Cruise Luggage Tags and Terminal Drop-Off

Cruise lines typically mail luggage tags ahead of the sailing, or make them available to print from your booking confirmation. Attach them to each checked bag — securely, since a tag that falls off en route defeats the purpose — before you leave for the airport or your hotel that morning, not once you're already at the terminal drop-off with a car waiting behind you.

If you didn't receive tags in advance, check with the cruise line before your departure day; some terminals have a check-in desk that issues tags on arrival, but that adds a step and a queue you'd rather skip if you can avoid it.

Cruise terminals typically have a dedicated luggage drop separate from where passengers are dropped off — porters take tagged bags directly from the kerb so they can be routed to your cabin ahead of you, meaning you board without carrying your large cases through security and check-in yourself. Keep cabin bags and anything you need before boarding with you rather than in the tagged luggage.

Before any of that, the luggage has to fit the car you booked. A large checked case counts as two luggage units against your vehicle category's combined budget — Standard, Electric and Business cars carry a 6-unit budget (2 large bags + 2 cabin bags, or 4 cabin bags), SUV / XL a 10-unit budget with up to 4 large cases, Minibus an 18-unit budget with up to 8 large cases. If your cruise packing runs heavier than usual, which is common, it's worth checking your booking's capacity against your actual bag count before the morning of departure rather than discovering a mismatch at the kerb.