When you pull up to the Princess terminal curb, a redcap will take your luggage. Be sure each luggage has a ship's tag on it. You'll receive these special tags in your final packet. Fill them out and attach before you leave home.
Often you will not have enough tags for your luggage. The redcap at the curb will give you blank ones to fill out. Have a pen at ready.
Make sure you also have your own personal tag on each luggage piece. I add my email addy to the personal tag info.
For carry-ons, I use a light-weight but roomy duffel bag to hang over my shoulder. I also have a shopping bag-looking tapestry bag I carry. It has little wheels that come down so I can roll it when necessary. It's also lightweight. I find the airplane rolling suitcases too heavy for me, even the smallest ones.
Ladies, dump the purse for embarkation time. You don't need to carry a useless item. In the duffel bag I have all personal/breakable items I want to keep close to me.....sun glasses, small throw-away camera, keys, wallet, required ship ticket and ID's, cosmetics and comb, cash and travelers checks, my jewelry in a baggie, a couple of cookies (you'd be surprised how they come in handy), a bottle of water, prescription pills....you get my drift. (I use baggies for most of this stuff. Makes things easier to find and grab out of the duffel bag).
In my rolling "shopping bag", I carry things that I may need right away upon entering my cabin, or things that may get crushed or broken.....straw hats, deoderant, shaver, change of shirt or shoes (your luggage may not be in your room yet), wine, champagne & soda pop (padded) a baseball-type cap for men, travel alarm clock, etc. Remember, your checked luggage gets stacked like cordwood before it's loaded on the ship.
Make sure you have your own personal tags on your carry-ons, also. Limiting youself to two carry-ons makes sense in a lot of ways. Keep them light. It's a long walk from the terminal to your cabin.
You'll find your suitcases more quickly at disembarkation time if you wrap colored luggage straps around them. J.C. Penney stores carry them in the luggage departments. If you don't want to buy any, use bright-colored yarn or cloth ribbon tied through the metal rings. My straps are day-glo lime green.
I read somewhere that you no longer have to tip the redcaps taking your luggage at the curb. Apparently they have "no tipping" signs posted. Maybe one of our freepers who have sailed from this terminal can help out here. Otherwise, $1 tip per piece handled is standard. Do not count in your carry-ons.
If you need a wheel chair to take you to your cabin or you have other special needs, there is a desk inside where you will be taken care of. Just ask where to go.
Have enough small bills ready for anything that comes up. A van driver that takes you from a motel or the airport should be tipped. I also tip my permanent room steward $10 right away.....that is, after I check to make sure I have ice. He will also empty your fridge of the usual mass of beverages-for-sale upon request. He will also bring you feather pillows upon request. Tipping a nominal amount to a room steward at the onset is done by seasoned travelers for obvious and good reasons.
Any questions, post them here or freepmail me at "MinuteGal".
HELPFUL TIP......sounds goofy, but pick up some $2 bills when you're at the bank for travelers checks. You'll use them a lot and they're bulge-friendly in your wallet.
Bahama Mama
For those of you staying at the Comfort Inn on the night before embarkation, here is the phone number if you want to leave it with a relative......1-954-922-1600.
The address of the Inn is 2520 Stirling Road, Hollywood, Florida.
Hollywood is a little satellite town of Ft. Lauderdale. The Comfort Inn is 2 miles from the port. We will get a complimentary hot breakfast buffet with omelet bar before the Inn's van takes us to the port.
The Comfort Inn has no dinner restaurant. There are 11 restaurants within walking distance, including a MacDonalds and Taco Bell a few steps away. Our freepers are coming into the Comfort Inn at different times during the day and evening, so you're all on your own for dinner.
For those driving to the Inn on I 75 (Alligator Alley)....go east on 75 to 595.............595 branches off to 95 south. Take 95 south to Exit 22 - be alert, the exit comes up immediately (it's the NEXT one)......You are now on Stirling Rd. Go east on Stirling and stay on it for one light and the Inn will be right there on south side of Stirling.
The Caribbean Princess will have a phone number also which you will want to leave with one of your home folks. The number will be in your ticket packet that you'll get later in the mail.
Bahama Mama.