Carry on luggage

Quick question.

Are you required to leave all of your luggage with Carnival while embarking on can you carry all of it on the ship with you to avoid having to wait to have it delivered? Or are you only limited to a carry on ?

If you can carry it, you can carry it on. :)

Or ... push, pull, drag, ride, slide ... you get the picture :)

IF you can manage it yourself, you can carry it on.

It does have to fit through the security scanner but that shouldn't be a problem with most reasonably sized luggage. We haven't checked luggage in years!!!!

Sure you can carry it ALL on if you want. The key word being CARRY - they don't have those big carts to schlep your stuff around like in an airport. That said, if you can somehow tie it all together and pull it along, go for it.

Keep in mind that it could be a pretty good hike to the actual ship. Up ramps and/or escalators. Also keep in mind that unless you're platinum/diamond or buy FTTF, your cabin may not be ready when you board and you'll have to babysit all that stuff on board.

if you get on early , you wont be able to access your room until around 1:30 (unless you are diamond or plat or FTTF) so keep that in mind too

Ok that's great news. I have FTTF so I just want to get on, get to my room and get to the fun. Thanks for the info

Ok that's great news. I have FTTF so I just want to get on, get to my room and get to the fun. Thanks for the info

If you have FTTF then your luggage is priority also. You can leave it with the porters and it's supposed to come earlier than everyone elses. I've always had mine arrive within an hour or so but others have had different experiences.

I always carry on all my luggage (I have room access though as soon as we board with Platinum). However, we did it even before this. My mother's suitcase went missing once and 1 out of 3 cruises we get the inevitable "Have you seen this suitcase" letter in our room (meaning someone on board has luggage missing and lost).

From Carnival FAQ's

Each checked suit case and carry-on suit case should not weigh more than 50 pounds, and when lying flat, bags must not exceed 16 inches high by 24 inches wide (the length of the bag is not a factor). For security screening purposes, all luggage should be unlocked. Oversized luggage and locked luggage may cause delivery delays.

If you have FTTF then your luggage is priority also. You can leave it with the porters and it's supposed to come earlier than everyone elses. I've always had mine arrive within an hour or so but others have had different experiences.

"Supposed to" are the key words here. I'm platinum and friends who cruised with us who are Red got their luggage at least 2 hours before us. So it doesn't always arrive early. And yes, they put the Priority tape on them.

It's not a big deal for me anyway, I'd rather be out exploring the ship than in my cabin unpacking. After sailaway is early enough for me.

I would not want to carry all of my stuff on the ship because I have found that most of my luggage has been delivered to my room by sail away. Leaving the ship, I have always found my luggage neatly waiting for me. I know some people do not want to leave their luggage unattended but I buy insurance to cover my luggage if it is lost.

I think we do what most do. We carry on one bag. Frankly, it's the same bag we carry on to the plane. Has our passports, critical papers, a swimsuit, a better shirt for dinner and a few other items. The rest gets checked for flights and handed to porters with a tip. Often it arrives and is unpacked before dinner. But if not, we're good.

Yes you can. Considering Carnival misplaced my bag this past cruise until the night before debarkation, I will probably be taking my bag from now on. I realize missing luggage is slim odds in general but once you go on an 8 day cruise and have nothing to change into, the ship shop has a limited selection and in my case it was day 5 of the cruise before any viable shopping options were available port-wise to buy basics like underwear, it is an experience I have no desire to repeat. Fortunately, there were some very kind cruisers who heard about my situation and shared some clothing with me to help.

Thanks everyone.

Yes I'm aware that FTTF is supposed to get priority delivery of their luggage but I keep hearing all these stories where it doesn't work that way all the time. I much rather have a few minutes of inconvience and carry my own things then to have to not only wait for my luggage (I don't feel comfortable wandering the ship knowing my personal property can be sitting unattended) but also have to hope it's not misplaced. So carry-on is definitely the way to go for me

We always carry on 1 suitcase apiece and a backpack/tote apiece. My luggage takes enough of a beating from the airlines. I also like to unpack & organize everything right away so I don't have to deal with it later in the afternoon/evening when I am ready for fun & relaxation. And, my worst nightmare is that luggage will get dropped in the water or lost.

Ok that's great news. I have FTTF so I just want to get on, get to my room and get to the fun. Thanks for the info

We did this on our last cruise. We each had a full sized case, a small case, and a back pack. The cases have wheels and are very easy for us to handle.

Various customer service members checked with us to make sure we didn't want to check our bags and reminded us that it would be a long walk, but we were fine.

It was a little crowded in the waiting area, so we will try to downsize next cruise and ideally only have one case each plus one backpack.

If we did not have FTTF we would wait to board until after 1:30 so we weren't creating congestion while waiting for our room to be ready.

Thanks everyone.

 

Yes I'm aware that FTTF is supposed to get priority delivery of their luggage but I keep hearing all these stories where it doesn't work that way all the time. I much rather have a few minutes of inconvience and carry my own things then to have to not only wait for my luggage (I don't feel comfortable wandering the ship knowing my personal property can be sitting unattended) but also have to hope it's not misplaced. So carry-on is definitely the way to go for me

I feel much the same way. I feel more comfortable knowing where all my belongings are so if I can reduce my stress level without inconveniencing other passengers or crew then I will gladly carry it all myself.

Boarding the Vista last year, a wedding party was right ahead of us where the embarkation photo was taken. The groom was lugging every piece of luggage the couple had by himself, so it can be done.

From Carnival FAQ's

 

Each checked suit case and carry-on suit case should not weigh more than 50 pounds, and when lying flat, bags must not exceed 16 inches high by 24 inches wide (the length of the bag is not a factor). For security screening purposes, all luggage should be unlocked. Oversized luggage and locked luggage may cause delivery delays.

This is perhaps the most overlooked FAQ on Carnival. Two weeks ago we saw 25" suitcases being wheeled up the gangway. There were no small plexiglass size templates in the screening machine, and they went through.

I can share that for all our cruises from Galveston my wife's suitcase was far in excess of 50 pounds!

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"Supposed to" are the key words here. I'm platinum and friends who cruised with us who are Red got their luggage at least 2 hours before us. So it doesn't always arrive early. And yes, they put the Priority tape on them.

It's not a big deal for me anyway, I'd rather be out exploring the ship than in my cabin unpacking. After sailaway is early enough for me.

2 different porters in Port Canaveral told me I didn't need the priority tape thing. Didn't get luggage until after 6pm.

This is perhaps the most overlooked FAQ on Carnival. Two weeks ago we saw 25" suitcases being wheeled up the gangway. There were no small plexiglass size templates in the screening machine, and they went through.

I can share that for all our cruises from Galveston my wife's suitcase was far in excess of 50 pounds!

 

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Don't forget that the dimensions listed are with the suitcase laying flat. It is entirely possible to have a 25" suitcase (which would be the height when standing) meet the size requirements.

We have alway carried on after a forklift destroyed our suitcase. As long as it will fit thought the security scanners than yes you can carry it on.

This is perhaps the most overlooked FAQ on Carnival. Two weeks ago we saw 25" suitcases being wheeled up the gangway. There were no small plexiglass size templates in the screening machine, and they went through.

I can share that for all our cruises from Galveston my wife's suitcase was far in excess of 50 pounds!

 

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Okay - now you have me worried. I have a 29 inch suitcase, but according to the internet it is 14x30x18 inches. I should be good though right?!?! Cause of the width and depth.

Okay - now you have me worried. I have a 29 inch suitcase, but according to the internet it is 14x30x18 inches. I should be good though right?!?! Cause of the width and depth.

when lying flat, bags must not exceed 16 inches high by 24 inches wide (the length of the bag is not a factor).

Your suitcase would be 14x18 based on the way that they measure, so, yes, you are good.

I’ve got FTTF for upcoming 10/18 cruise. We pack light and plan to carry on our suitcases because last time we had FTTF we didn’t get our suitcases until after muster and I want to get unpacked as soon as we board. I can relax once that task is done.

For those of you who do carry on, how do you deal with getting your luggage up to your room once on the ship?