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Carrying large bags off Oceana


tom_uk
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This may sound like a strange question, but I'd like to know what the procedure will be if we choose to keep one of our large bags in our cabin overnight when we disembark Oceana in Malta in September.

 

I'm aware that if we leave our bags outside the cabin they'll get taken away and the next time we'll see them should be on the luggage carousel at Manchester Airport. But we have a slight problem. TUI's hand luggage rules say "Max 5kg". I like to carry my camera + lenses as hand luggage, and they will certainly be 5kg on their own. My wife will have her own stuff in her hand luggage, of course, and putting my overnight things in her hand luggage, as well as her own overnight things, might push that over the limit. So we're thinking of putting as much of our used stuff as possible in a (very) large bag and putting that out, and keeping our other, rather smaller 'large bag' in the cabin with us and getting it to the airport ourselves, along with our hand luggage. Our flight is scheduled for 11:40 or so, and therefore we expect that we'll be off the ship and onto the coach pretty soon after breakfast - no need to manage this bag though a day in Valetta.

 

I'm assuming that it'll be possible to disembark with this large bag in tow as well as our hand luggage, but can anyone confirm that? Our flights are all booked through P&O so we have transfers, etc.

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I think the only way you can be sure what will happen is to contact P&O direct and ask. I have no experience of this, but I would have thought it will be problematic because I believe the baggage left out overnight and forwarded en masse to the airport does not go through the normal check-in procedure. If your biggish bag is too big to be classed as hand luggage, you would have to check it in, then presumably it will not be with the rest of the P&O luggage for that flight, or will have to be married up with it (and we all know how good the airlines are at losing luggage!). I am sure more knowledgeable posters here will correct me if I am wrong.

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Adding to Grooveghicks advice ,anyone could tell you "yeah it's ok" but the airline will have the final

 

say not someone on a forum , so as she advises I would urge you to talk to your carrier.

 

A simple Google search and you find people who have found this to be costly.

 

One person wrote "

I had NEVER had hand luggage weighed before, even on the Thomson flight out. I was sent to a different desk in order to check in my hand luggage as a second bag for the hold. I was told this would be €25 and begrudgingly agreed to this, pointing out that this had NOT been a problem on the way over for the SAME bag.

Upon reaching the desk, I was told that ON TOP of the €25 I had to pay an amount per every kilo this bag weighed. I was presented with a total fee for checking in a very small hand-luggage sized bag, of....wait for it....€133! The staff were rude, dismissive and told me this was Thompson policy and the airline was rigorous in its costly. baggage checks. "

 

Also I would check that the dimensions of your "large hand luggage" is within the airlines size limits, to save you further problems. I remember reading some people use a luggage service

and have it sent back home, could be an option .

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I wonder what you actually need overnight or on the flight?

 

The cases do not have to be put out until you retire the previous night, so clothes worn that evening and toiletries used that night can be can be put in cases before they go out. All we keep after that, which we may not want with us for the flight is nightwear, toothbrush and I tend to keep a small container of talc and a deodorant and face creme - not actually a big problem in a flight bag and can be useful to freshen up during the journey. We always decant a small amount of toothpaste into a glass (just enough for one use each). So perhaps the need to invest in a small container of talc is the only problem I can possibly see. If you have a favourite soap. then just keep a small piece sometime, by getting out a new block earlier at home - or could cut a small piece off a block of soap. If you want cleansing lotion or moisturising creme, again that could be decanted into an older container. We always keep small bottles that hotels supply with shampoo etc. to use for times like that.

 

Any warm clothes/coats are worn or carried separately to the hand luggage bags at check in (I keep a jumper over my shoulders - even in hot countries). We have never been stopped taking those through and many people would say, put some other items in coat (or other clothes) pockets, rather than in hand luggage bags.

 

Just takes a bit of forethought.

Edited by tring
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We got the equivalent flight last month. We'd checked we had enough space for all the overnight stuff in hand luggage, didn't think to check the weight until the following morning! Needless to say we travelled home with rather full pockets! Our rucksack was slightly over the weight limit but well under the size, our case was the maximum size allowed as hand luggage and may or may not have been bang on the limit depending on the accuracy of our scales; to our relief neither were weighed at the airport.

 

In case it's useful, these were our timings for disembarking Oceana in Malta for the 11.40am flight: hold luggage had to be outside the cabin door by 11pm the night before (so before the later shows and other entertainment finished), vacate the cabin by 8am, meet in a restaurant at 9.15am, and then were straight onto a coach and cleared airport security at around 9.45am. We were herded straight from the coach to security, so not sure what the position would have been with hold luggage.

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Bags don't usually need to be out until after dinner so I nip back and change into going home clothes then. I have always managed to fit in all my camera gear plus overnight stuff in a carry-on case. Check the airline specs and get one to the max allowed size.

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Sorry, I didn't make myself clear in my original post. This 'large bag' I'm talking about wouldn't be hand luggage, it would be a large bag to check in at the airport; we'd have a piece of hand baggage each as well. So the plan would be: large bag #1: place outside the cabin door & goodbye until Manchester!; large bag #2: leave inside the cabin overnight, take to the airport with us on the transfer and check it in at the airport; hand luggage: 1 small bag each, carry with us to the airport and onto the plane.

 

It's that's bit with large bag #2 that I'm stressing about......

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Sorry, I didn't make myself clear in my original post. This 'large bag' I'm talking about wouldn't be hand luggage, it would be a large bag to check in at the airport; we'd have a piece of hand baggage each as well. So the plan would be: large bag #1: place outside the cabin door & goodbye until Manchester!; large bag #2: leave inside the cabin overnight, take to the airport with us on the transfer and check it in at the airport; hand luggage: 1 small bag each, carry with us to the airport and onto the plane.

 

It's that's bit with large bag #2 that I'm stressing about......

 

 

 

I think most, though not all, understood that. The point everybody is making is that you almost certainly cannot follow your plan. All large hold luggage must go out the night before. People have been making suggestions on how you can cut down so that you only need the two hand luggage bags. Also that you should use or purchase if necessary, the largest acceptable size hand luggage bags.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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I think most, though not all, understood that. The point everybody is making is that you almost certainly cannot follow your plan. All large hold luggage must go out the night before. People have been making suggestions on how you can cut down so that you only need the two hand luggage bags. Also that you should use or purchase if necessary, the largest acceptable size hand luggage bags.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

A very good and well explained post. Sorry Tom, but it appears to be you that does not understand. I am sure a bit of constructive thought could easily solve your perceived problem and lots of advice above to help.

 

Hope you enjoy the holiday :)

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All the luggage is bonded - all loaded together. You do not check in at the airport - you go straight to security, then to the departure lounge. If you needed to check in you would have to make separate arrangements with P&O. Whether this is possible I don't know, you would have to ask at Reception - or you could check with P&O before you go but sometimes what the shore side says is not what happens in reality. I assume you have your own reasons to want to keep a large case back as well as hand luggage but I've certainly not heard of it happening before. You are checked in on board and receive your boarding card a day or so before you dock back in Valetta. You would be asking to check in another bag when your bags are already checked in if you see what I mean. There is a flight department at P&O, you could try calling them.

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Many thanks for the clarification. I’ve never done a fly-cruise with P&O before, hence my uncertainty about the procedure. It’s also the case that our outbound flight won’t follow the standard P&O procedure as we’re flying in a couple of days in advance for two nights at the Metropole. This is booked through P&O but the flights will be with Air Malta.

 

But many thanks to contributors for their advice.

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