- Allie Hubers, an experienced cruiser, said she always packs an AirTag in her travel bag.
- In a Cruise Blog article, Hubers wrote that AirTags help her locate her bags quickly.
- Hubers said paying $24 for an AirTag is worth the peace of mind while cruising.
Allie Hubers, an experienced traveler who’s boarded over 40 cruises, says an Apple AirTag is now an essential item on her packing list.
In an article for the industry site Cruise Blog, Hubers shared her four must-pack items for a cruise. Hubers told Business Insider in an email that she’s been cruising since she was three years old and has traveled to 59 countries, mostly by cruise. Hubers is a freelance writer and full-time operations analyst, per her LinkedIn profile.
Hubers wrote in the article that she first brought an AirTag — a 1.2-inch device enabling iPhone users to track its real-time location — before a 12-night European cruise in 2022.
What she loved about the AirTag, Hubers said, was that she could track her bags at the cruise terminal and ensure they were on board the ship. She found this helpful, as passengers typically have to leave their luggage with porters at the cruise terminal.
“With my Apple AirTag, I can be confident that I won’t lose the location of my luggage,” Hubers wrote on the blog.
Another upside to using an AirTag while cruising is easily locating your bag by playing a “ding” sound on the device, Hubers said. When disembarking from a cruise, passengers have to look for their own bags at the cruise terminal, she added.
“The price is minimal compared to the peace of mind it provides knowing the exact location of my belongings at all times,” Hubers wrote, referring to how much an AirTag costs — $29 a piece, or $99 for a pack of four.
Hubers told BI that when she traveled on a 12-night African cruise last month, her bags didn’t show up until hours after she boarded. That’s when the AirTags became handy, Hubers said.
“I started to worry that my bag did not get loaded onto the ship,” Hubers said.
“I was able to use the ‘Find My’ app to play a sound on the AirTag and locate my luggage down the hallway — my suitcase had been delivered to the wrong cabin!” she added.
Other tracking devices are available for non-iPhone users as well. Tile, a tracker compatible with both iOS and Android phones, costs $25. The similarly priced Chipolo tracker is another option for those using Androids.
AirTags have gained popularity among travelers in recent years amid fears of companies mishandling bags. In October, a Business Insider reporter wrote that packing a pair of AirTags in her suitcase gave her confidence while traveling to Europe for the first time. And in November, a passenger used an AirTag to track her bag’s location in Jamaica after WestJet mishandled it on a domestic flight in Canada.
