Bag delivery/room ready times

[grouchomarx]

Thanks for everyone who has given me so much knowledge about NCL Joy here on CC!  I am almost out of questions!  I want to know what is your general experience with when rooms are ready and when bags are delivered.  The more recent cruises I’ve been on with other lines, the room is ready like almost or actually immediately (with a few exceptions) and the bags always come in the afternoon well ahead of dinner. If NCL is different I could pack a carry on tote to have swimwear for the afternoon and a dinner outfit just in case. Leaving from NYC to Bermuda end of June.  Thanks!

[Two Wheels Only]

13 minutes ago, grouchomarx said:

...and the bags always come in the afternoon well ahead of dinner.

 

99.9% of the time, you will receive your luggage well before dinner. 

[jackieodonnell]

I would recommend bringing you bathing suit and night time outfit in your carryon just in case. 

My cruise on the Joy back in September, the rooms were ready at 4pm. The bags didn't arrive until 6pm. We had a Haven room. Some rooms didn't get their bags until later.

Back in the day the rooms were ready by 1pm and bags by 6pm-ish.

To be safe put some stuff in your carryon. 

We are also going end of June and I plan to have sunscreen and swimsuits because it may be beautiful out for sail away! 

[shof515]

on all of my recent ncl cruises, cabin was not ready until around 230 and i did not get my bags until after 6ish

[zqvol]

I’ve had two cruises since they switched to once a day cabin service. Both times the cabins were ready between 2:30 and 3:00. Surprisingly in both cases my bag was there when I got to the cabin. YMMV

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, grouchomarx said:

Thanks for everyone who has given me so much knowledge about NCL Joy here on CC!  I am almost out of questions!  I want to know what is your general experience with when rooms are ready and when bags are delivered.  The more recent cruises I’ve been on with other lines, the room is ready like almost or actually immediately (with a few exceptions) and the bags always come in the afternoon well ahead of dinner. If NCL is different I could pack a carry on tote to have swimwear for the afternoon and a dinner outfit just in case. Leaving from NYC to Bermuda end of June.  Thanks!

 

We were on the Joy a week ago. All rooms were ready by 2:45ish. Our floor was called at 2:15. Most ships try to have all rooms available by 2:30ish. We had our bags by 3:30ish. 

 

Each room steward has 24 rooms to turn over. And they get slowed down when people refuse to leave their rooms by the required 8:00 am on arrival day back in NYC. 

Edited May 29 by BirdTravels

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 hours ago, grouchomarx said:

If NCL is different I could pack a carry on tote to have swimwear for the afternoon and a dinner outfit just in case.

99.89% of folks just wear whatever they had on to dinner.  IIRC, for this reason, dress codes are ignored on embarkation day.  Do you really hop on a cruise ship and head straight for the pool?  I don't think I've ever seen this.

[G-DawgMN]

8 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

99.89% of folks just wear whatever they had on to dinner.  IIRC, for this reason, dress codes are ignored on embarkation day.  Do you really hop on a cruise ship and head straight for the pool?  I don't think I've ever seen this.

 

 They usually head to the hot tubs to marinate in that mixture of water and bodily fluids.

 

  I usually see people in the pool on embarkation day, but not a massive amount. Spice H2O on ships that have it tends to be pretty busy also. All this depends on the port you're leaving from also.

 

 

[graphicguy]

I think it depends on what port you're sailing out of (some are quite the scene with passengers getting on and off).

 

I've had my cabin ready by 1:30-ish and sometimes not until 3:00.  I don't check luggage.  I drop it off at the ship's designated holding area and come get it when I'm ready to go to my cabin.  So, can't help you there.

[Laszlo]

Our last few cruises our cabins have been ready before we got done lunch which was about 12:30pm. Our bags.... we have seen them at 3pm we have seen them at 8pm and all times in between

[zqvol]

22 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Our last few cruises our cabins have been ready before we got done lunch which was about 12:30pm. Our bags.... we have seen them at 3pm we have seen them at 8pm and all times in between

A question for you regarding when you can get into your cabin: Have you sailed since they went to once a day cabin service and decreased the number of stewards? 

[Laszlo]

5 minutes ago, zqvol said:

A question for you regarding when you can get into your cabin: Have you sailed since they went to once a day cabin service and decreased the number of stewards? 

Have not, it started right after our last cruise. We sail in 30 days however we have a suite so we still get service twice a day as far as I know

[zqvol]

1 minute ago, Laszlo said:

Have not, it started right after our last cruise. We sail in 30 days however we have a suite so we still get service twice a day as far as I know

It really has delayed the time when regular cabins are available until between 2:30 and 3:00 on most sailings. I don’t know what if any impact it has had on suites and Haven 

[Laszlo]

Wow, didn't realize it was that late. Will be on the Gem in 30 days, I'll be curious how it is. Our friends are right down the hall from us in a standard balcony

[Ellis1138]

In general, on NCL, my room has been ready about 2pm and the checked bag arrives around 6 pm. I actually wear my bathing suit as my underwear on embarkation day, to save time. I wear my embarkation day clothing to dinner, because nobody expects anything dressy. NCL doesn't even have a mandatory formal night. 

 

But yes, you should have a carry on with everything that you can't afford to be without for a night. (Medicines, medical equipment, one day's change of clothing in case your checked case goes missing, toiletries that you need, etc.)

[grouchomarx]

12 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

99.89% of folks just wear whatever they had on to dinner.  IIRC, for this reason, dress codes are ignored on embarkation day.  Do you really hop on a cruise ship and head straight for the pool?  I don't think I've ever seen this.

My plan I was hoping to execute would be to board, book some extra dinner reservations, have lunch and then go to the Vibe to relax in my cabana.  I usually spend a lot of time on day 1 exploring the ship and seeing everything.  I thought maybe I could change it up. If the weather is nice, that is. I have seen lots of folks at the pool and in the hot tub on day 1.  I always wished I could do that.

[RocketMan275]

16 hours ago, grouchomarx said:

Thanks for everyone who has given me so much knowledge about NCL Joy here on CC!  I am almost out of questions!  I want to know what is your general experience with when rooms are ready and when bags are delivered.  The more recent cruises I’ve been on with other lines, the room is ready like almost or actually immediately (with a few exceptions) and the bags always come in the afternoon well ahead of dinner. If NCL is different I could pack a carry on tote to have swimwear for the afternoon and a dinner outfit just in case. Leaving from NYC to Bermuda end of June.  Thanks!

You should always pack a carry on  tote.  Keep your cruise doc umentation there, prescription drugs, etc.

[grouchomarx]

13 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

You should always pack a carry on  tote.  Keep your cruise doc umentation there, prescription drugs, etc.

I always do have a small carry on.  I don’t like to check things like jewelry, electronics, or meds.  But I never packed clothes before.  I think I will do that just to be safe.

[Chocolate Teapot]

4 hours ago, zqvol said:

It really has delayed the time when regular cabins are available until between 2:30 and 3:00 on most sailings. I don’t know what if any impact it has had on suites and Haven 

Yes, on my recent cruise on NCL Star everyone was milling around the atrium waiting for the cabins to be available. I think the announcement came through about 3.00pmish.

[fredflint]

Put a tracker of some sort Apple Airtag or Tile in each bag, this will ensure your bags are never lost and when they deliver them 12 doors away you can find your bags after dinner.

 

My 2 cents!

[shof515]

does airtag/title actually work on the ship like that? from what i noticed with mine, all i see is a dot near the cruise terminal

[Wayward Son]

1 minute ago, shof515 said:

does airtag/title actually work on the ship like that? from what i noticed with mine, all i see is a dot near the cruise terminal

 

I was just ready to ask that. Even if it's accurate enough to show it on the ship, how can it possibly show what deck it's on? I think fred went a little off the scale with the "12 doors away" thing. But then, I've never used them.

 

 

[astera]

22 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Do you really hop on a cruise ship and head straight for the pool?  I don't think I've ever seen this.

 

I like to explore several bars first just to find my bearings, but that's just me. After that it's usually dinner time anyway. The pool is a definite yes on day #2 though. 🙂

 

Since you have a small bag with necessities anyway it can't hurt to add a few items of clothes in there just in case.

 

[cruiseny4life]

On 5/29/2024 at 12:16 AM, ChiefMateJRK said:

99.89% of folks just wear whatever they had on to dinner.  IIRC, for this reason, dress codes are ignored on embarkation day.  Do you really hop on a cruise ship and head straight for the pool?  I don't think I've ever seen this.

We always pack our bathing suits in our day bag so we can change and head straight to the pool/hot tub/sundeck. It's a perfect place to wait for rooms to be ready. And, what the heck else are we (not you) going to do on embarkation day? Not much else excites us until the thermal suite opens up at sail away. 

 

On 5/29/2024 at 12:48 PM, grouchomarx said:

 I thought maybe I could change it up. If the weather is nice, that is. I have seen lots of folks at the pool and in the hot tub on day 1.  I always wished I could do that.

You should absolutely do this! We have done so on every cruise we've been on. It makes embarkation day relaxing and a delight. Enjoy your new cruise tradition!

 

As for dinner clothes, unless you actually want to get dressed up, just wear what you wore onboard. We're a shorts/t-shirt family while on vacation. We pretty much just wear those. The exception was a November Transatlantic where it was a wee bit chillier - still t-shirts, but jeans replaced the shorts some of the days.

 

Have a fantastic cruise! 

[Asawi]

On 5/30/2024 at 2:47 AM, fredflint said:

Put a tracker of some sort Apple Airtag or Tile in each bag, this will ensure your bags are never lost and when they deliver them 12 doors away you can find your bags after dinner

A tracker can't prevent a bag from getting lost, as in not making it to the ship or plane or whatever. It might however help you locate it If the dot stays when the ship leaves - tough luck. 😮 If it moves when the ship does, go find it! 😁