Hi!

This will be our first Cruise.  My question is we will be leaving from New Orleans, and returning there also on the ship Triumph.  My husband want us to keep the luggage in the room, since I only plan to bring 2 suitcases, and we can handle both of them to avoid a long wait to leave the ship.  Do you know if this is possible or what is the policy.  I have been looking all over and can not find out the details on leaving the ship.

I figured the reason it is not on there it is a long process.  I gave him the trip for his birthday, and his friend told him it was the worse part of the cruise.  He is totally not a long waiter when it comes to things like that.  Can you give me your opinion.

Thanks!

skippy:

Hi!

This will be our first Cruise.  My question is we will be leaving from New Orleans, and returning there also on the ship Triumph.  My husband want us to keep the luggage in the room, since I only plan to bring 2 suitcases, and we can handle both of them to avoid a long wait to leave the ship.  Do you know if this is possible or what is the policy.  I have been looking all over and can not find out the details on leaving the ship.

I figured the reason it is not on there it is a long process.  I gave him the trip for his birthday, and his friend told him it was the worse part of the cruise.  He is totally not a long waiter when it comes to things like that.  Can you give me your opinion.

 

Thanks!

 

What you are talking about is referred to as "self-assist debarkation" - you simply DON'T put your luggage out the night before and then you take it all off with you when you leave.  It's a real time-saver and by doing this you get to by-pass the luggage carrousel and can go straight to customs and then the parking lot!  One tip, though - bring a large tote bag or something soft that you can fold up inside your luggage so if you DO get more stuff than you can fit back inside the 2 cases, you'll have something as a back-up to carry extras in. 

 Also, FYI - if you buy liquor from the on-board shop, it will be delivered to your room in a convenient cardboard box with carry handle so you won't need to worry about how to maneuver THAT along with everything else!  Just don't do what we did when we cruised on Victory - we kept our stuff in the cabin and then ended up with so many bags/boxes/suitcases that we almost couldn't get everything down the halls and off the ship!!

 As long as you can handle all your luggage without assistance, then you can use self assist. If you place any luggage outside your cabin door for pickup on the last night you are not allowed to use self assist. If you try it you'll not be given access to the luggage placed for pick up.

CD

I always let them take my bags so I can go eat a nice breakfast and roam around the ship before leaving.  Since I always have a later flight I don't rush to leave the ship.  So I stay on board as long as I can.  I would rather sit on the ship than at the air port.

You can do the "self" way...but personally ...they have to pull me off kicking & screaming!!!!

Customs is usually the wait, not getting off the ship... I think.  Either way you get off, you will stand in line regardless to go through customs, sometimes that's a quick process sometimes not, just depends!  But it is faster if you have your bags in hand and can just go.

nana6:

You can do the "self" way...but personally ...they have to pull me off kicking & screaming!!!!

yes taking the bags off yourself is a little quicker,,and like another post said if you have a late flight it's better to sit at breakfast and eat then sitting at the airport and sometimes the elevators will be jammed pack with other cruisers with there luggage and they could be delays with customs, that means holding on to your luggage a little while longer....on my first cruise we carried our own luggage and i got tired of holding it and bumping into people,,,good luck and have fun on your cruise...

philly1

Would recommend the self disembarkation.  It is faster and if you only have a couple of bags it will be no problem.  There is still a line, but it is much faster.  The last time we were off the ship and in our car in 35 minutes!!

Happy Sailing

Something that others have not yet mentioned is that you cannot stay or leave anything in your cabin until you are ready to leave the ship. You will asked to be leaved relatively early (by 9 am is what I have often experienced) and if you are doing self-debarkation then you must take your luggage with you - to breakfast, to the restroom, to the Lido deck while you wait to be called. You must also drag them along with you down the hallways and gangways with all the other passengers doing the same. If you have small and not particularly heavy bags, this is not a problem.

Unless we have to get off the ship really early, we let Carnival get our bags off the ship for us.

~ MattInSoCal

We're members of the "Last Ones Off The Ship" Club  (LOOTS).....We let Carnival take our bags off, go to the Lido for a leisurely breakfast and watch the people lined up to get off the ship first, and then when the crowd has thinned out, we are among the last few stragglers to leave....also makes for a very short line at customs, and an easy drive out of the parking garage!

We also let them take our bags and then early in the morning went up to breakfast. At 8:30 we went back to our room and grabbed our small carry-ons and a bottle of wine. Then up to the Lido deck to watch everyone else leave while we drank our wine out of  plastic cups. When we left there were no lines and our luggage was standing alone. Grabbed a porter and outside we went. Customs were only taking our sheet and no interview or review of the paper.