Question about luggage & disembarkation

I hear you have to leave your luggage outside your door the night before you leave the ship.

If you’re taking a post-cruise extension, is that still the case? Our cruise ends in Bergen, but we’re staying another night in Bergen at a hotel, then taking a train to Oslo (all through Viking). I’d ideally like to keep my toiletries and such with me that last night (and morning) without having to bring a separate carry-on bag. So I’m hoping they’ll let us keep our suitcases and then take them to the hotel for us the next day.

Was that your experience?

That was not the case for us. We ended a cruise in Montreal and stayed on another day. They sent out very specific instructions, everyone’s bag had a color coded tag depending on what you were doing and where you were going post cruise,even the Viking post -cruise people staying on. The next morning, we stayed in our cabin until about 8, then felt silly marching down to breakfast with our carry ons—until we noticed that everyone else had them too. We stayed on board until about 10, then disembarked. It was quite easy.

We stopped leaving our bags out 15+ cruises ago. Even when we had full size bags, we still wheeled them off on our own. We would usually pack in the morning and have the bags ready to go with the room basically vacant. Then go to breakfast, return for bags and wheel them off.

Over the past two years, we have switched to carryon only. Even for two weeks. Life is much easier now. If we had a full size though - we would still take it off ourself.

The rule is out of the cabin by 8am, no exceptions; and your color coded bags outside your door the night before by 10. Then everybody congregates wherever waiting until they are to gather in the Star Theater per the color code on their luggage. Wherever includes the World Cafe (have a lingering breakfast and coffee), the Living Room on Deck 1 (coffee and goodies provided) and any other place that's not a cabin. Based on two cruises, the first with a post cruise extension, they worked to have folks off the ship by 10.

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Oh, forgot to mention, we each travel with a medium sized backpack/rucksack in addition to checkin sized luggage (1 each). We carry a number of zilplock freezer bags (gallon and quart) that we use to pack our PJs, any very few items of laundry, and whatever few toiletries we will need in the morning into our backpacks. Then it's no big deal to put our big bags outside the door at 10.

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I hear you have to leave your luggage outside your door the night before you leave the ship.

 

If you’re taking a post-cruise extension, is that still the case? Our cruise ends in Bergen, but we’re staying another night in Bergen at a hotel, then taking a train to Oslo (all through Viking). I’d ideally like to keep my toiletries and such with me that last night (and morning) without having to bring a separate carry-on bag. So I’m hoping they’ll let us keep our suitcases and then take them to the hotel for us the next day.

 

Was that your experience?

"Have to" is perhaps the wrong word. It makes it sound like it is mandatory and it isn't. Only if you want Viking to take your luggage off the ship for you do you have to have it outside your door by 10 pm -- and only that luggage that you want them to carry off for you; you can put one suitcase out and wheel the other off with you in the morning (just keep in mind that you will have to be out of your cabin by 8am). Honestly, how you handle this is up to you and as you have already read in the prior posts, we all do it slightly differently.

The Viking disembarkation process is very civilized. Soon after boarding, you will be asked to fill out a disembarkation questionnaire. A couple of days before disembarkation, you will receive detailed instructions along with color coded luggage tags. The detailed instructions will tell you what time to disembark. You may wait in any of the ship's public areas. There will be no announcements. When your time comes, just proceed to the gangway, swipe your keycard for the last time and head into the cruise terminal where you will retrieve any luggage that you left outside your door (it will be organized by color). Everyone must retrieve their luggage and wheel it out of the terminal. If you have Viking transfers to the airport or for an extension, you will be directed to the correct bus where you will hand your luggage over to be stored under the bus for the drive.

I hear you have to leave your luggage outside your door the night before you leave the ship.

 

If you’re taking a post-cruise extension, is that still the case? Our cruise ends in Bergen, but we’re staying another night in Bergen at a hotel, then taking a train to Oslo (all through Viking). I’d ideally like to keep my toiletries and such with me that last night (and morning) without having to bring a separate carry-on bag. So I’m hoping they’ll let us keep our suitcases and then take them to the hotel for us the next day.

 

Was that your experience?

Yes, but you can keep them if you want. We had a carry on so no big deal to keep toiletries and pack anything but you can just wheel them out or they will.