DD's suitcase lost at Greek airport - DEVASTATED!!

[Kiki105]

My 19 year old DD has just arrived in Zante with 2 friends for their first girly holiday. Her friends have collected their suitcases but DD's suitcase didn't show or maybe someone collected it by mistake. She's reported it to the TUI rep and is now on the coach travelling to the hotel. She's absolutely distraught and in tears. Does anyone have any experience of this happening to them and the likelihood of her case being found within a short time. She has got absolutely nothing else on her other than the leggings and hoodie she travelled in. I'm feeling so stressed and helpless right now.

Poor man. We were on honeymoon in Porto Cervo, Sardinia. It's the kind of place they have Krug champagne in the Spar supermarket to stock up the superyachts.

My husband's suitcase went astray and the only shops were the likes of Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Armani. He got two pairs of pants for £18 each (this was in 1992). He did offer to tell me how much his Versace swimming shorts cost but I didn't want to know. They were very nice though but no nicer than his own things which mercifully turned up on the third day.

He was stoic about it, though he felt a bit sweaty and stinky and underdressed until his case turned up. I was making more of a meal of it because I'd washed my second favourite top the night before and packed in his case at the last minute. Without it, my favourite linen shorts were virtually useless.

Oh, and just after he got his case back Britain crashed out of the ERM because of the incompetence of John Major's Chancellor, Norman Lamont, and and none of the restaurants and bars would accept our credit cards. They did after a couple of days of eating crisps on the balcony but if someone whose credit card was still working had said: "Oh, didn't you have the good sense to get a card from American Express or Deutsche Bank? I do, and I always pack some spare undies," my response would not have been positive because such people are clever-dick cunts wherever you find them, aren't they?

Well aren't you just a peach 🙄🤣

As a nearly 50 year old on the few occasions I've had to deal with insurance it's been a tad stressful, worrying about asking the right questions (the old "you don't know what you don't know" thing kicks in).

I imagine many young people would feel even more so.

I swear some people don’t live in the real world!

Most people don’t have a spare 50 euros lying around to give to someone.

Unless of course your 19 yo is a drug user who keeps everyone up at night gaming and is rude to everyone in the house, smashes things up so the OP wants to make them leave. Then you get posters wailing 'but they're only 19, their brains don't fully develop until they're 25, they're your child, you can't throw them out'. But no, according to many PPs this 19yo DD is an adult who shoould be mature enough to deal calmly with lost luggage on her first girly holiday.

No idea. He was too middle class for me so enabled the duck protocol and ltb.

Now please let me get back to my weekly square of dark chocolate.

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I hope they can start feeling a bit better about themselves, they must not be happy to come on here being so mean.

I'm hoping everyone who's been sneery or shitty here, has their bag go missing next time they travel!

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Yup. And on the way home too where it's even more of a ball ache to sort

Unfortunately this does happen….a lot, reassure her that 99% of missing bags are delivered to hotel within 48 hours. She needs to keep receipts for everything she needs to buy otherwise she won’t get anything back.
I always use to tell my kids ( and myself) that as long as you have your cards, lenses, charger and any medication, then you can buy what you don’t have.

Going forward it’s a good idea to always have spare underwear, swimwear and sarong in hand baggage. Hopefully she will have a great holiday.

Both mine and my husbands cases went missing until the end of our holiday, it was the best holiday I’ve ever had. Lyndos in Rhodes, we had to dress like locals or in fake designer gear, we washed our beach wear every evening, borrowed things from our neighbours. Made the most out of a bad situation. My flip flops came free with a magazine and walked me all over the place. At least she has her friends to borrow things from.

You’ll get plenty of people on here Op who cannot see the value of foreign travel for holidays at all so you and your daughter will not get much sympathy from them

I think everyone empathises with the 19 year old. It’s the mother’s reaction and dramatic thread title that people are rolling their eyes about.

My dds are around that age and they would ring me crying and panicking in that situation too. But my voice at the end of the phone would be making light of it, I’d send them a few quid and tell them to buy a few nice bits to see them through and I’d try and mop the tears by trying to make them laugh and be telling them to not let it ruin their holiday.

That’s what parenting is for young people who go out in the world and hit the inevitable bumps in the road. You are the calm voice of wisdom and reassurance that it’ll all be ok. Not losing your shit and emphasising ‘devastated’ in capital letters. 🙄

Yes you need to say something like, "Oh I wonder how much the insurance will cough up to tide you over. Free shopping trip coming up." Put a positive spin on it,

I agree - nasty commenters on here deserve their cases going missing.

That said, lessons to be learnt and many possible strategies to avoid this in the future. Many airlines allow pretty big carry ons and if you roll clothes tightly etc, take light stuff and don’t overpack, you don’t need to check luggage. Airtagging stuff is also a great idea.

Ah well, it'll make her more resilient and more of a forward planner. Until you face troubles as an adult alone you don't know how to react really.

Lost luggage is a pain, but there's usually a quick resolution, and in the future they'll pack a bit of hand baggage too.

Hopefully she and her mates can all muck in and treat it as a great adventure... something that will become a tale to tell, rather than some sort of disaster.

Now the positive in that is you came home with all your packed clothes clean and no washing to do if you leave the local purchases behind.

"Emotions fascist" 🤣 I'm totally stealing this one!

Similar happened to me, it turned up and was delivered 3 days later. This is why you always always always pack 2 changes of clothes in hand luggage, including a bikini if a beach holiday.

Most lost luggage is found eventually, just takes a day or two.

Does nobody remember being 19? I’d be devastated at that age, after saving all my money, picking out all my lovely holiday clothes. Picturing me & my pals in our a Insta finest (okay no Insta in my day, but still). It’s an awful thing to happen.

DS1 lost his luggage at a stopover in Romania on the way to see his dad in Dubai. Impossible to contact them and never recovered.

I just blamed ex for being such a cheapskate and booking the cheapest flight available. He had to go and and buy DS new everything.

That direct flight didn't look so expensive then did it, you prat.

My daughter's luggage didn't turn up when we went to Rome earlier this year. It came 3 days later, just before we left for Pompeii.
Thankfully she had a change of clothes in her hand luggage and we bought her some t-shirts and a toothbrush so she had something to be going on with. Luckily we went to Italy first which was relatively cheap, rather than Switzerland!
And it happened to my husband and I years ago when we went to San Francisco. That turned up the next day at the airport.
Hopefully your DD should get her luggage soon xx

All those of you telling @Kiki105 she is OTT for saying devastated............ I agree I wouldnt have put it in the title and not in capitals either......... but if it was you on hols (particularly first holiday on your own with your mates) you would Im fairly sure be pretty "devastated" to discover that your suitcase had gone missing. All your friends have got theirs but you havent. I bet you wouldnt be saying "oh well, thats one of lifes lessons I spose". Nope I bet you would be crying and on the phone to your mums too. And if this was your daughter you may well react as wise and as sensibly as so many of you are saying on this thread (its so easy when its not your own life, not your own kiddo!) but I think its equally likely a lot would in truth actually be pretty upset on their daughters behalf. Because when its your own life and your own kiddo out on their own in the world - its not nearly so easy to be wise and rational.

Is it her first holiday on her own? She’s probably just phoned you in floods of tears and let it all out but I’d imagine at 19 she’s actually okay and her and her friends will sort her some bits and pieces for 24 hours. I think you’re worrying too much. She’ll be fine and if not the insurance will cover new clothes etc for her. Try not to worry and let her get on with it.

How on earth did we all manage in the 80s and 90s, when things went wrong and we weren't able to phone home and weep at Mum, eh?

I think the op might just have got the message that she’s exaggerated in the title thread.

But I’m here for updates on when the suitcase is restored