Carry off our own bags?

[mexico5]

Hi, this will be our first cruise on HAL! I know you can carry off your own bags the morning of debarkation but I have a couple of questions. Do you have to let someone know you want to do this as soon as you board the ship? Also, our flight is not until 3:30PM but do we still have to be one of the first guest off or can we pick a later time or do all the people carrying off their own bags leave at the same time?

Thanks!

[sail7seas]

People who choose to carry off their own bags are the first off the ship when it is cleared and debark begins.

Yesterday, on Eurodam, if I remember correctly, they called for those toting their own luggage to start disembarkation at about 7:30 or so. It was very early.
You will receive a form in your cabin early in the cruise where you indicate your ongoing travel schedule and if you wish to take your own luggage. Your disembark number is predicated upon that information that you provide.

[mexico5]

Thanks for the info. We might need to rethink the whole carrying off our bags thing! If you don't carry off your own bags do you usually get a couple of extra hours on the ship? It's not that we don't want to leave the ship but we dread all the hours at the airport!

[sail7seas]

The same as we are anxious to board ASAP at the start of our cruise, the arriving guests on our disembark day are just as anxious. ;) They, too, want on ASAP.

The only way that happens is for all guests who are leaving to do so as fast as possible and that means the ship is often zeroed down of all departing guests by 10:00. I would be very surprised if Eurodam was not at 'zero' at about that time yesterday. Debark started early and was proceeding smoothly.

[mexico5]

That's true! I think we will stick with carrying off our own bags...I hate having to leave our bags out the night before and hope we find them in the morning.

[Cinder Again]

The cruise line often has "city tours" or some other tour of interest you can book for right after the cruise. You then are dropped at the airport later. Something to consider...

[Typhoon1]

Express disembarkation will normally begin between 7:15 and 7:30 AM.

Be up early and ready to leave the ship when the announcement is made.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Since you have a late flight -- 3:30 -- if I were you -- select one of the city tours. That way you will leave the ship at a certain time -- claim your luggage in the terminal -- take it out to the bus where it will be stored while you are on tour. And then you will be dropped off at the airport -- time to get something to eat before you board the plane.

[bepsf]

I hate having to leave our bags out the night before and hope we find them in the morning.

Why is this an issue for you?
Thousands of folks do this every day and I have yet to hear of someone's luggage being lost or stolen as a result...

You're an experienced cruiser too - It shouldn't come as a surprise that these things are well attended to and having the luggage carried off for you is much easier and will allow you the extra time in the morning to sleep in and relax as you appear to desire.

[moondoggie]

We cruise with another couple. Two cruises ago one of their bags was not in 'our' colored section when we disembarked. We had to wait till all bags were gone, and then discovered a similar looking bag (but not THAT similar)--someone took the wrong bag. The bag that was left had the name and address of a Floridian, and, given the spidery look of the handwriting (I have experience with analyzing handwriting), it was an elderly person. We spent several hours there with a HAL rep while they attempted to call this person--but to no avail. Our friend was in constant contact with HAL for over TWO WEEKS, as HAL refused to do anything but 'wait' until the person delivered the wrong bag back to FLL. It was nearly a month before our friends got their bag.

So yes, we carry off our bags now...

[Spinner2]

Off the Oosterdam on October 16, a woman waiting beside us in the shuttle pick up area realized she had the wrong bag and I did think she should have scurried back over to the luggage area to make it right faster than she did. :)

I've noticed, coming back from breakfast or whatever on that last morning, that it's generally a zoo of people doing the carry-off bag thing. On our deck last cruise they couldn't begin to all fit in the elevator when the call for walk-offs came; it took several loads to clear that area in front of the elevator. It's not the way I want to leave the ship. (Of course I never want to leave at all!)

For us, we feel secure enough to send the bags off with everyone else's because we put distinctive identifiers on the bags. Luggage straps around them--bright colors. And CruiseCritic handle wraps (very nice they are!) in hopes that the combination is unique to us. So far, so good. Uniqueness is the key!

[danemom]

there was a time when I carried my own bags and parked my own car.

now I had my bags to the porter hand my keys to the valet and enjoy life.

I have been on several cruises, put my bags out get up have a nice breakfast walk off and my bags are waiting for me... would not even think of lugging a bag down the gangplank.

looking forward to dec cruise on the oosterdam

[bepsf]

For us, we feel secure enough to send the bags off with everyone else's because we put distinctive identifiers on the bags. Luggage straps around them--bright colors. And CruiseCritic handle wraps (very nice they are!) in hopes that the combination is unique to us. So far, so good. Uniqueness is the key!

Indeed - Tags and bright markings make the difference.
I keep multiple tags on my bags and at least one has my photo printed on it.

But if yours is the generic-black-rolling-bag-with-no-tags - Good luck to ya!

[CalGal777]

I bought these bright yellow baggage straps on line and you can have what ever printed on them I have "THIS BAG IS NOT YOURS" printed on mine

[rafinmd]

That's true! I think we will stick with carrying off our own bags...I hate having to leave our bags out the night before and hope we find them in the morning.

I think we have some miscommunication here. The self-help program is really intended for people who want to be the first off the ship and are REQUIRED to carry off their own bags. If you really want to leave late and carry off your own bags I think all you have to do is say you have a late flight. You will get a certain color luggage tag for the bags you want the crew to take off for you (In your case none). When the time your color is called you simply walk off the ship with your carryons (In your case everything). Is that what you want to do? If so, I don't think it would be a problem (more experienced HAL cruisers please correct me).

Not everyone's cup of tea but if you really want it this should work.

Roy

[sandthrush]

I agree with rafinmd. They certainly would not require you to be off early because you are carrying your own luggage. Why would they?

We were on the Eurodam last month, and the disembarkation form we filled out indicated that if you wanted to disembark early that there would be no porters to help with your luggage. But it did not indicate that if you were carrying off your luggage, that you had to get off early. We disembarked early, because we were renting a car and driving home, and we didn't need assistance with our luggage, we both had only carry-ons.

April of last year, we were on the Ryndam out of Tampa and the disembarkation questions asked nothing at all about your luggage. We had early disembarkation, because we drove to the port. My husband put his suit case out the night before and I didn't, because I only had carry-on size luggage. We disembarked at approximately 7:30 am, me carrying my luggage, and he picked his up in the terminal.

[terigo]

Nothing on this earth, if I had a 3:30 flight, would make me want to spend the last day of my vacation getting up at the crack of dawn, foregoing a leisurely breakfast, and schlepping my luggage down a gangplank.

But I like to prolong my "cruise mode" as long as possible... :D

[RuthC]

If you really want to leave late and carry off your own bags I think all you have to do is say you have a late flight. You will get a certain color luggage tag for the bags you want the crew to take off for you (In your case none). When the time your color is called you simply walk off the ship with your carryons (In your case everything).

I agree with rafinmd. They certainly would not require you to be off early because you are carrying your own luggage. Why would they?
I believe this is incorrect. It is my understanding that if you want to carry off luggage that is larger, or more numerous, than customary carry-ons, then you must be in the first---self-disembarkation---group.

The reason for this is to get those with more/larger pieces of luggage out of the way of those who just have carry-ons. Too many people, with too much luggage, would interfere with the disembarkation of the larger groups called later.

[Cruising-along]

In September on the Amsterdam we carried off our own luggage on the 4-day coastal. Granted, for such a short cruise we didn't have a lot of luggage. We were not given a choice, we were told to disembark at 9:00!!

Usually we would have been thrilled to be able to stay onboard so late, but for this one time we had to be someplace earlier than that (the cruise ended in Seattle, we just drove home). So DH went to the front desk and asked if we could disembark at 7:00 and they said fine, no problem.

They do seem to be flexible, you just have to ask. :)

[sandthrush]

Real curious, can any one who has ever disembarked a HAL ship, factually say that they have been asked on their disembarkation form whether or not they are carrying off their own luggage, and the number of pieces and the size of the pieces ?

I believe people are taking the fact that if you want to disembark early, that at many ports you have to be able to handle your own luggage, and somehow erroneously equating that to if you are carrying off your own luggage, you have to be in the first group off the ship, which I don't believe is true.

[Cruising-along]

Real curious, can any one who has ever disembarked a HAL ship, factually say that they have been asked on their disembarkation form whether or not they are carrying off their own luggage, and the number of pieces and the size of the pieces ?

I believe people are taking the fact that if you want to disembark early, that at many ports you have to be able to handle your own luggage, and somehow erroneously equating that to if you are carrying off your own luggage, you have to be in the first group off the ship, which I don't believe is true.

In our (one time) experience, we said we would be carrying off our own bags, but were not asked the number of pieces and size.

[momatibm]

I believe people are confusing the two -- you can request early debarkation and still put out your luggage, or you can choose to self debarkation where you tote your own luggage.

[RuthC]

Real curious, can any one who has ever disembarked a HAL ship, factually say that they have been asked on their disembarkation form whether or not they are carrying off their own luggage, and the number of pieces and the size of the pieces ?
The disembarkation form specifically asks if you plan to do self-disembarkation. It does not ask how many/size of pieces you plan to carry off. That info is not necessary.
This is a separate choice from picking a time, or listing a flight time, on the form.
All of this I am sure of.

It's the part that comes next that I am not positive about, as I wouldn't do self-disembarkation. It is what I think I remember being said at the disembarkation lecture. That is, that those who plan to self-disembark will be the first group called to leave the ship, they must be able to handle everything themselves as there can be no assistance rendered, and they should plan to leave around 7:15-7:30.

[Jemima]

It appears they want everyone off the ship first who does not have luggage waiting in the terminal. The order of leaving is self-disembark first, luggage direct second, and then the various groups whose luggage awaits them in the terminal.

[lorekauf]

Why is this an issue for you?
Thousands of folks do this every day and I have yet to hear of someone's luggage being lost or stolen as a result...

You're an experienced cruiser too - It shouldn't come as a surprise that these things are well attended to and having the luggage carried off for you is much easier and will allow you the extra time in the morning to sleep in and relax as you appear to desire.
Just speaking for myself it is a pain to put your bags out before. To make sure you don't even carry off toothpaste in your carry on is a pain. It is what it is however, and needs to be done. Doesn't mean you have to be happy about it. At least HAL lets you put your bags out fairly late. Princess suggests that they be out by dinner time which is impossible for me.

[RetiredMustang]

Why is this an issue for you?
Thousands of folks do this every day and I have yet to hear of someone's luggage being lost or stolen as a result....

This did happen once to us, although as it turned out our bag was merely misplaced and not lost or stolen; that is, we eventually got it back.

It was several years ago, and the ship was a bit delayed in starting debarkation. We had booked a HAL transfer to the airport to catch our flight. We got off when our color/number were called, and could not find one of our bags. We searched all of the other numbers in our color (although it was not perfectly so, there were sort of arranged by number within the color holding area), and I tried scanning all the other color holding areas, but we were running out of time, so I reported the situation to a HAL rep who helped me fill out a form describing the piece of luggage, contact info, etc.

We had put a tag on the bag, and included our contact info inside on a 3x5 card as well. We caught our bus and our flight, and figured we were probably out about two loads of dirty laundry :D, but the bag showed up a couple of days later. HAL had found it, forwarded it by air, and arranged delivery to our home.

An accompanying document said that the bag had been inadvertantly put into the area for the same number, but different color, in the debarkation hall. Whether it was some poor unfortunate who was color-blind and did not know it, or other simple human error, our bag did go astray that one time. But, HAL got it back to us, so it all turned out. I had forgotten about it until I read your post.

Dave

[Boytjie]

It appears they want everyone off the ship first who does not have luggage waiting in the terminal.

And maybe gives them time to unload luggage from the ship while having other passengers disembark at the same time.

[arewethereyet]

Real curious, can any one who has ever disembarked a HAL ship, factually say that they have been asked on their disembarkation form whether or not they are carrying off their own luggage, and the number of pieces and the size of the pieces ?

I believe people are taking the fact that if you want to disembark early, that at many ports you have to be able to handle your own luggage, and somehow erroneously equating that to if you are carrying off your own luggage, you have to be in the first group off the ship, which I don't believe is true.
I've been on many cruises and have never had to indicate whether or not I was handling my own luggage. The only time it was relevant was disembarking early in the morning in Ft. Lauderdale. At that time I had to handle my own luggage because no porters were available at that hour. On other cruises, I departed the ship at a time corresponding to my travel arrangements. I was asked about travel times, but never about whether I was handling my luggage. That meant that I disembarked with a color coded group regardless of the fact that I carried my own luggage. The cruise line has no idea how much luggage your brought with you, or whether you put out anything the night before.

Over many years, my wife and I have evolved into very efficient, and light, packers. Each of us can handle our luggage quite easily. For us, this is the way to go.

[mexico5]

Why is this an issue for you?
Thousands of folks do this every day and I have yet to hear of someone's luggage being lost or stolen as a result...

You're an experienced cruiser too - It shouldn't come as a surprise that these things are well attended to and having the luggage carried off for you is much easier and will allow you the extra time in the morning to sleep in and relax as you appear to desire.

Who cares why it is an issue for us...but since you want to know...it has happened to us! Being an "experienced cruiser" does not make your luggage any safer:rolleyes:

[mexico5]

I think we have some miscommunication here. The self-help program is really intended for people who want to be the first off the ship and are REQUIRED to carry off their own bags. If you really want to leave late and carry off your own bags I think all you have to do is say you have a late flight. You will get a certain color luggage tag for the bags you want the crew to take off for you (In your case none). When the time your color is called you simply walk off the ship with your carryons (In your case everything). Is that what you want to do? If so, I don't think it would be a problem (more experienced HAL cruisers please correct me).

Not everyone's cup of tea but if you really want it this should work.

Roy

Thanks Roy that is what we would like to do! I guess we can find out on the ship what the correct procedure is..not a big deal...just like to carry our own bags off and we travel pretty light!

[mexico5]

Just speaking for myself it is a pain to put your bags out before. To make sure you don't even carry off toothpaste in your carry on is a pain. It is what it is however, and needs to be done. Doesn't mean you have to be happy about it. At least HAL lets you put your bags out fairly late. Princess suggests that they be out by dinner time which is impossible for me.

Yes fellow Calgarian...we were on Princess and they required the bags out so early...it was very difficult! Kept thinking I would forget something important that I needed for the morning!

[ccruisequeen]

Yes fellow Calgarian...we were on Princess and they required the bags out so early...it was very difficult! Kept thinking I would forget something important that I needed for the morning!

As long as you have PJs, undies, & something to wear in the am, you should be good to go! (we wear the same thing for the night before for disbarkation)

[sunshine nana]

Keep your bags with you all night, pack and leave just like you are leaving a hotel room. No one cares as long as you are gone by the deadline and can manage on your own. We have done this on every cruise as we take only what we can carry if we have to. Either a carryon each for 7 night in warm climate or a carryon each and one larger between us for 10-12 night in cooler climate. We have seen many people who cannot get their huge bags off the luggage carrosel at the airport or up and down stairs in some airports.We have seen some who thought a ship's transfer meant there would be someone to get their luggage off the carrosel and onto the bus for them. The less pounds you have to wrestle with the better!

[dobiemom]

I believe this is incorrect. It is my understanding that if you want to carry off luggage that is larger, or more numerous, than customary carry-ons, then you must be in the first---self-disembarkation---group.

The reason for this is to get those with more/larger pieces of luggage out of the way of those who just have carry-ons. Too many people, with too much luggage, would interfere with the disembarkation of the larger groups called later.
I believe Ruth (and others) are correct. I think if there were alot of people carrying off their own luggage, the elevators and hallways would get more crowded than they are. Maybe we could have DBA chime in here?

[vbmom87]

On our HAL cruise we signed up for self-disembarkation. We were told we could leave the ship anytime we wanted after the first call. We did need to disembark early so wanted to make sure there was not delay getting our luggage. Since that cruise we decided we would always use self-disembarkation. That way you can keep your luggage until it is time to leave. We prefer it that way.

[RudyBC]

I am completly new to this, but doesn't the airport have rules about your bags being in your custody at all times? Again, new to this!

[vbmom87]

I am completly new to this, but doesn't the airport have rules about your bags being in your custody at all times? Again, new to this!

Must be a special arrangement between the cruiseline and the airlines. They have been doing this for a few years now, and it works really well, especially for those who have a late flight out and want to do some touring before their flight.

[mauiedin87]

That is, provided you can truly handle lugging down the gang plank, into the main disembarkation building and out to the street. One of the reasons to pack very light (after 16 cruises we are down to one 21" suitcase between us, even for a 14-day cruise). Getting off Princess 2 years ago, it took us a couple of hours (almost missed our flight) to find our single suitcase under the wrong color in a section we were not even allowed in until the very end! But whatever the system, one has to be out of one's cabin and in a central waiting area with hundreds of other passengers by a set time to allow the stewards to prepare the cabins for the incoming crowd!