc.
franlovestravel - Smiling Sam, what brand of luggage only weights 7 pounds and is full size?
It's a 30' Samsonite ( I forget the model ) made of some sort of polycarbonate. We've had them for about 3-4 years. They are hard to find at that weight. We love them. The have zippered covers on both sides inside the suitcase as well.
BKMD, just a heads-up. Check AC sched ahead of time so you have a game plan in case something goes awry. I got stuck once on way to Montreal; AC had fewer flights to Europe than other carriers & after much begging ended up in Toronto and then on BA...still arrived way late and lost my ambitious pre-reception plans before tour.
Sam: Since you have three bags (without the third bag you couldn't purchase anything on the trip) that you carry on it is getting more feasible to carry on, except the hassle of having to schlep three bags around with you through all the airports, on the planes, etc.
Sam: the 3rd bag is a small shoulder bag. Trust me if I had to make the choice of checking a bag in order to bring home trinkets, the trinkets would definitely stay in-country. I purchase small things for myself - which could easily be tucked in my suitcase or camera bag. I'm really not a souvenir person. I've purchased beautiful jewelry and cute magnets which can fit in my camera bag. My most precious souvenirs are my photos, my journal and my memory --I journal everyday during the trip--there's nothing more I need
I will admit during my first trip to Greece in 2005 after the summer Olympics, I saw a silver gold and bronze mask that was signed and numbered by the artist. I LOVED it. I purchased it without contemplating how I would carry it home. Luckily for me, it was composed of three pieces and I was able to dissemble it and fit it in my suitcase.
I've had great experiences during my travels--experiences you can only contain in your memory--a private audience with the Pope John Paul II---I have a picture and the rest is my glorious memory of that beautiful day and how I missed going to the Colosseum that day because I was in a trace and spent the remainder of the day walking around St. Peter's Basilica
During my college and early career years, when I didn't have the luxury of 5* hotels and porters, I traveled Europe and hoped from country to country on trains and small planes-I appreciate the value in being a minimalist traveler.
PureLuxury, very commendable, but I figured you are not much of a shopper & lol are happy with the bulk shampoo; many fancy toiletries have imo questionable ingredients. My mother was once asked whether she was in the import business, she was hauling so much food. I remember traveling on tour with only a small wheelie and it kept (almost) getting left by the bus b/c staff thought it was my personal carry-on. In Japan the trains have clever storage between the seat rows, but funny thing, they fit smaller suitcases only, which you'll quickly notice is fine for most of your fellow passengers.
Sam, we thought we would love your kind of bag before we got our soft sided ones but found you have to open them up completely flat and would not work on the baggage rack in the room or stool at the end of the bed, is that how yours opens? We have never used ours since until this week when my husband took one on a trip and ours was a little smaller than the soft bag for his solo travel.
British - Yes that’s how mine works. Those baggage racks in rooms are dinosaurs like rotary phones. My feet extend ( I’m 6’6” tall ) over the end of most hotel beds so I can’t put anything on a bench at the end of a bed.
I always place my bag on the floor ( for land tours when it is one or two days and then onto the next stop ) wide open. It provides easy access to everything in the bag. When moving on just zip each side shut, close the suitcase, zip and lock, ready to go.
I'm just glad if we can get two of the luggage rack dinosaurs. We always have to ask.
I'd looked at the hard side bags too but decided not to get them for that reason. However, if I ever joined the carry-on only club I'd get one. The smaller versions would probably fit on luggage racks okay and I do like easy access. I watched a video once of a woman on a river cruise who packed enough for 2 weeks in a hard side carry-on. Was pretty impressive what she got into it.
Comments
AlanS That's a travel saga that you will not soon forget!
I'm so glad you still thoroughly enjoyed your tour, albeit, missing a few pre-tour add-ons. Delta dropped the ball on many fronts. I this the "new normal"?
My rule of thumb is I NEVER check luggage outbound and rarely check luggage upon return, although there have been times when I just don't feel like being bothered with it.
There was a travel delay returning from my Antarctica tour. We were boarded on the plane and sat there for about 2+ hours due to extremely bad weather. We had sat in the lounge for about 2 hours prior to boarding. I guess they were really hoping the weather cleared. The decision was finally made to cancel the flight.
I remember being one of the first persons off the plane. With luggage in hand I was one of the first in line to get a hotel. I was at my hotel and snug as a bug in bed in no time while many other folks had a nightmarish time as they had to wait for luggage to be taken off the plane and then hope there were hotels available because at this point there were many many people vying for available rooms and transportation.
We booked our air for the Douro plus Lisbon/Madrid tour thru Tauck back around Christmas and it's just under Sam's $4k pp BC threshold. Was considering dropping the extra days on our own in Barcelona if the insurance wasn't going to cover those days or moving the whole trip to next spring (for other reasons), but worried what would happen to the airfare. Glad I got the insurance clarified.
PureLuxury - Did I read your post correctly. You do all of your tours via carry on luggage only?
If that’s the case I’m impressed. I could never do that since almost all of my carry on space goes to items I don’t check - camera gear, medications, etc. There’s no way I could get ~2 weeks of clothing in there as well.
Sam - you beat me to a similar post! Funny though, on one tour (forget which one) I had a smallish suitcase and the airport pickup (a woman) said to me, "That's all?" I responded, "I'm a guy."
Sam, go over to the Rick Steves forum where carry-on only packing is darn near a religion. Mention checking a bag and you might at well as admit to being a cannibal.
This is depressing me! But hey, I’ve flown to Africa in coach and many other long hauls and really Europe is fine in coach. Certainly from the East Coast….now I,’m not saying my husband would agree…. But if it is the difference between being able to go on a tour or not, I’d do coach
Speaking of bags, on our recently completed Treasures of the Aegean, we saw something we have never seen before - one couple checked EIGHT, yes 8, bags, at the airline counter!! I don't know if they were doing back-to-back tours, but it was more bags than the lady on our tour who was doing 6 back-to-back tours.
AlanS, OMG! Hopefully British doesn't read this... 8 bags! i wonder if they are the same PRican couple from my trip to J&E.
8 bags .. Uhm.. 8!
We probably should have gone back to back and saved a bunch of air fare … but we have a dog … or she has us. I know she thinks she owns me. We fly Nairobi, Amsterdam, SFO on July 8th, and then turn around and fly back to Amsterdam on August 22. That’s a six week turn around, but we can’t leave our dog for more than two weeks. It just will not happen.
Claudia - On Rick Steves tours there might be a greater incentive for traveling light. Do you have to porter your own bags on Rick Steves tours? If you go with only a carry on bag how often do you have to do laundry? I never have to do laundry on a two week tour if I pack a checked bag and have a back pack carry on. We’ve purchased full size luggage that only weigh 7 pounds each. That leaves 43 pounds for clothes and still fit within the normal 50 pound limit for a suitcase.
For me, I’ll check a bag to avoid doing laundry mid-tour.
On our upcoming K&T we will have laundry done everywhere except the Four Seasons. It is cheaper to burn your clothes and buy new ones.
Despite hitting some rather warm (hot) days, we made it though both J&E and Treasures of the Aegean without having to do any laundry, with one checked bag each. We put a few pieces of emergency clothing in my wife's small carry-on Biaggi. She also carried a purse. I only carried my 'man purse' with camera, misc camera accessories, and Bose headphones.
Yes, on RS tours you carry your own. Apparently the bus can't always get close and the hotels don't always have elevators. Definitely incentive to pack light. His guidebooks are pretty good at pointing out where laundromats are.
But even the independent travelers on that forum don't check bags.
I learn a lot on that forum because it's a wider range of travelers and their topic categories are more than just which tours RS offers. There are a fair number of people on it who actually live in Europe so you get a locals perspective.
I'll check a bag too unless I'm on one of his tours or doing a lot of independent travel on trains. Hasn't happened yet.
Sam - Only tour I've done laundry on was Aus/NZ. That's 3 weeks. IIRC, it was in Sydney, there's a nasty Chinese woman with a laundry about 2 blocks from the hotel that's the Tauck unofficial laundry stop.
BKMD - Tours beyond 2 weeks could require doing laundry, or buying some new and swapping out the others. 😃
Smiling Sam, what brand of luggage only weights 7 pounds and is full size?
8 Bags, I’m speechless! So selfish, I’m saying no more on that.
We too have bags that I think weigh less than 7 pounds and take back packs. I would not call our bags even full site but they carry a lot of things. Every way wheels. They are a very soft sided French brand, yikes I forget the name. They come in all sorts of fancy colors but if you shop somewhere like Macys for them like I did where there are limited colors, they cost less money. Ours are a medium blue grey color. The luggage does not look fancy, I don’t like to have expensive looking luggage, it has more potential of attracting thieves at airports where security is not so good.
The person here who I think has the best idea for luggage strategy is Terrilynn.
If Tauck would stop emphasizing jackets and smart casual, it would avoid so much hassle for everyone from the traveler, the airline handlers, the hotel porters and the TD who has to deal with people who have eight suitcases. We are on a tour, not the Met Gala.
We too do little laundry, though Africa is very cheap.
Enjoying revisiting Athens through your pics Alan. We were not offered candlelight dinner at the library however. That must have been exciting
franlovestravel - Not sure how you define full size, but I recently bought a new 26 inch suitcase that weighs 9.9 lbs.
https://www.awaytravel.com/suitcases/medium?color=petal
I just bought a Samsonite ultra-light bag in Porto (26" tall including wheels) to replace my luggage that was chewed up on a conveyor belt on my way to Porto via Paris. Just put it on the scale -- 6.5 pounds.
I can't even imagine the pain in the neck of wrangling 8 pieces of luggage. What the heck were they packing?
When we took our first Tauck tour it was the first time we had flown since airlines had gotten so strict with luggage sizes/weight. All the bigger bags we had were very heavy so we ditched them and bought lighter weight versions at Costco. My husband still uses his but they haven't worn all that well - mostly corner abrasions. I replaced mine with a Travelpro bought for under $50 from Tuesday Morning. I like it's design better and it's very light. But mostly I like that it's bright purple. I tried to talk my husband out of buying a black bag since they are so hard to spot on the carousel but he insisted. I tried tying colored ribbon to the zipper pulls to distinguish it but inevitably the bag arrived face down so you couldn't see them. Finally took inexpensive craft paint and stencils and marked all sides of his bag with stars and anchors (we're a navy family) and now it's much easier to spot and the paint has lasted after several trips.
On laundry, yes anything after 2 weeks on tour and we need a laundromat stop. Thankfully on both of our back to back trips we've found them. For London I used google to find one within walking distance of the Savoy. The google maps "nearby" feature is great for finding things near your hotel. For our trips last year - Switzerland and France - we had a few days on our own in Zurich and I had booked a modestly priced hotel that had laundry service. It was supposed to be a set price for a bag but the hotel never charged us. We handed them a bag crammed with laundry and a few hours later they knocked on our door with a basket of warm laundry. Easy.
Yes, Sam...you read that correctly. I use the Briggs & Riley Baseline CX Expansion International Carry-On for long trips (India/ AUS/NZ) and for shorter trips I sometimes may use the smaller CX B&R bag (not often). For Africa, I used a duffle bag...the TD was truly impressed. Every time I wore a new outfit, someone would ask--was that also in that duffle bag???--yep, I used the roll-technique. I've got packing down to a science. I love clothes and I'm very creative in putting outfits together.
I also carry a Billingham camera bag. It is roomy enough for the camera, iPad-mini, phone, passport, wallet, and all the needed accessories. I also pack a nylon Longchamp bag for souvenirs. Upon return, I usually carry that as well. That's one of the benefits of Business Class--you're allowed more on-board luggage. In addition to the fear of mis-placed luggage, I really dislike waiting at the luggage carousel. When I deplane, I want to head to my car and go home--and as soon as I arrive home, regardless of the time, I unpack my bags, sort the laundry and put the bags away. Holiday is over!
Since you have three bags (without the third bag you couldn't purchase anything on the trip) that you carry on it is getting more feasible to carry on, except the hassle of having to schlep three bags around with you through all the airports, on the planes, etc.
It's a 30' Samsonite ( I forget the model ) made of some sort of polycarbonate. We've had them for about 3-4 years. They are hard to find at that weight. We love them. The have zippered covers on both sides inside the suitcase as well.
BKMD, just a heads-up. Check AC sched ahead of time so you have a game plan in case something goes awry. I got stuck once on way to Montreal; AC had fewer flights to Europe than other carriers & after much begging ended up in Toronto and then on BA...still arrived way late and lost my ambitious pre-reception plans before tour.
Sam: the 3rd bag is a small shoulder bag. Trust me if I had to make the choice of checking a bag in order to bring home trinkets, the trinkets would definitely stay in-country. I purchase small things for myself - which could easily be tucked in my suitcase or camera bag. I'm really not a souvenir person. I've purchased beautiful jewelry and cute magnets which can fit in my camera bag. My most precious souvenirs are my photos, my journal and my memory --I journal everyday during the trip--there's nothing more I need
I will admit during my first trip to Greece in 2005 after the summer Olympics, I saw a silver gold and bronze mask that was signed and numbered by the artist. I LOVED it. I purchased it without contemplating how I would carry it home. Luckily for me, it was composed of three pieces and I was able to dissemble it and fit it in my suitcase.
I've had great experiences during my travels--experiences you can only contain in your memory--a private audience with the Pope John Paul II---I have a picture and the rest is my glorious memory of that beautiful day and how I missed going to the Colosseum that day because I was in a trace and spent the remainder of the day walking around St. Peter's Basilica
During my college and early career years, when I didn't have the luxury of 5* hotels and porters, I traveled Europe and hoped from country to country on trains and small planes-I appreciate the value in being a minimalist traveler.
PureLuxury, very commendable, but I figured you are not much of a shopper & lol are happy with the bulk shampoo; many fancy toiletries have imo questionable ingredients. My mother was once asked whether she was in the import business, she was hauling so much food. I remember traveling on tour with only a small wheelie and it kept (almost) getting left by the bus b/c staff thought it was my personal carry-on. In Japan the trains have clever storage between the seat rows, but funny thing, they fit smaller suitcases only, which you'll quickly notice is fine for most of your fellow passengers.
Thanks, MarketArt. I've only flown AC one other time in recent years, and that was to Tel Aviv for the I/J tour (via Toronto). No issues at all.
Sam, we thought we would love your kind of bag before we got our soft sided ones but found you have to open them up completely flat and would not work on the baggage rack in the room or stool at the end of the bed, is that how yours opens? We have never used ours since until this week when my husband took one on a trip and ours was a little smaller than the soft bag for his solo travel.
British - Yes that’s how mine works. Those baggage racks in rooms are dinosaurs like rotary phones. My feet extend ( I’m 6’6” tall ) over the end of most hotel beds so I can’t put anything on a bench at the end of a bed.
I always place my bag on the floor ( for land tours when it is one or two days and then onto the next stop ) wide open. It provides easy access to everything in the bag. When moving on just zip each side shut, close the suitcase, zip and lock, ready to go.
I'm just glad if we can get two of the luggage rack dinosaurs. We always have to ask.
I'd looked at the hard side bags too but decided not to get them for that reason. However, if I ever joined the carry-on only club I'd get one. The smaller versions would probably fit on luggage racks okay and I do like easy access. I watched a video once of a woman on a river cruise who packed enough for 2 weeks in a hard side carry-on. Was pretty impressive what she got into it.