Does anyone carry their own bags on board?

[friday109]

When I vacation and stay at either a hotel or a vacation condo - the first thing I do is unpack and get organized immediately. THEN I feel relaxed and in "vacation mode".

I have been on a few cruises, and find that I get impatient waiting for my bags to be delivered to my cabin, and usually by the time they are delivered I want to be doing something else - then end up unpacking just before bed time.

 

I am thinking about taking our own bag on this time - My husband and I would have one roller bag each. I love the service of having the bag "appear" at our door but get impatient waiting for it.

 

??? Do you carry your own bags on?? Has it ever been a problem?

let me know what you think?

Thankx

Bonnie

[megr1125]

you will have to haul your stuff with you until cabins are ready.....and it has to fit thru the scanners.....

[mtwingcpa]

??? Do you carry your own bags on?? Has it ever been a problem?

 

Always!

 

I'd say the only problem is if you are boarding before your cabin is ready, you'll have to schlep around with your bags until then. But I think some ships setup an area where you can park your bags until the cabins are ready.

[EGG]

Your bag has to fit through the security scanner which is basically the same size as the airport scanners. If your luggage can fit through there, go for it

 

Another downside to remember is that if you board too early you will have to carry/wheel your luggage around until they open the doors to access the hallway to the cabin. Most people usually have their carryons with them. If you have more than one in your party you can take turns going to the buffet while one person sits with the luggage and if necessary find a place to wait until you can access your cabin.

[CapeCodCruiser]

We always carry on - plane, train or cruise ship. After 10 years or so of doing this DH & I have it down to a fine science!

[cb at sea]

Cruises are different than other vacations...prepare your mind for it!

I would NEVER lug all my stuff aboard, and have to schlepp it around....I mean, I like to get unpacked, too, but if it happens after dinner, so what?

I do bring what things I'll absolutely need prior to dinner, and anything of value, but the clothes....they can wait a couple of hours! I know that I'll be all set to go before I go to bed the 1st night!

Have some patience!!!

[cruiserbryce]

we have...on the shorter cruises where we have few bags. Also...we have considered our arrival time when doing this. If you get there before the cabins will be ready you will have to tote around anything you bring aboard...something to consider if you arent a light packer

[RetireeWannabee]

Since I have no concept of "must unpack immediately" it's difficult to see it from your point of view.

 

But, if taking it around with you for a while is 'worth it' to you, then why not? the other tradeoff is having to take smaller luggage, which is either ok with you or not.

[paul929207]

We never carry all our bags on board,but there is no reason you can't. As mentoned above, the two restrictions are that you must be able to carry/lug them from the drop off point until you get in your cabin and each bag must fit thru a security scanner that is the size of the ones at the airport.

[Guest TropicOne]

No, just a small carry-on. To busy getting into "cruise mode" to be burdened with luggage.

[mamasue]

On our RCCL cruise last week from Port Canaveral, some people tried to bring large bags on board, but were turned away at the entrance, and told to go give the bags to a porter.

 

Just seems too much work, lugging big bags around!

[DonMar]

We always carry on - plane, train or cruise ship. After 10 years or so of doing this DH & I have it down to a fine science!

 

 

Glad to hear there are other out there :)

 

We have always carried our luggage on. We travel carry on only no matter where or how we travel. Going an a 12 day cruise and will do it with carry on only.

 

As other posters have said, you need to bring you luggage with you through the ship until your cabin is ready. We have been very lucky and our cabin has either been ready or was being prepared when we boarded. If the cabin is being prepared, we ask if we could drop our luggage in the cabin. Never had a problem.

[sandy beach girl]

We just have our carry ons with us and let the bigger luggage be delivered later. We like to sit by the pool, eat at the lunch buffet, and explore the ship while we wait for our room to be ready so it wouldn't do us much good to tow all of our luggage. That's just us though.

[navybankerteacher]

If you can live for a week out of two carry-on size bags, go fo it. But a large bag will not fit through carry-on scanner. HAL always has an area set aside where you can leave your carry-ons until your stateroom is available.

 

Of course, the point of a carry-on is to have enough to live with for a day or so if main luggage gets mis-directed - so you should be able to put off unpacking until second day.

[yogi2929]

Anything larger than a 22" bag we check in. Once we did carry on our larger bag. Major PITA even though the cabin was ready for us.

 

Most scanners are set up for a 16 x 24 bag. The third dimension can be any length.

[BIG_Steve]

I can't be bothered with carrying my own luggage on. I see folks walking around the ship lugging their stuff, and trying to sip a drink, or trying to cram all their stuff around the buffet table and looking haggered and miserable. Not for me.

 

I might roll it in with me if the room was ready. But otherwise, not a chance.

 

YMMV

[Traveler353]

OP: I always carry my own bag, flying or cruising. I use a convertable back pack and a small day pack. Packing lite is the key. I have a self imposed weight limit of 18 pounds. It is amazing how little one actually needs in the way of clothes on a cruise ship. Of course to hear some people tell it they just have everything for every contengence, just in case. Pack for the best case not the worst. A major benifit of this is easy on, easy off and you will never have to worry about lost luggage.

[MacBraces]

Glad to hear there are other out there :)

 

We have always carried our luggage on. We travel carry on only no matter where or how we travel. Going an a 12 day cruise and will do it with carry on only.

 

As other posters have said, you need to bring you luggage with you through the ship until your cabin is ready. We have been very lucky and our cabin has either been ready or was being prepared when we boarded. If the cabin is being prepared, we ask if we could drop our luggage in the cabin. Never had a problem.

 

DonMar,

 

12 day cruise with only carry on :eek: I need to have a copy of your packing list. LOL Doing 15 day Treasures of the Rhine 11/08 and worrying about a normal size suitcase.

 

Lori

[Cruisin' Chick]

Could never limit myself to one small bag. We just give the luggage and our plastic crate o' beverages to the porters and take on our carryons. Fortunately Princess has always had the cabins ready so we can go unpack the carryons and head off to explore the ship. But we don't always completely unpack our luggage as they fit under the bed.

[carlmm]

On our RCCL cruise last week from Port Canaveral, some people tried to bring large bags on board, but were turned away at the entrance, and told to go give the bags to a porter.

 

And it seems very reasonable to deny boarding with large bags.

Just imagine two thousands and more people on average with one or two suitcases and a carryon - in the waiting area, in the line to board, taking the embarkation picture, on the gangway, than in the staircases or more probably in the elevators resp. waiting in huge crowds in front of the elevators with all the luggage piling the floors.

The whole flow of people would break down.

 

No, carrying your bags yourself is not a good idea. It might work if only a few people do yet it certainly does not if it sets a precedent.

[navybankerteacher]

And it seems very reasonable to deny boarding with large bags.

Just imagine two thousands and more people on average with one or two suitcases and a carryon - in the waiting area, in the line to board, taking the embarkation picture, on the gangway, than in the staircases or more probably in the elevators resp. waiting in huge crowds in front of the elevators with all the luggage piling the floors.

The whole flow of people would break down.

 

No, carrying your bags yourself is not a good idea. It might work if only a few people do yet it certainly does not if it sets a precedent.

 

Excellent point -- something which works if one or two people in a hundred do it (even then they often inconvenience others), can be chaos if many try it. Just like on planes - the aggressive carry-on people -with two large items and one or two small can use more than ttheir share of overhead storage - forcing others to have their one carry on on the floor.

[Bonnie J.]

Your bags do have to go through the x-ray machine or they must be checked. When the hallway to our cabin is still closed, we just open the door, go to our cabin and leave even carry on stuff there. We tell the steward this is what we're doing and we leave. Never been told we couldn't do that. And yes we have carried on two suitcases small enough to fit in the x-ray machine along with a collapsable garmet bag. But trying to carry them off was different story. There were so many people waiting to do this by the elevators that when the elevator doors open the people literally could not get off! That was a zoo!

[startraveler]

DonMar,

 

12 day cruise with only carry on :eek: I need to have a copy of your packing list. LOL Doing 15 day Treasures of the Rhine 11/08 and worrying about a normal size suitcase.

 

Lori

 

Not the poster but I did a 10-day with just a carry-on. Last year we did two people for a seven day cruise with just two carry-ons - and one of them was a garment bag (and there was no self-serve laundry on board.) We're planning on doing the same thing in a few weeks with an eight-day cruise.

 

As for a packing list, one of the neat things I found in an outdoors store was a pair of pants (beige) in which the legs unzip around the knees, forming a pair of shorts. I'll be bringing two of those with me, my swimsuit, a pair of sleep shorts, and possibly also a pair of black slacks. I also bring only one pair of black shoes, which can double for the hour or so of formal time plus everyday walking. Maybe I'll bring my water shoes, but those are small. (My inlaws brought a suitcase of just shoes on the 10-day which never got used.) Socks and underwear I bring enough for the cruise (though there is a laundry on board this one), but those are small enough to be rolled up. Ditto for shirts. And trial size bathroom stuff - shaving cream, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, deodorant - not only passes airport security but it does last for a week.

 

All of this for two people fits into a 21" carry-on. We've never found ourselves needing stuff. And if we do, it's not like the ports don't carry them.

[jpg1747]

Anything I can carry onboard the plane I will also carry on to the ship. I generally arrive right around the time the cabins are available so I can go directly to the cabin and drop off my bag.

[pg.]

If you can live for a week out of two carry-on size bags, go fo it. But a large bag will not fit through carry-on scanner. HAL always has an area set aside where you can leave your carry-ons until your stateroom is available.

 

Of course, the point of a carry-on is to have enough to live with for a day or so if main luggage gets mis-directed - so you should be able to put off unpacking until second day.

 

Too funny,, cruisers are a different breed for sure.. I can live for 3 weeks in Europe,,bringing only one carry one,, ( 22 inches) Trust me, when you are jumping trains, and carrying bags up and down stairs,, one bag is all you need.

 

Only difference I can see, it on cruises one does need formal wear,, so I think we will all be comfortable with the one carry on each,, plus we will bring one garment bag for formals. I guess we can check that one bag.. I do not like checking bags,,never do for land vacations.