Over the years I learned that pretty much any job was made easier when the right tool for the job was used. If you cook, you know that the right pot or pan is often a key ingredient in the success of a recipe. Cutting a piece of wood? There are a number of saws that can be used. Dog owners know that all leashes are not alike. Taking the same view about cruise luggage makes just as much sense.
Consider Where Travel Is Taking You
First, consider the application. You are going on a cruise, not an jungle safari. I never really understood that until we did a Transatlantic sailing several years ago. We had always cruised round-trip from North American ports before. On that sailing we began in New York, ended in the UK and had to fly back home. No way were we going to be able to bring 3 or 4 suitcases per person as we had in the past, pre-airline luggage fees.
Taking a lesson from flight attendants we had seen in the airports, we noticed that many of them had luggage that was slender enough to fit through an x-ray machine, but longer than normal to accommodate much more inside. So we searched online to find something like that which would work for us.
At www.ebags.com we found just what we needed in a Victorinox Duffel bag boasting a large u-shaped opening for the main compartment and dual side pockets, among other benefits.
But what turned out to be the best benefit was not so much being able to carry everything in one bag, but being able to do the self-disembarkation offered on most cruise lines. As opposed to waiting around for the normal disembarkation process when leaving the ship, passengers who can carry all their own luggage off the ship without assistance walk off the ship pretty much as soon as it is possible to do so. This is a real time-saver for those with an early flight or those driving to and from the ship.
So now we sail with one of these bags, a carry on and maybe a purse or briefcase. It’s easy to do and forces us not to take everything including the kitchen sink.
Consider Where Travel Might Take You In The Future
Maybe your currently-planned cruise vacation take you to familiar ground. In that case, luggage used in the past might work very well. But future travel plans might take you to interesting new places on longer sailings that require more or different luggage.
If flying to the embarkation port, a first stop after booking airline tickets should be the airline website to find out their requirements for luggage they will accept both as checked and carry on pieces. Recently, airlines have become more strict on these requirements and ‘close to the standard’ might not work, taking a carry on piece of luggage and turning it into a checked bag. This may or may not be convenient but knowing in advance avoids surprises at the airport.
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