It could be getting a little bit easier getting your luggage off a cruise ship and onto your flight home.

Guests on an upcoming cruise received a letter informing them that the luggage assistance program that's been missing for over five years is on its way back.

Royal Caribbean calls it Luggage Valet, and it's an easier way to get bags from ship to airport on the final morning of the cruise.

The service was offered for years, but was cut a while back for sailings from Florida.  It's now being offered again on 7 night sailings or longer sailing from select ports.

"Royal Caribbean is proud to offer airline check-in at sea. Luggage Valet provides the unique opportunity to check in for your flight at sea and allow your bags to be collected, cleared, and sent on to your final destination, while you enjoy the comfort and ease of hands-free travel."

This means you can enjoy your last morning on board without worrying about your bags—just disembark and head to the airport.

How the service works

On all cruises, you can leave your luggage outside your stateroom on the last morning of the cruise to be collected by crew members and subsequently brought to the cruise terminal for pickup.

Luggage Valet offers an easier option for those flying home on select airlines.

You have to enroll in the optional program by filling out a form and returning it to the Guest Services Desk no later than day 3 of the cruise. If you are a Suite, Pinnacle, Diamond Plus, or Diamond guest with access to the Concierge service, you can return the form to the Concierge at either the Crown Lounge on Deck 4 or the Suite Lounge on Deck 17 by day 3 of the cruise.

This service can only be purchased onboard the ship, and cannot be pre-booked before the cruise begins.

In your stateroom you'll get your luggage tags delivered to your cabin to affix to your luggage.

Bags are collected the night before the cruise ends, but passengers don't pick up the bags in the terminal. Rather, the bags are brought to the airport and checked onto your flight.

With this service, you wouldn't see your bags until you land at your home airport and collect your bags from baggage claim.

It's available only at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) or Miami International Airport (MIA).

Guests departing from FLL must have flights that depart between 11:30 AM and 11:59 PM on the day of disembarkation.

Guests departing from MIA must have flights that depart between 2:00 PM and 11:59 PM on the day of disembarkation.

How much it costs

Luggage valet costs $29 per guest plus applicable airline baggage fees.

The cost is charged to your Royal Caribbean onboard account.

Here is a list of which airlines participate in Luggage Valet:

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) – Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines.

Miami International Airport (MIA) – Delta Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue Airlines, Southwest Airlines.

Still offered for Alaska cruises too

While the letter distributed to guests this week doesn't include Alaska, it appears it's still offered in Seattle too.

The Port of Seattle website lists Royal Caribbean as a participating partner in its Port Valet program, which is quite similar to Luggage Valet.

This service is offered by the Port of Seattle, and you can sign up online before the cruise begins, or once onboard.  The best part? It's complimentary (excluding any airline baggage fees).

Carnival, Celebrity, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess, and Royal Caribbean passengers can take advantage of it.

You can use Port Valet if you are flying with these participating airlines: Alaska, American, Delta, Horizon, JetBlue, Southwest, or United.

Why you should use Luggage Valet

The appeal of Luggage Valet is to offer an even easier way to get off your ship and on your way home.

If you've ever dealt with disembarking your ship on the final morning with luggage in hand, it can be a bit of a hassle.  This is especially true with young children and trying to juggle them and your bags.

With Luggage Valet, you don't have any big bags to contend with, and Royal Caribbean thinks that offers less hassle and a more enjoyable experience overall.

Plus, you can totally skip the typically long lines to check luggage at the airport.

Of course there is an extra cost, so it adds to the overall vacation budget.  But the convenience of having your bags taken off the ship and to your flight is lovely option.

In all my years of cruising, I haven't lost any luggage from when the bags got on the ship to off the ship, and I think that is in part due to a few important steps I've taken to protect my bags.

Airlines are notorious for losing luggage, and it does occasionally happen with cruise ships as well. Anecdotally, it seems luggage is lost far less on a cruise ship than on an airplane, but the risk remains.

In order to better protect yourself against this possibility, I thought of all the things I do to reduce the chance your luggage will go astray in the first place.

Beyond these tips, you should never put anything super important in your checked luggage, such as passports, car keys, cash, medicine, or credit cards. Keep any precious items you have in your carry-on bag that you bring onto the ship.

Here are six tips to help keep a cruise line from losing your luggage.

1. Print luggage tags at home

Royal Caribbean provides you with luggage tags you can print before you leave home, and you should definitely do it.

While porters can provide luggage tags at the cruise terminal, the printable luggage tags are more identifiable and printed, rather than handwritten.

Moreover, printed luggage tags will save you time since you won't have to have the porter write out every single tag and then affix them to the bags.

Admittedly, it's just difficult to remember to print them. I often find myself completely not thinking about printing luggage tags until it is too late.

Luggage tags are available to print about 45 days before your cruise.

2. Prep bags in advance

Before you leave for the cruise terminal, take a few minutes to remove all existing labels and tags from your previous trips, like airline bag tags and any barcode stickers that get put on your suitcase. 

You want to make it as simple as possible for crew members to identify which bags are going on the ship and are from which sailing.

It's also a good idea to personalize your luggage so you can spot it easily. Stickers, duct tape, tassels, or whatever you can think of can make a big difference in making your luggage stand out, as well as ensure someone else doesn't accidentally take your bag.

3. Buy luggage tag holders

One of the best investments I ever made in my cruising career was spending a few dollars on plastic luggage tag holders (link contains an Amazon affiliate link, which costs you nothing extra).

The printable luggage tags work well enough, but they're made out of paper and can rip easily. There's a variety of companies that sell plastic sleeves designed for cruise ship luggage tags that you can simply slip in.

They're waterproof, clear, and easy to see.

Plus, plastic luggage tag holders are affixed to your bags by a steel hook that attaches to the bag.

4. Put your name on luggage tags

You want to identify your luggage with your name and contact information.

Royal Caribbean's luggage tags that you print out have a space for your name, so write that on every tag you print.

It's also a good idea to add a baggage tag on the outside of your suitcase with your contact information (and one inside in case the outside tag falls off or gets lost).

5. Buy AirTags

One of the best innovations for tracking your belongings to come out in the last few years are electronic tags, such as Apple AirTags.

These small tabs help travelers track their suitcases via Bluetooth.

The AirTag is a small, button-shaped tracking device that can be tracked using Bluetooth right alongside Apple devices in the Find My app.

A single AirTag will cost $28 and a 4-pack costs $79. If you have an Android phone, the Tile tracker costs $18.

While AirTags aren't GPS trackers that provide precise location information, they work well enough to have an idea where your luggage happens to be, especially if you're playing the "Is my luggage on the cruise ship yet" game.

Plus, you can use them for other trips and your flights to or from your cruise!

Read more: I tried AirTags to track my luggage on a Royal Caribbean cruise

6. Tip porters

It's customary to give the porters who take your luggage a few dollars for their service, and it's a wise investment.

I'm not insinuating that not tipping them means your bags will be cast aside out of spite, but just like bags you'd tip curbside baggage handlers at an airport, it's a good idea to tip the porters too.

On our recent cruise from Los Angeles, we discovered one piece of luggage was missing. Our porter immediately pointed us to the area with bags that had no tags, and sure enough, it was there for some reason.

You just need to tip them $1-2 per bag, and you'll get a smile back for the work they do to lug your stuff around.

Related: Should you use the porters to take your luggage on your cruise ship?

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Royal Caribbean is stopping the practice of sending its passengers luggage tags in the mail prior to its cruises, effecting August 8, 2012.

Instead, bag tags will now be included as a page within the eDoc ticket booklets, which can then be printed and attached by the guest.  The exception will be for Crown & Anchor Society Pinnacle members and Suite guests (Grand Suites and above), who will still receive baggage tags in the mail.

At this time, this change only applies to Royal Caribbean International and not its sister companies Celebrity Cruises or Azamara Club Cruises.

Passengers can still get bag tags at the port they embark at, from the porters that handle the bags.  There's no indication as to why the practice of sending luggage tags in the mail is being stopped, although we can assume there's a cost savings benefit for Royal Caribbean.

Cruisers in the United Kingdom have a new way to get their luggage to the cruise ship a little bit easier now.  Royal Caribbean is offering Brits a home luggage collection service, for a fee of course.

Those going on a cruise can have their luggage picked up from their home and delivered to their cabin and then dropped back off at their home after their cruise.

This new service costs £35 per item each way and is available for cruises on Royal Caribbean ships Independence of the Seas from Southampton, Jewel of the Seas from Harwich and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Eclipse from Southampton.

Luggage is picked up by Royal Caribbean between 24 and 96 hours prior to the cruise departure depending on the address in the United Kingdom.

Royal Caribbean Cruises UK and Ireland managing director Dominic Paul was optimistic about the new option, “We see this service as particularly useful to our guests with mobility issues, large families or those who need to travel some distance to the port.”