carry on or no?

[jumc]

Should we carry our own bags onto the ship or check them in with a porter? Worried about bags getting lost...We will be boarding around 11 am...will it be a hassle with our bags or will we be able to go right to our room? We will be on the Liberty this saturday.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Should we carry our own bags onto the ship or check them in with a porter? Worried about bags getting lost...We will be boarding around 11 am...will it be a hassle with our bags or will we be able to go right to our room? We will be on the Liberty this saturday.

 

 

Check them! Your cabin won't be ready until early afternoon, so any luggage you take on with you stays with you until your cabin is ready. Actually, I don't even know if you can walk on with anything bigger than a carry-on. I'm sure someone will know...

[jumc]

thanks!

[MICHLEV1974]

You can walk on with whatever bag(s) you want but they will encourage you to check them with the porter. It is a PIA to walk around til your room is ready with your luggage. If you can manage to pack a small bag with your bathing suit and your needed RX and such, I would highly recommend doing that and give your big bags to the porters.:) Enjoy your trip!

[cathyz]

You can walk on with whatever bag(s) you want but they will encourage you to check them with the porter. It is a PIA to walk around til your room is ready with your luggage. If you can manage to pack a small bag with your bathing suit and your needed RX and such, I would highly recommend doing that and give your big bags to the porters.:) Enjoy your trip!

Any bag that's carried on has to be small enough to fit thru the security scanner tho.

[pauleydm]

We always bring on our own luggage. We arrive to the port about an hour and a half after embarkation starts. That way, the check in line is shorter, and our cabin is ready as soon as we get on the ship. Once we have unpacked, we head to the lido deck for the buffet and the enjoy the sail away:)

[k2excursion]

I prefer to carry on as much as possible. I carry on a medium sized suitcase. It fits through the scanner with room to spare. It can be as long as you want, although I've heard that Galveston may be forcing people to check suitcases longer than 24". I also carry on a daypack. With 2 fingers & my back, I can carry that stuff around with no problem at all. We take turns grabbing lunch while the other watches the luggage. Then, I head up to get some sun, along side the luggage, until the room is ready at 1:30. Very easy, and I love having most of my stuff with me, especially knowing that all my electronics won't be thrown around and smashed about and crushed.

 

Since it seems to take forever for the checked luggage to arrive, I only pack clothes, that I don't need that day, in there. I don't like waiting until 6:00, wondering if the suitcase is going to arrive. On one cruise, the tag got ripped off, even though only a special tool can get the tag off. It's literally impossible for it to have been ripped off the way it was without a tool, yet it was all gone. It was a fluke that I found my suitcase sitting around near guest services. It took me a minute to figure out that it might be mine. Lock your checked luggage, put 2 tags on it, and put a luggage tag, in the form of a sheet of paper, in the front pocket. You just never know.

[glrounds]

I always check my luggage also, but have a carryon for, as another poster said, my camera, puter, phone, chargers, toiletries, and a change of clothes. Easy to carry around while waiting for my cabin to be ready.

 

If you check your luggage, MAKE SURE you have your cruising documents ON YOU and not bye bye in your luggage.:D

 

[IslandCruz]

I would never attempt to carry my luggage on board. You have to remember that most of the elevators will be closed and transporting luggage. You'll be doing a lot of lugging otherwise. :)

[fishtaco]

I would never attempt to carry my luggage on board. You have to remember that most of the elevators will be closed and transporting luggage. You'll be doing a lot of lugging otherwise. :)

 

This is good advise!

 

Den

[gadan1]

My last cruise I had two carry-on size suitcases, each with a good mix of clothes. On the flight, I carried one on and checked the other; flying has a greater risk of misplaced luggage. But at the pier, I handed both over to porters and walked on with just my purse (which wasn't big, but held my kindle, iphone, ipad, money, and documents). It was great. Especially since I was traveling solo and didn't have someone to watch my bags while i got something to eat after boarding. Now that I'm not carrying a laptop, I'm not inclined to carry anything bigger than my purse on board. I don't carry on wine, water or sodas.

[PreciousCruiser]

I always check my luggage also, but have a carryon for, as another poster said, my camera, puter, phone, chargers, toiletries, and a change of clothes. Easy to carry around while waiting for my cabin to be ready.

 

If you check your luggage, MAKE SURE you have your cruising documents ON YOU and not bye bye in your luggage.:D

 

 

And don't forget to keep your jewelry and meds in your carry on... :)

[dengirl69]

This is good advise!

 

Den

 

Had to comment on your signature den. That's my nickname. :) you must be Dennie?

[gelo7]

I have always checked my luggage. I keep our valuables with me in my backpack.

[Ours91]

Is there any rule on what size checked in luggage can or can't be? I have a regular large sized suitcase. Thank you:)

[bmloftis]

Ok, this might be a dumb question....Do they check every piece of luggage or just pick certain ones to check and do they notify you if they do check your luggage. What if it is locked?

[michelle1836]

I have always checked my luggage. I keep our valuables with me in my backpack.

 

Ditto. lugging around all the suitcases would be a big inconvenience for me

 

Ok, this might be a dumb question....Do they check every piece of luggage or just pick certain ones to check and do they notify you if they do check your luggage. What if it is locked?

 

you may get a call to the naughty room. and they do announce your name over the loud speaker!

[Emmabelle]

I would give them my carry-on too if I could, but I usually have my Dell notebook in there and don't want to risk losing it. I hate lugging stuff to the lunch buffet.

 

We actually now show up to the cruise dock around 1pm so that by the time we deal with everything our room is usually ready to dump off the carry-ons. ;)

[RTRMom]

I would never attempt to carry my luggage on board. You have to remember that most of the elevators will be closed and transporting luggage. You'll be doing a lot of lugging otherwise. :)

 

 

Same thing is true when you are leaving. Most elevators are packed, so if you plan on carrying off all luggage make sure you both can carry it down stairs. If not, you may have to wait for 15 mins to get on a packed elevator.

[treasure4two]

We usually each have a backpack and a bag that fits under the seat on plane and take it on with us. We get on early, find a good spot in Lido, eat, relax, and one at a time, check things out, and then about 1 PM take our rolling luggage with us, check out our assigned dining, sign up for Chef Table, get soda card and time to go to our cabins. Elevators have always been available early just after the cabins are ready, I unpack, get everything where I want it in the cabin for the entire cruise, go and iron my wrinkled clothes(usually only one there), and then I am good to go.

Has worked for us on last 10 cruises and only time we had to take our bags on stairs was when we were getting off and not a real problem.

That is our way, but you have to do what works best for you. I like to be totally organized and unpacked before the life vest drill(without the life vest:D)starts. Have fun, whatever you decide!

[cathyz]

Is there any rule on what size checked in luggage can or can't be? I have a regular large sized suitcase. Thank you:)

It has to be small enough to fit thru the security scanners, which are the same as at the airport.

[Dayenu]

Depending on the port - we were stopped twice and had to check in, once in US, once in Europe. We gave up ;)

[SooZ1138]

We always check our bags. It nice to be able to venture around the ship without having to carry everything with you. Plus, you have a better change smuggling if you check rather than carry on. :D

[kelkel2]

IF and only IF carnival let you go to your rooms immediately I may consider carrying on my bags, because we do carry them off and it's no big deal to us. We each have our one bag and can manage it. But, with things being the way they are and not getting to your room right away it's just too much to drag around for however long.

[gfy012]

you may get a call to the naughty room. and they do announce your name over the loud speaker!

 

That's not true. They will leave a message on your phone.