southwestgal

Similar experience booking HAL for the first time. My HAL number is the same as my Princess number. Doesn’t seem to be causing any issues with my bookings. Maybe at some point it will enable them to share loyalty levels or maybe they were just running out of numbers. 🤭. Seems to be how they do it now. 

I’ll give them a call. Thanks so much!

Newbie to HAL so hopefully this isn’t a stupid question….I have the same issue with the disappearing Stock OBC. When I make final payment online, will I be able to print an updated booking confirmation or invoice showing my OBC along with proof of final payment?

Thanks!

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

What is the actual depth? An estimate would be fine. I never use the pools but my wife does.

Just got off the Discovery last weekend. It was around 3.5 feet deep across the entire pool. No deep end.  

We purchased the Princess Plus package on the first day of our California Coastal cruise on the Emerald Princess in May 2023. We purchased it from one of the crew while enjoying a slice of pizza on the deck. It was the same price as purchasing pre cruise - $60 per person per day. It instantly activated and included all of the benefits.  We were given a flyer with all the benefits listed. For us, there was no difference purchasing pre cruise vs onboard.  The crew member was stocked with flyers and proactively told us about it when we ordered drinks from him and he saw we didn’t have a package. 
 

Forgot to mention that you have to buy it the first day.   After that it is no longer available.  

I did not see anyone by that name.  There was Ron-Ron who was fantastic and seemed to be in charge. He made me some imaginative drinks that were delicious.   The other bartender was Heera. Both were very good. 

The Haven concierge is Bowen Pereira.  The cruise director was Dan-Dan. At least that’s how he introduced himself.  He was hysterical. 

Just got off the Encore on Sunday.  We were in the Haven and they had board games in the Haven’s Observation lounge.  They had Scrabble, Checkers and special edition Monopoly.  They had other board games as well but I don’t remember what they were.  There were multiple sets of each type.  A family had a Monopoly game going for a few days. They had it set up in the lounge and left it alone for long stretches. Nobody in the Haven touched it. 
 

Enjoy the cruise and the board games!

Just got off the Encore this morning.  Ship is in great shape. We were in Haven so mostly ate there but did venture to Onda which was very good and Teppanyaki which wasn’t good.  The chef did the usual entertaining Stuff but the food just wasn’t tasty.  We should have chosen Ocean Blue instead.  Choir of Man was good and the Beatles were fantastic.  All the performances of kinky boots were cancelled without explanation.   The go karts looked like fun and they always had a long line.  The two waterslides were also running most days but it was cold and windy and I have no idea how folks didn’t freeze.  Hot tubs on the main decks were always full.  The crew were wonderful.   From the folks cleaning to the restaurant staff to the Haven folks , everyone was so warm and friendly.   Crew were always wearing masks and we did as well.   Very few passengers wore masks.  Concierge said the ship was at 65-70% capacity.  Haven had all 80 cabins full.  We were very lucky with the weather.  It was gorgeous all week.  Juneau and Skagway had sufficient time in port.  The new pier outside of Ketchikan is a waste. Even though all aboard was at 12:45pm, the last shuttle from downtown Ketchikan back to the ship left at 11:00 am.  And Victoria is a quick stop too, but that’s typical.  We had a good time. It was our first NCL cruise but we have 34 cruises under our belt so we aren’t newbies.  Not sure we would book the Haven again as it was crazy expensive but it was a good way to ease back into cruising with the ship within s ship concept.  

Hi.  I was on the Crown a few months ago.  The washers and dryers take tokens.  There are token machines in each laundry room and you use your cruise card/medallion to purchase the tokens.  The cost of a wash is $3.00 and the dryer is $3.00.  The cost for dryer sheets or detergent is $1.50 each.  You will choose what you want on the token machine and it will dispense the proper tokens.

Tip:  If you know that you'll be doing laundry during the cruise, I highly suggest purchasing tokens when you get on board. The machines may run out during the cruise and are not quickly replenished.  Then you find yourself with a machine, but no tokens and you have to run to another laundry room on another deck to get tokens.  It's a real pain in the neck.

Hope you have a great cruise!

Hi Douggw:

Before it was called Maria's Happy Horses, Randi owned it and it was Randi's Happy Horses.  Randi was an expat who passed away a few years ago.  She ran a great operation and we are currently booked with Maria for our trip in a few months.  The cost is $35 USD per person in cash.  No deposit required - pay after the ride.  While they don't have private tours on cruise ship days (meaning just your group), they do run their normal operation and have the regular rides going out as they do not contract with the cruise ships.  The price also includes a drink at one of the restaurants on the beach (Lety's or Victors).  Last time with Randi, we had a wonderful time at Victors with awesome coconut shrimp and beer.

Send them an email - they respond very quickly and will give you a quote.  They will ask about your riding experience and if there are any children so they can best match everyone up with the correct horses.  I thought Randi ran a very professional operation and I'm hoping that Maria is following in her footsteps.

Have a great time in Mazatlan.

Southwestgal

Hi,

I can tell you about our experience on November 3, 2018.   Our flight from FCO to ATL was originally scheduled to leave at 12:30 pm, but Delta kept changing the departure time to the final time of 10:30 am.  We decided to take our chances, even though we knew there was a chance that we wouldn't make it.  

Things in our favor:

1.  We only travel with a carry-on bag and a small bag pack.  We don't check luggage.

2.  We are very mobile - translation: we can walk very fast and/or run if necessary.

3.  We hired a car and it was waiting for us when we got off the ship.

4.  We researched information about the airport so we had an idea of where we needed to go.

5.  We knew we wouldn't have to clear immigration or customs upon arrival (depending on your itinerary this might be different).

6.  We were going to check-in via the Delta app so no need to go to the counter to check in.

We were on the Crown and we were the only cruise ship in port that day.  We were tied up alongside the dock a little before 5am - I know because I was up and watched them tie us up.  It was pouring rain when we docked.

We were in the first walk-off.  This is important to note - we were in the Elite lounge.  I specifically chose to wait in this area because it was in the Wheelhouse which was right next to the door that was being used for debarkation.  If the regular lounge was closer, then we probably would have waited there.  The ship was finally cleared at 7am and we were literally the first ones off the ship.  Our driver was waiting for us - the van was parked nearby and he whisked us off to the airport.  When I mentioned that our flight was scheduled to depart at 10:30, I saw a bit of surprise in his eyes.  It should be noted that it took at least 20 minutes to get to the highway (maybe even a bit longer, I wasn't timing it).  The point being that until you get on the highway, you are on a roadway that is one lane in each direction, at some points two lanes.  This was the slow part of the journey and if there is an accident then all bets are off.  Once on the modern highway, it is full steam ahead and the airport is right off the highway.  Okay, for the purists, it probably isn't called a highway in Italy, but it is a modern, multi-lane roadway and the traffic was moving at a fast clip.

We arrived at the airport right around 8am.   The airport is large and a bit confusing - even with the research.  But the airport personnel were very helpful and we found that all of them spoke fluent English which was much appreciated.  It took us about 45 minutes from entering the terminal, clearing passport control and security until we reached the gate.   Be aware that there were NO lines.  We didn't have to wait at any points and we were walking FAST.  No bathroom breaks, etc. until we reached the gate.  We got to the gate around 9ish.  Boarding was was scheduled to start at 9:50 or 9:55.  We did have to show our passports at the gate - they have to inspect documents and then they will issue a paper boarding pass.  You can accomplish the same thing at a kiosk.    We had enough time to get a delicious breakfast sandwich and our final Italian Cappuccino. 

Big question - would we do this again?  If we weren't pressed for time to get back home for work then there is no way that we would do this again.  I would not book anything prior to 11:30 am.  The stars aligned for us this trip but one little hiccup (checking bags, a line, multiple ships in port, etc.) could have caused us to miss the flight.  We were well prepared but also fortunate.

Bottom line - I would not recommend booking a flight prior to 11:30 am based on a 5am docking schedule.  And if you have other circumstances such as slow walker/mobility issues, checking luggage, not getting a hired car, busy cruise season, etc., then you should book an even later flight or spend the night in Rome and depart the next day.

If you do choose to book a 10am flight, then you MUST have a car waiting for you.  

I know people will disagree with me, but this is my experience during the low part of the season.

Happy Sailing!

You will go through immigration and customs in Rome. The Rome to Naples flight is a "domestic" flight and once you get off that flight you can proceed directly to baggage claim (if checking) and your transportation.

To be fair, you could run into these two problems on other airlines as well. You have two issues:-

1. Cabin requirements that cannot be satisfied on a single ticket because you cannot combine the relevant fares; and
   
2. Schedule changes that have (now) left you with a compulsory overnight.
   

If you only had the second problem, you would have a perfectly good alternative, even now:-

• DL445 FCO-JFK 1100-1550
  
• DL2435 JFK-PHX 1850-2133
  

You could almost certainly have been switched to this itinerary, very probably for zero extra cost as it was triggered by an airline schedule change that meant that the original routing no longer worked for you. Almost every airline could have done this to you, and fixed it in a similar way. The reason that there isn't an easy fix for you is because of the first issue: you have specific cabin requirements that require the issuing of two tickets, making it much harder to fix the problem.

 

Now that you're here, do remember that you can come and ask for advice before you book if that would help.

 

I suspect that when you say "international airlines" you really mean non-US airlines. And if so, one of the things that makes many non-US airlines' schedules more stable is often that most of each airline's flights are international flights. These are usually scheduled within the IATA system, which means that the rhythm of schedule publication and changing is more predictable.

Hi Globaliser,

The perfectly good alternative you cited wasn't available when the last round of changes happened. The connecting flight to PHX is brand new. I guess they added it at some point after they removed their evening Atl to Phx flights. The FCO to JFK has been sold out of comfort plus seats for months now. When I originally booked, the JFK option required an overnight as there were no connections scheduled.

And yes, I meant a non US Based carrier. I can set my watch by the BA LHR to PHX flight. All of my non US carrier based flights have gone off without a hitch. Of course they have been slightly delayed at times. But in my current circumstance I really have absolutely no idea what my final flight schedule will look like and I have to incur the costs associated with an extra night in a hotel. Now that we're getting closer, I hope the schedule stops changing so drastically. I'm pretty convinced at this point that I would not be protected should I miss the connecting flight regardless of what I was told on the phone and am not willing to gamble missing the flight.

This was a hard lesson to learn. I didn't try to scam the system with hidden city itineraries or buy consolidator tickets or book through cheapie air. Nope, I called Delta and they sold me smoke and mirrors. Live and learn. Happy Cruising!

I know that everyone has been on the edge of their seats wondering what we finally chose - did we keep the 2 hour connection or switch our flight to the next day (insert sarcasm emoji here)?

After much soul searching we decided to switch to the 8:15 am flight the next morning. If we just had one ticket, we would have stuck with the 2 hour connection. But there were too many variables with the two ticket scenario and we really didn't want to deal with the stress. We called Delta and they made the switch for us.

Checking the schedules this morning, we saw that the 7pm flight on Saturday night is no longer on the schedule. So, regardless of what we chose, Delta would have made the choice for us. The last flight of the night leaving ATL for PHX departs 2 minutes before our flight arrives from FCO.

I find the whole thing absolutely crazy. This is no longer a same day schedule change. Delta has removed all three evening PHX flights from their schedule. There is now absolutely no way that someone could leave FCO and connect in ATL to get to PHX same day. Delta also flies FCO to JFK but there aren't any connections to PHX same day either. Both FCO to USA flights from Delta require an overnight stay if you are continuing on to PHX.

I'm truly disappointed in Delta. I have always enjoyed my Delta flights but this is just too much. This is bordering on bait and switch. They were competing against other airlines at the time I booked. The other airlines still have schedules that would have worked. Delta has changed their schedule significantly and no longer offers the product they sold to me months ago. Not even close. And because of their two ticket mess - which is the only way they would sell their product to me - it leaves me with little options. Rant over.

So, lesson learned. I'm exploring other options for my international flights for my 2019 trip. I have always had excellent service with international airlines and they haven't changed their schedules a zillion times prior to departure. I'm also researching AA, but they are probably just as bad as Delta or any other US carrier.

Keeping my fingers crossed that there aren't any other schedule changes that would adversely affect us.

Happy Cruising!

Thanks Meg for your insight. Appreciate hearing your real life experience with ATL.

I concur with Globaliser's concern about your separate tickets. You state that DL would not sell you a ticket in mixed classes. To that, I am sceptical. So would the OP please answer this question:

 

Is it that DL would not sell you a ticket with mixed classes OR was it that you could not buy this ticket online from DL?

 

Big difference and not clear from your original posting.

Hi Flyertalker,

I first attempted to purchase the ticket online and was unable to do so because of the mixed classes. This is what I attempted to purchase:

PHX - ATL - BCN: I wanted First Class from PHX-ATL and then Comfort Plus from ATL- BCN.

Returning flight is FCO - ATL - PHX. Again, I wanted Comfort Plus on the international segment of FCO - ATL and then First class on the domestic ATL - PHX segment.

When I couldn't mix classes online, I figured that the website couldn't handle this type of purchase and did not purchase anything on the website. I then called Delta directly and spoke with a Delta ticketing agent. She tried to ticket the flights and she said that she could not mix the classes either. The computer was not allowing her to. She put me on hold while she conferred with someone else and came back and confirmed that she was unable to put the flights on one ticket. She said that she could issue us the the RT PHX-ATL-PHX as one ticket and then the mixed city ATL-BCN, FCO-ATL on another ticket. She said that she could link the tickets.

I'm not concerned about the outbound flight because we are actually spending the night in Atlanta at one of the airport hotels and flying out to BCN the next evening. So there's plenty of time to deal with mishaps.

I specifically asked if I would be "protected" (not sure if this was the right terminology) if something went awry with the FCO-ATL portion connecting to the ATL-PHX flight. Originally there were 4-5 hours for connection. But in the event that we missed the ATL segment, would we be put on another flight, etc. She said that we would be checked in for all flights in Rome and that if something happened, that we would automatically be accommodated on another flight. The tickets would be linked and we would be "protected".

So, that's my story. I did not purchase the tickets on the website. I purchased them by calling Delta and they ticketed me. They said this was the only way they could ticket me. There have been several changes already to the flights and each time I called Delta and had one of their agents make any changes needed.

Hopefully this answers your question. I should have made that clear in my original post.

Thanks!

Thanks to everyone for their replies. I appreciate the information from folks who have experienced Atlanta connections in real life.

Both of our flights have changed so much since we purchased the tickets that it is absolutely nuts. You buy a product, but really the only thing that an airline is selling you is a ticket from one city to another city without any guarantees about time/date/product. It is unfortunate because we did a lot of research on the schedule that worked the best, the product the carrier offered and the price. Now, of course, the flight schedules have changed so much that we probably wouldn't have picked Delta as our carrier for this trip. But to switch at this date, would cost us more money (of course) and the seats we would want are limited. People complain about Southwest, but at least I can count on their schedule not changing when it is published. Too bad they don't fly to Europe. :) Oh well, off my soapbox.

I did read that the TSA line in the international terminals do not have the TSA Pre Lines (at least when connecting from intl to domestic flights) and read about a strategy of leaving the international terminal and coming back in and using the non-connection TSA lines which do have Pre. There were a lot of discussions whether or not the time used to get outside would just be better spent waiting in the longer connecting lines. Is it possible to get outside the international terminal and get to one of the domestic terminals by a shuttle bus or something and then re-enter that way? Probably has the same result that we're just better off just waiting in the non-pre lines at the international terminal. Why the heck don't they have pre in the international area? ARGGGHHHHHH

There is hope at least that none of you said that there is no way we would make it. We haven't made any hasty decisions yet so we do have the ability to change the flight. Right now the 8am is still available with seats in First. It is so weird that the 10pm flight was only removed from the schedule the one night that we would want to be on it. It's still there for other nights which is also a bit crazy. Based on that, we are hoping that perhaps they will add it back to the schedule - maybe somebody made a mistake something. Weirder things have happened.

In the meantime, I truly appreciate the experiences that have been shared. Thank you.

Dealing with the most recent Delta time change roulette. For the prior changes, we've been able to switch to flights with acceptable layovers, but now we are in a pickle and need expert advice from folks like Flyertalker and Globaliser.

Here's the current situation that Delta switched us to:

11/3, DL65, FCO-ATL, 10:25am - 4:54pm (comfort plus seats row 16)

connecting to

11/3, DL1319, ATL-PHX, 7:01 pm - 7:58pm (First Class cabin)

The change was on the ATL-PHX segment. Originally, we were on a flight leaving ATL to PHX at 10pm which had a 5 hour connection time. I am keeping the FCO-ATL flight but need advice about the Atlanta connection time and the ATL-PHX segment.

Note that we have two tickets that are supposedly "linked". Delta would not sell us one ticket with mixed classes. So they sold us a RT PHX-ATL-PHX in First Class and then we have a multi-city ticket, ATL-BCN returning from FCO-ATL in comfort class which at least gets us closer to the front of the bus when exiting in ATL.

We both have Global Entry, only have carry-on bags (nothing to check) and we are very mobile (i.e. we can run if we have to).

The 10pm flight that we were on from ATL-PHX was removed from Delta's schedule and the 7pm one is now the last non-stop flight out. Our other choice is to take an 8am flight out the next morning on 11/5.

I'm concerned about the 2 hour best case connection. If the flight is late, we are probably doomed. And if that happens, what are our chances of getting on the 8am flight the next day? I know, nobody has a crystal ball but I don't know if being in first class gives us any advantage over others about being accommodated.

Do we stick with the 7pm flight or suck it up and stay the night and leave the next day?

We are not retired and need to go to work Monday morning, hence we would love to get home Saturday night.

So, is 2 hours a good connection time or will we be doing a sprint through the airport? I hope I gave the experts enough information to give us some good advice. If there are details you still need, please let me know.:(

I really appreciate the knowledge sharing on this board.

Thanks!

We have visited a wonderful shop in Puerto Vallarta for many years now. They sell Majolica pottery which is made in Mexico. It has Morrocan influence and is absolutely gorgeous. We buy something every trip. They have something in all price ranges and take dollars as well as credit cards.

The name is Majolica Antica and the address is 191 Corona Street. They are about 2 blocks off the Malecon. Google map it - it's easy to find.

Thanks everyone for your replies. It definitely helps us make a decision on how to best proceed.

Southwestgal

Hi Everyone,

We're scheduled to arrive in Civitavecchia on November 3, 2018 at 5am on the Crown Princess. She is the only cruise ship in port that day.

I realize that 5am is the scheduled arrival and I shouldn't expect disembarkation to start until some time afterwards. I'm hoping that someone who has experienced Civitavecchia with a 5am docking can let me know what their disembarkation experience and timing was like.

Princess recommends that passengers not book a flight earlier than 6 hours after scheduled arrival. Our flight was originally scheduled to depart 8 hours after arrival. Now, the airline has changed the departure time and it is scheduled to depart 5.5 hours after arrival.

I have a private transfer booked for 6:30 am pickup. Is that realistic? Will I be able to get off the ship at that point? The previous day we'll be in Naples, so we're going from one Italian Port directly to another. Will we be able to get off earlier than 6:30? We can walk our luggage off ourselves. I'm not sure what time people can pick up their luggage if they choose to leave it out the night before.

Any direct experience at this port is helpful. I understand that stuff happens with weather, unexpected items, etc. But, if all goes well, can I expect to get off the ship no later than 6:30 am.

Thanks and please no lectures that I shouldn't even try it. I'm weighing my options here because there are no other good flights - all of the others increase my time in travel by another day. It's just 30 minutes earlier than Princess' cut-off and I have to believe that they pad the recommended time themselves just to cya themselves.

Thanks!!!!

Well, as they say, the best laid plans....

We had great flights booked and then Delta went ahead and changed our return flight from FCO-ATL. The flight is now leaving 2 hours earlier than originally scheduled - changed from 12:25 pm to 10:25 am. There is no way we will make a 10:25 flight out of FCO the same day we are docking at Civitavecchia.

Our final destination is not ATL, we are continuing on to PHX. The other options available to us to get back to the States will require us to spend another night somewhere in the States before getting to PHX.

Thinking outside the box, I think the best option might be to just keep our flight as is and disembark the cruise one night early in Naples. We already have a private tour set up and the driver can drop us off at the Naples train station. We can take the high speed train to Rome, connect to the train that goes to FCO and that only takes 1.5 hours. We can stay the night at the Hilton that is literally connected to the FCO terminals via a pedestrian tunnel. We can have a nice night's sleep and then the next morning just stroll into the airport. No stress. And missing the last night of the cruise is really no big deal to us. Also, the thought of not having to deal with the morning disembarkation in Civitavecchia is also really appealing.

I know all about the restrictions of leaving a cruise early in the US itineraries. We've also been on European itineraries and have seen people leave a day early (for example leaving in France instead of returning to Southampton). I haven't heard of anyone leaving in Naples.

So....after all that detail that you probably really didn't need - here's the big question. Has anyone disembarked in Naples on the Grand Med or similar cruise? The day before Naples is a sea day and the stop before that is Kotor, Montenegro (adding that detail in case it matters).

By the way, the ship is scheduled to dock at 5am in Civitavecchia and there are no other cruise ships scheduled that day that I can see on the port calendar. It's in November so the busy season is over. But I still think the chances of missing the flight is very high even with a private transfer.

I'll speak to my travel agent on Monday and have them contact Princess to see if we can make this work. But definitely wanted to hear about any personal experiences with this option.

Thanks. Always appreciate reading about other experiences and options on this board.

Southwestgal

Hi Romancingthebuck,

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. My husband also honeymooned on a cruise - though many, many years ago.

Just a few thoughts...

Typically cruises over 7 days have less children/teens sailing since the families don't have that much time off - except perhaps in the summer.

Before picking the cruise line, I would suggest thinking about what you want to do/see on the cruise. Do you want to enjoy time sunning yourself by the pool or on a beach with water activities in the ports? More of a lazy, relaxing type of cruise with a fruity drink in your hand? Or, do you want to see a lot of scenery like canals, glaciers, fjords, small scenic towns? Or do you want a busy, port filled cruise where you get off in a different city each day and are busy from sun up to sun down with museums, architecture, historical sights, etc.? What part of the world do you want to see? Europe? Asia? USA/Canada/Alaska? Caribbean?

Once you determine what type of cruise you want, then I would suggest looking at the various lines to see what they offer. Smaller ships have a more intimate experience, but may lack some entertainment options. You will tend to see and interact with the same folks over and over because the passenger count is much smaller. You may find that, because of their size, the smaller ships might call on ports that are not part of the mainstream cruise itinerary. That can be good and bad - good because it can be a more authentic experience but bad because the port is not used to handling cruisers and may not have the infrastructure or tours to support it. On the other hand, the larger ships tend to have a greater variety to choose from for dining and entertainment options. Larger ships will usually stick to the mainstream ports and may have to use their tenders more often than the smaller ships to get people to shore. Larger ships will give you more variety on board.

We've sailed both types of ships and we've loved both.

And, of course, there is price. Some cruise lines offer a more "a la carte" experience (which some folks here tend to negatively call it nickle and diming". Others have a more inclusive approach. Neither is good or bad - it is just what works best for you.

My advice would be to think about where you want to go and what you want to do. That will usually determine the time of year because most itineraries are only offered at certain times of the year. Once you have that nailed down, then check the various offerings by the cruise lines. See what appeals to you most with the ships that they offer, the itineraries and the price points. Go on Cruise Critic and check the boards for those cruise lines and get a feel for the demographic. Obviously lines like Disney tend to cater more to families - you'll get a feel for that on the boards. Holland America, on the other hand, tends to have an older clientele. Obviously there are couples with no kids on Disney and younger folks on Holland America - but I think you understand where I'm going. There are also more basic lines and more luxurious lines.

Just some things to consider. Without knowing your particular tastes, wishes and price points, it would be very hard to point you to one specific cruise line.

Happy Sailing and Best Wishes!

Hi Everyone,

Our next cruise departs from Vancouver. We haven't started a cruise in this port for many years so wanted to ask a question about embarkation.

We have really downsized our packing a (still working on downsizing even more) and the last time we left from San Pedro we tried bringing our bags onboard ourselves instead of checking them. We each have a 24" rolling suitcase and a small backpack. The bags are too large to carry on the plane, but easily carried by us up and down stairs - they rarely weigh more than 35lbs. We brought them onboard ourselves in San Pedro and they fit through the scanners just fine. It was really nice bringing them on and being able to immediately unpack.

We have done the self-disembarkation for many, many years now and are used to carrying our bags ourselves so we don't hold anybody up and we always have a free hand for the escalator.

Does Vancouver work the same way as San Pedro? If the bags fit through the scanner are we able to bring them onboard ourselves? Or do we need to leave them with one of the Porters? I don't want to bring them inside, get in line, and then find out we have to go back outside and check them. So hoping that someone with experience can give us a heads up.

I know that a lot of you will probably chastise us for carrying them ourselves. But we are still young (at least in our minds), very mobile, and as long as we are still able we will continue to keep the bags with us. It was really nice to bring them right to the room, get the unpacking done and then have the rest of the embarkation day to relax without wondering if the bags got on. :)

Thanks!