Luggage questions!

Hi all!

I'm planning my first cruise for -hopefully- December 2018 or January 2019 (looking @ 5 days on Valor) and I have been lurking all over these boards for two weeks now, learning and absorbing everything I can. My biggest unanswered questions are about baggage! I've seen a few posts say "It's just like the airport," and that doesn't help me; I haven't flown in 10 years. I'm driving the four and a half hours to port. Any help, explained patiently, is most welcome and appreciated. Also, I'm trying to get as much terminology correct as I can for sake of clarification, but if I misuse a term, I welcome the opportunity to learn the correct term!

1) I'm driving to port, and will park in a port garage. I gather there is a free shuttle service from the garage to the dock/terminal. What do I do with my luggage here? Does it go on the shuttle with me, or should I drop it off with a porter before parking in the garage and then shuttle to the terminal with just my carry on? Speaking of porters...

2) Where are the porters? Are they in the terminal, outside the terminal, somewhere else? Carnival says porters are not Carnival employees. Are they clearly identified as porters or are there sneaky impostors posing as porters to whisk away my precious luggage? (Maybe this sounds paranoid... but I don't travel. Ever. I'm completely green!)

3) Do ladies purses count as carry ons? If so, can I shove it in my carry on back pack and be good to go?

4) I understand some individuals do not leave their bags with porters but carry their luggage on board themselves. How does this work? Is there luggage screening on the gangway? Once on board with your luggage, do you tote it around until staterooms are available for guests (my back hurts just thinking about this!) or are you able to drop it somewhere, like in front of your stateroom door?

5) I've seen some posts mention guests are to have their luggage outside their rooms the evening before disembarkation. How in the blazes does that work? I'll need to pack my toiletries and pajamas in the morning! And assuming luggage is taken off the ship for us guests, where do we collect it once we are disembarked?

6) Can we take our luggage off ourselves? And if doing so, this kind of loops back to my first question: is there room on the shuttle to the parking garage for my bag?

Thank you in advance for tolerating my naivety :) Happy sailing!

1) I don't know where you will be sailing from. The few times we have parked at the garage in NOLA, we drop off the bags (and all our passengers) at the drop-off site where the porters are. Then one person, usually me, parks the car and walks back. It sure beats schlepping a bunch of bags from the parking garage down to the porters!

2) The porters are outside the terminal. You drop your bags and check-in. You'll be reunited with your luggage later in the evening when it is parked outside your cabin door. I've never seen "imposter porters." The porters, as I understand it, are paid pretty well and would probably run off anyone they don't know. Generally, you don't have to find a porter, one (or more) will magically appear as soon as they see luggage.

3) Carry-ons: you can have as many as you can carry as long as each one fits through the scanner. Purses, beach bags, grocery bags, and standard carry-on bags will all fit, and you will see all of those and more going through.

4) If you want to carry on every piece of luggage, you can, provided it will fit through the scanner. I'm not sure large, full-size bags will fit, though some people will try. No, there is no place to drop it. You cannot drop it in front of your stateroom door. You won't even have access to the hallways where your room is located until at least 1:30, and even then the stewards are still scrambling to turn over all the rooms. They don't need an impediment to getting that done. You would have to keep it with you. Why anyone would do this is beyond me.

5&6) When you disembark, you will need to place your bags back outside your room by 11pm or midnight (you will get a notice informing you of the time). The bags will be whisked away and waiting for you in customs the next morning when you leave the boat. You will have to claim them and escort them through customs. You can also carry off your luggage, but you have to be able to carry all of it by yourself; there is no help available to do that. We always throw our big bags out in the hallway and keep one or 2 carry-ons to throw our toiletries in and walk off with just those.

Everyone travels differently . We do not bring the kitchen sink with us when we cruise so we travel light. We each have one rolling suitcase and then either a back pack or large tote. We carry everything on and off the ship ourselves.

We used to buy Faster to the Fun which allows you to get on and off a bit quicker and also has your cabin ready when you board so you don't have to carry your bags around with you if you don't check them.

Lots of bags of different sizes fit through the security scanners the key is can you handle your luggage yourself or do you need help.

IF you need help then only take a small carryon with you onto the ship with meds/valuables and maybe a swim suit if you'd like to hang at the pool after you have lunch.

Your checked luggage may not arrive until evening.

It is up to you if you can carry your stuff off the ship yourself or if you leave the large bags outside your cabin the night before.

Again , you keep a smaller bag with valuables etc in your room to carry off yourself.

Pack only in carry on luggage. That way you always have your luggage with you and safe. I would recommend that you do NOT leave your luggage unattended in front of your cabin. This is an enclosed 'city' of 3,000 - 5,000 people ... depending on what ship you are sailing on.

I always bring carry on luggage only. A 21" duffle bag and a large beach tote. I traveled 10 days to London & Paris in this amount of luggage. I keep it with me when I board until cabin is available. It was only an hour or so before my cabin was ready. I go get lunch and then go to the cabin.

I haven't cruised in several years, but I seem to remember the luggage tags being constructed of a sturdier material and mailed to you, along with the other boarding documents. Now you just print them at home on normal printer paper. I'm thinking of using clear shipping tape to laminate and attach them to our checked bags so that they will survive the handling at the airports and cruise terminal. How do others affix these tags?

See answers in red

Hi all!

 

I'm planning my first cruise for -hopefully- December 2018 or January 2019 (looking @ 5 days on Valor) and I have been lurking all over these boards for two weeks now, learning and absorbing everything I can. My biggest unanswered questions are about baggage! I've seen a few posts say "It's just like the airport," and that doesn't help me; I haven't flown in 10 years. I'm driving the four and a half hours to port. Any help, explained patiently, is most welcome and appreciated. Also, I'm trying to get as much terminology correct as I can for sake of clarification, but if I misuse a term, I welcome the opportunity to learn the correct term!

 

1) I'm driving to port, and will park in a port garage. I gather there is a free shuttle service from the garage to the dock/terminal. What do I do with my luggage here? Does it go on the shuttle with me, or should I drop it off with a porter before parking in the garage and then shuttle to the terminal with just my carry on? Speaking of porters...

When we sailed the Dream out of NOLA the onsite port parking was prior to the terminal, so I would guess there are porters there. If parking off site like at the Fulton parking any shuttle they may have could have restrictions on how many bags per person and should be clear information at the parking lots website.

2) Where are the porters? Are they in the terminal, outside the terminal, somewhere else? Carnival says porters are not Carnival employees. Are they clearly identified as porters or are there sneaky impostors posing as porters to whisk away my precious luggage? (Maybe this sounds paranoid... but I don't travel. Ever. I'm completely green!)

Porters can be located anywhere within the secured port area. Our NOLA experience was with taxi drop off area right in front of the terminal doors. As soon as the cabbie popped the trunk a porter, with a photo ID and vest declaring them as Port Authority workers, was waiting with a cart. We identified which bags were to go as checked luggage and he placed only those on the cart, and paused for a moment to be tipped. Once he pocketed the money he moved to the next cab, and finished filling that cart with that party's bags and we watched him enter the building.

3) Do ladies purses count as carry ons? If so, can I shove it in my carry on back pack and be good to go?

The only limit on how much you carry on is your physical limitations to be able to carry the bags up the staircase through the security and check-in lines, then upto the ship via the gangplanks. The only descriptive limitation there is to carry-ons is that they must be 16"x24" on their 2 smaller sides to fit through the scanners.

 

4) I understand some individuals do not leave their bags with porters but carry their luggage on board themselves. How does this work? Is there luggage screening on the gangway? Once on board with your luggage, do you tote it around until staterooms are available for guests (my back hurts just thinking about this!) or are you able to drop it somewhere, like in front of your stateroom door?

True on short cruises many will board with only carry-ons, you must be able in 1 shot be able to manage the terminal stairs, etc. mentioned above with the bags and the bags must fit through the security x-ray or you will be requested to return outside to hand off the bag(s) to the porters. The luggage screening is the first official line you will encounter once inside the terminal. The halls to the cabins do not open until 1:30pm so yes you would need to keep all your bags with you until then. Areas like the Lido buffet, which will be the only open venue for lunch, become very crowded.

5) I've seen some posts mention guests are to have their luggage outside their rooms the evening before disembarkation. How in the blazes does that work? I'll need to pack my toiletries and pajamas in the morning! And assuming luggage is taken off the ship for us guests, where do we collect it once we are disembarked?

If you are not going to haul all your luggage off the ship yourself (self-assist) at disembarkation you need to place it outside of your cabin usually between 8pm and 11pm for the crew to collect (relaxed debarkation). They bring it down to the hold area for the zone sorting (the zone tags will be placed in the cabin the last full day aboard) then taken off by port personnel once docked. Detailed instructions will be delivered to your cabin.

For self assist you will once again need to be able to handle your luggage navigating crowded public venues, stairs, the gangways, and the lines for Customs. For relaxed debarkation keep a carry-on with your clothing for the next day in your cabin, you can put your toiletries and dirty clothing in there. We also put any breakable items in our carry-on. Once in the terminal bags will be grouped by zone number you simply locate your bags then make a choice to have a porter help with them (but they only go so far on port property) or decide to carry them yourself to where your car or pick-up area is.

 

6) Can we take our luggage off ourselves? And if doing so, this kind of loops back to my first question: is there room on the shuttle to the parking garage for my bag?

See previous answers.

 

Thank you in advance for tolerating my naivety :) Happy sailing!

See answers in red.

Hi all!

 

I'm planning my first cruise for -hopefully- December 2018 or January 2019 (looking @ 5 days on Valor) and I have been lurking all over these boards for two weeks now, learning and absorbing everything I can. My biggest unanswered questions are about baggage! I've seen a few posts say "It's just like the airport," and that doesn't help me; I haven't flown in 10 years. I'm driving the four and a half hours to port. Any help, explained patiently, is most welcome and appreciated. Also, I'm trying to get as much terminology correct as I can for sake of clarification, but if I misuse a term, I welcome the opportunity to learn the correct term!

 

1) I'm driving to port, and will park in a port garage. I gather there is a free shuttle service from the garage to the dock/terminal. What do I do with my luggage here? Does it go on the shuttle with me, or should I drop it off with a porter before parking in the garage and then shuttle to the terminal with just my carry on? Speaking of porters...

 

Since I don't know where you are sailing from, it is difficult to answer this. If it were me, I would drop all of my passengers and luggage off and then go park the car, but you will be able to tell what is going on when you get there.

 

2) Where are the porters? Are they in the terminal, outside the terminal, somewhere else? Carnival says porters are not Carnival employees. Are they clearly identified as porters or are there sneaky impostors posing as porters to whisk away my precious luggage? (Maybe this sounds paranoid... but I don't travel. Ever. I'm completely green!)

 

The porters are outside the terminal and it is fairly obvious who they are (they normally wear some sort of vest or uniform).

 

3) Do ladies purses count as carry ons? If so, can I shove it in my carry on back pack and be good to go?

 

You can carry on as much as you want to ... as long as you can carry, wheel, push, pull, or drag it.

 

4) I understand some individuals do not leave their bags with porters but carry their luggage on board themselves. How does this work? Is there luggage screening on the gangway? Once on board with your luggage, do you tote it around until staterooms are available for guests (my back hurts just thinking about this!) or are you able to drop it somewhere, like in front of your stateroom door?

 

You can carry on whatever you wish, as long as it fits through the scanner. Officially, the maximum dimensions are 24"x16" measured while the luggage is laying FLAT (the height of the luggage when standing doesn't matter). You cannot enter the hallways to your stateroom until around 1:30 normally, when the staterooms are opened, unless you have FTTF. Please do not attempt to do so or to leave your luggage outside your room, as this slows the stewards down when turning the rooms over and makes it take longer for everyone to get to their rooms. Most people will find a place on the Lido to park their bags and take turns getting food while one person bag-sits.

 

5) I've seen some posts mention guests are to have their luggage outside their rooms the evening before disembarkation. How in the blazes does that work? I'll need to pack my toiletries and pajamas in the morning! And assuming luggage is taken off the ship for us guests, where do we collect it once we are disembarked?

 

You have two choices for taking your luggage off the ship. (1) You can set it out the night before. You will receive instructions on this. We normally do this and just save a carry on in our room to pack pjs and toiletries. It will be placed in a common area with all of the other luggage and you will pick it up there to take through customs. (2) You can carry it all off yourself.

6) Can we take our luggage off ourselves? And if doing so, this kind of loops back to my first question: is there room on the shuttle to the parking garage for my bag?

 

Thank you in advance for tolerating my naivety :) Happy sailing!

"Pack only in carry on luggage. That way you always have your luggage with you and safe. I would recommend that you do NOT leave your luggage unattended in front of your cabin"

Not my wife, she need luggage for her bathroom stuff and shoes. I like to bring a Leatherman and corkscrew which also need to be checked. As to your luggage outside your cabin, OH PLEASE! Who is going to take someone else's luggage and why?

Anything you carry onto the ship must fit thru the scanners....google an airline's guidelines, and you'll have a good idea of the size of the bag you'll need.

We simply check any larger bags (and since you're driving, there's no need to "pack light") and only carry on things of value and any medications we might need. The rest gets delivered to the cabin. Very easy. LOCK any and all checked bags. Always.

You ask why someone might take your luggage.....because people are asses...and many folks put their valuables into checked bags...that's a BAD idea. Don't do that. Lock your luggage, and keep ALL your valuable and needed items with you.

"Pack only in carry on luggage. That way you always have your luggage with you and safe. I would recommend that you do NOT leave your luggage unattended in front of your cabin"

Not my wife, she need luggage for her bathroom stuff and shoes. I like to bring a Leatherman and corkscrew which also need to be checked. As to your luggage outside your cabin, OH PLEASE! Who is going to take someone else's luggage and why?

OK, which is it? On one hand you're saying it isn't safe to leave it with someone else and on the other hand you're saying nobody would take it.

We've cruised eleven times and we've never, ever heard of anyone having a problem with their luggage. Once in a great while you may hear of one that got misplaced but showed up before the end of the cruise.

"Pack only in carry on luggage. That way you always have your luggage with you and safe. I would recommend that you do NOT leave your luggage unattended in front of your cabin"

Not my wife, she need luggage for her bathroom stuff and shoes. I like to bring a Leatherman and corkscrew which also need to be checked. As to your luggage outside your cabin, OH PLEASE! Who is going to take someone else's luggage and why?

Those items only need to be checked if you are flying in a plane. They are perfectly acceptable to carry on to the ship. As to the baggage outside of the room, they shouldn't leave it there because (unless they have priority access) they aren't supposed to be in the hallway. Leaving bags there before the rooms are ready slows the stewards down and makes everyone wait longer for the rooms to be ready. Just imagine the chaos if everyone did that!

Carnival's website gives you the carryon dimensions in their Q&A section. We carry a medium suitcase & backpack apiece. The ship scanner is larger than airline carryon (dictated by the size of the overhead luggage bin). Our experience has been that we spend most of our time in swimwear. I take 3 swimsuits so they can dry between wearings, a few pair of shorts & a dress/slacks for the dining room. Carnival is really casual, so unless you just want to go all out, a sundress or slacks is fine for elegant night. If you wait until after lunch, say around 1pm to reach the ship, you won't have to wait long for your cabin to be ready and maybe no wait at all by the time you actually get checked in & get your welcome aboard picture taken.

We've used Galveston Park n Cruise a few times. They have indoor parking across the street from the cruise terminal. We just roll our luggage along with us. We've also used Lighthouse Parking - they are outdoor parking a few blocks away & have a shuttle that takes you & your luggage to the ship, dropping you off at the terminal.

We also carry off our luggage, as I don't like putting it out the night before. We have done it in the past & I didn't like hunting for it in a sea of luggage after getting off the ship. If you use parking that requires a shuttle, they will be along to collect you & your luggage.

As far as the question about the luggage tags, for those of you who fly to port, don't put your ship tag on until you collect your baggage at the airport. I print my tags in color, reinforce with clear packing tape, holepunch & attach a ponytail elastic to it. That stays with me in my carryon until we arrive. Then, I attach the cruise tag to my luggage. Even though my plan is always to carry onto the ship, I tag everything just in case I change my mind about carrying on or if I were to wander off from it. I even make a reduced size tag & attach to my camera strap. Using the ponytail elastics makes it easy to take the tag off the suitcase & attach to my backpack or tote.

Anything you carry onto the ship must fit thru the scanners....google an airline's guidelines, and you'll have a good idea of the size of the bag you'll need.

We simply check any larger bags (and since you're driving, there's no need to "pack light") and only carry on things of value and any medications we might need. The rest gets delivered to the cabin. Very easy. LOCK any and all checked bags. Always.

 

You ask why someone might take your luggage.....because people are asses...and many folks put their valuables into checked bags...that's a BAD idea. Don't do that. Lock your luggage, and keep ALL your valuable and needed items with you.

Check the ship's guidelines for luggage sizing, not an airline (which can vary from line to line and is often much smaller than allowed by the cruise line). You can carry as much or little on board with you as you want, but there are certain items you should always carry-on: ID, Boarding pass ;), medications, valuables, change of clothes, any allowed beverages you wish to bring.

You will need to keep with you whatever you carry-on until your room is ready. If you purchase FTTF your room will be ready when you board. You can also board later (but within the allowed check-in times) after rooms are likely to be available. Check-in areas can be tight so you probably don't want to have 3 or 4 bags with you, but one carry-on size or one full size and one personal bag (purse, backpack) should be fine. I prefer luggage with 4 rollers for easy handling.

If you check luggage, it is customary (but not required) to tip luggage handlers - the general guide is $1-2 per bag. If we took a shuttle I would probably offer a few dollars to the driver also, but that's a little more grey.

Double check your paperwork if luggage is allowed to be locked (I might be thinking air travel that bags have to be unlocked). Locked luggage is more likely to be delayed and possibly waiting in the "naughty" room for you to open so security can check it.

We usually self-disembark, but if you place your luggage outside the night before I would not place anything valuable in it. Some ports have escalators and that can be a little tricky with multiple bags, so something to consider.

OP - you've gotten some good (if conflicting;)) advice in this thread. I hope you have a great cruise!

A 20" roller bag is considered international standard and a 22" domestic - however we have had the 22" rejected by some domestic flights - so we have gone to the 20". We also each carry on a backpack (or you could do beach bag instead) which would allow space for a purse. We use this system to travel anywhere for a week.

Many, particularly women, consider this to be a level of minimalism that they simply cannot fathom so a lot depends on what your personal needs are. I find traveling this way very freeing, and have more than enough clothes for the week. I travel with wrinkle free fabrics for my dresses (they can literally be balled up in my suitcase) and evening tops, and have quick dry shorts and tops for daytime so they could be rinsed and hung on the line in the shower if they needed a clean before wearing again. It requires picking a base color such as black or navy so that things can be mixed and matched and packing only dress sandals for evening wear, flip flops and water shoes. I travel in my tennis shoes.

With this format, it is very easy to keep our luggage with us at all times. I highly recommend it.

A 20" roller bag is considered international standard and a 22" domestic - however we have had the 22" rejected by some domestic flights - so we have gone to the 20". We also each carry on a backpack (or you could do beach bag instead) which would allow space for a purse. We use this system to travel anywhere for a week.

Great advice, but the OP has already stated that they are driving, so their only real concern is at the cruise port, not the airport. You can carry on as much as you wish on a cruise, as long as it fits the requirements stated by Carnival, which are much more generous in size than what the airlines allow due to the size of the overhead bins.

Great advice, but the OP has already stated that they are driving, so their only real concern is at the cruise port, not the airport. You can carry on as much as you wish on a cruise, as long as it fits the requirements stated by Carnival, which are much more generous in size than what the airlines allow due to the size of the overhead bins.

I understand. But I find it helps to think big picture when considering luggage. And even we are driving - shoot, my homeport is across the street from DH office - I don't change what I pack and the luggage I use. I had the sense that OP was perhaps considering purchasing luggage and thought this would be helpful. I am a less is more person.

Pack only in carry on luggage. That way you always have your luggage with you and safe. I would recommend that you do NOT leave your luggage unattended in front of your cabin. This is an enclosed 'city' of 3,000 - 5,000 people ... depending on what ship you are sailing on.

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I could only imagine what that would do if EVERYone followed your advice. THe clog hallways, stairs, elevators. etc

elevators are very slow to begin with Imagine the atrium with the few hundred people standing around with all their luggage.

This is bad advice for a cruise

to the OP: Put your luggaage out the night before. Keep a small Carryon bag for your night and morning stuff. Carry that off with you.

As you make your way off the ship you will go to the luggage holding area to get your bags. You can then put your carry on stuff in that bag or carry it off with you-- through immigration/ customs before making your way to the garage

One of the OPs questions that might clear some of the confusion. If they are parking in the Cruise Terminal parking, bags can be dropped off with the porters in the parking garage prior to parking, or they can be carried with you to your parking spot (first come first served, not assigned). There is no shuttle between the parking garage and the terminal building, You simple take the elevator down to the main level and walk out to the terminal.

I also use cleaner packing tape.......sometime a little too much. Oh well. It ain't coming off unless someone cuts it off :D:D:)

OK, which is it? On one hand you're saying it isn't safe to leave it with someone else and on the other hand you're saying nobody would take it.

 

We've cruised eleven times and we've never, ever heard of anyone having a problem with their luggage. Once in a great while you may hear of one that got misplaced but showed up before the end of the cruise.

The first part was quoting someone else . It is safe to leave and we have never locked a piece of luggage

The first part was quoting someone else . It is safe to leave and we have never locked a piece of luggage

Thank you for clearing that up. We do the same and have never had a problem other than someone taking our suitcase off of the belt thinking it was theirs, then realized it wasn't so they just set it off to the side. Had to wait until almost everyone was gone before we finally found it.

So folks, if you mistakenly grab a bag off of the belt and realize it isn't yours, put it back on the belt. Don't just leave it sitting there.

I always use a TSA lock on my luggage when traveling, even on a cruise and have never had any problems. It gives me peace of mind when I sit my luggage outside of my stateroom the night before disembarkation. I also never put anything valuable in the luggage. That goes in my carry-on. I recently purchased a wheeled carry-on that will fit under the seat in a plane. It will also sit on top of my other luggage with a sleeve that goes over the handle of the bigger bag. It works well for stashing the pajamas, toiletries, and misc. items that I need to take with me the morning of embarkation. The reason I really love it is that since it has wheels, I'm not lugging anything around other than my purse when I get on the ship. It's been one of my best buys when it comes to luggage.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CZN4CS/ref=twister_B071V4LXQ9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Thank you for clearing that up. We do the same and have never had a problem other than someone taking our suitcase off of the belt thinking it was theirs, then realized it wasn't so they just set it off to the side. Had to wait until almost everyone was gone before we finally found it.

 

So folks, if you mistakenly grab a bag off of the belt and realize it isn't yours, put it back on the belt. Don't just leave it sitting there.

In all of my cruises, I have never retrieved my luggage from a moving belt. I assume you are talking about the airport.

My luggage has always been sitting in a specific area (zones) with everyone else's luggage . I did have a problem in Galveston in that the luggage was no where near the zone that my bags were supposed to be in.

For the OP, you will be given a zone number for disembarkation. They will call people by their zone and when your number is called, then you can make your way down to the disembarkation point and walk off of the ship. This same zone number is where you will find your luggage if you have set it outside of your room the night before. I've only had the one problem and that was at the Galveston port, mentioned above.

If you decide to leave your bags out the night before, put a bright colored ribbon or something eye catching on your luggage to easily distinguish it from other bags. Particularly important if your luggage is black or looks like everyone else's luggage.

It's really not complicated. Leave your big bag(s) with the porters when embarking, and put them outside your door the night before you disembark.

Put valuables in carryon bag(s) and keep with you.

In 25 cruises I've never had my luggage taken by an imposter porter or another passenger. Why would anyone want someone else's clothes? They probably wouldn't fit and going home, they're dirty.

Roz