Smitheroo

You handled that well.

and I think airlines only care when you are headed onto the plane. After you get off not so much lol

Yes, I agree, that would be awful. Something to keep in mind. If I try to get off early it will be with my luggage. I'd like to try to get by with a carry on. I know it can be done as long as you dont have to pack dressy clothes but it takes effort.

Thanks to everyone for contributing. I've got plenty of answers so am not going to comment in this thread anymore as I feel I am having to defend my choices when that wasnt the intent of my original post. I now know that some people pay baggage fees, some never do and it depends the individual circumstance.

I guess that is subjective.

Most of the international airlines do not include free checked bags at prices I am willing to pay. At least not the searches I have done recently. No, many domestic airlines offer fares that I consider reasonable that include a checked bag. I have plenty of experience flying domestic and I rarely choose the "basic" option unless I dont need to take a lot of clothes. And although I like to choose my seat not being able to is not a deal breaker. I was surprised when I saw the the reasonable fee that NCL Air charges in their promo

I , a woman by the way,not a "he", feel like this thread is heading towards a personal attack on my choices. Never once did I criticize anyone willing to pay, or even suggest the airlines are robbing us. We all have budgets to keep to. btw, I havent flown to Florida in decades. I got the feeling that was a put down. I have already decided to stick to US Ports until I run out of choices. Actually I'm reconsidering NCL Air.

May not have been $100 but close at $75. I can only go by what I see when I do a search at the present time because I have been told my previous experience is history. I agree it is. Some people say they dont pay baggage fees, some do, some dont with NCL air.....

I dont have a problem with paying baggage fees. What I have is a problem paying them on top of a $500 one way fare. I never pay anything near that domestically so I willingly pay for a checked bag if I need that much clothes

I no other cruise line the same? I know some have sort of freestyling. And when I was on Cunard in 2013 they did dress for dinner and have formal nights but you didnt have to take part. You were free to eat in the buffet and head to your room. I really like the freestyle dining in the dining rooms, not just the buffet.

I agree with you

I have no personal experience with NCL Air but from what I've read, no

I dont know how anyone with physical limitations can deal with this mess

How early is early when doing self assist? Do you get time to eat a quick breakfast?

Funny! I wouldnt have minded sitting during embarkation. We were standing but nothing like coming off the ship

yeah, I wont bother with old reviews. Anything could change

Sounds like that was a good option and it worked out well for you. I learn so much on this forum. What you did was a comfortable way to deal with post cruise luggage and a wait until flight departure

Not greedy at all! they offer these promotions, its not greedy to use them. If not allowed, they correct. Its not like you are being dishonest. Sometimes its hard to understand what the rules allow.

I just checked BA. Seats were almost 2,000 pounds (conversion to USD not too different) each. Seriously? NCL Air is looking better and better, even with the risks involved. Jet Blue were between 500-600 carryon only. The cost NCL estimated on the Air flights were no where near these.

Oh, I know , I love the idea of visiting other countries. But since I'm just starting out with cruising there's a lot to choose from US Ports to avoid steep fares. "Just book Business Class" is not an option for a lot of people! (I have flown First Class domestically quite a few times and yes, it is wonderful but it was on frequent flyer miles) Maybe its better to find a flight and then find a cruise that fits the schedule. Because I know fares change

I will stick with cruises that leave and return from US Ports until I run out of choices. For me its actually the ship ride rather than the ports that I enjoy most, with a TA being the ultimate experience lol. Good point about the different rules for luggage with foreign airlines I'm not familiar with. I fly domestic and there is often a wide range of fares. I'm not picky and will fly overnight. I got an overnight flight on Spirit coast to coast recently for $64. Ok, no luggage lol but $64??? It worked for me at the time. You are right, I would never arrange to arrive on the day of my cruise. So someone might say, well you are adding to your overall costs by paying for a hotel. Not to me, because that would be an experience, paying extra to sit on a plane is not.

I dont have a big problem with paying baggage fees (of course I dont like it, who does) unless the fee is $75- $100 on a fare of $500 (one way). The cheaper fares often are carry-on only (kind of hard on a cruise) and I have even seen personal bag only. The answer for me right now seems to be stick to cruises that leave and return to domestic (US) Ports.

I have tentative plans for an Alaskan cruise from Seattle. So I will have another experience. I may have experienced the worst first

In my situation there was not a lot of luggage on the very very long unmoving line. I dont know what the hold up was. Maybe there was no hold up, maybe that's how it is on a huge ship at San Pedro. Actually the baggage claim area was very well organized. Would it not work to assign passengers the same color as their luggage and assign that group to wait in a certain area of the ship? Sure, the Joy has a huge number of passengers but its also a huge ship. Are there not enough areas on the ship where groups of people could wait. (this is what I experienced with Cunard on the QM2) Then your group is called and you get on line. They could stagger it so the next group is not called until the last group on line is getting near the top. And have a crew member at the line turning people back "because your group has not been called yet" No getting on line when you feel like it. And if there is a group of Haven passengers being escorted down then dont call another group till they are through.

This is the advice I read on another older thread on this same topic: So disembarkation times are just like check in times on embarkation day. No matter what you yourself agree to, its Freestyle and you should do whatever you want when the time comes. You might get through faster or you might end up causing delays for yourself or others.. The important thing is that nobody gets to tell you what to do on NCL.