Baggage handling

[GottaKnowWhen]

Probably the largest difference between airport luggage handling and cruise ship luggage handling, is that the ship does not allocate acres of real estate to handle baggage. The same areas and equipment that handles baggage is also used for ship's stores and provisions being loaded, crew passageways, and crew elevators.

 

 

 

Baggage goes off first thing when the ship is docked, via every single side port on the dock side of the ship. Then the provisions start coming on, and this usually takes nearly all turn-around day, and ties up the aft side port from being used for any other purpose. Ship's stores will also be loaded as soon as the bags are off. This is the engineering spare parts, paint, hotel stores like spare linens, toilet paper (by the pallet load), spa supplies, art auction and shop inventory. Generally, this is done about the time that embarkation starts, so the bags will start loading then. The baggage carts are loaded onto the ship and stored on the I-95 main corridor, until crew are available and space is available.

 

 

 

The crew assigned to handle baggage are people like wait staff and bartenders, whose venues are closed on turn-around day, but who still have duties in those areas preparing for the day's service, and who also were up most of the night taking the baggage down for offloading, so they needed to sleep sometime.

 

 

 

Baggage carts cannot just be left anywhere, due to safety regulations, so it becomes a ballet as to where the carts are left, leaving crew access, when elevators can be taken out of service for baggage, and how many carts can be on each deck. Then the empty carts have to be taken back down, folded and stored.

 

 

 

Then begins the transition between the wait staff and bar staff, who have to get to their normal duties, and the cabin stewards who have just finished servicing every cabin onboard, taken 1-2 hours rest, and are now taking over the baggage delivery.

 

 

 

They will also not start delivering baggage until the rooms are cleared for occupancy (in my experience), so that the bags don't interfere with the cleaning carts.

 

 

 

So, rather than a purpose built area for baggage, and employees who are solely baggage handlers, you have shared space and equipment and shared employees.

 

Classic! A great explanation the CC should put out there someplace as a sticky. Only thing I would add: OP, look over the side and you can watch some of the process. You can see the dock-side ballet of luggage carts and supply pallets and personnel trying to stay out of the way... A marvel to be admired. Be happy that it usually works well mostly!

[john watson]

Conversely I have always been pleased how quickly my bags turn up outside, and quite often inside my cabin. The more diligent cabin stewards I feel put them inside to free up access along the passageways for subsequent trolleys of cases to travel along the deck.

 

At Southampton your cases get put though holes in the wall of the terminal and these are labelled for different decks. It pays to hand cases in at the right spot but you could hand them over at any portal. Your baggage seems to have a sort of postal/zip code on it; F, M and A which stand for the forward, mid and aft stairwells at this point the cases are same decks and then get split three ways. I am think there are three trolleys at the end of the tunnel and they end up with similar deck cases on each and correct third of ships length then when it ascends to the correct deck it has the shortest distance to travel horizontally. The information also includes your deck and one is suspicious they try and get similar decks flocculated. A couple of guys moving a giant trolley can get this near to all relevant cabins and disperse appropriately in a much shorter timescale than thirty random cases from all over.

[Magnum60]

At the risk of sounding combative what's in anyone's luggage that can't wait a few hours to be re united with them once aboard? Flying to a debarkation port likely took a few hours of no luggage travel time before any of us got to stand at a baggage carousel watching other travelers baggage endlessly circle around.

Get 'must have now' items into your hand carry before leaving home. You're on board now and it's time to enjoy your first on board meal and meet some of your fellow 'no luggage yet' passengers.

Good chance your luggage will get back to your cabin before you and this time there'll be no standing as everyone's' bags except yours ride a carousel. Happy unpacking.