Cruise noob: I have questions

[gloch]

My wife and I are heading on our first cruise in May (Symphony of the seas). I had a couple of questions come up...

Luggage: Is there a luggage size/amount limit? We have two carryons and one large checked bag. I assume we can take these on, but something I read in the check in process made me wonder.

Boarding/'un'boarding: If we are all checked in online, how long does the initial boarding take? The bigger question is when we arrive at different ports. Is it a long process to leave the ship once it arrives? Just trying to plan excursions and not sure how to time them.

 

Thanks! 

 -gl

[AshleyDillo]

31 minutes ago, gloch said:

Luggage: Is there a luggage size/amount limit? We have two carryons and one large checked bag. I assume we can take these on, but something I read in the check in process made me wonder.

There is not a limit to the luggage. When you cruise, you drop your checked bags off with the porters outside of the ship and they are delivered to your rooms. You can check as many bags as you like and whichever sizes. Anything you decide to carry on you will be responsible for taking into the ship and you will have to keep it with you until the rooms are available (usually 1-2pm). 

All luggage gets scanned going onto the ship. There is no limit on toiletry sizes like with TSA at an airport.

The rules for bringing on water, non-alcoholic drinks, wine and champagne are that you must carry them on with you and you can't put them in the checked luggage.

34 minutes ago, gloch said:

Boarding/'un'boarding: If we are all checked in online, how long does the initial boarding take? The bigger question is when we arrive at different ports. Is it a long process to leave the ship once it arrives? Just trying to plan excursions and not sure how to time them.

Initial boarding, or embarkation, really depends on how many people are there at the same time you are and if they've begun to let people on the ships.  The terminal often opens 30 minutes to an hour before the ship can begin taking on new passengers and they begin to check passengers in during that time.

Getting off the ship at ports is pretty quick as you just are scanning your card to get off the ship. There's usually a rush when the gangway opens, but it goes pretty quickly. The only times I've experienced any kind of wait was at a port that requires a tender. In that case people who book excursions through the cruise line usually get the priority for the tenders.