When it’s just my husband and my kids, we manage. Add my parents to the trip, as we often do, and suddenly everyone’s luggage doesn’t fit in the car, so thank goodness for Ship&Play to ship your luggage ahead of the trip.
Most of my family can pack in a carry-on. That isn’t true for everyone, and it definitely isn’t true when somebody needs golf clubs or a pack and play.
So the choice used to be two trips to the airport or luggage Tetris in the driveway. On our last family trip, I shipped the bags ahead of time and showed up to the airport just with what fit on my shoulder.
I used Ship&Play to move my daughter out of her dorm and across the country, and I have to share that experience, because that trip convinced me. But Ship&Play also targets vacation travel, and that’s where I see a real value.
Ship&Play comped my kids’ bags coming home from college so I could test the service and share my experience. All opinions remain my own.
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Who Should Ship Their Luggage
Ship your bags if you’re traveling with young kids, with a group, for longer than a week, or with anything bulky like golf clubs, ski gear, or baby equipment. Ship them if you already know you’ll pay for a second checked bag or an overweight bag, because then you’re comparing this cost to an airline fee that just goes up year after year.
Planning ahead earns you the cheapest version, since standard shipping takes about four business days. Next-day, second-day, and third-day service exist when you need something to beat you there, so a last-minute trip isn’t a dealbreaker, but it will cost more.
If you travel with only a carry-on, skip this. You already have what everybody else is paying for.
Group Rates For Weddings And Reunions
While my family travel tends to max out at six, every time I go on a cruise, I see large extended families traveling together. Ship&Play offers group rates for eight or more people traveling domestically, or four or more people traveling round trip internationally.
Think about who that describes. A destination wedding where somebody hauls a dress, a photographer’s gear, and everyone’s shoes. A family reunion where three households converge on one beach house.
If you’re organizing that trip, call them before everybody books their own bags separately.
Is Ship&Play A Legitimate Company?
That was my first question, because handing a stranger everything I own for a week takes some trust. Do I trust them now? I do, and here’s why.
Ship&Play doesn’t run its own trucks. Your bags travel through UPS, FedEx, and DHL, the same networks that already deliver everything else you order.
They insure every bag automatically up to $500, and you can add coverage up to $7,500 per bag for a reasonable amount. I threw a truly excessive number of questions at their customer service team before I booked, and they answered them all.
How The Shipping Process Works
They’ll pick up your bags from your home or your hotel, or you can drop them at a shipping location. Pickup adds $4.99, which is the easiest five dollars I’ve ever spent.
You can also select a guaranteed one-hour pickup window, which costs significantly more. I’m flexible enough to leave bags out and go about my day, so I skip that one.
Here’s what it actually costs, using the standard four-day service, dropping the bag off yourself, with no added insurance. A standard checked bag up to 50 pounds runs $69 each way, a carry-on size suitcase up to 25 pounds runs $49.99, and an oversized bag up to 75 pounds runs $99.99.
Next-day, second-day, and third-day service costs more, and prices shift with bag size, so run your own quote. Compare those numbers to your airline’s baggage fees.
You can book the service up to 60 days out. The smart move is scheduling this when you book the trip, not the week before.
They’ll take a standard suitcase, a duffel, golf clubs in a proper travel case, plain cardboard boxes, and yes, the big blue IKEA bags we all own. You do need to provide your own packing supplies, and generally that’s a suitcase you already own.
Bag sizes price differently, so pull a quote for your dates before you commit to checking one.
What You Can’t Ship
Read this before you start packing, because it’s the opposite of what you’d assume. Everyone hears “ship your bag” and pictures finally sending full-size shampoo, but it doesn’t quite work that way.
You can’t ship liquids or toiletries. They also don’t allow pressurized containers, batteries, electronics, or perishable goods. Check Ship&Play’s prohibited items list before you pack.
Nobody opens your suitcase to check, but don’t treat that as a loophole. If something leaks or a battery causes a problem, it’s your bag sitting in a facility somewhere while you’re on vacation.
My solution predates this service. I switched to bar shampoo and conditioner years ago so I’d never deal with a spill or blow my carry-on liquid allowance, and now I use them exclusively at home, too. They travel in the shipped bag with zero worry, and they solve the same problem on every trip where I’m not shipping anything at all.
Otherwise, buy toiletries at your destination or pack travel sizes in your carry-on. Your medications, laptop, tablet, camera, chargers, and anything with a battery in it fly with you.
Getting Your Bags Ready
Once you book, they mail you pre-printed luggage tags and zip ties. I love that they print them, because I’m not fighting my printer at 11 at night and a flimsy paper tag doesn’t rip off in a sorting facility.
For boxes, tape the tag on with clear packing tape, since there’s nowhere to attach a zip tie.
They recommend putting a second copy of the tag inside each bag, and I did it. It takes 30 seconds, and it’s your only backup if the outside tag disappears.
Weigh every bag before it goes, because your price ties directly to a weight tier. Anything over 50 pounds bumps a standard checked bag into oversized pricing.
We shuffled things between bags while packing up my daughter, and my luggage scale caught it before we sealed anything. I use that scale for every trip with a baggage restriction, not just this one, and it’s saved me more than it cost the first time I used it.
One more thing before you close the suitcase. Whatever you ship isn’t with you on travel day, so medication, clothes you need right away, and anything you can’t replace at a drugstore rides with you alongside the electronics and toiletries that already have to.
Shipping To Hotels And Cruise Ships
You can ship straight to your hotel, but confirm the hotel accepts deliveries first and ask whether they charge a holding fee. Some do, and that cost won’t appear in your shipping quote.
If you’re staying at an Airbnb or similar, check with your host to see whether you can have bags shipped there and what happens if they arrive before you do. Some allow this, but not all do, and you don’t want your bag refused.
When your destination isn’t a residence, use the other info section on the booking page. Add your confirmation number, check-in date, and the primary guest’s name so the front desk can match the bag to you.
They also partner with select cruise lines to deliver your bag from your house to your stateroom, currently Emerald Cruises, Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours, and Azamara Cruises. Walking onto a ship with nothing but a tote beats every embarkation day I’ve had.
Shipping Internationally
They ship internationally too, which means you won’t cram two suitcases into a European taxi built for one. Having wheeled my mom’s full-size bag through the cobblestones of Italy and on and off regional trains, I wish I’d had this option then.
Customs can affect timing, so build in extra days rather than cutting it close to your arrival. Fill out the customs forms completely and legibly, and call customer service if anything confuses you. They handled my questions well.
What Happened When My Kid Forgot Her Bags
Here’s the part that sold me, and it’s the part where I thought my kid messed up the entire experience. First of all, customer service was amazing about proactively following up with me to confirm the shipping date, what I needed to do, and more.
I scheduled pickup at my daughter’s college. She didn’t pack as fast as she’d planned, so we moved the pickup date, which took about two minutes.
Then she forgot to put the bags out on the new date. FedEx called me to say the bags weren’t there and set up another pickup, which wasn’t the phone call I expected just before flying out for graduation.
Kids will be kids, and Ship&Play was amazingly flexible as they rolled with our changes. Best of all, the bags arrived at my house on time, exactly as scheduled, and in perfect condition.
If you have a kid in school out of state, this beats a summer storage unit on price, and I don’t have to wonder what humidity did to their things over the break.
Ship&Play FAQ
Is shipping my luggage cheaper than checking a bag?
No, not against one free checked bag. Against a second bag, an overweight fee, or a bag you’d otherwise pay to check, $69 each way competes well.
Add in the cost of your time and the hassle of waiting in line to check your bags, and the cost becomes more reasonable. With my family, we also have to go from a standard ride-share to two cars or an extra-large car, which adds significant cost and makes shipping even more attractive.
How far ahead do I need to ship?
You can book up to 60 days ahead of time, and allow about four business days for standard service. Next-day, second-day, and third-day options cover you when you need something to get to your destination in a hurry.
Can I ship my bags to a hotel?
Yes, as long as the hotel accepts deliveries. Ask about a holding fee first, and put your confirmation number, check-in date, and primary guest name in the other info field.
Can I ship luggage directly to a cruise ship?
Yes, with select cruise lines. Right now that’s Emerald Cruises, Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours, and Azamara Cruises.
Can I pack liquids or toiletries in a shipped bag?
No. Liquids, toiletries, pressurized containers, batteries, electronics, and perishables all stay out of the bag.
What happens if my bag gets damaged?
Every bag carries $500 of insurance automatically, and you can buy up to $7,500 per bag. You can also track your bag with the provided tracking number the whole way, and I got notifications when the bag was picked up, when it was out for delivery, and once it arrived at my house..
Is there a group discount?
Yes, for eight or more people traveling domestically or four or more traveling round trip internationally.
Is Shipping Your Luggage Worth It?
You skip the check-in line, the baggage carousel, and the curbside wrestling match with an Uber driver. You track your bags on your phone the whole way, so the airline can’t lose your luggage.
There are a lot of situations where that’s absolutely worth it in my mind. I used it for a dorm room move-out, and I’d use it again in a heartbeat.
If you’re making two airport trips or paying overweight fees every time, this fixes that. I just wish I’d known about it before trekking all those bags to and from college for four years.
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