The Key and Carry on baggage

[Thetechie]

So we bought The Key for our Navigator sailing on March 15th (in 3 weeks!!) and my wife and I were talking about our bags, curious if I am missing something or if this will actually work...

We were talking about not checking any bags and "carrying" them all on and dropping them off, that way they would all be delivered to the room when it was open, and we wouldn't have to wait around for our bags..

How does that sound? Seems like it could be a great perk!

[Mondas42]

Not sure it would work. They state carry on bags only. Not sure if they would allow main bags.

 

• Carry-on bag drop off and delivery to stateroom. Drop-off located in main theater onboard and available until 1:30pm. Up to 2 carry-on bags per guest.

 

[twangster]

Carry on bags in general are limited to those that fit through an airport type x-ray machine.  I have sometimes cruised with all my clothes in an airline approved carry on bag and I didn't check that bag when flying to the cruise.  That would qualify as a carry on bag. 

A large suitcase that can't be carried on an airplane similarly doesn't count as carry on for cruise ships.  I've often seen terminal workers deny guests from entering the terminal with large suitcases, directing them to drop them off with a porter outside the terminal.  

[Thetechie]

3 hours ago, twangster said:

Carry on bags in general are limited to those that fit through an airport type x-ray machine.  I have sometimes cruised with all my clothes in an airline approved carry on bag and I didn't check that bag when flying to the cruise.  That would qualify as a carry on bag. 

A large suitcase that can't be carried on an airplane similarly doesn't count as carry on for cruise ships.  I've often seen terminal workers deny guests from entering the terminal with large suitcases, directing them to drop them off with a porter outside the terminal.  

 That’s what I wasn’t sure of. I didn’t know if they had size restrictions for a “carry-on“ luggage like the airlines do. This is our first cruise so please excuse the newbie question!

[Thetechie]

7 hours ago, Mondas42 said:

Not sure it would work. They state carry on bags only. Not sure if they would allow main bags.

 

• Carry-on bag drop off and delivery to stateroom. Drop-off located in main theater onboard and available until 1:30pm. Up to 2 carry-on bags per guest.

 

 I knew that there was a limit of two bags per person, where I wasn’t sure if it was a size requirement. We will likely only have two bags per person including carry-on and checked luggage 

[Hoppy2cruise]

Just googled the program and it states “**Carry-on luggage drop-off service is limited to two pieces per guest and can weigh no more than 25 pounds per carry-on.”

[KLA]

I think the way we've planned to utilize this for an upcoming cruise is to pack everything we'd need for the evening before the cruise at the hotel / morning of the cruise in a smaller rolling carry on bag (which we'll also stash champagne in as part of our 2 bottle allotment) and then check our larger luggage in with the porters. That way, at the hotel we're only having to open ONE small suitcase for our day before stay (without making a mess of everything else and having to make a larger repacking effort), and then we don't have to lug around champagne with us and can just take a small backpack/purse up to Chops with us for our Key lunch.

[twangster]

Just now, Thetechie said:

 This is our first cruise so please excuse the newbie question!

No problem with newbie questions, ask away!

When you first enter the terminal to check in for your cruise you will have to walk through a metal detector and all other 'stuff' has to go through an x-ray machine.  It's similar to airport security screening but not as intense.  You don't have to remove your shoes for example.  Some people mistakenly think it's TSA but it's not.  As you could imagine a large suitcase won't fit through the x-ray machine and the waiting areas and walkways are not designed for people with large suitcases.  

Imagine what the gate area at an airport would look like if everyone had to drag their big suitcases right to the gate before a flight.  Not pretty.  

When you pull up to a terminal in a bus, car, taxi or Uber there will be porters with large carts to take your checked luggage.  As you get closer to sailing, luggage tags will be available for you to print at home and attach to your checked luggage, or porters can hand write a luggage tag on the spot.  Everyone's large suitcases are checked in this fashion, even suite guests and top elites.  Carts of luggage are lifted onto the ship by forklifts and once on board the crew manually distribute luggage to various decks based on the luggage tags.

Valuables, documentation including passports, medication and anything you will need before seeing your luggage again should go into carry on bags that you carry with you.  Sunscreen and a bathing suit are common items people bring in carry on so they can use the pool before luggage is delivered on the ship.  At some point your checked luggage will be delivered outside your cabin in the hall.  It can take hours for luggage to arrive so don't worry if your luggage isn't there when cabins are made available.

Arriving at the terminal goes like this...

1. Take luggage from car/bus/taxi/uber and give to the porters.  A small tip is customary, after all these people see that your bags will get loaded onto the ship. 
2. With your carry on bags with you, head to the terminal entrance.  Terminal employees will ask to see SetSail pass and ID to enter the terminal.  
3. Once inside security is next.  Keys, cell phones, loose change etc go through x-ray with your carry on bags.  You walk through metal detector.
4. Grab your carry on and head towards check in.  Signs will direct you, repeat cruisers who have status in the Crown and Anchor society will be directed into queues for them, everyone else goes into the general queue.  Staff will point you into the right queue since you have the Key.
5. Wait in line until its your turn at the check in counter.  Present documents and get checked in.
6. Once checked in if the ship isn't boarding yet, wait in the designated areas.  Boarding will be announced starting with Suite and Pinnacles (top elite) followed other levels of the C&A program, then general boarding.   Key boarding is called somewhere after Suites and Pinnacles but before general boarding.  
7. Once the ship is boarding and it's your turn follow the crowds onto the ship.  Somewhere along the way they will scan your SetSail pass or SeaPass card which is how they know you are on the ship.  

[tiny260]

2 hours ago, KLA said:

I think the way we've planned to utilize this for an upcoming cruise is to pack everything we'd need for the evening before the cruise at the hotel / morning of the cruise in a smaller rolling carry on bag (which we'll also stash champagne in as part of our 2 bottle allotment) and then check our larger luggage in with the porters. That way, at the hotel we're only having to open ONE small suitcase for our day before stay (without making a mess of everything else and having to make a larger repacking effort), and then we don't have to lug around champagne with us and can just take a small backpack/purse up to Chops with us for our Key lunch.

This is exactly what we do, along with the night before and the day of we also pack swim suites just in case we want to change and swim. Sometimes Toiletries get forgotten and we still have to get in the bigger bag but not that often.

[SpeedNoodles]

2 hours ago, Hoppy2cruise said:

Just googled the program and it states “**Carry-on luggage drop-off service is limited to two pieces per guest and can weigh no more than 25 pounds per carry-on.”

Oops, mine was a tad heavier (the carryon limit for the airline was 35 lbs - mine was 27!)

[WAAAYTOOO]

Slightly off topic but last Friday when we boarded Anthem we had a rather bizarre (but wonderful !) boarding.  I had asked our Genie to please allow our luggage to remain with us throughout our boarding process for 2 reasons.  1) on all previous Star Class boardings, our luggage delivery had never gone well.  It had always been somehow diverted and unacceptably delayed in arriving to our suite.  2). There was never anyone to help us get those heavy bags up the stairs to the bedroom of the loft style suites.   So this time, I was going to be SURE to avoid both of those problems.  The Genie took me QUITE literally and arranged for our luggage to go through security right along with us.  I did not believe that those big pieces of luggage would make it through the normal security scanners but I’ll be damned if they didn’t !  They pushed them right through on the conveyer belt right along with our carry-ons !  On the other side of the security scanner, a porter took all of our luggage and put it on a hotel style luggage cart and away we all went, together.  Our only delay was when we had to wait for a ship’s crew to take over for the terminal porter (who could not get onto the ship) but once we had a member of the ship’s crew to help us, we all went together, all the way up to the suite and the crew member/porter took the luggage upstairs for us and all was well.  It was, without a doubt, the best boarding we’ve ever had and Yen remained with us every moment.  

So....my advice to anyone traveling in Star Class (attention, Sabrina !) and ESPECIALLY those sailing in a suite with an upstairs bedroom...make sure that someone is there to lug that heavy s**t up the stairs.  In all 4 of my previous SC sailings, the luggage was never “handled” well. I finally figured out how to take care of that but you have to make a special request. The normal procedure leaves a LOT to be desired.

[Lovetocruise2002]

10 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

So....my advice to anyone traveling in Star Class (attention, Sabrina !) and ESPECIALLY those sailing in a suite with an upstairs bedroom...make sure that someone is there to lug that heavy s**t up the stairs.  In all 4 of my previous SC sailings, the luggage was never “handled” well. I finally figured out how to take care of that but you have to make a special request. The normal procedure leaves a LOT to be desired.

I'm leery about the Port Everglades embarkation in 18 days.  Between you and all the other stories I have heard, I'm not sure what will happen with our luggage that day.  Araceli told me that she will provide a full run down of the boarding process as we get closer, so I will have my questions ready then.

Regarding lugging our luggage, I'm not overly worried.  We have a rule for travelling that we have always followed.  Especially now with the kids.  You are only allowed to pack what you can physically carry.  None of us carry luggage for each other.  And we only take one suitcase that is larger (29 inch).  The rest is backpacks and 21 inch rollers.

[Thetechie]

9 hours ago, twangster said:

No problem with newbie questions, ask away!

Thanks! Always amazes me how much information is around this site and the people on it! Thanks for all that info, super helpful! we decided to get the Key, even though it's our first sailing, it's not likely to be a regular thing for us to be able to cruise, as we are in Washington on the west coast. However, an Alaska cruise is definitely on our bucket list! 

[AshleyDillo]

18 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Slightly off topic but last Friday when we boarded Anthem we had a rather bizarre (but wonderful !) boarding.  I had asked our Genie to please allow our luggage to remain with us throughout our boarding process for 2 reasons.

That's the way our Star Class sailing was on Anthem.  I don't know if they changed the procedure after that as it was my first Star Class, but at the time I thought that was just the way all ships handled it.  We had our luggage carted all the way to our room.  Someone came off the ship with the luggage cart to take it on.  We separated from our luggage when the Genie took us to CK for lunch.  Our luggage went directly to our room.  Then when leaving the same thing happened; we waited in the room for a cart to come and we walked off the ship with our luggage.

This did NOT happen on Symphony.  One of my bags didn't show up with our entire party's luggage. We also had an extra bag from someone else not even in our party and not even Star Class.  No clue how their bag ended up in our room with the rest of our luggage.  We told the Genie about my missing bag and she asked all kinds of details about the bag and put out a BOLO for it.  I later ended up finding it down the hall in front of another room with the unsorted luggage for that stretch of the hallway.  No clue how this happened as we put all of our luggage on the same cart that went up to the Suite embarkation area with us.  The cart was then pushed into an alcove with other Star Class luggage carts, so no clue how my bag got separated or we gained someone else's bag!