[StevieD]

Bought a new set of luggage yesterday consisting of 3 wheelie type cases, another wheelie type bag, a grip and a bag (£25 in QVC shop Warrington!! Should have been £70+!!)

What we would like to get an idea of is how much did people take when they flew to NZ. We have more suitcases, so would like to get an idea as to how many we could get away with, obviously taking weight limits into consideration :)

Steve and Jan

[mossum]

hiya possums

It would appear we are taking 1 x case each :o oooh not forgetting my clear plastic bag gucci naturally dharrrlings

mmmmm we are going to smell mighty fine when we land :o

vic x

[Cardy]

We went with singapore airlines. Original allowance was something like 20 kilos each . i rang them and got them to put it to 25 kilos then the day we were leaving i rang them again and begged for moreand they out it to 30 kilos each. when we got to the airport we were even over that limit but she just aked if we were emigrating and when we said ye let it go thruogh with no extra charge. However we did speak to someone who had been charged but they werent emigrating jut visiting. Cheers Cardy

[Cardy]

Bought a new set of luggage yesterday consisting of 3 wheelie type cases, another wheelie type bag, a grip and a bag (£25 in QVC shop Warrington!! Should have been £70+!!)

What we would like to get an idea of is how much did people take when they flew to NZ. We have more suitcases, so would like to get an idea as to how many we could get away with, obviously taking weight limits into consideration :)

Steve and Jan
We had 14 cases altogether NIGHTMARE!! Took ages for them all coming round on the luggage carousel and iwas fed up of counting them to make ure we had them all

[Nienke]

I flew with Singapore Airlines and bought extra kilo's and got some extra for free. It was just me and my 3 year old but I took 80 kilo's of luggage packed in 3 suitcases and one large bag. It was more than I could handle on my own... :uhoh

[StevieD]

Glad we got Kiwi green one's so we can easily see them on the carousel!

Getting into training now for the weight of it all...

http://bestsmileys.com/exercising/6.gif

[gotourvisa]

I know things have changed now but we came over with Emirates, and they allowed us 40kg each.
Mind you at the airport when we were still over I had a stand up fight which nearly came to blows because I was putting the excess weight in my hand luggage and they made us weigh that and told us that that was over to. I then complained that no one else was getting there hand luggage weighed and I went toe to toe with the manager. I think it must have been the emotion of leaving. So there I was at the airport with all our case trying to lighten the hand luggage. How we got that flight I do not know I am suprised the manager did not kick us off the flight. Eventually I took all the really heavy stuff out and put it in my pockets etc. then put it back in my hand luggage at the cafe. I suppose you won't be able to that now.

[jodieinchch]

Apparently it's recently changed in the last few weeks. I initially came out here in February on a Student visa, but now have residency (family application), so when I'm going back to the UK over xmas I'm going to beg Emirates that because it's a permanent move now (stamped in the passport to show it), that I wonder if I can increase the limit. I rung Emirates here to ask, and they said that because it's from the UK to here I have to contact them when I get back to UK. Ring the airline and explain the situation!

[KD17]

Glad we got Kiwi green one's so we can easily see them on the carousel!

That you will certainly do :yes

thought you were going to buy a load and sell them to us forumites ;)

Good buy by the way... do they sell them online?


Keith & Debby

[Smiler]

:o We came with 4 huge suitcases, 2 large soft holdalls, 1 small wheelie case, 2 large rucksacks, a brief case and a small laptop case. :o

All that just for the OH's shoes and bags, mind. ;)

But we came business class Air NZ and had 64 kg each, plus a huge hand luggage allowance.

[jubjub]

We came over separately, and just as well, cos no way would all the luggage and two passengers have fitted in anything other than a van!

We both bought over two large cases, right up to the 32kg/max cm size limit (64 kg each with air nz) and our hand luggages, hubby had one hand luggage, I ended up with two cos my cases were overweight, so had to take stuff out, and cos I was Bus class I got away with it... they would not check in the extra little bag as they only let you have two cases in the hold (again with air nz)

I dont have a clue how anyone manages to bring a family over with all the associated luggage and get to the airport....

[anna_c]

I brought 2 large suitcases, total of 35kilos (I begged and pleaded on the phone), but then that was all I took - I didn't have anything shipped.

[StevieD]

OK seems to be a case of flipping a coin and hoping for the best - when the time comes sure we will have a wagon train of trolley cases!

Yes Debby, they were a bargain all right, but they do not sell them online. It was a clearance shop special. In use already, the kids are using the smaller ones as "staying at nan's overnight bags!!"

Steve

[beachboy mike]

if you go viA LOS ANGELES you are able to take 34kg per person which is great as we are family of four and taking luggage for a year shouldn't be such a prob now! we flying with air new zealand. this is the best route to take to get more weight allowance!

Helen and mike

[Oregonkiwi]

if you go viA LOS ANGELES you are able to take 34kg per person

It's 46 kg per person (2 x 23 kg)

[Kim39]

Stevie,

We brought 7 cases, 4 hand luggage, and a large holdall. Could only go to the max of 30kg, but we did go over, and Elaine flipped when we realised it was mine:D

Kim

[diforsyth]

We've 4 large cases, 2 medium bags & 2 new size hand luggage which I'm sure is over 120kg in total. I'm hoping a combination of hand luggage restrictions & First class (thanks to airmiles :nice1) will let me check it all in - I'll find out in 3 hours!! I'm just not looking forward to carrying it all :uhoh

[diforsyth]

Just arrived in Singapore with all our luggage - turned out to be 130kg between the two of us. Whilst I've manged to get it this far, I feel I need to stress it wasn't easy and I needed to negotiate for ages to avoid the charge of £35 per kilo excess baggage charge.

[Diny]

Glad we got Kiwi green one's so we can easily see them on the carousel!


http://bestsmileys.com/exercising/6.gif

Pssst Stevie ....... Kiwi's are brown.

Diny

[sizzlingbadger]

Wow when I read what you guys have bought over ours didn't seem that much at all :)

Between 2 adults and 3 kids we bought 4 suitcases each weighing in around 20kg each which was our original weight limit. 3 car seats, a buggy, travel cot. 2 rucksacks, laptop for hand luggage, then we gained 3 kids rucksacks en route :(

We decided to pack enough clothes for 2 weeks as we knew we'd have somewhere to wash them, doesn't seem any point in brining over excessive amounts as they do have shops here in case you run out ;)

[NannyOgg]

We are just packing our suitcases now and I have limited us to 1 each - bearing in mind we are arriving without any PR or work permits etc and we are just plain old tourists until OH gets a job. Would like to take another 2 but did not want to arouse suspicion at the the airport!

Any suggestions?

Nanny x

[katandbob]

You can buy stuff at the warehouse cheap enough if you run out or forget stuff...I forgot most of Robs t-shirts and socks :o :laugh ! he'd been paranoid about the weight of the cases, as we only had 20kg each, I wish I'd bought his suit over, that would have saved me 120 dollars this weekend for the hire of the penguin suit....although he did look suave in the dickie bow ;)

Kat...PS depending where your going, and what accomodation your staying in you may need a couple of thermals, but you can get them here too

[Debbie]

Wow when I read what you guys have bought over ours didn't seem that much at all :)

Between 2 adults and 3 kids we bought 4 suitcases each weighing in around 20kg each which was our original weight limit. 3 car seats, a buggy, travel cot. 2 rucksacks, laptop for hand luggage, then we gained 3 kids rucksacks en route :(

We decided to pack enough clothes for 2 weeks as we knew we'd have somewhere to wash them, doesn't seem any point in brining over excessive amounts as they do have shops here in case you run out ;)


I wish I had read your reply before I paniced and brought another huge case. I just can't seem to get my head around packing for 3mths. I've set aside all sorts of wierd pieces of paperwork that I convince myself I may need in that time. At the moment I have a case of paperwork and a rucksack of clothes!! This isn't going to work out well. I'm having terible trouble explaining to my kids why they can't pack all their toys in the cases. My 4 yr old tells me "the plane has a very big boot mummy".
Debbie

[StevieD]

Thanks for all your replies!! It seems it is on the whim of the airline how much you get at the time...

And Diny, let me re-phrase the colour of the cases as the same colour as the inside of a kiwi!! Duh :uhoh

The point is I got a really gaudy colour so I can easily identify it on the carousel - just my luck that the plane will be full of people who bought their luggage from the QVC shop too :laugh

[Diny]

And Diny, let me re-phrase the colour of the cases as the same colour as the inside of a kiwi!! Duh :uhoh

The point is I got a really gaudy colour so I can easily identify it on the carousel - just my luck that the plane will be full of people who bought their luggage from the QVC shop too :laugh


He he he - c'mon Stevie, you didn't expect me to let that one go did you? I guess you mean a Kiwi fruit .... and yep - you should see them on the carousel !!!!!

Let's hope you get to pack the said cases real soon - those kayaks are waiting mate !!!!

Diny

[Babette & Andy]

He Stevie - looking good, a posting from you about luggage - does this mean your arrival in NZ is getting closer :nice1 Fingers crossed for you guys.

We were working on a 30kg max per person for the 4 of us. Spread this over 5 suitcases (1 was mainly toys, dollies etc etc) and 2 holdels. Also had buggy, carseat, 2 shoulder bags and 2 small trolly bags (kids) with us. Had got rid of a lot of stuff to keep within limit we had been told by Singapore Airlines.

Very infuriating we were then told at checkin that 'as we were migrants we were entitled to 40kg each :mad: ' - wouldn't it be great if they FINALLY decide one policy for all!!

Look forward to you & family arriving with your green suitcases :D

Babette

www.balainnz.blogspot.com

[sizzlingbadger]

Just trying to get over the image of the colour of StevieD's suitcases, probably end up having a whole carousel the same colour :laugh

Debbie, really hard to do but pack the essentials as if you were heading off to Spain for 2 weeks is the way we treated it. At first I had all the kids wardrobes out summer and winter and tried fitting them. Finally came to realise that we really did only need the essentials as the container would be following behind with all our stuff. We did bring one of the kids favourite toys each that was it. It's quite amazing to think they did without any toys for 3 months before we unpacked everything. If you're getting rid of the container then yep you will have trouble fitting everything in. As for essential paperwork, passports and driving licence :D , 6 months worth of bank statements and letters from employers and/or rental agency should do. In fact we didn't need any of that apart from the passports and driving licence :rolleyes:

Good luck to all who are embarking on the BIG trip, certainly won't be doing the trip again for a while with the kids :exit

[Debbie]

Sbadger, Thanks for the tips, I just struggel to get my head around it all as we done even have a destination for our container so it won't be departing for some while. I have the packing equivilant to seize mentailty. Think your worst nightmare suppermarket ram-raiding shopper on any long bankholiday, well I've turned into that :eek: :eek: only Im like that at home with a suitcase.
Debbie

[mossum]

hi

we fly tomorrow :exit

1 x suitcase each - I was told 25 kg each - but i got a nicer lady 2nd call & she said 30 kg so we are happy - we went off to argos & got one of those doucment bag things - that fits the allowable dimensions at the mo & in that will go travel pillows - essential imo , books , my folder ( identity) passports , counterpart licences, references , birtc certs et etc ad infinitum :laugh - bet we could sell it - its a one stop new identity shop !!!

I will take my hand bag - paul can carry the spakky argos thing (its not that bad really ) we should just about fit clean smalls & a fresh t shirt each in too - yay !!!!

I'm excited - Pauls is a bag of nerves

vic x

[willowshouse]

We are just packing our suitcases now and I have limited us to 1 each - bearing in mind we are arriving without any PR or work permits etc and we are just plain old tourists until OH gets a job. Would like to take another 2 but did not want to arouse suspicion at the the airport!

Any suggestions?

Nanny x

Hi Nanny,

I wouldn't worry too much about arousing suspicion - when we last visited we took four huge holdalls .. the sort you could fit a person into (and four little flight cases as hand luggage). We were on visitor's visas.... if you say you are there for an extended stay it doesn't look odd to have a lot of stuff.

Don't forget that when you are going through the passport/immigration bit of the airport (where they ask you the purpose of your travel) you won't have collected your bags yet.

Also, A quick look thorugh this thread tells you that some people take very little and others can't survive for very long without the kitchen sink! So I doubt whether immigration would think too much about it.

Good luck .. hope to be joining you in 7 weeks time!

Dawn

[StevieD]

Babette - we wish!! To say the house selling is slow would be an understatement. :(

Guess you have seen the suitcases because the colour of the font is almost exactly the same colour as the luggage :laugh

So, if I can't see these coming on the carousel I deffo need real glasses!