Has anyone had any experience shipping luggage by a commercial service (Fed Ex, UPS, etc.) rather than checking it and taking it on an airline?
Planning a European trip combined with a cruise in the summer and would like to ship no longer needed items home when the cruise ends rather than lug the extra cases through Europe.

How can it be done? What does Customs do with it?
Any advice would be welcome.



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UA 2P, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Silver Elite

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MisterNice

Although I've never done it internationally, I frequently have used UPS and FedEx to ship luggage to and from vacations. In terms of customs, all shippers have forms that you have to fill out when shipping internationally on which you indicate the contents of the package and their value. This should be all that is needed to get the package through customs (although if you are shipping clothes home, I would be sure to indicate on the form that the package contains used clothes; this should help avoid any issues as to whether a duty or customs tax is payable).

You'll probably get sticker shock when you look up the rates for companies like FedEx and UPS. They are basically only in the time-critical express market in Europe. If you don't have a negotiated corporate discount, it would cost around $500 to ship a 25 kg box from (e.g.) Switzerland to the US this way. If it's not urgent, the postal service is often a much better deal; a 25 kg economy parcel from Switzerland to the US would be $100 equivalent with delivery in 2-3 weeks.

Just another option to consider: I don't know the details of your itinerary, but if you're going in a circle on your trip through Europe, remember that all major train stations have luggage storage at reasonable prices, generally the equivalent of about $5 per bag per day.

I had shipped a few suitcases from Paris to the US in 2001 using the French Post office. By ship, my two bags made it in about two weeks for $400 if I recall correctly. I am sure things have changed since then but just be sure to have a detailed list of everthing in your case for insurance (which you should load up on).