Luggage

[howlingfun]

What is the best type of luggage to cross the parking lot and board the ship: spinner wheels or pull along in both large and carry on sizes?

Also which kind holds up better with the baggage handlers?  

[cr8tiv1]

From my experience, I love the spinner wheels.  On the few occasions that I've had to use a wheelchair + 2 medium sized luggage + CPAP + carry on + personal piece, my wheel chair "driver" has thanked me for having good luggage with wheels.  They have been able to push the chair AND manipulate the two larger suitcases with ease.

 

I have given up on pull alongs.  I prefer hard sided suitcases that open up from the top (not clam shells).  Takes less room to open and packs so much easier.  My brand of choice is Delsey.  

 

Word of caution.  The sales person at Macy's told me NOT to get the biggest piece of luggage.  Too hard to handle.  You WILL overpack/be overweight.  And European/overseas cars may have a harder time placing them in their trunk.  I can "easily" pack a 21 inch carry on with 50 pounds of Trader Joes stuff when I go to Hawaii...of course, it goes as baggage.

[donaldsc]

I go against the glow w regard to wheels.  The four wheel cases are only good if you are on completely smooth surfaces.  Anything irregular, carpeted surfaces or if you have to pull the suitcase over an edge and the 4 wheel cases w tiny wheels fo not work.  Give me a suitcase with big wheels any day.

 

Obviously suitcase opinions vary.

 

DON

[John Bull]

Same as Don.

Spinners are fine in airport terminals, etc.

But on uneven ground (like parking lots & sidewalks they stutter & stumble.

Hard-sided didn't stand up to rough handling, I've seen plenty of cracked ones - I don't know if that's still a problem. 

 

I use a collapsible soft-sided pull-along, my other half swears by her spinner.

 

JB 🙂

[clo]

1 hour ago, John Bull said:

I use a collapsible soft-sided pull-along, my other half swears by her spinner.

 

So is that like a duffle bag?

[John Bull]

12 minutes ago, clo said:

So is that like a duffle bag?

 

Not duffle bags as I remember them - little bags that you slung over your shoulder for your school P.E kit. 

But I googled - and Mr Google says yes, a wheeled duffle bag.

Very versatile, for a little or for a lot, easy storage, good for everything except DJ

 

JB 🙂 

[Essiesmom]

I travel carryon only unless I am driving to the port and have a specific reason for a slightly larger bag.  I have spinners, but they are heck on carpet and steep ramps.  The last time I sailed from JAX I checked my carryon because that is a steep ramp.  Now, the ramp at terminal 10 in Port Canaveral is much gentler. Part of my problem is that I also have a backpack and it has a trolley sleeve to slip it over the handle of the spinner.  Which makes it even more unwieldly.  EM

[ldubs]

5 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

From my experience, I love the spinner wheels.  On the few occasions that I've had to use a wheelchair + 2 medium sized luggage + CPAP + carry on + personal piece, my wheel chair "driver" has thanked me for having good luggage with wheels.  They have been able to push the chair AND manipulate the two larger suitcases with ease.

 

I have given up on pull alongs.  I prefer hard sided suitcases that open up from the top (not clam shells).  Takes less room to open and packs so much easier.  My brand of choice is Delsey.  

 

Word of caution.  The sales person at Macy's told me NOT to get the biggest piece of luggage.  Too hard to handle.  You WILL overpack/be overweight.  And European/overseas cars may have a harder time placing them in their trunk.  I can "easily" pack a 21 inch carry on with 50 pounds of Trader Joes stuff when I go to Hawaii...of course, it goes as baggage.

 

Our 25" (check in) luggage is easy to pack with 50# of stuff and move around. Our 29" was alway overweight.  They are pretty much gathering dust these days.   

 

I am another vote for spinners.  Most of the time they work fine.  Those times we have to pull them over cobbles, we use them like two-wheelers.   

[cr8tiv1]

All of my luggage pieces have 8 wheels (2 on each corner).  I will admit that carpets of the death of any luggage.  I am currently researching silicon wheel covers.  But I don't have Amazon Prime and refuse to pay for shipping from Walmart.

 

Delsey has a terrific warrantee that I have claimed a couple of times.  I can only wish that someday, I will be able to travel with just a carry on.  You guys have my respect.

Edited June 7 by cr8tiv1

[Ashland]

Spinners for us and we love our softside TravelPro luggage.

[crystalspin]

9 hours ago, howlingfun said:

What is the best type of luggage to cross the parking lot and board the ship: spinner wheels or pull along in both large and carry on sizes?

Also which kind holds up better with the baggage handlers?  

There are reasons to choose 4(8) wheeled spinners, but ease of steering across parking lots and resistance to baggage handlers are not among them.

 

Carryon spinners are the cats pajamas within airports; I know we had them. But we reverted to two (larger than spinners) wheel soft-sided carryons. Ours were made by IT-Luggage, but they only make spinners of all sizes, now. 

[skynight]

On cruises I have been on there really isn't much pulling checked luggage around. Car services, busses, even private cars drop luggage next to or near the luggage stevedores.

As far a damage goes I have encountered breakage with the airlines, fortunately so far not with the ship. 

[margeecruiser]

Friends traveling with us on a transatlantic from Venice had their brandnew hard side luggage split open and a wheel almost torn off on the plane ride over  They got some duct tape somewhere and then had to get new luggage in Venice!!  Expensive!  Our soft sided luggage made it just fine 

[wwcruisers]

Hard-side Samsonite (in all of its iterations) has been my go-to luggage, for over 50 years! And, while I do agree with the problems posed by uneven pavement -- it's hard not to fall in love with those spinner wheels! 😎

[kochleffel]

When I was rolling a bag across Gamla Stan in Stockholm, walking from my hotel to a bus to the cruise terminal, I was very glad that it was a two-wheeled bag. The noise, on cobblestones, was still considerable, but at least it rolled.

 

Both of my rolling bags--I use only one a time, to be clear--are two-wheeled. One, from eBags, is legal as a carry-on, should I want to. The other is a 28-inch rolling duffel from Eagle Creek, no longer made. I suppose that it might be possible to pack the latter too heavily to check, but I never have.

[Mum2Mercury]

On 6/6/2024 at 5:38 PM, howlingfun said:

What is the best type of luggage to cross the parking lot and board the ship: spinner wheels or pull along in both large and carry on sizes?

Also which kind holds up better with the baggage handlers?  

I prefer the four-wheeled spinners.  I find them more comfortable to pull, as they sit flat /don't have to be tilted.  

I don't think either one is superior in terms of rough handling from the baggage handlers.  

On 6/6/2024 at 5:45 PM, cr8tiv1 said:

Word of caution.  The sales person at Macy's told me NOT to get the biggest piece of luggage.  Too hard to handle.  You WILL overpack/be overweight.  

When we took our first cruise I bought that GINORMOUS suitcase -- you've seen it.  My thought was, it would be enough for the four of us to share, and my husband could roll it along while I managed the kids.  The reality was a bit different:  Once full, it was difficult to lift into the trunk of the car, then it was difficult to get out /hand over to the porters.  After a single use, I gave that suitcase to my mother and told her never to return it to me -- she used it once and gave it to Goodwill.  

Now we own two 22" rolling carry-ons (which are enough for a single person for a one-week cruise) and a single 25" spinner (which is great for the two of us to share for a cruise).  Perfect sizes -- I would never want anything larger.  

One last tip:  Don't buy a black or navy suitcase -- everyone has that same color.  Or, if you already have nice suitcases in those blend-in colors, consider adding a suitcase cover from Amazon; they come in all sorts of brights.  

[cr8tiv1]

3 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

One last tip:  Don't buy a black or navy suitcase -- everyone has that same color.  Or, if you already have nice suitcases in those blend-in colors, consider adding a suitcase cover from Amazon; they come in all sorts of brights.  

 

I bought 2 purple Delseys.  One died (zipper failure).  Delsey replaced it, but purple was no longer available.  It was so easy to spot coming down the luggage shoot.  I now travel with colored luggage straps.  Makes it easier to pull the luggage off the carousel and to identify.

 

Thanks for you for your true experience story.

[crystalspin]

4 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Now we own two 22" rolling carry-ons (which are enough for a single person for a one-week cruise) and a single 25" spinner (which is great for the two of us to share for a cruise).  Perfect sizes -- I would never want anything larger.  

Same here! We have two-wheel carry-ons (teal and red) and a 24-25" spinner for when we are going to have to airline check (price is the same for a 21" or a 25"!).

[SoloAlaska]

Spinner with double wheels aka 8 wheels is my go to. I’ve travelled all over with them include Europe and the only thing I hate is carpet. If you have to roll multiple suitcases I recommend spinners since you can push several. If you want something that is going to stand up to the harshest punishment I would go for Pelican Air but honestly it is way overkill. 

[SbbquilterUT]

Spent years traveling weekly for work - give me my two wheeled (good quality roller blade type wheels recessed into the bag body) any day.  Works on all surfaces and last much longer.  Saw many a traveler trying to use their spinners after one or two wheels were no longer there.  

[Mum2Mercury]

On 6/7/2024 at 9:30 PM, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I bought 2 purple Delseys.  One died (zipper failure).  Delsey replaced it, but purple was no longer available.  It was so easy to spot coming down the luggage shoot.  I now travel with colored luggage straps.  Makes it easier to pull the luggage off the carousel and to identify.

 

Thanks for you for your true experience story.

If you care about purple (or matching), consider buying two suitcase covers from Amazon.  They're stretchy covers that protect your suitcase and make it more difficult for a thief to unzip an outer pocket.  

 

We own three suitcases in this house -- olive green, rust and rose-gold pink.  So easy to locate!  Okay, we do have a fourth, which is black.  It's a tiny thing my husband used to carry on single-night business trips.  It's wheeled, but it's just big enough to hold a laptop, a clean shirt and toiletries -- it's never checked, so the color doesn't matter.  

[cr8tiv1]

25 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

If you care about purple (or matching), consider buying two suitcase covers from Amazon.  They're stretchy covers that protect your suitcase and make it more difficult for a thief to unzip an outer pocket.  

 

We own three suitcases in this house -- olive green, rust and rose-gold pink.  So easy to locate!  Okay, we do have a fourth, which is black.  It's a tiny thing my husband used to carry on single-night business trips.  It's wheeled, but it's just big enough to hold a laptop, a clean shirt and toiletries -- it's never checked, so the color doesn't matter.  

 

I've always considered this, but what happens when TSA wants to get in to look at luggage contents?  Same with Hawaii agriculture?  Will they take the time to carefully remove covering AND put it back on?

[simplelife]

On 6/7/2024 at 9:23 PM, Mum2Mercury said:

I prefer the four-wheeled spinners.  I find them more comfortable to pull, as they sit flat /don't have to be tilted.  

I don't think either one is superior in terms of rough handling from the baggage handlers.  

When we took our first cruise I bought that GINORMOUS suitcase -- you've seen it.  My thought was, it would be enough for the four of us to share, and my husband could roll it along while I managed the kids.  The reality was a bit different:  Once full, it was difficult to lift into the trunk of the car, then it was difficult to get out /hand over to the porters.  After a single use, I gave that suitcase to my mother and told her never to return it to me -- she used it once and gave it to Goodwill.  

Now we own two 22" rolling carry-ons (which are enough for a single person for a one-week cruise) and a single 25" spinner (which is great for the two of us to share for a cruise).  Perfect sizes -- I would never want anything larger.  

One last tip:  Don't buy a black or navy suitcase -- everyone has that same color.  Or, if you already have nice suitcases in those blend-in colors, consider adding a suitcase cover from Amazon; they come in all sorts of brights.  

I make sure I can always handle my own luggage. I have learned to pack light and smarter.

Another tip for black or navy suitcases:  Securely tie a bright ribbon on the handle, and add a colorful luggage tag,

[Mum2Mercury]

On 6/11/2024 at 1:49 PM, cr8tiv1 said:

I've always considered this, but what happens when TSA wants to get in to look at luggage contents?  Same with Hawaii agriculture?  Will they take the time to carefully remove covering AND put it back on?

I suspect they'd be less likely to inspect your luggage because it's less convenient.  No, they likely wouldn't be careful at all.  I once saw the ship's staff unloading luggage -- saw it through a door that shouldn't have been left open -- they were literally throwing suitcases down the stairs, and they just land on the floor, where staff on the lower floor picks them up and moves them.  

7 minutes ago, simplelife said:

I make sure I can always handle my own luggage. I have learned to pack light and smarter.

Another tip for black or navy suitcases:  Securely tie a bright ribbon on the handle, and add a colorful luggage tag,

Yep, I'll handle my own luggage until I'm too old and infirm to manage it!  

Yes, a ribbon or decorative duct tape or whatever else is okay -- I can't imagine a small colorful luggage tag doing much good.  But it's not as good as the whole suitcase being a different color.  

[SoloAlaska]

Ideally there shouldn’t be anything hanging off your luggage like ribbons or tags when flying. These can get stuck in the luggage systems and cause delays.

 

I’ve made (you can also buy) handle wraps which will identify your luggage. If you have a hard case then put stickers on it. Trust me stickers make it impossible to mistake for another.