Luggage on Embarkation Day

[mrsgalloway1220]

Hey guys! My cruise is taking off this weekend, and I’m a little confused about what to do with our luggage when we arrive at the port. I would like to keep all of our luggage with us/not check any of our bags: for those of you who have done this, what were the pros and cons? My husband and I selected the 1-1:30 timeframe, and I read that staterooms are ready for guests around 2pm, so I was hoping that we could take all of our luggage on and not have to wait for our room very long. 
 

Thank you!

[mac66]

By all means you can take your luggage on board yourselves.  We did a 1:30 and walked on our recent cruise. No lines, no hassle, easy peasy. We typically only have a carry on and a back pack each for a week long cruise so it's pretty easy.  And yes our cabin was ready.

Just be aware that larger suitcases may not fit through the carry on  x ray machines. So you probably would have to check those anyway.

[asquared17]

23 minutes ago, mrsgalloway1220 said:

Hey guys! My cruise is taking off this weekend, and I’m a little confused about what to do with our luggage when we arrive at the port. I would like to keep all of our luggage with us/not check any of our bags: for those of you who have done this, what were the pros and cons? My husband and I selected the 1-1:30 timeframe, and I read that staterooms are ready for guests around 2pm, so I was hoping that we could take all of our luggage on and not have to wait for our room very long. 
 

Thank you!

your mileage may vary, but as someone who hauled around a stack of carryons yesterday, i was happy to surrender my 60lb+ suitcase to the porters at the port. 

i also wish i had surrendered one more of the carryons just to alleviate some of the maneuvering; and we are fairly seasoned cruisers so we knew to make a few stops as possible until the cabins were open and we could drop our bags before going off to explore.

elevators are sparse the farther the day goes on as more people are aboard, and it becomes increasingly difficult to navigate even four-wheeled suitcases through the many carpeted areas  

i’m not certain if they will allow you to take a full suitcase through the tiny x-ray machines you must go through prior to check in, either.

your best bet is to take out anything you absolutely must have and put in your carryon. we purchased airtags and were able to track our luggage the entire time, which was very helpful!

 

[ScooterScott22]

As others have hinted/mentioned, your success will be dependent on how you have packed.  
 

The arrival time you have will make it much more likely that you will be able to bring the bags to the room without handing them off to anyone.  They will still need to go through security.  We did some large suitcases once and they fit, so unless your suitcases are extremely oversized you should be fine.  As long as your party can handle their bags (not too many and they are easy enough to roll/maneuver) you should be fine.  
 

As for pro’s and con’s really doesn’t seem to be any more than personal preference.  Your bags will be with you which could be a plus or minus.  Luggage delivery doesn’t seem to be too late so with a later boarding time not sure there is a huge difference on when you would see your bags.  The only real plus is that the chance of a bag going missing is not really there if you carry on yourself.

[Traveling Mike]

My Thanksgiving Cruise out of Los Angeles they would not let you take anything larger than a carryon.  There was a person out front stopping people (me) from walking on with your large bag.  I just gave the porter a couple of dollars and seen my bag in a few hours at my room

[Jenn G-MEI Travel]

22 hours ago, mrsgalloway1220 said:

Hey guys! My cruise is taking off this weekend, and I’m a little confused about what to do with our luggage when we arrive at the port. I would like to keep all of our luggage with us/not check any of our bags: for those of you who have done this, what were the pros and cons? My husband and I selected the 1-1:30 timeframe, and I read that staterooms are ready for guests around 2pm, so I was hoping that we could take all of our luggage on and not have to wait for our room very long. 
 

Thank you!

You can't take anything larger than a carry-on and day bag. They have to fit thru the x-ray machines. It's much like airport security, everything is screened before going on board. They will make an onboard announcement when rooms are ready. If you check your bags with the porters, it really doesn't take more than 2-3 hours before you see them outside your room. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

I can only provide feedback for this at one terminal - Bayonne.  In 2019 we asked our Genie to keep our bags with us through the entire boarding process.  We did not want to drop our bags with the porters - even the SC porters (we've had a couple of bad luggage experiences in Bayonne).  The Genie did precisely what we asked and allowed our luggage to follow us the entire time, including through security.  I was actually very surprised that our full size roller bag and our folding valet (both of these pieces are HUGE) fit through the security screening machines.  It was CLOSE but they fit.  I have no idea if the luggage screening machines are the same at all terminals (doubtful, since these facilities are not Royal Caribbean properties) but at least at Port Liberty, I know that all full sized luggage will fit through the luggage security screening machines. Whether you can actually get security to allow you to move those pieces through is another matter, entirely.  We had the help of our Genie to accomplish it.  I don't know if non-SC pax would be able to get through or not.

[Censored]

23 hours ago, mrsgalloway1220 said:

Hey guys! My cruise is taking off this weekend, and I’m a little confused about what to do with our luggage when we arrive at the port. I would like to keep all of our luggage with us/not check any of our bags: for those of you who have done this, what were the pros and cons? My husband and I selected the 1-1:30 timeframe, and I read that staterooms are ready for guests around 2pm, so I was hoping that we could take all of our luggage on and not have to wait for our room very long. 
 

Thank you!

Take your luggage and go directly to your room. Chances are it will be open. My wife and now only do carry on.  Many times I have seen people waiting for their luggage until after embarkation!   ( if your room is not ready just leave them outside the door) 

[MaryCS62]

2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I can only provide feedback for this at one terminal - Bayonne.  In 2019 we asked our Genie to keep our bags with us through the entire boarding process.  We did not want to drop our bags with the porters - even the SC porters (we've had a couple of bad luggage experiences in Bayonne).  The Genie did precisely what we asked and allowed our luggage to follow us the entire time, including through security.  I was actually very surprised that our full size roller bag and our folding valet (both of these pieces are HUGE) fit through the security screening machines.  It was CLOSE but they fit.  I have no idea if the luggage screening machines are the same at all terminals (doubtful, since these facilities are not Royal Caribbean properties) but at least at Port Liberty, I know that all full sized luggage will fit through the luggage security screening machines. Whether you can actually get security to allow you to move those pieces through is another matter, entirely.  We had the help of our Genie to accomplish it.  I don't know if non-SC pax would be able to get through or not.

We have a cruise out of Bayonne in March (hopefully - we've tried a few times since restart & various things have prevented us from going), but it will be the first time with just DH & I, and since I walk with a cane, it means DH will have to handle most of the carry-on stuff.  I will also be traveling with a piece of medical equipment that fits in a smallish wheeled duffle, but then nothing else fits in it.  I don't want to check it, but want to be able to have that extra stuff - change of clothing, jewelery, medication, etc in the bag.  If a larger bag does fit through the security machine, then that would solve our problem . Any idea what the dimensions are?

[WAAAYTOOO]

28 minutes ago, MaryCS62 said:

Any idea have that extra what the dimensions are?

Truly, I do not know the dimensions of the luggage scanner, but I can tell you that it is just slightly bigger than our biggest piece of luggage (it just barely squeaked through).  That luggage is 31"HX21"WX13" deep (this is an "empty" depth measurement....it can be significantly deeper when it is stuffed full since it's a soft sider and can expand.  On the date in question, it was stuffed pretty full b/c we were on a B2B and had packed for 16 days).  Sorry....that's the best info I have.  I would say that this luggage had no more than 3-4" of clearance so anything deeper than maybe 18-20" probably will not fit.

[MaryCS62]

15 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Truly, I do not know the dimensions of the luggage scanner, but I can tell you that it is just slightly bigger than our biggest piece of luggage (it just barely squeaked through).  That luggage is 31"HX21"WX13" deep (this is an "empty" depth measurement....it can be significantly deeper when it is stuffed full since it's a soft sider and can expand.  On the date in question, it was stuffed pretty full b/c we were on a B2B and had packed for 16 days).  Sorry....that's the best info I have.  I would say that this luggage had no more than 3-4" of clearance so anything deeper than maybe 18-20" probably will not fit.

That helps, actually.  We will likely use either a middling size suitcase or a larger duffel - don't want to carry too much on, especially since we've only a balcony, so no special treatment, and would like early check in, so we will basically get on, check in at muster station & park ourselves til the rooms are ready.

[DoomSlayer]

If you do have carry ons and buy the key, you can leave them with the key desk at the dining room and they will magically appear in your state room when you go there. This is on of my favorite key perks on day 1. 

[Pattycruise]

17 hours ago, MaryCS62 said:

That helps, actually.  We will likely use either a middling size suitcase or a larger duffel - don't want to carry too much on, especially since we've only a balcony, so no special treatment, and would like early check in, so we will basically get on, check in at muster station & park ourselves til the rooms are ready.

Use a typical size carryon and if it has the wheels that swivel it will be easy enough to roll with you.  I would not recommend trying a larger luggage with your medical equipment inside, what if they don’t allow you to carry it on and make you check it?

also cabins are not typically ready until between 1pm-2pm so if you have early boarding you’ll have your carry on luggage with you for most of the day

as for purchasing the Key, you would be able to leave your carry on bags at the dining room  for delivery to your cabin but those bags do not receive special treatment.  They are stacked on trolleys and moved/left outside your cabin, bags can fall off if stacked wrong. The statement they told me “remove your valuables before leaving the bag. “  I don’t think I’d trust my medical equipment with anyone but me.