dlpiano

I had my luggage wrapped in plastic at Pisa for 7E. It was amazing! The plastic eased my fear of a "suitcase explosion". I also noticed my suitcase was not opened for checking when I picked it up in Kennedy. Is this available in Bologna? What are your experiences with plastic wrap? Were your suitcases opened/checked?

Jeff_Costa_Rica

I've seen this service in Miami and all over Latin America. I take it people have this done so that they will know if their luggage has been opened when they claim it at their destination. I don't believe for a minute that it exempts anyone from further inspection, say if the TSA x-rays the bag and decides it needs to look inside.

dutyfree

Alot of plastic wrap when you start adding up the numbers of people overseas using it-waste on the environment?

Momliz

according to this .pdf, it is:

www.protectabag.com/gds_may2008.pdf

I would agree with dutyfree, though, it has to be bad for the environment, so I would only do it if absolutely necessary. We did it when we left a bag in storage for 2 weeks at the Johannesburg airport, but theft there is a huge problem.

Momliz

you can buy a luggage strap with a TSA approved lock that will guard against "luggage explosion" and make your bag easier to find at the luggage counter as well:

http://www.magellans.com/store/Packi...agsLA310?Args=

Rastaguytoday

Momliz.

Did you read the one customer review on this web site?

Hopefully, that wasn't your posting.

Momliz

customer review on the magellan's site? yes, but I didn't pay much attention. We got those straps for a trip but ended up using TSA approved locks instead, but we weren't worried about our bags bursting open. If I was, I would use one of these.

dlpiano

Thank you for the web page. Wrapping IS available in Bologna.
I never thought of all the plastic being used though! I was just so excited to bring my goodies home from Italy (food from the local grocery store)with out losing anything.

ekscrunchy

I've used the wrapping service at JFK; bags reached CPT without being opened. Used it again in JBG; arrived unopened at JFK.

Did you do this because you were carrying food? Why would you think you would lose things if you left the bag unwrapped?

dlpiano

I purchased most of my gifts from the local grocery store outside the walls of Lucca. It was fun shopping with the locals and walking home with my stash. Unfortunately, I purchased more than I realized when it came time to pack. I even needed to buy another suitcase. These 2 suitcases were crammed with olive oil, wax wrapped cheeses, vinegar, pinoli nuts, etc. A feast bursting at the seams! I had to sit on my bags to zip them. All food being legal my fear was of those seams splitting wide open. (All my clothes fit easily on my small carry on

clevelandbrown

What do you do at customs with your bags sealed and you having no sharp implements?

dlpiano

When I arrived at the airport in Pisa and saw the wrapping station I just paid the 7E. We then took our bags to check in. The bags weighed in and then went to the back I would presume for checking with customs. The only problem we had was my friends bag was over weight and she had to pay 50E extra! We never saw the bags again until Kennedy. In Kennedy we were shocked at "customs". We walked through a line to talk to customs, picked up our bags and went home! They never even collected our slip we filled out on the plane.