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I am Alexa.

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And together we are to each other. We are a touring musical duel.

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And our music has taken us to all kinds of places all around the world and keeps us always on the go.

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So we hope you enjoy our stories and adventures while running around working all your plates.

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And we hope to facilitate your busy lifestyle and feed your inner travel bug. Hi, and welcome back to the Romies Podcast. I'm Alexa, and I'm taking over this episode because I'm the one who had a nine-day baggage delay this summer, and thought it would be helpful to pass along some tips and tricks and lessons that I learned from the experience. So today's experience is all about something every traveler dreads, and that's baggage delays and lost luggage. So that moment when you're standing at the carousel and everyone else's bags are long gone, and you're thinking, please don't let me do that one. But yeah, possibly sooner or later, it kind of happens to almost everyone. So the good news is there are things you can do before you fly, while you're traveling, and also after your bag is delayed or even lost. And any or all of these things are gonna make the whole process way less stressful. And so we've learned some of these tricks the hard way, and hopefully you can learn them the easy way and not be in a situation that can be frustrating and where you've lost your luggage for nine whole days of your trip. If your trip was going to be a nine-day trip, then yeah. Alright, so number one before you fly. So here are things you can do to be like prep smart, pack smart, all that. The first thing that I recommend is that you take Brooke's course. We've talked about Brooke before, we've had her on the podcast several times. You go to her packing list. Her packing list. That's the name of her brand and her course, her packing list. So we'll put that in the show notes so you can reference that. Especially for us girls who love to pack all of our things because all of our things are all of our things and they're awesome, and we should have all of them. And so Brooke helps you learn to pack light. She takes you through a systematic process. And I actually, because for this trip, we were gonna be gone for three months, which we were gone for three months in Europe. And it's also business stuff. So I checked a bag, Rory checked a bag, and then we had our carry-on, like a carry-on backpack, and then I also had my carry-on to Kooleley. And so I did check a bag this time. Now I didn't do all of the same prep work for this trip that I did prior when I was taking Brooks' course. But because I had done Brooks' course and had done the work in the course, I had all of these like packing lists and spreadsheets and photos and things that I had done as part of the work and part of learning how to pack. All of those were already like in my computer, on my phone, et cetera. And so when my bag was delayed, I had a real fear that my bag was really lost. I was able to start itemizing what was in the bag. I did not do this before the trip. But because I had done a lot of the work from Brooke's course, a lot of the lists were already written for me. And because I packed a lot of the same things that I did in the course, so I was able to go through and kind of go through that list and go, oh yeah, okay, I did pack that, I had that, I had that, I had that, and that so it gave me a really, really solid starting place. And then as I was thinking through, because in order to file the claim for a lost bag and all that, you've got to list the items that are in your bag and what's missing because if they become lost, you then have to be reimbursed for like your lost luggage, right? And not just delayed luggage. But even for delayed baggage, they were asking me for an inventory of items so that they could confirm that the bag they found was actually my luggage. So they wanted the to have the option of being able to open up that luggage and see that things that I listed on the inventory list matched, and then they knew to send that to the proper country and then deliver it to the proper hotel. So Brooks course was a really great kickstart for me. And so here's my advice and tip and trick to you. If you don't take her course, whether you take her course or not, go ahead when you're packing or once you're done packing, take a picture of everything in your luggage at or as you're packing, layer one, take a photo, put more stuff on that layer, take a photo. So take photos as you're packing or and or make a whole list of everything that you're packing. That way you've already got the inventory. It's right there. That's the easiest time to do this kind of thing. And then if you just store it in the cloud, like if it's on a Google Doc, for example, or it's in the notes on your phone, something like that, then you have a cloud version backup of what's in your luggage. So one thing that I had done was I took a picture of the luggage because I have done this before. And so I'm not in a full habit of doing this, but I've done enough that I'm kind of in a habit to do it. And that is to take a picture of the actual bags themselves so that if your bag is delayed, you can show the picture to the clerk at the counter and say, hey, this is my bag. And then they can go, oh, okay, here's the brand, here's the make. It's a hard case, it's a soft case, etc. And then, of course, having a luggage tag with your name, email, phone number, and address, having all of that on there is also a very pretty good idea to do. Another piece of advice that I would like to pass along is do not overstuff an old suitcase. If you decide that you have the need to overstuff a suitcase, make sure it's a new one. Don't overstuff an old one. And here is where my fear that I had lost my luggage came into play. And what also taught me some other lessons about how to pack. My parents had this older bag that was big, and I couldn't need it to a big bag for three months with all of the different types of weather and events that we were doing and all of that. And so I had my luggage was very full. Since it was kind of a hand-me-down piece of luggage, I wasn't sure how much life that bag had had or what it had gone through, but I just assumed that it was older. My fear was that my bag was heavy and older. And if it dropped on the floor, it could have shattered and my stuff just explode everywhere. And just a side note, I wasn't concerned about any of these things prior. Like when I checked my bag, I felt fully fine that it was going to be just fine. It was when my bag was delayed, and then after five days continued to be delayed, then I start wondering, no one knows where my bag is. That's when I started to get concerned that, hmm, I wonder. And I really kept envisioning all of my stuff really kind of just being scattered on the tarmac on you know, in some luggage depot and just being a big old mess and just scattered everywhere. And maybe I would get some stuff back, maybe not. But I was concerned because A, it was an older suitcase, but two, I had really maximized, I was I was in the weight limits, but I really had stuffed that big bag. You know, pretty much the opposite of what Brooke teaches in her course. She still has a lot of work to do on me. But that being the case, it was very likely that an old overstuffed bag could kind of explode. So that became a real fear of mine. And as I was making inventory lists and doing all of these things, I was like, oh that skirt, I've had it for 10 years and I love it, and it goes with everything, and it's a classic, and it's a time when I can't replace it now, and blah, blah, blah. And for me, my clothes are sentimental. And like I could probably tell you a story with every piece of clothing I have. And so it's not necessarily something that I can just, oh, I can just easily replace this on Amazon. No, I got this when I went to Africa and I was on this trip with these people and blah blah blah blah blah, right? So there were certain pieces. I did have a couple new pieces, but I shopped at places that have like one-of-a-kind items, and there was no way to replace that. Even if you shop at like a TJ Maxx, you can't necessarily replace things you get there because the inventory is very different from store to store. So what that taught me was okay, there are certain pieces that are very, very valuable to me. And if I lose this hat or this skirt or this dress, I will be very, very sad and not be able to replace these exact items. And it's gonna be difficult to find something down the road. So doing the exercise of thinking through what my stuff was and what would really, really make me sad if I if this was this one piece of clothing was lost forever, it helped me learn which pieces were very valuable to me and which were not. And so that shows something about what I packed, which were really kind of irreplaceable and very like precious to me. So the practical takeaway from that is if you are taking those things on the trip, which number one, should you does that really have to go with you if it's that important to you? Now, because I travel so much, those pieces are important to me because they're great travel wardrobe pieces. But if it's something that is so dear to you, you probably A, should leave it at home. Or two, it should be on your body. And so thankfully, one of my dresses that I really loved was actually on my body. So I was traveling in it. So that wasn't gonna go anywhere. But then plan three slash C is that you pack those precious items, those are the ones that go in your carry-on bag, so that it's with you on your person at all times. Now, of course, you know that the other thing that you do is with your carry-on, that's your computer, your iPad, your earbuds, your phone charger, your medications, all of those things that should your luggage be completely lost, you'll be okay because things that are super valuable to you, or if you have that special piece of jewelry that you feel like, well, gosh, this has to go on this trip. Anything that's like crazy, super important to you, and or you feel is irreplaceable, do you feel like that it has value, and you feel the necessity to bring it with you, those all need to be on your person slash and or on your carry-on. As you're packing, think about or as you're laying out what you want to pack, as you're kind of assessing and going through your process, whether that's a Brooke process or your own process. You want to be thinking, which of these pieces would I just be so devastated if I lost them? Then you can think about, okay, yes, this is gonna go on the trip, but it's not gonna go in my checked bag. Now, again, if you're taking Brooks course, you are only gonna have a carry-on with you, whether you're going for two weeks, one week, or three months. There's a way to get it done and have everything just with you. And so then you don't have any of these issues, right? But we know a lot of people do check bags, and that's why we're doing this episode to help equip you when you do check a bag, because it happens that you'll check a bag. Okay. I think too, just another little reminder of things that are good to have on your carry-on is maybe a toothbrush or an extra pair of underwear, or like if you're going on a beach trip, throw in your swimsuit and/or whatever you might need for that first day there. And that way you have some essentials that until your bag can find you, you can get through. So those are other things to think about that go on your carry-on bag if you're checking a bag as well. And now luggage tags are available. So Apple Air tags or tiles, those can go in your bags and help you kind of keep track of where your bag is. And so if you want to invest in those kinds of tools, those are now becoming more frequent, more available. And a lot of airlines are also on their apps providing the information of where your bag is, and you can kind of keep track of your bag even through their app. So you can utilize those resources as well. And then one of the things that thankfully we did on this trip that we don't normally do is we did get travel insurance for our flights. That travel insurance actually came in handy because the airline did not reimburse me what they told me they would reimburse me. So the travel insurance then covered, I don't know if it covered like the full difference, but they it helped out with reimbursing what I had to buy for not having my luggage for nine days because I was performing and teaching and working. I couldn't just be in the same clothes. I actually had to do my hair and I had to buy things for my hair. I had to buy shoes and I had to buy clothing to get me through the nine days. You know, we just kind of had the voice in our head maybe you should get travel insurance this time. So we were really glad that we did. So listen to that voice when you're trying to decide about travel insurance. I would say also, like I said, we don't always get it. So you need to think about what would the loss be in something? What are the what is the likelihood? You never know when something's gonna happen medically or otherwise. And so that's why it's insurance. It's there like just in case. And so if you want and need that peace of mind, and you're the kind of person that would just rather have it than not, and you have the money to spend on it, then go for it. Otherwise, you can kind of assess, okay, we're taking the trip is this long versus this long, like a shorter trip. Maybe you don't need travel insurance, but for us, a three-month trip, that's kind of a longer trip. We wanted, if something happened back home in the States and we need to come home early, felt like a good idea to have the travel insurance. You can assess what are you taking with you that you could possibly lose or break or or have issue with, something like that. So it could be the type of trip you're doing, the length of the trip, all of that can factor into your decision about is travel insurance right for this trip? And then you can buy travel insurance either with the flight or you can buy it just directly from an insurance company. You can get like a year-long policy, all of that. So there's lots of different options and lots of things to think about with travel insurance. But we were glad we did it for this flight and it did pay off. Okay, so that's a little bit about luggage delay, and we might come back to that. But I just want to detour here and talk about flight delays. So if your flight is delayed or canceled, you don't you don't want to just wait around. Immediately, what you want to do is try to go to that desk at the gate right away while you're waiting. Check the airline app andor the website for rebooking options. Now, the agent at the counter is gonna help rebook your flight, but you can utilize start finding options yourself. Also, while you're in line, you could call the airline while you're in line waiting. And sometimes the call center can rebook you before you even reach the counter. So you can be standing in line and also be proactive and just kind of see which happens first. And sometimes that might matter if, like, this you have a really big flight that's being delayed, and you have all of these people that are fighting for the same limited seating for a replacement. You're kind of in a race a little bit. And also you could be researching while you're waiting in line, you can be research researching alternative flights for yourself so that you know what options might be out there. Oh, well, gosh, there's an airport 30 minutes away from here. And maybe it makes sense for me to hop in my car, like if your car's there, and I'll just, you know, or I'll drive three hours to wherever I'm going and then catch a flight in that city, whatever. So you can kind of get creative and just kind of be thinking as you're waiting in line, what are some options you could do? And most airlines are required by law to compensate you in a lot of the situations or to take care of you, rebook you, and all of that. So don't be rude, but also stand up for yourself, right? Stand up for yourself in a nice, kind way. And I will tell you that kindness and patience are the your biggest assets in this situation of a delayed flight because everybody is frustrated, everybody is miserable. Most people do not enjoy having their plans be changed and having to miss certain things that they paid for and expected. And most everybody's gonna be mad and grumpy, right? And so don't be that person. There's plenty of grumpiness, everybody understands, you're all in the same boat. Now, if you're actually stuck on the tarmac, you can remember that airlines aren't gonna keep you there forever. And kind of a rule of thumb is that about at three hours, usually they must cancel or let you off the airline. So you're probably not gonna be just stuck on a tarmac for more than three hours. So if you want to kind of budget your energy or your time or your phone battery accordingly, you can kind of keep that in mind. Okay, I shared some things about what you can do before you even leave on your trip to help with delayed baggage. So let's say your baggage actually does get delayed. What you're gonna do is, you know, you're standing a badge baggage claim and your baggage is not coming, there's no more luggage coming. You can go straight to the airline's baggage desk before you even leave the airport. That is so super important. Make sure you file a claim right away and get a copy of that reference number. Take a picture of it, have that picture in your phone, start keeping a record in all in one place, keep it organized so you can refer to that. I can't tell you how many times I had to keep going back to my, I kept everything in my notes. I have an iPhone, and so notes is our notebook section. And so I would take pictures in there, I would scan, scan the forms they gave me. I would start working on my inventory list, all of those things I did in one kind of page. I every reference number I could think of. You have to keep your boarding pass, keep your baggage claim number, your bag tag, all of that, pictures of your bags, right? Anything you have, pictures of what's inside. You can just move all of that into that notes page, and it's all right there in one place. And just keeping things organized is so helpful because I found I had to constantly go back to them and reference things, not only to get my bag in the first place, but also to then apply for the compensation and all of that. So immediately go to that counter, file claim, get a copy of your reference number, and you can show them your packing inventory with a photo of your bag, all of that. And then make sure that you ask what their daily budget and allowance is because most of them are gonna reimburse you for your toiletries and your clothing. They're gonna call it necessities. My baggage has been delayed in previous years. I ended up with some great long time pieces that have been really great assets to my travel wardrobe. So you might just get lucky when you're shopping and find some things that are gonna be really helpful long term and something that you can use. And I do want to encourage you that, you know, don't just like if you can buy something that you're actually going to wear and enjoy and keep because you don't want to just have more junk that you're just gonna carry around. So try to shop at a place that will fit the budget allowance that they offer, but also something that you will enjoy having in your closet or that is going to be a very versatile piece that will suit a lot of experiences or things that you need to do on your trip. Find a versatile piece of clothing that you can get a lot of mileage out of as you're waiting for your bags. So, in the case of my bag this year, not having a bag for nine days, I had to go shopping almost every day because each day I would learn you're not gonna have your bag tomorrow. And so then I would need to go get something else because of what we were doing and all of the different types of things we were doing. I couldn't just reuse necessarily all of the things that I had. So, and at some point, like I mentioned earlier, I had to buy shoes and I had to buy different things for my hair or whatever. And I'm not gonna give up the activities on the itinerary and the work that I'm doing just because I don't have the right clothing for it. So they have to be understanding that of what you're doing. And I think it's important to continue to keep customer service aware of what you're missing and why and why you need to purchase the things you need to purchase because that's gonna help your case when you are trying to get reimbursed for your items. But really, at the end of the day, they're gonna have a daily budget. So ask them what that is, and then hope that they stick to it and really only buy what feels like an essential. There's a few things you could wait on. Maybe you can hand wash something instead of having to buy something different or new. I think another tip is to be proactive with keeping track of your bag and trying to find your bag. You know, a lot of this stuff is online and automated, and so you can hop in and see what the status is with things. And my bag continued to be unfounded and that's why I continued to develop this fear of like, oh no, my bag is sprawled and my stuff is gone forever. So knowing that they didn't know where my bag was was very disconcerting and very kind of depressing to me because more things would come to mind. Oh, yeah, I packed that, I packed that. And so the more things that I realized I was losing forever, the like, you know, I just got, oh, I'm gonna be so sad if I don't have that. Girls and our stuff, I tell you. Anyway, we were on three different airlines across the course of our trip. They're all partner airlines, but we we had our first flight, we had a layover in Heathrow, and then we ended up in Finland. And so I had to check with each airline, and I finally found that the last place they had seen it was in London. And so I was like, okay, at least I can tell Finnair that my bag has last been seen at Heathrow. So can you please check there? And so basically, once I kind of tracked down where it was like, you know, I made calls and spoke to people and I was checking online, but I was also calling. And when I found out where my bag actually was last seen, it then sped up the process and they were able to say, okay, now we have located your bag and it's starting to make its way. And it still took several days for my bag to get back to me after they had located it. Just know you might have to contact multiple airlines depending on what your flight route was. Big reminder this goes back to that organization thing, but make sure you keep all of your receipts, keep the physical receipts, also take scans and pictures of them, keep all of that in your phone, keep all of the receipts, keep your boring pass, keep the claims form, all of that. Now, another tip is that claims must be filed within about the first seven days. And so, in the case with this, I learned after the fact, like three months later, that my bag damaged. So my bag did get damaged, the handle had broken off, and the suitcase did not bust open, but the outer casing did bust on this suitcase. And it had all been intact before I left. So there was damage to the actual suitcase, which is a different thing than delayed bags and a different thing than lost baggage. So I learned that in the case with this airline, the damaged luggage report had to be filed within the first seven days. So I didn't even get my bag for nine days. So kind of be impossible for me to know if the bag was damaged or not. And thankfully, they created a new report for me to file or a new, they gave me a new number so I could file my damaged bag. I don't know yet the result of that because I am still dealing with all of this. When you are filing the claim, you can ask that question what is my allowance and how will I be reimbursed? And that way you can kind of just know what you can expect. Now, let's say your baggage is actually lost. Let's say the worst sad scenario happened and my suitcase exploded and my stuff ended up everywhere, and no one could keep track of it because it's just all over the place and they lose your bag altogether. The airline will give you reimbursement. If you have travel insurance, travel insurance will give you a benefit for your lost baggage. Keep in mind you can also potentially from your credit card, some premium cards will cover lost luggage. And then if you are flying in and out of Europe, there are passenger rights. We're adopting as Americans some of those same laws, but um they do have some passenger rights for lost baggage. So sometimes you can stack the airline plus the insurance plus the credit card. So, you know, again, that's why keeping track of everything is super important. Having it all organized is super important. But also, like some airlines will not want you to submit the same receipts to them that you submit to travel insurance. So you also have to read the fine print and make sure that you're not muddying any lines between who will compensate what, um, because sometimes they don't want you to double dip. And again, while you're waiting for all these claims to process, this is when your carry-on strategy really pays off because then you're not stranded with nothing. And, you know, thankfully, I had my computer and my ukulele. And, you know, I think I packed my makeup and my toiletries were with me. I had my essentials on me, on my person. I just didn't realize that how important some of those things in my check bag were. So that's gonna be my little note to self, especially for my next trip. Andor just don't check a bag at all. And just some extra tips, you know, pack a change of clothes in your travel buddy suitcase. So, you know, you can always like Rory and I both checked bags and we know this rule, and we actually didn't do it for this trip. So when you know your advice, actually follow your own advice instead of not following your own advice, because that would have been helpful. Because Rory's luggage made it just fine. His suitcase had no problem. So if I had an extra outfit in his suitcase, that would have been really helpful. So if you are traveling with someone, put an outfit in each other's bags so that you're covered. And if you can avoid having tight layovers because the more time that you have between flights, the less chance you'll you'll have of missing bags. Another tip I'm sure a lot of you already know and have heard, but to use distinctive luggage or a bright strap or you have a special sticker or a bright bow or something on your luggage, and that helps just set it apart from others. So especially if you have like just a black suitcase, you might Especially think about that of just adding just adding something distinctive to your luggage. And then knowing your rights. The US DOT and EU 261 and the Montreal Convention, they all cover different aspects of baggage delays and losses. So while you're waiting for your bag, you can check on those things and make sure you get reimbursed the way you need to reimburse. And remember that some are specific to lost luggage and not delayed luggage. So always try to keep in mind that those are different things and they will compensate accordingly. In all the cases where my luggage has been delayed, I've been traveling for what over 20 years. I've had quite a few instances where my bags have been delayed. And I think every time, maybe there was one time it went only to the airport, but most every time it came to my hotel or where I was. This year they delivered it to the camp where we were teaching. Usually the airlines will deliver your luggage once they find it. And that's so great of them, you know, to find you, get your address, and deliver it to you. Especially when you're in Tanzania in a little remote village. You eventually get your luggage. It's pretty nice. And again, that's another thing that you can ask when you're filing your claim for your delayed bags and or potentially lost bags, is, you know, will you be able to deliver this to my hotel and etc. And for me, we were in one city for the first six, five to seven days of our trip and then moved to the camp where we were teaching in a totally different city. And so I had to go online to my record and change that address so that they didn't deliver to where I wasn't going to be. So make sure if you are moving around that you keep going online and updating that if you needed to do that. This is a recap prep with your photos and inventories. Keep your essentials and the things that you love that you just have to take on this trip. Keep them all on your person in your carry-on. Know the rights that you have and the process for delayed flights, delayed bags, lost bags, and ask for that compensation. Keep all your records, keep everything very organized, and you might be entitled to more than you think. You know, lost luggage can be very stressful, but being prepared is gonna keep it from completely ruining your trip. And hey, sometimes it turns into a mini shopping spree on the airline's dime. Thanks for joining us. We will see you on the next episode. And in the meantime, on socials this week, tell us your craziest baggage delay story. Did your suitcase end up in a different country? Did it go all over the world before it got back to you? Did the airline actually pay up? Let us know. We'll see you on socials at Noromi. We hope we've inspired you this episode. So join us next time. Please subscribe to, rate, and share our podcast with your friends.

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R O A M. I E S dot com. We'll be there until next time. Yeah, thanks for listening. Bye.