Carrying Off Luggage

[manders175]

Hi all! Not our first time cruising but we will have my in laws with us for their first cruise. When we return to Port we are staying an extra day in Miami. My MIL is very opposed to putting the luggage outside our room the night before and wants to carry off our luggage. 

 

My question is, can we only carry off first thing in the morning or can we get off the ship at our later assigned time with our luggage? 

 

Thanks all! 

[smokeybandit]

You can carry off at any time.

The point with the self-assist is that if you did put your bags out the night before, they might not yet be available in the terminal during the self-assist window.

[Mum2Mercury]

Self-disembarkation is the best.  Well, no; leaving the ship sucks -- but self-disembarkation is the best of the choices for leaving the ship.  

 

- Do nothing the last night of the cruise. 

- Carry your suitcases off yourself any time you please. 

- You will have to do this without any help, and -- if you don't leave early-early -- the elevators may be full.  You'll probably exit the ship through Deck 4 /through the dining room, so -- if physically carrying the luggage is an issue -- consider how many flights of stairs you might potentially have to carry your stuff. 

 

[Cigar King]

One more thing to keep in mind is that the line for self-debarkation is often quite long.  

[BirdTravels]

18 minutes ago, manders175 said:

Hi all! Not our first time cruising but we will have my in laws with us for their first cruise. When we return to Port we are staying an extra day in Miami. My MIL is very opposed to putting the luggage outside our room the night before and wants to carry off our luggage. My question is, can we only carry off first thing in the morning or can we get off the ship at our later assigned time with our luggage? Thanks all! 

You can disembark at any time. But your MIL must be able to manage her own baggage without assistance. The ship wants self-assist to disembark early so that baggage is not clogging up the gangway and putting other passengers at risk. Too many people "think" that they can carry their bags off and really can't. 

 

We're "older" (o.k.,,, we're old) and have resigned ourselves to the fact that dragging bags through the halls on the ship,  down the gangway, through the terminal, through the baggage hall is something that we should not be doing any longer. So, we let the ship and the porters do the work now. 

[Mum2Mercury]

5 minutes ago, Cigar King said:

One more thing to keep in mind is that the line for self-debarkation is often quite long.  

The regular lines can be pretty long too.  

4 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

... Too many people "think" that they can carry their bags off and really can't ...

Sad but true.  

 

We used self-disembarkation in Miami a few months ago, and we were behind a middle-aged daughter and an elderly mother, who each were managing a giant rolling suitcase + a smaller rolling suitcase (it was an 8-day cruise -- how much stuff did they need?).  The mother expressed concerns about her ability, but the daughter insisted she'd be fine.  

 

The mother did fine getting off the ship, but in the terminal we were faced with the choice of an elevator (with a pretty significant line) or the escalator.  The daughter pushed the mother to take the escalator.  I purposefully waited /gave her a lot of space before I stepped on the escalator, and it was a good thing:  at the foot of the escalator, where you have to step off, the mother tripped and fell, and her bags went askew.  If I'd been right behind her, I'd have fallen over her.  

[Ret MP]

My only comment/suggestion is to make sure your luggage has really top quality wheels and/or casters.  The carpeting isn't very plush but it can cause a drag on luggage and there are many transitions.  The taller/bigger the wheels/casters, the better, again as long as they are top quality.  How do you know what is top quality or not.  I don't have the answer to that.  However, I'm a firm believer that "you get what you pay for", USUALLY.

[Engineroom Snipe]

2 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

My only comment/suggestion is to make sure your luggage has really top quality wheels and/or casters.  The carpeting isn't very plush but it can cause a drag on luggage and there are many transitions.  The taller/bigger the wheels/casters, the better, again as long as they are top quality.  How do you know what is top quality or not.  I don't have the answer to that.  However, I'm a firm believer that "you get what you pay for", USUALLY.

After ten years of hard usage, my main bag had a "wheel-blowout." The wheel bearings locked-up and it was dead weight to roll.  Not pretty, not pretty at all in any shape of form. I had to carry the heaviest bag as I tried to roll the other one.

 

Time to buy new bags because the replacement of the "blow-out" roller was cost-prohibitive.

 

I blew an imaginative rendition of "TAPS" as it went into the trashcan. Job well done. So many memories. 😭. It will do,......, it will do.......

[Jasukkie]

This seems like such a hassle to me. One of the nice things about traveling light is not having to get an elevator that morning. I check it all through, minus my daypack for important stuff. Just take the stairs and get in line to leave. 

[Engineroom Snipe]

10 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

This seems like such a hassle to me. One of the nice things about traveling light is not having to get an elevator that morning. I check it all through, minus my daypack for important stuff. Just take the stairs and get in line to leave. 

 

It's not heavy brother, its my baggage. We all have our traveling thresholds. At some point, I will have to leave my baggage behind. In my lifetime, it can be A HUGE amount of baggage.

 

I am just not ready to leave my baggage to be handled by a stranger's hand. It is personal. Yes, it is my personal luggage, keep your hands off of it. 😒

Edited January 16, 2023 by Engineroom Snipe
needed some emphasis!!

[Ret MP]

24 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

After ten years of hard usage, my main bag had a "wheel-blowout." The wheel bearings locked-up and it was dead weight to roll.  Not pretty, not pretty at all in any shape of form. I had to carry the heaviest bag as I tried to roll the other one.

 

Time to buy new bags because the replacement of the "blow-out" roller was cost-prohibitive.

 

I blew an imaginative rendition of "TAPS" as it went into the trashcan. Job well done. So many memories. 😭. It will do,......, it will do.......

Unfortunately, our luggage, the big stuff, usually only lasts for a few (maybe 3) years.  My wife wants to switch to the hard sided luggage.  I'm not convinced. 

[BirdTravels]

2 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

Unfortunately, our luggage, the big stuff, usually only lasts for a few (maybe 3) years.  My wife wants to switch to the hard sided luggage.  I'm not convinced. 

I travel several times a month. For us, hardside breaks faster than softside. One bad drop and the case cracks. Wheels, zippers, about the same between soft and hard side cases. 

[Ocean Boy]

12 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

This seems like such a hassle to me. One of the nice things about traveling light is not having to get an elevator that morning. I check it all through, minus my daypack for important stuff. Just take the stairs and get in line to leave. 

I don't see it as a hassle at all. When I'm ready to leave I put whatever is left to pack into my luggage and I walk off the ship with my bag and don't have to worry about locating it in the terminal . The process is quite convenient. 

[Ret MP]

Just now, BirdTravels said:

I travel several times a month. For us, hardside breaks faster than softside. One bad drop and the case cracks. Wheels, zippers, about the same between soft and hard side cases. 

Thanks, that's what I was waiting on to hear.  Now to tell my wife.  This is just one more negative I can show her.

 

I also tell her that they aren't very flexible either.

 

[Engineroom Snipe]

1 minute ago, Ret MP said:

Unfortunately, our luggage, the big stuff, usually only lasts for a few (maybe 3) years.  My wife wants to switch to the hard sided luggage.  I'm not convinced. 

 

Ask the turtles, do you want to keep your hard sided luggage model? Yes, some would say, "Look at Samsonite, the gorillas could not destroy it." Is that the future you see for your personal belongings encased withing a hard shell suitcase?"

 

I say, "Free from hard shells, free at last!"

 

Then the turtle looks at himself in the mirror and says, "Shells are forever."

 

Moral of the story, get your wonderful wife the luggage of her dreams and completely ignore any advice I might give you. 😁

[Ret MP]

4 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

 

Ask the turtles, do you want to keep your hard sided luggage model? Yes, some would say, "Look at Samsonite, the gorillas could not destroy it." Is that the future you see for your personal belongings encased withing a hard shell suitcase?"

 

I say, "Free from hard shells, free at last!"

 

Then the turtle looks at himself in the mirror and says, "Shells are forever."

 

Moral of the story, get your wonderful wife the luggage of her dreams and completely ignore any advice I might give you. 😁

Thanks.  But, soft sided is the answer for me.

[Jasukkie]

11 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

 

It's not heavy brother, its my baggage. We all have our traveling thresholds. At some point, I will have to leave my baggage behind. In my lifetime, it can be A HUGE amount of baggage.

 

I am just not ready to leave my baggage to be handled by a stranger's hand. It is personal. Yes, it is my personal luggage, keep your hands off of it. 😒

How wonderful Royal permits both. My big bag would never fit through the scanner to board anyway so I have to let go and trust the process. So far, I've never had a problem. I certainly wouldn't leave anything valuable out in the hall.

[Engineroom Snipe]

1 minute ago, Ret MP said:

Thanks.  But, soft sided is the answer for me.

 

I never saw you as an old "Softy." Who knew" 😇

[Cigar King]

16 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

Unfortunately, our luggage, the big stuff, usually only lasts for a few (maybe 3) years.  My wife wants to switch to the hard sided luggage.  I'm not convinced. 

We had good luck with Atlantic ultra-light.  It's ~10 years old by now, a little scuffed and dirty, but still in good shape.  My wife also talks about new luggage...I'm waiting for it to break.  BTW, we use the soft sided duffels.  Super easy to pack.  I do wish they stood up (vertically) better.  The bigger bags tend to tip over.

[Ashland]

We always do self assist and have no trouble each wheeling our large Travel Pro bags . We've done this at many ports over the years but I must say I've never seen such wonderful service than the Tampa terminal this past October. There were terminal staff lined up at the top of the escalator and almost insisted that they take your bags down for you...and were clearly telling everyone that they didn't want anyone to fall and to hold onto the escalator hand rails. Just amazing efficient service.

[Ret MP]

5 minutes ago, Cigar King said:

We had good luck with Atlantic ultra-light.  It's ~10 years old by now, a little scuffed and dirty, but still in good shape.  My wife also talks about new luggage...I'm waiting for it to break.  BTW, we use the soft sided duffels.  Super easy to pack.  I do wish they stood up (vertically) better.  The bigger bags tend to tip over.

Thanks for the info.  Especially the brand info.

 

If I had it my way, I'd still use my Army Duffle bag that is over 40 years ago that it was issued to me at Basic Training and still looks like new AND is waterproof.   My wife says she'd be embarrassed to be seen with it.  Hell, she has no problem being seen with me in public!  

Edited January 16, 2023 by Ret MP

[Engineroom Snipe]

1 minute ago, Cigar King said:

We had good luck with Atlantic ultra-light.  It's ~10 years old by now, a little scuffed and dirty, but still in good shape.  My wife also talks about new luggage...I'm waiting for it to break.  BTW, we use the soft sided duffels.  Super easy to pack.  I do wish they stood up (vertically) better.  The bigger bags tend to tip over.

 

Starting to see a repetitive theme here, "My wife also talks about new luggage...".

 

The hubbies keep trying to repair and replace worn parts but...

 

We need to start a new thread about luggage durability.

 

Get your popcorn ready, maybe some beer and pizza because it is going to be a long discussion. 😁

[Engineroom Snipe]

4 minutes ago, Ashland said:

We always do self assist and have no trouble each wheeling our large Travel Pro bags . We've done this at many ports over the years but I must say I've never seen such wonderful service than the Tampa terminal this past October. There were terminal staff lined up at the top of the escalator and almost insisted that they take your bags down for you...and were clearly telling everyone that they didn't want anyone to fall and to hold onto the escalator hand rails. Just amazing efficient service.

 

I have never been through Tampa but this makes me want to do Tampa.

[Engineroom Snipe]

3 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

Thanks for the info.  Especially the brand info.

 

If I had it my way, I'd still use my Army Duffle bag that is over 40 years ago and still looks like new AND is waterproof.   My wife says she'd be embarrassed to be seen with it.  Hell, she has no problem being seen with me in public!  

 

That is because she can make an excuse about a 40 year old worn Duffle bag. 🤣

 

Gosh darn it MP!

 

You keep lobbing those super slow softballs and I cannot wait to hit them out of the park!

[Ret MP]

2 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

 

That is because she can make an excuse about a 40 year old worn Duffle bag. 🤣

 

Gosh darn it MP

 

You keep lobbing those super slow softballs and I cannot wait to hit them out of the park!

You've figured me out.  Shuuussssshhhh