Dress - Packing and travel notes ...

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Diva Las Vegas
----------

Dress - Packing and travel hints and notes:

This next item is primarily intended for those who will be traveling to
DLV by commercial air. If you're local or driving your own vehicle with
lots of space, you can most likely skip this part. :)

Some pack for DLV by just throwing things into a suitcase and taking off
for the airport. Others plan their outfits for the various activities in
great detail, while some try to bring EVERYTHING, so they will have
every possible option.
. . .

Limits and restrictions:

Most airlines allow two checked bags and one carry-on bag per passenger.

Some (Southwest) allow three checked bags. A few (Midwest, America West)
say three bags total, one which may be carried on, but experience shows
that they do not cross-check carry-on bags with the number of checked
bags. Size and weight restrictions of check-ins and carry-ons vary from
airline to airline.

All airlines now allow one carry-on bag, which must fit into the
particular airline's "sizing box", plus one "personal item", such as a
purse or briefcase. Experience has shown that even a fairly large tote
bag will be accepted as this "personal item" by most airlines.

One hint for stretching this limit a bit more was discussed recently
on one of the travel boards. The trick involves carrying a somewhat
large shopping bag as that "personal item", one that obviously can't
be checked.

Most airlines do allow extra bags for a modest to steep fee per bag.
. . .

Security and inspections:

Yes, there will be some kind of inspection process for both checked and
carry-on bags. For those concerned about this, the bottom line is:

THEY HAVE SEEN IT ALL BEFORE, MANY MANY MANY TIMES OVER!

If you're uneasy about airport security, please read the above line
again. :)

They don't care about frilly unmentionables. They only care about a
specific list of prohibited items, and items that cannot be readily
identified.

In recent months it's been observed that they are paying less attention
to which bag is whose as the bags enter the scanner, but in many cases
more attention to specific items. Some days it seems to be laptops,
other days, cameras. Very seldom will any significant attention be
given to clothing, toiletries, cosmetics, etc.
. . .

Packing tips:

You will definitely want to carry important things such as medications
and anything that can't be readily replaced in your carry-on bag. If you
consider the fact that bags are occasionally delayed or misrouted, and
in some cases actually lost, you can make plans so that you don't put
all of your eggs in one checked basket.

One suggestion is to carry a "minimum compliment" in your carry-on, of
just enough to get by for a day or so, but enough so you won't have to
go into panic mode should your checked bags get misrouted. (And again,
those people at the checkpoints have seen it all before, over and over.)

The percentage of bags lost or misrouted is actually very low. However,
speaking from experience, when it does happen, don't expect your airline
to bend over backwards to locate and deliver your items.

Yes, some of the airlines may be able to track your bags through the
system and tell you exactly where they are, however, once that bag is
on its way to Guam, it will take some time to get it back. Others like
Southwest don't really have any automated baggage tracking system in
place.

If your bags aren't there at the carousel for you, don't panic. First
look at other carousels that serve your airline, even though one is
marked for your flight. I've seen this happen several times at various
airports. Specifically, for McCarran Airport in Las Vegas, the posted
flight numbers on the baggage carousels are very inaccurate.

If you had a tight connection or missed a connection, it's very possible
that your bags may not come in on your flight, or may even be there
already. Check with the baggage office that serves your airline. These
are located around the perimeter of the bag claim areas. You may find
that your bags beat you to Las Vegas! You may also have to wait until
the next flight comes in from your intermediate stop.

In a busy airport like McCarran, expect to deal with an attitude
somewhere between casual concern and downright indifference should you
report missing baggage. About all the local baggage agent can do is take
a missing item report and enter it into their reporting system. Don't
expect them to immediately drop everything and scour every aircraft,
baggage truck, and conveyor belt looking for your bags.

If your bags were "interlined" (handed off from one airline to another),
be prepared for some back and forth finger-pointing.

Bags that are totally lost, never to be seen again, are very rare.
Misrouted and delayed bags are much more common.
. . .

No matter how carefully you fold and pack, it's inevitable that some of
your items will show some wrinkles and/or creases. Some of these can
"hang out" after a while just by hanging them up in your hotel room, but
two very handy items to have are an iron and a garment steamer. Many
hotels now provide irons in rooms (Sahara does, check with your hotel
for others), and those that do not have them available for loan, but the
steamer is very handy for items that are difficult to press or those
that cannot be ironed. You can get a steamer at most department stores
for $10-20 or so.

A folding garment bag is great for dresses, but still, you will find
that some creases and wrinkles may occur.

Extra hangers! Yes, the hotel will have some hangers, but knowing how
many outfits our people tend to bring, you will need extras. They don't
take up that much room, so if ya got 'em, bring 'em. :)

* "Space bags" can help for bulky items. These are available at any
department store. Some compress by rolling up, squeezing the air thru a
one-way valve. Others compress by connecting them to a vacuum cleaner.

These are very handy for bulky items that don't wrinkle, such as
sweaters, and also very useful for saving space by compressing and
confining dirty laundry on the way home.
. . .

If you *absolutely* have to take more than the airline allows (or if
you're really shy about security and inspections and such), you do
have a few options.

Most hotels will receive packages for guests. Phone your hotel for the
address and how to label your packages. Many hotels charge for this
service, and some hotels handle this in their "business service" center
which may not be open weekends. Many of these business centers are
closed on Sunday and some are closed on Saturday, so if you arrive on
the weekend, you may not be able to claim your stuff until Monday.

One of our local vendors will receive packages for DLV attendees.
Details on this will be provided on request for those who have validated
registrations. You may then pick up your package(s) during normal
business hours any day except Monday.


----------
(This posting was entered by Diva Las Vegas, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Mary Beth
----------

A couple of notes on packing and shipping:

I always send my heavy/bulky/awkward stuff (make-up mirror, breast
forms, make-up, jewelry, shoes, etc) ahead via UPS. My luggage for the
airplane contains only clothing, which won't show anything unusual in
the X-Ray machine. On overseas trips I'd taken several years ago, my
suitcases were always having the locks cut off. I finally came to the
conclusion that the X-ray machines were probably reading my hard
rubber breast forms (or as I like to call them, my "travel tits") as
plastic explosives. Not a good thing at all.

I can usually get all the stuff into a 15x15x15 carton, which costs
about $30 to ship each way (UPS charges by weight; in my case it's
around 25 pounds of stuff). It's worth it to escape the hassle of
dragging it on the airplane. To ship it home, there are four UPS stores
within 5 miles of the strip which are open on Saturday from 9 to 4 PM
(they are closed Sunday, so you have to ship on Saturday.) The UPS
stores will also be cheaper than using the hotel's Business Center,
which will charge you a fee for having UPS come to pick up your
stuff.

Once while on my way back from England I was pulled out of line in
customs for a bag search. Before the agent opened my bag I told her
that I was a crossdresser and that the bag she was opening contained
all my female gear. When she open the box with the travel tits in it,
she got a queasy look on her face and hurriedly ended her search.

First rule - if they search your bags, get right out in front of it
immediately. Tell them up front what's in the bag and why.

Mary Beth


----------
(This posting was entered by Mary Beth, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: crystal losee
----------

Geekbabe (Aiko);

This year Jennifer and I are coming down to Diva Las Vegas for a few days.

I really want to make up what i missed last year-the Lake Mead boat
cruise and the hike (Death Valley this year instead of Valley of Fire.)

We would like to meet for both activities and then car pool with others,
but I would like to know the exact time and places for car pooling for
these activities so I don't miss them again.

Crystal Losee


----------
(This posting was entered by crystal losee, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Annie
----------

>Geekbabe (Aiko);

Well, I'm not Aiko, but some people call me a geekbabe. :)

>We would like to meet for both activities and then car pool with others,
>but I would like to know the exact time and places for car pooling for
>these activities so I don't miss them again.

The exact times, places, and extremely detailed directions will go out
in the Large Final Mailing in about 1 1/2 weeks.


----------
(This posting was entered by Annie, an external user of MyDLV.)