Emarking the Ship

[dm5201]

We leave in 2 days to go aboard the Ruby Princess for our first cruise. My husband is concerned about the porters taking our luggage to the ship. I told him his concerns were not warranted and that was the job of the porters was to care for the luggage and get it to the staterooms. Am I correct?

[Atty]

We leave in 2 days to go aboard the Ruby Princess for our first cruise. My husband is concerned about the porters taking our luggage to the ship. I told him his concerns were not warranted and that was the job of the porters was to care for the luggage and get it to the staterooms. Am I correct?

 

Although I've never sailed Princess, the porters at the curb are usually I believe Longshoremen. My understanding is that they take the bags and put them in the terminal where they are scanned and then placed on the ship and distributed by ship's crew.

 

In all my cruises I've never had a problem with my luggage. Keep in mind that it is not like an airport where your luggage will be waiting for you on the ship. It gets delivered throughout the first day by crew members and is placed outside your cabin door. Only once had my luggage not arrived by dinner the first night. If you do leave your luggage make sure to take a small bag on with you that has whatever essentials you may need.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[wrxrob]

subscribing. 2 weeks and 2 days till our first cruise on the Crown Princess :D

[Gonzo70]

The above poster was correct that the people taking your luggage cubside (at U.S. ports) are longshoreman. They do not work on the ship, but simply transport the luggage within the cruise terminal. After it is screened for security purposes, workers on board the ship deliver the luggage. While it is very rare for luggage to get lost by the cruise line/port, on rare occasions it does happen. As such be sure to keep all valuables and essential items in your carry ons.

[KaylaRenee17]

I've read on here that you should give them a decent tip and they will treat your bags better. Can't say if it's true or not, but it makes sense to me, treat them good and they will treat your stuff good.

 

Like others have said they aren't employed by the ship, and the ship handles getting the bags to your stateroom.

[johneeo]

We leave in 2 days to go aboard the Ruby Princess for our first cruise. My husband is concerned about the porters taking our luggage to the ship. I told him his concerns were not warranted and that was the job of the porters was to care for the luggage and get it to the staterooms. Am I correct?

 

Just make sure you have carry ons that has all of your essentials (medications, passport, documents) and ALL OF YOUR VALUABLES.

 

So, in the rarest of instances, a bag gets lost, you have lost some clothes.

[Atty]

I've read on here that you should give them a decent tip and they will treat your bags better. Can't say if it's true or not, but it makes sense to me, treat them good and they will treat your stuff good.

 

Like others have said they aren't employed by the ship, and the ship handles getting the bags to your stateroom.

 

I've heard that too but have never seen a difference when I have or have not. Remember that if they are Longshoremen, they are part of a strong union and probably make more than we do :)

[johneeo]

We leave in 2 days to go aboard the Ruby Princess for our first cruise. My husband is concerned about the porters taking our luggage to the ship. I told him his concerns were not warranted and that was the job of the porters was to care for the luggage and get it to the staterooms. Am I correct?

 

Just make sure you have carry ons that have all of your essentials (medications, passport, documents, bathing suit) and ALL OF YOUR VALUABLES.

 

So, in the rarest of instances, a bag gets lost, you have lost some clothes. Who needs clothes on a cruise anyway?;)

[paul929207]

Our luggage has always made it to our cabin without a problem

[gma_pat]

I've heard that too but have never seen a difference when I have or have not. Remember that if they are Longshoremen, they are part of a strong union and probably make more than we do :)

 

 

What I have seen in the chaos is that all the luggage is being piled on top of each other... just like you would see in an airline terminal... so they will really not remember which person belongs to a certain bag... unless you tip REALLY BIG ;). Just make sure that you luggage tags are on securely and that you also put your contact info inside the bag. I would worry more about the airline loosing my bag than the longshoremen...

[cb at sea]

We've never had a problem with the bags getting on the ship....$1-2 per bag is the normal tip....and sometimes, when we've arrived by "shuttle", we don't even see a porter, so no tip there! The bags always make it.

Your hubby is worrying too much. If he's so fearful, have him attempt to lug them all aboard by himself.

[Gonzo70]

In U.S. ports there is no need to tip the people serving as porters - they are longshoreman earning upper middle class salaries. You are already paying for their service in your cruise fare. They play a minimal role in getting your luggage to your stateroom - all they do is they take your luggage as you enter the cruise terminal, put it onto a cart that is beside them, and push the cart a few yards. From there others take over. They have your luggage for all of ten seconds. Unless you are having them do a personal service such as fill out new luggage tags for you (if your room was changed) or carry your bags at the end of a cruise to a taxi for you there is no need/expectation to tip them. There are signs up at U.S. ports informing people there is no need to tip them (or in some ports that they are not permitted to accept tips).

[trish1c]

Oops double post. :o

[trish1c]

I was worried on my 1st cruise too. It seems so odd -- giving your luggage to somebody who isn't employed by the cruise line. It just happens to be the industry custom & since it happens thousands of times per week all over the world you get more comfortable with it the more you cruise.

[iheartbda]

.......... There are signs up at U.S. ports informing people there is no need to tip them (or in some ports that they are not permitted to accept tips).

I'm not disputing anything you say but we had a different experience out of NYC. It was our very first cruise, we knew nothing so we followed "protocol". We had an X bus transfer to the port. When we got there, a porter supervisor boarded the bus, explained where we were to go when getting off the bus, told us the usual tip was $1-2 per bag, which he would collect as we got off the bus, and he would distribute it among the porters. I know the same thing happened a second time. Another time the bus driver took the suitcases out of the hold for the porters and we surely tipped him.

[Hlitner]

Do not be concerned about your luggage, but make sure it is well labled (we always put at least two labels on our luggage) and there is nothing valuable inside (valuables should always be with your carry on). The porters will simply toss your luggage into large luggage bins which are later moved onboard with fork trucks. Most cruise lines now screen your luggage (just like the airlines) and eventually it will be delivered to your cabin. Keep in mind that it can be hours until you get your luggage (it usually shows up in mid to late afternoon) so you might want to carry a few clothes items in your carry-on. When cruising out of warm weather ports we always put a swim suit and cover-up in our carry-on and while folks are running to and fro during that first afternoon we are nice and comfy in our deck chair with our books.

 

Hank

[MedicKen]

Just make sure you have carry ons that have all of your essentials (medications, passport, documents, bathing suit) and ALL OF YOUR VALUABLES.

 

So, in the rarest of instances, a bag gets lost, you have lost some clothes. Who needs clothes on a cruise anyway?;)

 

As well as the above advice, cross-pack your clothing. By that I mean don't make suitcase B exclusively your clothes and B exclusively your partners. Pack some of each others clothes in both bags in the RARE case they may misplace a bag. And I might add my endorsement to multiple luggage tags. I always have a paper with my information, including itinerary, in the inside pocket of each case. It sounds scary here but the process is quite efficient.

 

And we always tip, usually a buck a bag.

[cruisin'tex]

We leave in 2 days to go aboard the Ruby Princess for our first cruise. My husband is concerned about the porters taking our luggage to the ship. I told him his concerns were not warranted and that was the job of the porters was to care for the luggage and get it to the staterooms. Am I correct?

 

Several years ago, we fbought luggage that was within the required size for carry-on. So we don't check bags anymore.

 

Had a couple of previous experiences when we did that and luggage was mashed and a wheel broken.

 

Besides, we like to have our luggage when we board so we can get things unpacked and not have to wait. Of course, roll-on suitcases don't carry a lot; so we had to learn to pack light :eek:!

[ThePatientOne]

On topic,

We have never had an issue with our luggage going through the ports..

Tip the porters well and the luggage will get to where it needs to go..

However....

We have sailed with some that did not take care of the porters and while their luggage made it to the cabin, it was well soaked.. (Was raining when we boarded) Ours was nice and dry..

What does a couple of bucks hurt per bag. Nothing in my book..