Cruise Luggage 101: Everything You Need to Know Before You Sail!

If you haven’t cruised before, you might be wondering what will happen to your luggage when you reach your cruise ship.

In this article, we look at everything you need to know about luggage when taking a cruise.

Are there restrictions on the amount or weight of luggage you can bring, like there are when you take a plane journey?

Are there things that you shouldn’t put in your case, or are banned by the cruise line?

Where does the luggage go, and when will it get to your cabin?

What happens to my luggage at the end of the cruise?

Suitcases – Does Size Matter?

If you aren’t taking a flight before your cruise, then you have far more flexibility in the luggage you take.

If you are sailing from your local cruise port, you can take more luggage because you don’t have all the normal airline restrictions.

Most cruise lines say you can take as much luggage as you can comfortably fit into your cabin – as long as no one item weighs over 23kg.

This makes perfect sense. They don’t want their porters to damage themselves by lifting heavy luggage. Just take two smaller cases instead…

Often, it is far cheaper and easier to sail from your local cruise port. Find out about other advantages here:

7 Reasons To Sail From Your Local Cruise Port

Luggage Tags Are Important!

You will be able to print off your own luggage tags via the cruiselines website, once you have completed the online check-in.

Some traditional cruise lines, like Fred Olsen may send you the tags in the post.

Luggage tags are paper, so I recommend you invest in some plastic luggage tag covers to put on your case. These make the tags easy to attach, and if there is rain or bad weather, the tags will still be legible.

They are cheap and efficient, and you can use them again and again. I use the ones below:

Luggage tags will show your cabin number, and often the position of your cabin on the ship, making it easy for the crew to deliver your case to your cabin.

If your luggage label falls off, your case won’t arrive in your cabin. You will have to go to Reception and ask them to track it down for you. Not what you want at the start of your cruise!

Porters Outside The Terminal Will Take Your Suitcase

This is why it is so important to make sure that you have your luggage tags securely attached to your cases when you arrive at the terminal.

The porters should check that the bags are correctly labelled before taking them and putting them on to a conveyer belt or through a hatch – and that is the last you will see of them until they magically appear in your cabin later.

If you don’t have your tags for any reason, there is normally a desk outside where they will give you the tags you need.

Your luggage will be scanned in the same way as at an airport. This is to make sure there is nothing unsafe in there, or that you aren’t trying to bring forbidden items, like alcohol onboard.

Find out what are the most confiscated items by cruise lines here:

These Are The 5 Items Most Regularly Confiscated by Cruise Lines

Keep A Hand Luggage Bag With You

Keep your hand luggage with you and head into the terminal building.

What Happens In The Terminal?

• Check-in at the check-in desk is like a simplified version of an airport check-in.
  • They will want to see your passport and documentation – and your credit card if you haven’t entered the details of that online previously
  • Once you have checked in, you will go through normal airport-style security with your hand luggage, then board the ship.
• I always have a carry-on bag.
  • In this, I keep my Passport, Phone and Credit Cards.
• Keep anything expensive or irreplaceable with you.
  • Don’t pack an expensive laptop, medicines or important paperwork in your suitcase. Keep it in your hand luggage.
• Sometimes, I pack a swimming costume in my carry-on bag.
  • I can then go for a swim when the pool is quiet on embarkation day. Most other people won’t have their swimming things, so can’t join me!

When my parents recently cruised on MSC Preziosa from Southampton, they were first in line for security. They scanned my Dad’s hand luggage – and asked him why he was carrying a knife!

Of course, he wasn’t. The lady scanning soon realised she was watching a training video, not looking at the contents of Dad’s bag!

You can do without that sort of excitement on embarkation day…

When Will My Suitcase Arrive In My Cabin?

Your luggage will appear magically outside your cabin.

Normally it arrives in the early afternoon, but it can be as late as after dinner on the first night.

If they find something suspicious ( like bottles, for example) when scanning, they might open your case to check inside.

If this happens, this may delay the case arriving at your cabin.

The longest wait we have had for a suitcase was when we recently took a family holiday on Anthem of the Seas from Southampton.

Everyone’s case arrived promptly, apart from my Mum’s, which took seven hours to arrive! She was panicking that she wouldn’t have any clothes for the trip, as she was sharing a cabin with my brother, and his certainly wouldn’t fit her!

We never found out why it was delayed, and she certainly hadn’t packed any disallowed items.

Find out more about that family cruise to Norway here:

Mats On The Beds

When you first arrive at your cabin, you are likely to find luggage mats on the beds.

You can put your cases on them and unpack. This helps keep your bedding clean. The cabin steward will take these mats away again on the first evening.

Find out everything you need to know about these mats here:

Why Do Cruise Lines Place Mats on Your Bed? (Here’s What NOT To Do With Them)

What To Do With Your Empty Cases

Once you have unpacked, you can store the empty cases under your bed, or in the bottom of your wardrobe.

If you are short on space (if you have four people sharing an inside cabin, for example) speak to your cabin steward, and they will be able to take your empty case away and return it at the end of the cruise.

Luggage on Disembarkation

You will be reminded your cruise is coming to an end, when you return to your cabin and find your disembarkation luggage tags on the bed. Its a sad day!

New Luggage Tags

• Before disembarkation day the cruise line will give you new luggage tags. These are often left in your cabin one or two nights before the end of your cruise.
  • It’s always sad to see them laying there as it means your lovely cruise is coming to an end.
• Luggage tags are normally different colours or different numbers, that denote the area of the ship you are on.
  • It is easier in the terminal because you can just head to the area with green luggage tags (for example) to find your suitcase.
• You will need a disembarkation day bag to keep with you because on the last night of the cruise, you will be asked to leave your case outside the door.
  • Your suitcase will be taken ashore by the crew and you pick it up the next day in the cruise terminal.

Things To Keep With You In Your Disembarkation Day Bag

Again, it’s important to have a hand luggage bag with your valuables in. Also, you also need a set of clothes to wear, so don’t forget these essentials!

You will be surprised how many people pack all of their clothes and haven’t got anything to wear to disembark in! Don’t make that mistake!

Everything on changeover day happens to a very tight schedule. You will need to be out of your cabin very early so the cabin steward can clean ready for new guests arriving.

• The colour of your luggage tag often denotes the time you get off the ship.
  • Everyone with your coloured tag will be asked to wait in a certain bar or theatre, and they will tell you when it is your time to disembark.
  • This stops everyone from trying to leave the ship at exactly the same time – that would cause chaos!

Don’t forget:

• Keep a set of clothes and a pair of shoes to wear on disembarkation day
• Remember to keep out your toiletries, hairbrush, toothbrush etc.
• Don’t pack your cruise card, you will need it to disembark.
  • Once you have disembarked, you can keep your cruise card as a souvenir of your trip.
• Keep anything expensive or important with you in your hand luggage. For example:
  • Phone
  • Camera
  • Passport
  • Money/ credit cards
  • Medication
  • Laptop or tablet computer

Self Disembarkation Is An Option

You are often offered the option of “Self Disembarkation” and I often choose this. It means:

• You don’t put out your suitcase, you take it off the ship yourself in the morning.
• You normally have to be off the ship by a certain time, often quite early.
• You must be capable of dealing with your bags yourself, you won’t get any help from the crew.
• You don’t have all the hanging about waiting for your time slot to leave.
• Be aware that the lifts/elevators are often full on the last day, and you might struggle to get one easily.

If you choose self-disembarkation, you may end up carrying your suitcase down flights of stairs. This is fine for me – but doesn’t suit everyone.

Lifts/Elevators are usually very busy on the last morning.

When I cruised on the Costa Smeralda, I was able to stay onboard until 4 p.m. in the afternoon, although I needed to leave my cabin first thing.

This is because Costa have guests arriving and departing at every port – everyone doesn’t just embark and disembark at the same place.

To find out all about that cruise, watch the video below:

Before You Go

The airline left my suitcase at Venice airport recently! Find out how I knew and how I eventually got it back here:

My Suitcase Was Left Behind – Here’s How I Knew Before Everybody Else – and Got It Back

Find out about the four things you should always do on disembarkation day here:

4 Things You Should Always Do on Disembarkation Day