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Carry on luggage
Headed to B, SA, Z in Sept. I’ve been reading all about Taucks duffel bags….. And some of you only doing carry-on luggage. That is my preference. However, I’m confused as to how some of you do carry-on luggage only with Taucks duffel bag.
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That is a good question that I believe I resolved today for my family of 4. Questions about the rolling duffles do seem a bit confusing. I called Tauck yesterday, and I received the attached response today. Tauck mentioned that I need to tell them in advance what I will do regarding a carryon or the Tauck duffle so that the the B,Z, SA tour director will have the duffles waiting for us in Botswana. I have an exceptional long layover in DOHA which I did on purpose, and was concerned that the rolling duffles would just be sitting there for over 10 hours! Please confirm for your specific tour.
I think some may actually carry on the Tauck rolling duffel on flights to and from Africa, while others check it. It depends on individual airline carry-on size limits- the rolling duffel may be too large to carry on on some carriers. When we took this tour several years ago we could take regular luggage (suitcase) and small carry-on to start the tour, but had to transfer what we needed during the camps segment of the tour to a Tauck-supplied duffel before departing Livingstone. Our essentially empty suitcases were transported by Tauck via other means. We were re-united with and saw them for the first time in Maun where we could consolidate contents or not, before checking bags and flying to Cape Town.
Now Tauck will no longer accept or transport regular luggage (suitcases) on this tour. Guests are only allowed to use the Tauck-supplied rolling duffel which can weigh up to 44 lbs. (20 kg) and a small carry-on of their own which is limited to 6 lbs. (7 kg).
OurTravels34… wow thanks for the information. I emailed.Tauck yesterday regarding the same question and they had said they will mail it to my house. Now I will call them tomorrow. And see if I can have the same arrangement made.
OurTravels34…… if you happen to see this what tour are you going on? Wondering if you’re going to the same area as I am or if you’re on a different tour area. I am going to Botswana,, South Africa and Zambia. I just called and talked to an agent about holding my duffel bag until I get to Africa. She put in a request. Called me back and said they no longer do that. Glad it worked out for you.
As a reminder the rolling duffels for Botswana, South Africa and Zambia and Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe are 30 x 15 x 14 according to Tauck. I've never seen an airline allow a 30" bag as carryon.
LAbeach: If you can see the attachment (about 5 messages above) that I sent you (any you all can see it as well) it clearly says I can take carryon and our duffles will be in Botswana for our Botswana, Zambia, SA tour according to Tauck.
SAdivr and OutTeavels34. I agree with both of you. What I’ve been reading the size of Duffel is is too large for carry on. When I I talked to the agent this morning she told me that the duffel is 24×12×11. I questioned her and she was adamant that that was the size. I. Also, OurTravels34 I did read your message that you received. In fact, when the agent told me I couldn’t do that I read that to her. Didn’t help me. Oh well, life goes on… Maybe I’ll call again tomorrow and get a different agent.🤣🤣
labeach - that agent is mistaken. I received the wheeled duffel for the Botswana, SA, Zambia tour earlier this week and the dimensions are as indicated by SAdivr and stated in the Tauck written materials. I think there may be confusion because the K & T duffels do not have wheels and are smaller.
You may want to consider contacting Tauck using the email option on the Tauck website. Just go to the general webpage, use the menu on the upper left, chose "Contact Us", pick the option for scheduled tour, and specify your reservation number, departure date, etc. And detail your questions about the duffel. I used this feature once and was very satisfied. I had a helpful, accurate response in one business day.
LaBeach: I’ve tried to send you private messages. Apparently you have that feature blocked.
Received our rolling duffels today. Due to the partially hard bottom, there's no way to roll them up to be carryon bags.
There are a few airports around the world I don't hesitate leaving my luggage with overnight and Doha is one of them. We've left them in Doha and Singapore both overnight with expensive scuba gear inside and there were no issues. I wouldn't even consider it in most airports around the world
Sadivr: I believe what you wrote is true about Doha. I just wanted to know all my other options and to know if I had a choice. Thank you very much.
OurTravels34… hopefully I’ve got it corrected so I can receive private messages. If you feel like it, try it again.
It still says in exact words, “your user profile is private” “permission problem”.
Unbeknownst to me, I had the same issue when some other forum members attempted to contact me privately. You have to adjust your privacy settings within your profile by selecting 'edit' then scrolling down to the settings section and selecting what you wish.