Don't Check Your Baggage?

[expo]

The wife and I are going on our first cruise on Monday and were told by a friend with many cruises under his belt that we should not check our bags. That it is not a big deal to carry them and it saves having to wait.

 

Any opinions on that?

[NJBride]

Depending on what time you board, your room may not be ready so you will have to lug your luggage all around with you. Each time we cruised, we checked our luggage and we had it in our room by 3 or 4--if there is something you don't want to wait for, then just carry it on in a carry on bag.

[Socref124]

Depending on what time you board, your room may not be ready so you will have to lug your luggage all around with you. Each time we cruised, we checked our luggage and we had it in our room by 3 or 4--if there is something you don't want to wait for, then just carry it on in a carry on bag.

 

I agree 100%. We always check our luggage and take in a carry on with us. It could be a pain dragging luggage around for an hour or two,

[NAMVET]

I agree 100%. We always check our luggage and take in a carry on with us. It could be a pain dragging luggage around for an hour or two,

I agree. We check our bags and just bring a carry on with us that has necesssities such as necessary meds and a change of clothes. Beats the heck out of dragging your suitcases around with you.:D

[firefly333]

If your bags are bigger than carry on, you have no choice, they make you check them. We usually bring one suitcase too big to carry on they send us to check. Not allowed to bring it thru xray.

[expo]

What time do you normally get your luggage by?

[NJBride]

What time do you normally get your luggage by?

 

Each time I have cruised I have had it before the muster drill so around 4 or so.

[bighairtexan]

Sometimes it doesn't come til after dinner. So pack what you need until then in your carryon. But anything that doesn't fit thru the x-ray scanner will be checked. And I agree, who wants to lug a bunch of luggage around, especially if you get on board and your room isn't ready.

[sam1148]

Another side issue is that the carry on baggage scanners are more diligent in searching, not for dangerous thing..they all do that, but for contraband. Bottle shapes that could be booze etc. I think the scanners at the check-in are carnival employees so they look for more things. While the scanners for checked baggage are TSA/port employees and they only look for illegal things.

 

Now, when you leave the ship..I like the self dis-embarking. It means you don't have to put everything in the hall at midnight or search for your luggage in the luggage sea.

[BrendaB1]

Check your bags.....for your convenience & everybody else on the ship.

[CarribbeanTina271]

Check your bags.. more than likely you will have them by dinner... but like one poster stated pack a outfit for dinner, meds, camera, anything really important in your carry on..

[grhawki]

When you check your bags just make sure you tip the porter a buck or two per bag that way your bags will get on there safe and sound. I would not carry them on with you because depending on the ship and the number of bags that can be real chore. Greg

[Love PalmTrees]

I agree!! Check the big bags and take the carry-on with the essentials. Don't forget the essentials also include that bathing suit, sunblock, and flip flops! If for some reason bags are late or go astray for day or so (which I recall reading here some time ago), at least you will be able to enjoy the sun and the pool!! :D I do this on the flight wherever we go as well. Airlines are notorious for losing luggage. It's easy to replace other clothes, but finding a bathing suit that fits is always a real challenge.

[misguidedangel]

The lastest I have gotten my bags is 4pm, right around muster drill time. The earliest was when the cabins were ready--1:30!!!!!!

[ray98]

Yup...check them. You will have you luggage by the time you need any clothing or anything. It is a pain carrying around a carry-on considering how busy the common areas and elevators are during boarding....I could only imagine having all the luggage....it would be a nightmare.

[GB Chicago]

Well, it was never our intent to carry on our full size bags with our smaller carry on bags but here is what happened to us from my Destiny review posted today:

 

Based on my prior four cruises and all the posts I knew we could probably board around 11:30 so we headed out to the port in a taxi early. Twice the taxi driver asked us which ship we were on and twice we told him the Destiny. In our sleep deprived sleep state we trusted he would drop us off at the right port. Not so much. We found a really nice porter who told us his name was Big Poppa and commented on how nice I had attached our Carnival baggage tags. We tipped him and headed to the port door Fun Pass in hand. Greeted by the cruise agent she took one look at our Fun Pass and told us that not only were we at the Norwegian Dawn but that was exactly where our bags were going to go. We flew out the door and across the drive screaming “Big Poppa!!!!! We need our bags!!!!” …..which unfortunately were on a cart being wheeled away by another porter. Thankfully my sister saw the cart and we all raced over to drag our bags off. After that panic we decided we would not let our bags out of our site and hauled them onto the free port bus and onto the ship. No more porters for us! We realized later after looking at the Norwegian Dawn itinerary that we would have been on our ship for five days in our shorts and T shirts while our clothes partied away in the Dominican Republic!

By the way these were full size bags each with a bottle of wine in them!

[Maxax]

We always check the large bags full of clothes...and carry on....one small bag each...with the really critical stuff like, cameras, Ipods, passports, and prescription meds.

[basill1970f]

We always have checked ours as well. I do roll around a small carry on and a hand bag. These have our essentials in them including at least one full day of clothes, bathing suit, shorts tshirt and a sweatshirt as im from mi and it is usually cold when we come in so i have to shove that in my bag. Put your things you cant go without in your carry on and enjoy not having to push all of your bags around in the hot sun for a few hours waiting for your rooom.

 

On a side note if u do check more than one bag.. mix up the clothes dh puts some in mine and vica versa that way if one doesnt happen to show up we are still prepared... never had a problem on either account as of yet :D

[momofzeke]

I've never been able to figure out how folks can go on a cruise and get everything they need into a carry-on bag, especially with the airline restrictions about liquids. :confused:

 

I don't usually like the shampoo that is provided on the ship, but even if I did use that......there's still hairspray, lotion, sunblock, hand sanitizer gel, face moisturizer, shave cream or gel, etc. I don't think I could ever fit it all into a quart size ziplock, even if I got travel size stuff. Especially the sunblock....we take a lot of that.

 

I know you can buy that stuff on the ship, but it's spendy.

 

I admire those who can pull it off, though. :cool:

[BBigfoot613]

The wife and I are going on our first cruise on Monday and were told by a friend with many cruises under his belt that we should not check our bags. That it is not a big deal to carry them and it saves having to wait.

 

Any opinions on that?

 

We're very experienced cruisers. When we went on our first cruise we over packed just a tad (not terribly). We checked the big bags and carried on the essentials, cameras, change a clothes. that bag wasn't that heavy but by the time we went thru the line if felt like a ton. I remember telling the DW that we'd be checking EVERYTHING on our next cruise. Well we have on planned for june and plan on checking everything except the cameras and paperwork stuff. The timely delivery of our bags was suprising. We sailed away at 7. We were in line around 1230, onboard by 115 and had bags and ready room by 2ish. Looking back the carryon and overpacking were the 2 major rookie mistakes we made. Hope this helps give you an opinion of someone that was in your shoes not too long ago.

[sumismom]

On a side note if u do check more than one bag.. mix up the clothes dh puts some in mine and vica versa that way if one doesnt happen to show up we are still prepared... never had a problem on either account as of yet :D

 

What a great tip - I just learned something new - thanks!:)

[tnt091605]

The wife and I are going on our first cruise on Monday and were told by a friend with many cruises under his belt that we should not check our bags. That it is not a big deal to carry them and it saves having to wait.

 

Any opinions on that?

 

Our baggage has arrived every time between 1:30 and 4.

[mom_5]

I've never been able to figure out how folks can go on a cruise and get everything they need into a carry-on bag, especially with the airline restrictions about liquids. :confused:

 

I don't usually like the shampoo that is provided on the ship, but even if I did use that......there's still hairspray, lotion, sunblock, hand sanitizer gel, face moisturizer, shave cream or gel, etc. I don't think I could ever fit it all into a quart size ziplock, even if I got travel size stuff. Especially the sunblock....we take a lot of that.

 

I know you can buy that stuff on the ship, but it's spendy.

 

I admire those who can pull it off, though. :cool:

 

I totally agree. I need a carryon just for that stuff and shoes alone! :D

[BBigfoot613]

We're very experienced cruisers. When we went on our first cruise we over packed just a tad (not terribly). We checked the big bags and carried on the essentials, cameras, change a clothes. that bag wasn't that heavy but by the time we went thru the line if felt like a ton. I remember telling the DW that we'd be checking EVERYTHING on our next cruise. Well we have on planned for june and plan on checking everything except the cameras and paperwork stuff. The timely delivery of our bags was suprising. We sailed away at 7. We were in line around 1230, onboard by 115 and had bags and ready room by 2ish. Looking back the carryon and overpacking were the 2 major rookie mistakes we made. Hope this helps give you an opinion of someone that was in your shoes not too long ago.

 

 

LMAO!!! can't believe I put that this morning... should read we're not very experienced cruisers....

[5waldos]

I've never been able to figure out how folks can go on a cruise and get everything they need into a carry-on bag, especially with the airline restrictions about liquids. :confused:

 

I don't usually like the shampoo that is provided on the ship, but even if I did use that......there's still hairspray, lotion, sunblock, hand sanitizer gel, face moisturizer, shave cream or gel, etc. I don't think I could ever fit it all into a quart size ziplock, even if I got travel size stuff. Especially the sunblock....we take a lot of that.

 

I know you can buy that stuff on the ship, but it's spendy.

 

I admire those who can pull it off, though. :cool:

 

I did it first time out. It wasn't difficult.I have a 20 inch roll bag. I get travel size packets of things, take the time at the port to hit a drugstore for the things that are easy to get and cheap and don't come in travel size, or I know I will need a large size, and am ready to go. Most of that stuff goes into a large pocketbook (VERY large pocketbook) into which I put my regular purse. If it doesn't fit, I won't take it. I learned after getting stuck alone at a port with nobody around to help, nothing, and I was barely able to move. I just keep taking more and more out- it is amazing how little you really need. And yes, I am a woman.