Luggage transfer question

[cltdad]

Traveling with older parents who are first time cruisers and are weird when it comes to parting with their luggage. They will be taking Disney Transport from MCO. I think they think there is a chance that it will end up missing or otherwise dissappear. Does anyone else hold onto all of their luggage, not just small carry ons, as they board the ship? Anyone else not put it out to be transfered at the end of the cruise? Has anyone ever heard of reports of luggage disappearing during the transfer process? I am trying to get them to chill out so any insight will be helpful. Thanks!

[Shmoo here]

Traveling with older parents who are first time cruisers and are weird when it comes to parting with their luggage. They will be taking Disney Transport from MCO. I think they think there is a chance that it will end up missing or otherwise dissappear. Does anyone else hold onto all of their luggage, not just small carry ons, as they board the ship? Anyone else not put it out to be transfered at the end of the cruise? Has anyone ever heard of reports of luggage disappearing during the transfer process? I am trying to get them to chill out so any insight will be helpful. Thanks!

 

If you're taking DCL transfers from MCO, your bags will be collected directly from the airline baggage area and taken to the DCL truck. They will be loaded directly onto the ship when the truck arrives at the port, and will show up at your room onboard later that afternoon.

 

If you want to claim your bags at the airport, DON'T put the DCL luggage tags on them before taking your flight. Then you can claim the bags and bring them with you to the DCL bus check in desk. At that time they will be taken from you and placed on a DCL truck (or sometimes underneath the bus) to be taken to the port. Once at the port, the porters there will take the bags directly from the truck/bus through security screening and then onboard the ship to your room.

 

This is for any bags larger than your typical carry on size. Large bags cannot be carried onboard the ship by passengers.

 

At the end of the cruise, there are a couple of different options.

 

If you are again using DCL transfers to the airport, are you planning on using the Onboard Airline Checkin process? If so, once the bags are picked up outside your door the last night, you won't see them again until you are at your home airport.

 

If you aren't using the Onboard Airline checkin, you leave your bags outside your door the last night, and DCL crew will see to getting it off the ship and into the terminal, where you claim it the next morning and handle it yourself through customs/immigration. Then you hand the bags to the bus driver to be carried under the bus to the airport. There you again get your bags and take them to your airline counter for check in.

 

OR, you can carry your own bags off the ship, but it's a real pain, in my opinion. The elevators are small, you must be out of your room by 8:00, so you'll have to wrangle those bags to breakfast (leaving them outside the dining room while you eat) and then off the ship in the masses of people.

 

I've only ever heard of one time where someone's bags were not picked up at the Hyatt MCO to be taken to the DCL transfer truck. And that was a Hyatt issue, not DCL.

 

Believe me, DCL has done this thousands of times, and they've got their process down.

[moki'smommy]

Yes, there are occasional reports of luggage disappearing after being placed outside the cabin the last night. This usually happens when some idiot passenger who can't read claims the bag as theirs....and hopefully realizes it before they leave the terminal. That doesn't always happen though.

 

I've never heard of luggage disappearing when given to DCL to get TO your cabin on the ship. I have, of course, read of the airline losing it so it never got to DCL.

 

Here's your problem. After we had contents damaged due to a jerk guest who didn't follow DCL's rules and packed wine in his luggage when he put it out, I started carrying my own luggage off the ship. That worked fine until a family member was diagnosed with a progressive disabling disease and boards using a wheelchair. I can't manage all the luggage myself, (even if only one regular + one carry on per person) so we really have no choice but to put it out. My guess is that your elderly parents are in the same situation.

 

If you choose to carry your own luggage on, it must fit thru the scanner...but you can do it. You also must carry/roll it until the cabins are open at 1:30. If you choose to carry it off, you take it to breakfast with you and there is no assistance whatsoever to get it off.

 

NOTE--I'm not saying or implying that there should be assistance, just pointing out that there is none.

 

DCL altered the system to avoid the Hyatt issue mentioned by Shmoo. Years ago, you just got on the Hyatt list and the bag magically showed up on the ship. NOW, you get on the Hyatt list and the Hyatt gives you a form to give to DCL in addition to placing you on their list--the list tells Hyatt to pick up your bag. The form tells DCL to be sure that they have the bags...just another safety feature built in.

Edited January 31, 2017 by moki'smommy

[ArthurUSCG]

Traveling with older parents who are first time cruisers and are weird when it comes to parting with their luggage. They will be taking Disney Transport from MCO. I think they think there is a chance that it will end up missing or otherwise dissappear. Does anyone else hold onto all of their luggage, not just small carry ons, as they board the ship? Anyone else not put it out to be transfered at the end of the cruise? Has anyone ever heard of reports of luggage disappearing during the transfer process? I am trying to get them to chill out so any insight will be helpful. Thanks!

 

I would think there is less chance in luggage disappearing using the DCL transfer because it pulled before the luggage goes out on to the luggage carousel for the public to retrieve their luggage.

So, why risk someone taking your luggage before you can get to the conveyor belt. The luggage transfer time from the plane to the luggage carousel at MCO can be faster then it takes people to walk there especially if they are not fast walkers. MCO is laid out as a giant H with T shaped terminals on the ends of the H that you have to ride a Tram to get to.

 

You could have to take your luggage back across MCO to the other side to give to DCL. Below is the map of the main building of MCO, the DCL bus is on side B.

https://www.orlandoairports.net/getting-around-mco/#terminal-maps

https://www.orlandoairports.net/getting-around-mco/

 

 

MCO is also in the process of replacing the Trams, if something happens, then ride time could be increased due to having to use busses or only 1 tramp per terminal.

[moki'smommy]

I would think there is less chance in luggage disappearing using the DCL transfer because it pulled before the luggage goes out on to the luggage carousel for the public to retrieve their luggage.

So, why risk someone taking your luggage before you can get to the conveyor belt.

 

This is only true if you are flying in and going directly to either WDW or DCL using their transportation.

 

If you fly in the day before, you will claim your luggage from the carousel.