Carrying off luggage

[WeLuv2Cruz13]

Thoughts on carrying off luggage? Do you think it is a hassle? What time can we leave?

[TNShadyLady]

It totally depends on how much luggage you have and whether it's easily portable or hard to manage. My old luggage had wheels but they were stationary. My new luggage has 360 degree wheels, making it so much easier to manage. Self-debark passengers are among the first to get off, but it's still a LOT of people trying to debark at the same time PLUS all that luggage. I've done both. Depends on how fast I need to get off (flight times, etc.) but I do like not having to finish packing until the last minute and not having an extra tote bag to worry about (those pesky overnight things plus fresh clothes).

[jmcathome]

Really depends on how many bags you have to carry. I am plat. so i leave early usually with large crowds. I travel light so it is easy. Sometimes one or two bags.You will get off earlier than those with checked bags whether or not you are plat/diamond.

[Micahs Grandad]

We typically do it on every cruise. We take one large suitcase, carryon plus luggage bag so no problem to roll off for the two of us

[ParrotRob]

Never understood the hurry to get OFF the ship. I'm still in vacation mode, so for me it's all about relaxing and taking my time. Another last cup of coffee on my balcony. Once in the terminal, a simple $20 will hire you a dedicated porter with a cat that will not only gather up all your luggage, but escort you through customs and all the way to your car/bus/taxi and I never have to lift a single bag.

[dmdiver]

We have a medium wheeled suitcase & backpack each and almost always carry on and off the ship. I prefer to carry off because I don't like putting my luggage out the night before. I also do not like going through a sea of luggage to find my suitcase. Even once I spot it, I still have to navigate through the other hundreds of bags to get to it.

 

As far as not wanting to leave the ship - since they want you out of your room early so the stewards can get them ready for the next sailing, I just feel sort of homeless. I'd just as soon get off & head to the car or the airport.

[LuckyZ]

Recently we had 11am flight out of Orlando and decided to carry off even though we had zone 1 (worried that our zone may not be called on time ). By the time we got to the luggage area they were already at zone 8 so we didn’t need to carry off. It was a hassle getting into elevators and escalators

 

 

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[jsglow]

We do it most every time. It keeps us from having to set it out the night before and eliminates the need to 'repack' toiletries on the dock as invariably it's the airline checked bags that would be put out for porters, the exact place our toiletries go. This is all even more true if we have an early flight and need to beat the rush. I was amazed at how very short the distance was in Vancouver from my door to where the porter would have left my bag. Wouldn't have been worth it at all. That said, if we have a late flight and want to linger, putting it out becomes a much more viable option. As to embarkation, we always check it with the porters.

[Wheels87]

How early you get off depends on the ship/port. The Dream usually pulls up in New Orleans around 6:20 and they release the Platinum/Diamond/FTTF around 6:45-6:50. That has been my experience on my 6 Dream cruises. It's funny because the letter in the stateroom the night before always says to show up at the lounge between 7-7:15 and everyone is gone by that point.

 

Good luck!

[buckeyefrank]

Never understood the hurry to get OFF the ship. I'm still in vacation mode, so for me it's all about relaxing and taking my time. Another last cup of coffee on my balcony. Once in the terminal, a simple $20 will hire you a dedicated porter with a cat that will not only gather up all your luggage, but escort you through customs and all the way to your car/bus/taxi and I never have to lift a single bag.

 

Some people have a 14 hour drive and want to be home before 1am.

[LongHill44]

Never understood the hurry to get OFF the ship. I'm still in vacation mode, so for me it's all about relaxing and taking my time. Another last cup of coffee on my balcony. Once in the terminal, a simple $20 will hire you a dedicated porter with a cat that will not only gather up all your luggage, but escort you through customs and all the way to your car/bus/taxi and I never have to lift a single bag.

 

 

Don't you have to wait on a long line to get your stuff?

 

And you TIP? On Carnival? You tip on Carnival to get fast or better service? Isn't that a no no Robert?

[A&Jfamily]

We leave our room before 830 as requested for turnover and each have a backpack and a roller bag. We go to MDR for breakfast and relax and walk off when done. Easy.

 

 

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[WeLuv2Cruz13]

What is the general time to get off the ship? We just need to be off around 8:30/9:00. I think we are going to use Carnival transfer back to JFK so heading straight to a bus.

[asalligo]

I have done it both ways and when each of us has multiple bags, it is a hassle, but still doable. Self debark usually involves getting down multiple stairs or waiting for a very long time for the elevator. We use it when we need to get to the airport or on the road ASAP and we are usually off the boat and rolling very early like 8:30.

 

We prefer letting them handle the luggage though and waiting until the crowd has died down before debarking. Have some breakfast, find a seat and get a late ticket to leave. So much nicer when you have the time.

[asalligo]

Don't you have to wait on a long line to get your stuff?

 

We have never had to wait in a line to get our luggage. There was a customs line each time, but we waited no longer than 10 minutes in it. We wait to debark though until most people have gotten off the ship. Self debark is the option for anyone who needs to be anywhere before say 10am.

[asalligo]

Never understood the hurry to get OFF the ship. I'm still in vacation mode, so for me it's all about relaxing and taking my time. Another last cup of coffee on my balcony. Once in the terminal, a simple $20 will hire you a dedicated porter with a cat that will not only gather up all your luggage, but escort you through customs and all the way to your car/bus/taxi and I never have to lift a single bag.

 

Last time I did self debark, I had pets at the kennel and pickup was before 7pm with a nine hour drive ahead of me and the kids want their dogs back. Not critical, but a goal we had.

[bnorris10]

And you TIP? On Carnival? You tip on Carnival to get fast or better service? Isn't that a no no Robert?

 

Tipping the porter is customary

[crusinpsychRN]

I can't stand getting off carrying a carry on and a purse and a bottle of water. Awkward.

[RenoNanaOz]

We always carry off our own, the minute we dock we are ready to go home! So the sooner we can get off and get to the car/airport the happier we are:)

[Organized Chaos]

Never understood the hurry to get OFF the ship. I'm still in vacation mode, so for me it's all about relaxing and taking my time. Another last cup of coffee on my balcony. Once in the terminal, a simple $20 will hire you a dedicated porter with a cat that will not only gather up all your luggage, but escort you through customs and all the way to your car/bus/taxi and I never have to lift a single bag.

I have to laugh because so many people on these boards get hassled for wanting to get ON the ship as soon as possible, but no one says anything about those who say exactly what you did. "I'm still on vacation, I'm getting OFF the ship at late as possible." Shoot, some of the ones who attack those for wanting to get on early are the same ones who say they want to stay on as long as possible. At least those who want to get on early have the whole cruise ahead of them.

 

They don't want anyone to linger. All they want to do is get everyone off so they can complete turnover and get the ship officially cleared. And when you have a flight to catch or a long drive home, it's time to go. We had our fun, there's nothing left to do on that final morning besides eat and leave, so no sense in trying to drag it out.

[Purvis1231]

Never understood the hurry to get OFF the ship. I'm still in vacation mode, so for me it's all about relaxing and taking my time. Another last cup of coffee on my balcony. Once in the terminal, a simple $20 will hire you a dedicated porter with a cat that will not only gather up all your luggage, but escort you through customs and all the way to your car/bus/taxi and I never have to lift a single bag.

 

Agreed- we are usually in no hurry to leave the ship. We like to get a porter but we have found sometimes there is not one available. Most of the time we can carry our own stuff.

[sprint180]

We do it every time. But we each only have a carry on (airplane size carry on)

[SkyPiglet]

Thoughts on carrying off luggage? Do you think it is a hassle? What time can we leave?

 

It is worth it for me and the wife, but we pack VERY light. Between the two of us, we use at most, two airline sized carry-ons, but less if we can swing it, so it is not too much to keep track of.

[beshears]

Since we generally take our HOUSE (as my sons say :)), and are flying out as well, we have found paying a porter to take care of all our luggage and getting us through all those long lines. All I can say is it WORKS!

[Surrealistic]

I have seen people struggle with multiple suitcases and bags. You need to be able to navigate the gangplank all the way down. The weight of the luggage will determine whether or not this is doable for you. Personally, we always carry on & off. But we only bring a small carry on (21") suitcase that rolls and a backpack (hands free) each. Your mileage may vary. Enjoy your cruise whatever you decide to do.:)