Suitcase lock ?

[DGK]

We will be sailing on our first cruise with Pride of America end of May. Never cruised prior ,can someone explain how the check in process works. Not sure if we leave our suitcase's unlocked somewhere ? Any one know what time we can start to board the ship ? Is it better to take the shuttle from the Mariotte or just cab it and arrive earlier ? Thanks so much , we leave in 2 weeks and getting excited,

DGK

[seahorse]

We will be sailing on our first cruise with Pride of America end of May. Never cruised prior ,can someone explain how the check in process works. Not sure if we leave our suitcase's unlocked somewhere ? Any one know what time we can start to board the ship ? Is it better to take the shuttle from the Mariotte or just cab it and arrive earlier ? Thanks so much , we leave in 2 weeks and getting excited,

DGK

 

Do not lock your suitcases when you fly unless you have the TSA locks.

 

I believe that you check-in (things change:rolleyes: ) at the hotel and your suitcases will be delivered to the ship and your cabin. Take your valuables with you and lock the cases that you are checking in.

 

It is your choice when you get to the ship. If you are too excited....take a cab........if you are laid-back take the shuttle:)

[Onessa]

We used the NCLA transport to/from the Marriott. The luggage handling component was great - we needed to fetch our bags at the airport, but then the service did the rest. They delivered / picked up the bags directly to our room. We did not need to be there, they used a pass key. We used the bus service - what time you leave the hotel is based upon availabity and your check-in time. We stayed at the Marriott booking through NCLA. We got in relatively early (2 days) and had our pick of land-transport times. We selected 2:00. We went to the zoo and a cultural festival the day of sailing, got back to the hotel at about 1:45. There was a bus leaving then that had plenty of space. We got to the terminal about 2:05 had to wait about 3 minutes to get our picture taken and then got to go right to the cabin (we had checked in at the NCLA office in the Marriott). While the lines for regular check-in were not very bad (about a 20 minute wait at that time), I thought the Marriott check-in well worth the price difference in hotel rooms (had I booked the five nights we stayed at Marriott through an alternate source, the lowest price was under $18.00 less per night

 

If using NCLA transport at debarkation, note, you will be the last group off of the ship. It's ok because they don't kick you out of your cabin so you can relax while you wait to be called. Since there is no customs or immigration, debarkation is pretty quick. Again using NCLA transport meant we did not touch our bags - left them outside the cabin on board, found them in our room when we were able to check in (at about 2:00pm). We had abour 3.5 hours wait between, but we had put our swimming suits on under our clothes and spent the time on the beach.

[DGK]

Thank you, thank you for the great advice. A little nervous being first time to Hawaii and cruising, DGK

[KeystoneCruiser]

Seahorse mentioned the TSA locks, let me tell you about them:

 

Under the new airport guidelines, airport screeners have the right to search your luggage. They will cut off locks to do so UNLESS you have the TSA lock. The airport screeners have a master key to TSA (Transportation Safety Administration) locks and can open them and then relock your luggage.

 

TSA locks are available at most stores including Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Meijers, etc. They have a red TSA symbol on them. They are a little more expensive than regular locks, but worth it.

 

Have a great trip