Advice - Luggage Disembarkment

[Goofys Gal]

We are 1st time cruiser leaving in two weeks and need advice on disembarkment……..we are somewhat confused on what the process is. We do not want to put our luggage out the night before. My husband doesn’t like the idea of having our cloths/toiletries in a carryon for the airport. If we decide to keep the luggage in our room and not put it out the night before what do we do…..is there are certain area you need to go to in the morning? We have DCL transportation to the airport and our flight doesn’t leave until 2:00 pm. Any advice would be appreciated including any breakfast ideas!

 

[missyp]

We went to cabanas for breakfast and brought our luggage off with us. We needed to disembark early and our server said this would be the quickest way to do it. We had second seating and it would have been a later breakfast. Breakfast the last day follows the dinner seatings and is in the main dining room. They do not tell you that there is a buffet option but there is

 

[lbgraves]

If you don't put your luggage out, you will have to keep it with you the last morning. You will see luggage piled outside of the MDRs and Cabana's because there simply is NOT enough room to put it inside.

 

[Gigi22]

If you decide to keep all your luggage with you, then you are responsible for getting it off the ship. You will not have any assistance until after you get ashore.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We are 1st time cruiser leaving in two weeks and need advice on disembarkment……..we are somewhat confused on what the process is. We do not want to put our luggage out the night before. My husband doesn’t like the idea of having our cloths/toiletries in a carryon for the airport. If we decide to keep the luggage in our room and not put it out the night before what do we do…..is there are certain area you need to go to in the morning? We have DCL transportation to the airport and our flight doesn’t leave until 2:00 pm. Any advice would be appreciated including any breakfast ideas!

Putting toiletries in a carry-on vs checked luggage is a hassle, like many other hoops we have to jump through to travel by air these days.

If you set your luggage out the night before it will be taken off the ship and into the terminal for you, which is simpler than trying to schlep it off amidst a crowd(!) of 2000 other disembarking passengers. You will still see your luggage before taking it to the airport, and if your toiletries are in a shaving kit or other manageable-size container you can slip it into your main luggage before taking it to the DCL transfer bus.

 

[Goofys Gal]

Thanks for responding quickly! Does it affect the DCL transportation? Are we responsible in getting the luggage on the bus ourselves & then into the airport?

Thanks jdb in AZ.....that would be easier!

 

[disney212]

Tip that works for us. We save old prescription bottles and squeeze, pump, pour enough shampoo, conditioner, lotion, foundation, and so on into each one the pitch it after we are done.

 

[Dug720]

Putting toiletries in a carry-on vs checked luggage is a hassle, like many other hoops we have to jump through to travel by air these days.

If you set your luggage out the night before it will be taken off the ship and into the terminal for you, which is simpler than trying to schlep it off amidst a crowd(!) of 2000 other disembarking passengers. You will still see your luggage before taking it to the airport, and if your toiletries are in a shaving kit or other manageable-size container you can slip it into your main luggage before taking it to the DCL transfer bus.

That's exactly what I did for my contact lens solution and toothpaste! Had they correctly recorded that I was checking a bag with the airline program (I clearly marked it, and they even verified it on my paper, but it didn't get put on the computer and they couldn't get the checked bag tag for me) my sister would have had toothpaste and contact solution as both were full-sized.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

We are 1st time cruiser leaving in two weeks and need advice on disembarkment……..we are somewhat confused on what the process is. We do not want to put our luggage out the night before. My husband doesn’t like the idea of having our cloths/toiletries in a carryon for the airport. If we decide to keep the luggage in our room and not put it out the night before what do we do…..is there are certain area you need to go to in the morning? We have DCL transportation to the airport and our flight doesn’t leave until 2:00 pm. Any advice would be appreciated including any breakfast ideas!

Unless you're doing on board check-in for your flights, the only difference between putting your luggage out the night before and not is that you'll pick up your luggage in the customs area after you have debarked the ship if you do put it out. At that time you can easily put your toiletries back into your main suitcases if you want to.

Another option is to keep your bags with you, and have someone from the room go up to Cabanas to get pastries and other breakfast sundries for the room and bring it back. Or go quickly one at a time (or parent/kid pairings) to grab breakfast. You need to be out of your room by 8:00, and once you leave the room you don't go back to it, so this would be a way to not have to bring your bags with you to breakfast, then just leave the ship and go through customs the same as you normally would.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Putting toiletries in a carry-on vs checked luggage is a hassle, like many other hoops we have to jump through to travel by air these days.

If you set your luggage out the night before it will be taken off the ship and into the terminal for you, which is simpler than trying to schlep it off amidst a crowd(!) of 2000 other disembarking passengers. You will still see your luggage before taking it to the airport, and if your toiletries are in a shaving kit or other manageable-size container you can slip it into your main luggage before taking it to the DCL transfer bus.

We did this and it worked out well for us. Something else we did at the recommendation of our table mates was to grab a porter at the bottom of the escalator before picking up our luggage and going through customs. I balked at the idea (me strong like bull!) but my MIL went with her gut and I'm so thankful we did! It was just a lot easier and not fighting with all our luggage, carry ons etc going through customs was money well spent for us!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Thanks for responding quickly! Does it affect the DCL transportation? Are we responsible in getting the luggage on the bus ourselves & then into the airport?

Thanks jdb in AZ.....that would be easier!

If you do not use onboard check in, and put your luggage outside your door the night before disembarkation, your luggage will be in the terminal waiting for you after your leave customs. If you are taking a DCL bus, you can get a porter to gather all of your bags and take them to the bus with you. The luggage goes under the bus to the airport. Once you arrive at the airport, you can readjust your items and put them in your checked bags before you check them for your flight.

 

[bumbershoot]

We are 1st time cruiser leaving in two weeks and need advice on disembarkment……..we are somewhat confused on what the process is. We do not want to put our luggage out the night before. My husband doesn’t like the idea of having our cloths/toiletries in a carryon for the airport.

Does it affect the DCL transportation? Are we responsible in getting the luggage on the bus ourselves & then into the airport?

Were you going to use the onboard checkin? If so, to get the bags to them, you have to leave them out.


If you were not, and I assume you weren't, IMO your husband is nervous for nothing. If you leave them out the night before, you are reunited with your bags in the customs hall area. Therefore, you can change things around as you wish, putting your sleep clothes into your checked bags, etc. No big deal at all.

If you're carrying all your bags off the ship or being reunited with them pre-customs (basically any other option but the onboard airline checkin option), you will be responsible for getting them onto the DCL bus and then onto the airplane. And whether it's pre-customs, outside after customs, or at the airport before you check them, you can swap things around as you need.

The only time you would *have to* have your sleep clothes and toiletries in your carryon is before you get off the ship and are reunited with your bags.


Of course...if you swap everything around and stuff your checked bags full of sleep clothes and toothbrushes etc and then are bumped, or take a voluntary bump, from your flight, and they can't get your bags off the plane...you will be sleeping in what'cha got, or have to take a quick trip to Target...voice of experience here!

 

[k3chantal]

If you don't put your luggage out, you will have to keep it with you the last morning. You will see luggage piled outside of the MDRs and Cabana's because there simply is NOT enough room to put it inside.

This is completely true. You may want to convince your husband that putting your luggage out the last night is the way to go. It gets picked up super fast. As we packed the bags, we stuck them out the door and by the time the next one was ready and done, the bag before was already picked up. They definitely have a system that works and it is definitely not easy if you decide to do the opposite of what they suggest. Even though we gave them our 'big' luggage, we kept our carry on with us and it was too large to get through the MDR's. Basically, you leave it in front of the restaurant and it is exposed to anyone walking by.