Boarding at Athens (Piraeus) - first ever cruise question

We have our first ever cruise, not just with Princess but with anyone, coming up in a few weeks. We’re departing from Athens (Piraeus). I have a question about boarding that comes from having read the Princess Cruises boarding instructions that I was hoping the experts here could help with.

It mentions that there are kerbside porters we can / should leave our luggage with, but that they aren’t Princess employees and that the Princess doesn’t take responsibility for them. When you fly, you’re always told never to leave your luggage with other people and not to let it out your sight until checked in with your airline.

Is leaving luggage with the kerbside porters normal? Is there any way of knowing that we’re leaving the bag with a ‘real’ porter and not a scammer? Is it possible to take our own bags on board?

Or am I worrying over nothing and this is all perfectly normal?

Thanks in advance for helping a first timer!

P.S I’ve seen other threads about tipping and that isn’t the issue – happy to give a couple of Euros to anyone helping with our bags.

We always leave our checked luggage with the porters and have never had any problem. Just give them a dollar or euro or so per bag.

Last year when we boarded Royal Princess in Athens this is what happened.

We collected our luggage from the airport baggage area, and walked with it through Customs. Then we were met by a Princess Rep' who ticked us off her list and told us to wait to one side for the rest of the passengers.

When everyone was accounted for we walked with our cases to the waiting coaches (and I watched them being loaded before getting on the coach myself).

At the port we retrieved our cases and then were told to leave them at a collection point (clearly marked) where the ship handlers were loading them onto pallets. We never saw them again until they were at our cabin door.

You will not need to use any other person/porter, regardless of what others may say.

The responses here assume you are you are using a Princess transfer, if you are fine. If not, then I would suggest that when you arrive at the port, ask where luggage is being collected for your ship, the port in Athens is very large... so make sure you are directed to the specific Princess ship area. We always watch to see our luggage is loaded in the luggage bins for our ship, no matter port we are in, foreign or domestic. We feel this is a good practice... many cruisers simply drop their luggage with a port and go... they are so excited about the cruise. We have never had any problems either.

Thanks all for the prompt replies. We're in Athens a few days before hand and so will be arriving from our hotel by taxi, rather than a Princess transfer.

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You can't miss the collection point. ;)

Don't worry it's painless.

Last year, we arrived via private transport and had the same experience as the poster who took the Princess transfer. It was an official Princess luggage collection spot where we dropped off our luggage. I do know that there was a strike that week of luggage handlers, though, so I saw crew AND high ranking officers pushing luggage cars down the long pier!

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Just in case anyone finds this thread by search, we're just back from the cruise and dropping bags was very straightforward and easy. Taxi dropped us right at the dock and about 10 metres from the official bag drop. Manned by Princess and port staff. Couldn't possibly miss it or be any easier. Thanks all for advice.

Just in case anyone finds this thread by search, we're just back from the cruise and dropping bags was very straightforward and easy. Taxi dropped us right at the dock and about 10 metres from the official bag drop. Manned by Princess and port staff. Couldn't possibly miss it or be any easier. Thanks all for advice.

Thanks for checking back in and glad everything went well. :cool:

Hope your cruise was excellent!