Self assist vs leaving luggage out night before

We have done self assist the past several cruises.

We seldom drive to port but choose to disembark early and sit in airport rather than stand on ship, as happened on our last RCCL cruise.

Since we safely chose an afternoon flight out of FLL I am thinking of leaving luggage out except for next day clothes and toiletries.

How do you rearrange your carry on to ensure no disallowed items are in it. i.e. Aerosol hairspray, disposable razors, etc.

FLL never offered chairs at our terminal and I cannot imagine kneeling on floor and transferring.

Seasoned cruisers?

Well, the obvious suggestion would be to not plan on using hairspray the last morning. Disposable razors are not a forbidden item, as far as I know. I have never been pulled over for them. Of course, I don't travel with any disallowed items, because I only travel with carryons...EM

I pack everything in my checked luggage. I use small, travel size TSA approved toiletries, including hairspray, and pack in an approved bag for carryon at the airport. I even put a "stripe" of toothpaste on my toothbrush for morning before packing the big tube!

Thank you!

I was reading incorrect info on allowed items.

I always place hand gels, etc in my quart bag.

Tried using carrying only last cruise. No way and I double up on clothing.

I've kneeled on the floor of FLL and rearranged my luggage. :D As other posters have already stated, just plan ahead and to the extent possible, avoid using a lot of forbidden items on the last morning. Some things I've been able to tuck in a suitcase outside zippered compartment and not have to open up the whole thing.

Roz

May I suggest that if you have not packed yet to use a roll suitcase. It just made it easier to leave the ship before everyone else. I put all of my toiletries and important items in a backpack. It was so super easy and light packing in the roll on should be easy. I did not pack a fancy dress of any kind. Instead I wore black pants and a fancy top. I wore it for both nights. No one was overdressed. I packed light weight pants and tops. Rolling your clothes is the was to go. I was not ashamed to wear the same outfit a few days later. My husband brought a long sleeve shirt, tie and black pants for formal night. It worked also. If you have carry on you will not have to put anything out. Good luck. I hope this helped.

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We have done self assist the past several cruises.

We seldom drive to port but choose to disembark early and sit in airport rather than stand on ship, as happened on our last RCCL cruise.

Since we safely chose an afternoon flight out of FLL I am thinking of leaving luggage out except for next day clothes and toiletries.

How do you rearrange your carry on to ensure no disallowed items are in it. i.e. Aerosol hairspray, disposable razors, etc.

FLL never offered chairs at our terminal and I cannot imagine kneeling on floor and transferring.

Seasoned cruisers?

The only problem we've ever had with leaving luggage outside option was on the only one cruise where we (a party of three) couldn't find one of the larger black suitcase. The strip claimed all of our bags were supposed to be in Zone 3 and we found two of them, but couldn't find the third among probably two hundred black suitcases. Finally, after twenty minutes we located said bag heaped in a large pile of bags from every zone (there were 12 zones, in all) it's almost like they were saying, 'Well, we ran out of room for THESE and this was the only place we had..' In fact, this was the only small hiccup of a totally WONDEFUL cruise. Just wanted you aware that cruise port bag handlers 'sometimes' do funny things. As all humans are capable of. Either way, have a FANTASTIC cruise!

Mac

It helps to mark luggage with a colored ribbon, streamer, pom pom, etc. so that in a situation like you've described, you can easily pick it out from the crowd.

I've done over 20 cruises, always leave my bag out at night to be picked up, and have never lost a bag.

Roz

It helps to mark luggage with a colored ribbon, streamer, pom pom, etc. so that in a situation like you've described, you can easily pick it out from the crowd.

 

I've done over 20 cruises, always leave my bag out at night to be picked up, and have never lost a bag.

 

Roz

Never have we 'lost' a bag. Our bags were marked with a bright red ribbon, it was the bag that belonged to the third party that wasn't marked that was 'misplaced' (figures, huh). But she had never done anything else BUT the self assist and we didn't think about checking her bag. Live and learn, she found out. :)

We have done self assist the past several cruises.

 

We seldom drive to port but choose to disembark early and sit in airport rather than stand on ship, as happened on our last RCCL cruise.

 

Since we safely chose an afternoon flight out of FLL I am thinking of leaving luggage out except for next day clothes and toiletries.

 

How do you rearrange your carry on to ensure no disallowed items are in it. i.e. Aerosol hairspray, disposable razors, etc.

 

FLL never offered chairs at our terminal and I cannot imagine kneeling on floor and transferring.

 

Seasoned cruisers?

You can get a TSA waiver for hairspray if you have blue hair.

Seriously, forget the hairspray and pretty much all liquids except toothpaste and Rx Items (no one's taking your disposable razor away). Your "personal item" (handbag, briefcase, etc) for the plane will be large enough for the TSA 1 quart ziplock bag.

In the ship terminal upon disembarkation, you can shove last nights' used clothing in a side pocket or in your "personal item" for the plane.

Best suggestion is fly business class and the airline will give you a little case with most of what you need for toiletries.

Best suggestion is fly business class and the airline will give you a little case with most of what you need for toiletries.

You've got to be kidding....the average cruiser can't afford to fly business class.

Roz

Pack according to carry on rules. We have always used the Steward the night before and found our luggage quickly, right next to the cabs and vans. Never had one problem. We use frequent flyer Credit Cards and miles then pay to update to business class. We flew to China from IAD biz class for $149 on UAL, Iad to New Delhi for $100 biz class on Lufthansa, and from IAD to PTY-Santiago Chile business Class and I'm not sure how much the upgrade was. They are all UAL Alliance partners.

Could always "dispose" of the disposable razor after use. 😉

You simply have to keep what you need, and once you collect your bags, you transfer you "liquids" to the checked bags. Yes..it take some fore-thought!

I will also add that we did self-disembark for several cruises until the last one. Because I had a late flight, I went for the luggage outside the door routine.

OMG! So much MORE relaxing to leave the luggage out the night before and laze around the ship waiting for that last call to get off, then find your luggage. I don't know about other cruise lines, but I find "self-embarkation" on Holland America to be hell - EVERYONE is in the hallways, elevators, stairwells, and coming from a million directions and elbowing each other. Really stressful....

Never going back to self-embarkation again.....

Whether we put out our luggage or do self assist, we buy travel sizes for our toiletries (including hairspray. I just have to buy TWO of those!) and then just abandon them in the bathroom when we leave. This way we don't have to worry about a TSA bag. If I bring anything I need to transport home, I stick it in the checked bag. We have bought alcohol and carried it out only to put it in the checked suitcase at the airport (If we have one). Usually, we do cruises with carry on and backpack only (PJs go into the backpack).

Topic 1: I'd use self-disembarkation, even if I weren't leaving early. It's so much easier (assuming you're able-bodied) to take care of it yourself. Nothing is relaxing about using your last night of vacation to pack up and put things outside your door by midnight ... then waiting for your luggage in the terminal is even worse. If you pack reasonably, it's very easy to simply roll the suitcase off the ship.

If you're going to put your luggage out the night before, here's a hint: I once saw a large family who labeled ALL their luggage with (homemade + laminated) large yellow and orange sunshines -- they had a sunshine on both sides of the luggage. Two men were standing by the conveyor belt as the luggage came out, and they'd grab the sunshine bags and toss them to waiting teenagers, who transported them over to the moms and small children who were waiting against a wall. One of the women called out "Twelve", "Thirteen", etc. every time another bag arrived. I thought to myself, "That's a family who has it together."

Topic 2: Toiletries. I abandon most of mine. Seriously, just leave them. If you're using travel-sizes (or full-sized bottles that're mostly empty), you're not going to "lose" more than a couple dollars worth of product, and the simplicity of simply tossing them instead of packing them is well worth a couple dollars.

For make-up, I take my oldest, almost used-up eye shadow and mascara -- and leave them behind. The Clinique counter gives out samples of foundation in teeny-tiny containers (alternate: Pick up a contact lens case and use it for foundation).

How do you rearrange your carry on to ensure no disallowed items are in it. i.e. Aerosol hairspray, disposable razors, etc.

FLL never offered chairs at our terminal and I cannot imagine kneeling on floor and transferring.

It's not that difficult. Lay out what you must have in the morning. Pack everything else in either your checked luggage bag or your carry on

In the morning, before disembarking, put anything that needs to go into your checked luggage in a zip lock or similar bag, to keep them segregated. When you are reunited with your large suitcase, either in the cruise terminal, or at the airport before checking your luggage, take out that bag from your carry on and just toss it into an outside pocket or inside the suitcase. No need to kneel if you are disinclined. Squat or just bend over. It only takes as long as it takes to open and close your bag. It's not rocket science.

It helps to mark luggage with a colored ribbon, streamer, pom pom, etc. so that in a situation like you've described, you can easily pick it out from the crowd.

 

I've done over 20 cruises, always leave my bag out at night to be picked up, and have never lost a bag.

 

Roz

It helps BUT there are still idiots out there that don't pay attention. Luckily we happened to be staying in Vancouver for the weekend but not only did we have the brightly colored strap around our suitcase it had our name on it too. Yet someone took it. Luckily it was someone who lived in Vancouver. However we still had to cut our day short to get back to the pier to pick it up. I mean, seriously people, do you even look? It had our name in big black bold letters?

It helps BUT there are still idiots out there that don't pay attention. Luckily we happened to be staying in Vancouver for the weekend but not only did we have the brightly colored strap around our suitcase it had our name on it too. Yet someone took it. Luckily it was someone who lived in Vancouver. However we still had to cut our day short to get back to the pier to pick it up. I mean, seriously people, do you even look? It had our name in big black bold letters?

Especially after reading some of these I just have it so much easier only travelling with carry-on and small bag. All liquids are 100ml and fit in a 1 quart baggie, for longer cruises buy at the port city and dump. Yes we wear the same clothes more than once (washed) on a cruise but who cares, do you remember and care about what others are wearing. I am not out there to impress any one by bringing my whole closet of clothes.

Never had a bag lost/misplaced when they are in my hand, and so much quicker leaving the airport.

I've kneeled on the floor of FLL and rearranged my luggage. :D As other posters have already stated, just plan ahead and to the extent possible, avoid using a lot of forbidden items on the last morning. Some things I've been able to tuck in a suitcase outside zippered compartment and not have to open up the whole thing.

 

Roz

I have done the same thing. It just takes a minute. If we have alcohol or breakables we carry them off and insert them in the pre-planned space in the luggage. Same thing with night clothes / anything else not crucial.

quick, easy and we are on our way. :)

Just off Conquest. So many people opt for self assist now it does not necessarily mean you will be off the ship fast (they call self assist by deck along with some regular zones).We have done both and have found that sometimes we are not off any sooner with self assist. When putting luggage out, I pack everything that is non essential. You have until 12:00 midnight to get your luggage out, so we either wait until we are in our jammies to put everything out except for the next day's outfit (or we change after dinner into the same clothes we'll wear off and keep out our jammies ) and essential toiletries. I take a large tote bag to stash these things the next day. If I am flying, I keep anything that does not go in my allowed ziplock in a separate large ziplock. When i retrieve my luggage, I put it in the outside pocket of the bag I will check. I hate to drag a big bag around waiting to be called to disembark.

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Simplelife, I've noticed the same thing on my last couple of cruises. You're right, it doesn't seem to save much time and I'd rather sit back and enjoy another cup of coffee while others struggle with their luggage.

Roz

It helps BUT there are still idiots out there that don't pay attention. Luckily we happened to be staying in Vancouver for the weekend but not only did we have the brightly colored strap around our suitcase it had our name on it too. Yet someone took it. Luckily it was someone who lived in Vancouver. However we still had to cut our day short to get back to the pier to pick it up. I mean, seriously people, do you even look? It had our name in big black bold letters?

It IS amazing how many morons (while standing at the circular airport belt) just pick up the FIRST black suitcase, (even brightly marked) and just walk away. Several times I've had to chase after said idiot saying, 'Sir, I think you have my suitcase'. I saw the BRIGHT red ribbons attached in both separate places. Only to have him mumble,'Oh, sorry.. and let it go, letting it just drop it to the floor. :( Makes one wonder IF these types have a keeper ? Some people !

Mac