Luggage @ disembarktion ???

[kellimomo3]

I have a question. We are leaving the port early on disembarktion day (about 8am) to make an 11:30 flight. Do we have to leave our luggage outside our door the night before or can we disembark with it? I know we are going to be in a bit of a rush that morning and having to look for our luggage is something I'de rather avoid if I can. Any thoughts????

Kelli

 

[Innerpc]

I just returned from the 7/31 Magic. We had alot of luggage so we decided to put it outside our stateroom the night before.

We were in line to get off the ship early (8am). We had to wait a little bit in line for them to open the doors, etc. Once they did, it went fast! Our luggage was waiting for us in it's designated area... through customs and we were done! All within a matter of 10 minutes.

So, in answer to your question.. I don't think carrying your own luggage would save any time at all. If anything, it would be just be a HUGE hassle.

 

[jennyl772003]

well, I don't know if you HAVE to put it out, but I would think you probably would to have it scanned, since you will be entering the US.

They also sort the luggage out by the color of your tag (which you get the night before debarkation), and they try to put all of a cabins luggage together. It is surprisingly easy to find your stuff. Only took us a couple of minutes.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Just make sure you do something to help make your luggage stand out or easy for someone to spot. That way, if you are using one of the baggage boys to help carray your luggage, you can tell them what to look for to help find your luggage even faster (after all, they are trying to work as fast as possible so they can help as many as possible to get as many tips as possible).

Your luggage will usually be all together on one spot, but we've had times when our set of bags was located in two or three different spots (even on different rows) within our color zone.

Some Examples: On hard-side luggage, place a unique set of Stickers on the luggage ( your two favorite sports teams, a sticker from the collage you graduated). Just make sure it's something very unlikely that another DCL passenger would have done. On soft-sided luggage, tie some sort of unique set of ribbons or yarn to the handles. For example, what are the odds that someone else on your trip is going to tie a blue, purple, and yellow ribbon to all their luggage.

This idea not only makes it easier for you to spot your luggage but also adds some uniqueness so that someone with similar luggage is less likely to accidently pickup your bag.

 

[ksjayhawks]

It will be faster to leave the luggage out the night before so they can handle it for you. You go to your area, find your luggage--it is in its designated are and was real quick to do (everything is color coded), can use a porter to help you through customs or do it yourself, and you are on your way. If you don't leave it out, I'm not sure where you would have to go to have it checked before you could get off and that might end up taking more time!

The first breakfast is at 6:30 or so and once you leave your stateroom, they need to start getting ready for the next group who boards.

 

[kellimomo3]

I guess it just seems to me that it would be time consuming to search through all that luggage when we could just grab our breakfast, go back to the cabin and get our luggage and disembark. But, it seems that the general consensous is that it is pretty easy to find. Can you tell I am just a bit nervous about making an 11:30 flight??? It was the only one we could get before evening and we will have been at the parks the week before our cruise so I want to get us home early!! Has anyone not left their luggage outside of their stateroom?? Did it work for you??

Thansk guys!!!

Kelli

 

[mmouse37]

The line to get off the ship sometimes can be long and the atrium gets very crowded and tight....schleping your own luggage would be a major pain. Trying to manuever at all on the morning of debarkation can be tough...elevators are backed up people in the hallways, room stewards emptying rooms, etc. It is much easier to leave your luggage out the night before.

The luggage pick up process is very simple. The terminal luggage sections are very well marked and it is VERY EASY to find your luggage. The area is broken down by color and cabin number and it corresponds to your colored luggage tags that you will get onboard from your room steward. The area that your luggage will be will not have as many pieces as you may think....it is not like one big room and you must sort through everything to find your....it will be in a specific section. Out of 10 DCL cruises we have never had lost luggage or a problem finding ours.

Your best bet for breakfast would be Topsiders to just grab something and either bring it back to your room or just eat it upstairs then disembark the ship when they give the all clear.

Of course you have to do what you think best for you. I would call DCL just to make sure that you are not REQUIRED to leave your luggage outside your cabin...I don't think so but call just in case.

MJ

 

[kellimomo3]

I will be leaving my luggage outside our stateroom. It sounds like the best bet. Where else could I ask a question like this and get so many well informed answers!!

Kelli

 

[swandiverpatt]

We've left our luggage in our room the past 2 cruises and will only do this from now on! No last night panicked rush about packing, what to keep out for morning preparation, etc.

One person stays in the room, the others go eat, we roll right out of there with no problems when we leave. Saves the time of having to look for your luggage, etc.

 

[kjohnson63]

I tied ribbons to our luggage and had no problem finding it in the luggage area. The whole process was very smooth and quick.

 

[paulmc80]

We've never had problems getting our luggage upon disembarkation. I've always just gotten a porter and they know the general area to look given your stateroom number. They take you to the area and its a breeze finding your bags.

If anything, the process was too fast for me. I'm more a type of person to take my sweet ol' time looking around a place before getting my luggage. I did not even have a chance to do that it was so quick.

 

[wdwoldtimer]

The process of picking up your luggage is incredibly simple and fast. There are CM's all over the place who will help you find the correct section. They also assemble them by stateroom...or try to. If you can handle packing 'early' and not having access to your luggage after the last night, I would definitely leave them outside. Disney has gone to great lengths to make this easy. We got our luggage, passed through Customs and boarded the bus to WDW in less than 15 minutes. As someone else said..lugging your stuff through the ship and in lines, if there are any can be a major pain.

Also, check with guest relations...the cruise director mentioned that they will actually check your luggage for your flight right at the DCL terminal! Can't get any easier than that. They only do this for certain airlines though...

 

[crisi]

We did have a problem with our luggage in that we were missing a piece. We think it got stuck with someone else's luggage because it made it on a Delta flight to Terra Haute, Indiana where they looked at the luggage tag and called us.

It did take us quite a while to get out - because we spent a lot of time looking for that bag. But we could have cut our losses much earlier and left without the bag.

We had early breakfast and were in no rush to leave the ship - and while we wouldn't have made an 11:00 flight, we would have made an 11:45 flight - even with the bag nonsense.

(My bags are now have a stamp on all the sides of them - a fabric paint kokopelli - as well as the ribbons I had before that had fallen off that bag).

A few hints:

They do start cleaning your rooms almost immediately - and throw open the doors. Don't plan on leaving your bags unattended that morning in your room.

If you carry off your luggage, have a reasonable amount. We wouldn't have been able to do it with two kids and their luggage in tow - but two adults or a family with older kids and a smaller amount of luggage could.

The bathrooms are very crowded at debarkation. Make sure your kids go while they are in your room. Then if they need to go again, try and wait until they are off the ship. No one can get back into their room, and every five year old on the ship needs a potty break. If you do need a restroom, try one away from the restaurants or the atrium (you might want to scope one out forward the day before).

Breakfast was nothing great - even in the dining rooms. Less than great food, and everyone in a hurry. The best thing was having one last chance to see the servers. In a rush, grab a donut and coffee at Topsiders and an egg mcmuffin when you get to the airport.

 

[depomas]

Until the next morning, and we left with it oursevles. We had an early flight out of Sanford, and a car service picking us up at 8:00, so We wanted to make this as fast as possible, and it was...

On the other hand, the first cruise we did this, and it did make it easier, and Yes, it was easy to spot... Just made it that much easier for breakfast without it and such...


In my opinion, this is simply your call...

Maybe I confused you more..