NCL breakaway, Embark question

[nena09]

Hello fellow cruisers,

I searched the boards but I couldn't find any info. Can I bring all my luggage on embarkation on the ship myself? Or do I have to hand it in to the guys taking luggage when you first get to the pier in NY? I just don't want to wait until they deliver my suitcase to me hours later. I want to unpack and get everything done quick when I first get on board.

 

I know you can self disembark and not hand in your suitcases the night before the last day. Just want to make sure.

[BirdTravels]

Hello fellow cruisers,

I searched the boards but I couldn't find any info. Can I bring all my luggage on embarkation on the ship myself? Or do I have to hand it in to the guys taking luggage when you first get to the pier in NY? I just don't want to wait until they deliver my suitcase to me hours later. I want to unpack and get everything done quick when I first get on board.

 

I know you can self disembark and not hand in your suitcases the night before the last day. Just want to make sure.

You can carry it if it fits through the hand-carry X-Ray machine. Just use the porters

[BostonGal35]

you can carry it on, but it seems very cumbersome to do so, particularly if you intend to eat lunch at the buffet or MDR.

 

we have always received our luggage before Muster. we usually just carry a small backpack with our valuables, meds, etc.

[Stellanor]

The more important thing is that your stateroom won't be ready for you to enter when you board, and I've seen people (with all due respect and courtesy) kicked out of their staterooms by the staff until they're ready. If you were to go in and start unpacking before the "Your Staterooms Are Now Ready" notification, you may be discovered there and asked to leave while the room is cleaned and prepared. The bag will appear at your stateroom door likely before the notification even goes out (I've always been able to enter around 1pm, and my bag has been there).

 

There was one time a long time ago that one member of the group I was cruising with was very protective of his luggage, and refused to give it to the porter when we arrived at the terminal. Instead he muscled the clearly heavy, oversized thing up through the port, through the snaking line and asked during check-in if he could take it onto the ship himself (it would later be discovered that he was trying to smuggle on a tremendous amount of hooch). We were cruising out of Miami (not sure if it's different for NY). The woman checking us in said that it may be possible, but she explained that she would have to take the bag now, give it to a porter to have it put through the scanner, come back to check in to continue her job and then find someone to bring it back through the port to him after it had been inspected; it really wasn't conducive to her getting back to work. They may have changed their rules to simply state "no" or "yes".

[Mike_DeA]

The simple answer is yes, as long as it fits through the x-ray machine.

 

I was forced to do this on NCL last year when my suitcase zipper broke and I was able to secure only with two luggage straps. I didn't want my bag out of my sight as items were nearly hanging out.

 

So if you have medium-sized bags, you should be fine. I would not bring large suitcases as they may not fit through the x-ray machines

[Jezo]

Yes, but why would you want to do this?

 

You dont need a week's worth of clothes the moment you get on board. Pack a small carry on with what you actually do need and let them deliver the big stuff later on.

[mking8288]

BA uses 2 (extra) long gangways to board, Fwd & Aft - in a "Z" configuration and depending on tides, can be rather steep. Porters do NOT go beyond security for embarkation - you are on your own - they do help when coming off for disembarkation (once you get "inside" the terminal building ) & down the escalator into the luggage hall before CBP.

 

Good luck dragging those around and trying to get into the small elevators, it is ALWAYS packed full of folks on that morning. When boarding, the lines are know to move, stop, move a little, stop again ... slowly until you get up to Deck 7.

 

Checked luggage begin arriving as early as 1:30P or 2 PM - it's not uncommon for us to be done unpacking our items (we cross-pack using color-coded packing cubes + always have a full set with our smaller carry-on/backpack with the essentials) before the mandatory safety drill. Just make sure you have ID/extra set of luggage tag with names/cabin info INSIDE the baggage, in case the exterior one get ripped off ... and have a smartphone photo of them in case tracking for the delayed bags need to be done.

 

Key to simple travel is mix-n-pack and take only 1/2 to 2/3 of what you think you will need - it's easy on the back, whether it's pulling or pushing or in runner's mode.

[nena09]

:DThanks for all the advice everyone! It does seem silly to bring the luggage on board. Embarkation last time for me was fine. Disembarkation was another thing. Will definitely self disembark so I don't have to wait in line wrapped around the whole deck like last time.

[mjkacmom]

:DThanks for all the advice everyone! It does seem silly to bring the luggage on board. Embarkation last time for me was fine. Disembarkation was another thing. Will definitely self disembark so I don't have to wait in line wrapped around the whole deck like last time.

We have waited, freezing our butts off, on an outside deck with all of our luggage, during disembarkment in NYC. Customs can be a problem. Now we always ditch our luggage the night before, just in case. We'd rather wait on long lines without it.