1st time cruise

[Jmich401]

Can’t find out any info on luggage. Wife and I , plus 3 children. How long does it take for luggage to arrive to room on average? Can we just bring our luggage directly on board? 
packing a day bag would mean an extra piece of luggage. 
is there changing rooms on ship / restrooms ? Watched dozens of videos and podcast . 
this topic is never mentioned. Please advise . Thanks to all !

[SpeedNoodles]

Most luggage is too big to go through the scanners when you board so it should be taken by the porters.  It's typically delivered by 3pm, although occasionally it may take longer. I use a foldable, lightweight, backpack for my day bag.  There are plenty of restrooms if you want to change into bathing suits and use the slides/pool.  There's also locker rooms in the gyms that you can use.

[cedricmr]

Welcome aboard !

You leave your luggage on arrival before boarding.  It will be carried on board near your cabin. Depending on the size of the ship 1pm/2pm or 3pm.
With you, you take a small bag with the necessary (your papers, phones...) and bathing suits.
You pass the check-in, you get on board... then you go to the safety demonstration (a video to watch before on the app). And then you are free: tour of the ship, lunch, pisicine, jacuzzi... then you will be informed of the availability of cabins. You can discover yours and find your luggage.

[Traveling Mike]

I am thinking most people are being very optimistic to have luggage by 3 pm.  I am on my last leg of a 3 cruises in a row.  The cruisers could not get to the cabins until 1 pm on two of the cruises and 2 pm on todays Alaska cruise.  I was at the bar tonight with a large group of new cruisers and we were talking about them getting their bags.  Many of the people had their bags when they got to the cabins at 2 pm.  Some of the others got their bags by4 pm when they were getting ready for dinner.  There was still 2 people that had not gotten their bags at 8 pm.  I know the day bag can be a pain but you cannot trust you will get your bags early.  If you have pills you have to take you need them in a carry on bag.  Just have one of your kids bring a backpack.  Put your swim suits and must haves in the back pack.  That way as soon as you get on the ship you can look around and let the kids jump in the pool before your room opens.  

[Btcruiser]

Think of it like an airport. You leave big bags with the porters before going through security with your carryon. Make sure you have some cash to tip the porters. A few bucks per bag is typical. Plenty of places to change. With kids definitely bring a bathing suite to change into because it’s one of the best times to hit the water slides and pools as the crowds will be minimal. I agree with @Traveling Mike that the bags are typically 3-4pm but can occasionally be sooner or later than that. There are a lot of bags for those guys to move in a very short period so sometimes a bag can be placed in the wrong areas. Just an fyi that your bag isn’t always brought directly to your room. It is usually in the hallway in the vacuity of your room. So may be a few doors down. 

[tonyfsu21]

I can’t confirm the impact on luggage delivery point to point but in my experiences a generous tip to the porter might be the trick. I always have my luggage waiting for me in the hallway by 1:00pm (suite or no suite). Believe it or not, a $20 bill gets the porters attention. 

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, Traveling Mike said:

am thinking most people are being very optimistic to have luggage by 3 pm. 

This varies by ship/port. On our last 4 Wonders over the past 13 months or so, our luggage has been either by our door or down the hall (for us to grab) when cabins are available at 1:00.

3:00 would be very late for me.

EDIT: And FWIW, we do tip the porters a few bucks for our 2 suitcases but my theory has always been that getting to the port very early (which I know @tonyfsu21 does as well) was the reason we always have our luggage first thing.

 

[HeWhoWaits]

5 hours ago, cedricmr said:

It will be carried on board near your cabin.

YMMV 

"Near our cabin" has varied from right outside our door to all the way forward when we had an aft-facing stateroom.

59 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said:

I can’t confirm the impact on luggage delivery point to point but in my experiences a generous tip to the porter might be the trick.

Again, YMMV.

The only times we got our luggage particularly LATE were the times we tipped the MOST per bag. 

[tonyfsu21]

41 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

This varies by ship/port. On our last 4 Wonders over the past 13 months or so, our luggage has been either by our door or down the hall (for us to grab) when cabins are available at 1:00.

3:00 would be very late for me.

EDIT: And FWIW, we do tip the porters a few bucks for our 2 suitcases but my theory has always been that getting to the port very early (which I know @tonyfsu21 does as well) was the reason we always have our luggage first thing.

 

True. That might be a better reason we get the luggage so quickly. It’s hard to imagine the $20 tip carries much weight once the porter tosses the bags into the carrier (unless there is a magic carrier for the generous tips?). 

[tonyfsu21]

5 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said:

YMMV 

"Near our cabin" has varied from right outside our door to all the way forward when we had an aft-facing stateroom.

Again, YMMV.

The only times we got our luggage particularly LATE were the times we tipped the MOST per bag. 

Haha. Well there goes my theory. 

[smokeybandit]

I've never gotten luggage by 1pm, even with them expediting suite luggage. Usually 3-4 pm. Unless you use the Enterprise shuttle at Canaveral for terminal 5, then your luggage will literally be among the last on.

 

[Matt]

I have no @twangster level data to back this up, but I feel like luggage delivery has been pretty quick, where we have it within an hour or two of cabins opening.

[tonyfsu21]

35 minutes ago, Matt said:

I have no @twangster level data to back this up, but I feel like luggage delivery has been pretty quick, where we have it within an hour or two of 

I’m just going to continue tipping the porter well and getting my luggage on that magic cart because it seems to be working. Even the RCBlog boss himself is not getting luggage at 1pm sharp.

[wordell1]

We always tip a few bucks a bag at a minimum and have never had any delays past 3pm.  I would also add that I usually go looking for my bag if its not there at 1pm and have often found it down the hall awaiting delivery by the cabin stewards.

[OCSC Mike]

2 minutes ago, wordell1 said:

I would also add that I usually go looking for my bag if its not there at 1pm and have often found it down the hall awaiting delivery by the cabin stewards.

Part of our routine as well and we also usually find ours. Saves them some work and we can unpack sooner... win-win.

[smokeybandit]

The porters themselves have a very limited role in getting your bags on the ship. They load them up, then move the full carts to a staging area. Then the longshoremen put them on the ship in random order, then they're unloaded and sorted by RC crew, then delivered.

There are so many variables as to when your bag even gets to your deck, none the less your cabin.

The porters are more likely to have a role in your bags getting on last (like the rental car shuttle drop off point at Terminal 5 in PC, since those carts must fill up the slowest) than first.

[tonyfsu21]

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

The porters themselves have a very limited role in getting your bags on the ship. They load them up, then move the full carts to a staging area. Then the longshoremen put them on the ship in random order, then they're unloaded and sorted by RC crew, then delivered.

There are so many variables as to when your bag even gets to your deck, none the less your cabin.

The porters are more likely to have a role in your bags getting on last (like the rental car shuttle drop off point at Terminal 5 in PC, since those carts must fill up the slowest) than first.

I must have really good luck then. The casino says “hold my beer”…

[OCSC Mike]

15 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said:

I must have really good luck then.

Since I have the same luck…

[Traveling Mike]

I am wondering if the type of cabin you have has something to do with getting your bags early.  

[HeWhoWaits]

28 minutes ago, Traveling Mike said:

I am wondering if the type of cabin you have has something to do with getting your bags early.  

Two experiences in suites say this is not always the case - in one instance our bags were already at the door when they told us we could access the cabins, the other was one of the times we found our bags at the other end of the ship after returning from dinner (having searched the halls twice prior to going to dinner).

[need2cruz]

On the last cruise I went on, we did not get our bags until after we went to dinner.  We had used the hot tub and wanted to take a shower and change clothes before dinner, but alas had to go to dinner in our boarding clothes.  We did go up and down the halls looking for them, but no luck with that.  This was on Adventure, not a large ship.

[OCSC Mike]

2 hours ago, Traveling Mike said:

I am wondering if the type of cabin you have has something to do with getting your bags early.  

Most of my early luggage came with interiors but same exact experience with a CP Balcony last month.

[tonyfsu21]

3 hours ago, Traveling Mike said:

I am wondering if the type of cabin you have has something to do with getting your bags early.  

I have had the same experience across the board from suites to balconies. I would say it’s just good luck but we are D+ cruisers and have many cruises under our belts with the same results. I will test this again with Freedom over Memorial Day weekend. Perhaps I jinxed it? 

[OCSC Mike]

On 5/11/2025 at 9:31 AM, tonyfsu21 said:

Perhaps I jinxed it?

If my luggage isn't in my hallway at 1:00 sharp on Utopia on June 2nd I'm blaming you!

I know I've been reporting the same thing and am also D+ but you cruise way more often so it would clearly be your fault.

[IzzyB]

We tip and get there super early (always pick first boarding).  Yet our bags never come all at the same time or same place (sometimes way down hallway) and in Miami the 1 bag was right before dinner, not enough time to change.  It is very confusing when your bags go on the same cart yet somehow get put at our cabin at different times.

[HeWhoWaits]

1 hour ago, IzzyB said:

We tip and get there super early (always pick first boarding).  Yet our bags never come all at the same time or same place (sometimes way down hallway) and in Miami the 1 bag was right before dinner, not enough time to change.  It is very confusing when your bags go on the same cart yet somehow get put at our cabin at different times.

Cart to a holding area to another cart to a behind-the-scenes area on your deck to the hallway. I would be very surprised if all of a party's bags stayed together throughout the process.