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Cellpic Sunday—Our Bags Took the Scenic Route

The prodigal luggage returns

April 2023.
Fargo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Recife, and a few unexpected stops along the way…

Next month (July 2026), we’re scheduled for our first European river cruise with Viking Cruise Line. Even though transatlantic flights include free checked bags, we’ll still stick with carry‑ons only. Experience has taught us that even a carry‑on isn’t guaranteed to stay with us. Our upcoming route from Fargo to Minneapolis and on to Amsterdam is on a single airline, but I can’t help remembering April 2023, when a long travel day took us from Minneapolis to Boston, then onto a different airline for flights to São Paulo and finally Rio de Janeiro. Because our first flight was on a small regional jet, we were required to gate-check our carry-ons before we even left Minneapolis. The real breakdown happened in São Paulo, where we discovered our luggage hadn’t made the transfer. After long lines, missed connections, and plenty of shrugging in Portuguese from airline staff, we eventually reached Rio—just in time to discover we’d be starting our trip with no luggage at all.

We had flown into Rio two days early just in case of airline delays—giving us enough time for a scheduled city tour and some unscheduled shopping for replacement clothes. Our carry‑ons had trackers hidden in the lining, so from my phone, we could see that our bags were perfectly safe in a warehouse in Boston, and later, that they made their way to São Paulo just as we were boarding the ship in Rio. Once aboard, we stopped by guest services to explain our situation. Norwegian Cruise Line quickly became our hero: they handed us “care packages” with toiletries and t-shirts, gave us a $250 onboard credit for clothing and essentials, and even provided complimentary laundry service for the entire cruise. They also offered free ship-to-shore calls so we could coordinate with the airline and arrange for our wandering luggage to catch up.

When we stopped in Salvador, our trackers noted that the luggage finally arrived in Rio. Another ship-to-shore call, which included a conversation between airline and cruise line staff, assured us that our luggage would be in Recife before our scheduled stop. According to our trackers, it was at the airport in Recife, but no one delivered it to the ship, and we sailed away again sans luggage. My next call to the airline was a bit more blunt; I told them to just ship the bags back to Fargo, since there was no use chasing us all the way across the Atlantic. After our 15-day cruise and a four‑day weather layover in Montreal—and the now‑necessary additional shopping for clothes—the Fargo airport called on our last day before flying home to say the luggage had arrived. We have no idea where our luggage went, but judging by the wad of luggage tags, I’m sure it went to more places than we did.

The final hiccup of the trip came when we tried to leave Montreal. The airline rebooked us as quickly as they could, but somewhere in the shuffle, the new carrier received two seat assignments—without the airline’s payment for my seat. Lynn’s ticket transferred perfectly; mine apparently took a detour on its own. That meant one more wait in line to sort things out, but at least we didn’t miss the flight. In the “All’s well that ends well” department, we picked up our luggage on the way home and submitted a mound of paperwork to our travel insurance carrier. By the time we finally walked through our front door, our claim included emergency clothes and luggage purchases, plus three extra nights at a hotel in Montreal—all of which the insurance company ultimately covered.

About the photo: Heading to another continent next month means tempting fate again, but my phone is ready to track any unscheduled excursions our bags might take. This photo was captured on my Samsung S23 Ultra in our home’s entryway, moments after we returned from the trip. No edits were made to this image; it served as documentary evidence for the travel insurance claim we submitted.

I invite fellow bloggers to join in by creating their own Cellpic Sunday posts. There’s no set theme. The first rule is that your photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or other mobile device. The second rule is simple: link your challenge response to this post or drop a comment here with your link so others can find it. And remember, despite the name, there’s no penalty for sharing on a day other than Sunday.

John Steiner.

48 comments

  4. You are wise to put trackers in your luggage, John. Your trip sounds quite eventful as well. It is a great privilege to be able to travel. Safe travels always. Your door camera takes very clear photos.

    Reply

  5. That’s a lot of tags and stickers on that luggage! Thanks for sharing this experience. I picked up at least two tips – trackers and a good insurance.
    All the best in your upcoming cruise!

    Reply

    • Both have served us well through all our travels. From what I understand of other people’s experiences, travel insurance can be tricky to get a claim paid.
      We’ve had good luck, borne of preparation. We always supply the documentation they need, and after a bit of a wait, the checks have always come through.

      Reply

    • We thought we were covered with carry-ons, but not so much when the space above fills quickly. Good luck on your travel to Alaska. I’m sure it will be memorable. I know our Alaskan cruise was for us.

      Reply

  16. Gosh, all those tags, how frustrating, John! And even with carry-ons. I’m excited about your upcoming Viking Cruise. I had to chuckle at “in the all’s well that ends well department.” Which airport do you fly from next month? I expect we’ll fly from Spokane to Seattle, then on to Amsterdam via Delta. We’ll know soon! Here is my post this week, all cell phone shots except the birds.

    https://secondwindleisure.com/2026/06/28/sunday-stills-celebrating-the-future-and-today/

    Reply

  18. What a palaver John! I hope your flights to Amsterdam will run a lot more smoothly! 🙏

    Reply

    • Today, we are working on being sure that our carry-ons (and us) get aboard sooner, rather than later. It’s a bit of a hassle when the tickets are purchased through the cruise line, in this case, Viking.

      Reply

  19. John, I’ve hear many horror stories about lost luggage but this one is one of the worst I’ve heard. File this under the category of “Travel isn’t for sissies”! Glad you travel insurance came through for you.

    Reply

    • To be honest with you, it wasn’t as bad as we made out, especially on the luggage end. The biggest hassle was the 4-day layover in Montreal because we couldn’t get a flight from there back to Minneapolis. By the time we knew we’d have to spend 4 more days in a hotel room, we knew we needed to buy more new clothes. Fortunately, there was a mall about two blocks away.

      Reply

  20. Wishing you a fabulous adventure on the rivers of Europe. I hope you have more memories of the time spending exploring South America then you do trying to track down your luggage.

    Reply

  21. Every traveler’s nightmare scenario. I’m glad Norwegian Cruise Lines helped you out. How did you like Salvador in Brazil? We liked it a lot. We learned so many stories there. Enjoy the river cruise. Look forward to the photos.

    Reply

  24. Wow, John. Talk about a comedy of errors.

    Glad the insurance company paid up and the cruise line (and others) were helpful.

    I always say best to pack some underwear and toiletries in carry on luggage. But that’s no guarantee either I guess. I also suggested to my older brother on his last world trip to always carry passport, visas, spare underwear etc all day as there’s been so many floods/earthquakes etc these days.

    As an aside, in my 9 week camping trip in Europe (with Transit camping tours) in 1976, every person on our bus had things stolen in campsites…..except me. Today, after 3 hospitalizations via the local E.R. without a phone recharger, toothbrush & toothpaste, I now carry all 3 in my ‘bag’ every time I go out. Also allergy/contact/medicines list in my bag. One hospital supplied toothbrush, toothpaste, body wash and shampoo, but I was allergic to the body wash so that was no help).

    Another quick story. My best friend had her bag and wallet stolen in Italy. while she was sitting in an outdoor cafe She ran after him and caught him (and downed him and got her belongings back).

    Remember that scout motto……be prepared.

    Reply

    • You’ve had some travel experiences as well, I see, Vicki. On our upcoming cruise, we each packed a backpack full with essentials, and put it inside our carry-ons along with some extra clothes and other things that we could do without. If we get gate checked, we’ll pull the backpacks out of the roll-about, and let them have a mostly empty suitcase. Does that make me paranoid? <grin< If the roll-about gets lost, it won't create near the havoc of that last adventure.
      By the way, sorry for the late response. I just found your comment in my spam folder.

      Reply

      • That Spam Folder needs regular visiting I guess.

        Some of my own travel adventures might be worth relating, but that would be too embarrassing so they will be forever locked in the past.

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