ecosense

From what i know (which isn’t much…..) luggage forward can ship your bag(s) from anywhere to anywhere. So I suspect they can ship from your home to the ship in Whittier. Best way to know for sure would be to call them. 866-416-7447

I live in Florida and am flying up to Alaska this Friday (May 19th). My land tour doesn’t start until May 24th, and the cruise part of it isn’t until May 30th. Knowing my bag is being picked up this Thursday (May 18th) from my home and will be waiting for me on board the ship on the 30th eases my mind AND will make my travel so much easier, having to carry one less bag while I am traveling before and during the land portion of the cruise tour. 

I posted the above information to help those who are on same/similar pre-cruise land tours that include Alaska/Canada/Alaska itineraries. Due to customs regulations, all bags must remain with owners of said bags during the  entire land tour. BUT since the air trips to the Canadian stops have serious weight limits, my taking all my bags with me for the duration of my trip wouldn’t have worked. I definitely would have been overweight bag-wise, so was worried at what to do. 
The Luggage Forward company was a good option for me, but definitely was pricey. If i didn't have such a long trip, both before and after my land tour, I would pack differently and just bring less so i could only have one checked bag.

I am going on a HAL cruise tour in @10 days which includes the land portion first, with part of the land portion visiting both Alaska as well as several Canadian stops by plane/train. I was trying to figure out the luggage situation, and kept seeing that the “meet me on board” bag tag service that I’ve used in the past thru HAL with other pre-cruise land adventures doesn’t apply with the Yukon-Denali trip, so i called to find out how my second “checked bag” can actually get to the ship and be waiting for me. Since we’re going from Alaska, to Canada, then back to Alaska to board the ship, and are only permitted ONE checked bag on the plane (under 50 lbs) and one carry on (totaling 13 lbs max), I was extremely worried since I WILL have more luggage than that for the whole trip. I was directed by Holland America (phone call to shore excursion folks) to a service called Luggage Forward, which will pick up any bag(s) you may have that needs transporting to the ship. They will come to your home or place of work to get your bag, and guarantee that it will be waiting for you on board.

The web address is www.luggageforward.com/hollandamerica And the phone number is 866-416-7447. I would DEFININTELY call them since the price for my one suitcase i will be shipping with them from Florida to the ship in Skagway was WAY higher on the website than what i was quoted on the phone. The lovely woman i chatted with eased a lot of my worries, answered all my questions, and made the whole transaction so easy. Be aware that you will pay a LOT for this service, but since i like to have all my “STUFF” with me, and also will be on a back to back cruise and staying in Vancouver for 5 days after, it was worth the cost.  Hope this information is helpful I was stressing! Safe travels, everyone!

Nancy

I am sailing on the Carnival Sunshine in 5 days. We have had this cruise booked for 8 months. There are 3 of us sailing in one cabin, but Carnival will not allow us to pre-order more than 2 bottles of wine/champagne TOTAL, for all 3 of us! We are all adults and no matter how we tried to pre order more, either by different roommates, or different delivery days, they would not allow more than 2 bottles of wine. CRAZY! We will drink those 2 bottles between the 3 of us the first day!

Will we be able to call and order more bottles for our cabin once we are on board? Please let me know. Wanted to pre order so our final bill won't be so high all at once!

OMG!!!!! this thread has me cracking UP! Criminy, folks......simmer down! (for those of you who need to, that is!) Its a preference, not a cause for judgement! BUT, having said THAT, I will pigeonhole myself and admit to being a major lanyard fan. I like knowing that my S&S card, ID, cash, and (GASP!) cell phone are all in one place and hanging from my body! Its MY cruise, and I will be experiencing varying stages of excitement, exhaustion, drunkenness, and flailing (dance floor......its not pretty but it sure is fun!:p), and finally the casino......I have about knocked myself down by trying to leave a slot machine while still ATTACHED to the darn thing but that is a GOOD thing because you know darn well I would leave that silly but oh-so-important card in that machine. Having all of the above items ATTACHED to me is a wonderful thing!

AND......since I will be celebrating my 50th on my cruise next month, I can guarantee that there will be some less-than-lucid moments during the week! WAY FUN! Lanyards ROCK! (as do those who wear them, or NOT!)

So, those of you who don't wear them, I am actually in awe of how you keep track, so GO FOR IT! If you love lanyards, wear them and whatever you all do.......have FUN! Life is too short to be cranky and judgmental, or allow those who ARE to make your life any less wonderful than it is! LOVE LIVE LAUGH!

THANK YOU for all the lists, suggestions, rebuttals, ETC!

I have cruised a few times, some from the states, some overseas, and am a chronic over-packer. My rule is to never take more bags that I, personally, can lug MYSELF. Yes, I have had some days when I ached carrying all my "stuff" but love having my "stuff" with me. Friends and family are always giving me grief about having so much, but also know that if they need something, to ask me! Works out great because i love to travel and love having what I need!

the over the door hanging pocket thing is great. I also bring a couple of extra over the door hooks to hang stuff.....

One thing I brought on my last cruise (BluesCruise from Ft Lauderdale on Holland America.........BEST....CRUISE...EVER!) were battery operated string lights as part of our door decorations. I also brought tiny stick-on hooks for the door frame to hang the lights on. They come off without leaving sticky on the frame......These lights were GREAT because they looked awesome, but also helped me/us FIND our door. Sometimes I would be "tired" later in the evening! ;) The batteries in the battery pack (4 AA's per strand, used 3 strands to make it "pop") lasted the entire week.

Am cruising next month (Oct 23-30) on Carnival Dream. I'll be with 13 other people and will be celebrating my 50th bday on board! YAHOO!

I cannot wait, and also have been browsing and dreaming about future cruises. Have already booked the Blues Cruise for next January, and plan on going on that one EVERY year. Its remarkable and if you like music, its an amazing way to travel and get daily overloads (in a good way) of all sorts of great music! The most wonderful thing was realizing within a day or so that I was on a pretty large ship but found that the majority of us were SO SIMILAR in so many ways; all being there for the same thing. Music, fun, relaxation and letting our hair down. WAY less regimented than some other types of cruises and BOY did this group of people know how to party! Awesome! I met very few "strangers" on this particular cruise.

One thing I was amazed at was on the blues cruise, we had 4 women in ONE regular-sizedcabin and not only did HAL have plenty of storage places, but good and very comfortable sleeping surfaces for all 4 of us. We did have a balcony; that was the only thing we decided we had to have! 2 of the 4 of us are over-packers, but even with that "issue" we had plenty of room for everything and had a great time!

ANYHOW.......i appreciate all the work you all have done to put these various lists together. Not everyone will take, or use, what is ON those lists, but if someone really wants to, having a reference list made by someone more experienced is a godsend.........if you don't need/want to take some/all the listed items, then don't!

I appreciate ALL of you and am looking forward to my next cruise........50 is going to ROCK! :D:p

Nancy