When dropping luggage off at embarkation

[rundent]

I am referring to US ports, what's the consensus concerning letting them take your carry-on bags? Obviously not with the crown jewels but with admittedly important things like prescription drugs. Also not when checking in later in the day when one can go directly to the cabin and drop them off, but when you get on board early and have to wait around till you can go to the cabin.

[Cruseforme]

DH has some health issues, therefore we take our own medicines with us, just incase something occurs, and we also take precautionary drugs for other things. We never allow them out of our sight. Ask yourself the question that if they were to be misplaced, would the onboard Doctor be able to replace them, would you need to fly home without them, or are they of a controlled nature? If the answer is yes to the latter two, then keep them with you. If the items are precautionary, and being taken onboard for 'what if..' reasons, and are not necessarily specific or controlled, then decide yourself. Personally, I prefer to have them with us. YMMV

[azam71209]

I do notice lots of unhappy people with huge "carryon" items sitting in the Terrace Cafe for hours waiting to get in their cabin.

 

We drop off everything that is absolutely not essential and just keep a small bag with cash, credit cards, passport, essential meds, etc. That way we can wander about the ship, check out the library, sit by the pool, etc. and enjoy the ship.

 

Mary

[LHT28]

I usually have a small tote bag or small rolling carry-on(depending on STUFF I need)

I just drop the larger bags & keep my carry on with my meds & electronics

we usually board 1-2 pm so just sit on a lounger until we can get in our cabin

Sometimes we head to Barristas for a coffee but usually eat lunch before heading to the port

[edgee]

Seems that it is a balancing act between convenience of having the cruise line handling your bags and extremely small chance of not receiving your bags. Out of 30 plus cruises, including several on Oceania, we have never had a problem. Our last two cruises have been on Celebrity and both times we have heard of problems with delivery of luggage to cabins...in one case luggage was put on the wrong ship...on the other a bag was dropped into the ocean at Port if Miami. Would like to think with smaller Oceania ships there is less of a risk, but who knows?

[ronrick1943]

Never ever check your Rx's or any paperwork, ID-etc. Never.........

[rundent]

I meant to convey that I wouldn't leave my Rx's too.

[roothy123]

Maybe I'm more trusting than others, but I let them take almost everything other than a few things that are essential to me - my camera and phone, one or two documents, ID, passport, ship card, name of port agent in case I go out and run into a problem. Before I get to where Oceania takes your luggage, I usually take my small camera bag out of my carryon, put the above items in there, and leave the carryon for them to take to the room. At least half the time I eat lunch on the Terrace with my husband and then I go back ashore, so I don't want to drag a lot of stuff with me. My husband just takes the carryon with him to the Terrace until the room is ready.

 

After almost 20 cruises to date with 3 cruise lines, we haven't had any problems with lost, late, damaged or pilfered luggage.