Norwegian Cruise Line emphasizes its freestyle cruising getaways, allowing passengers to sleep as late as they want, eat at various times and still utilize the ship's amenities due to the flexible hours. However, before you can start enjoying your cruise travel, you and your luggage have to make it aboard. While some choose to carry-on their own luggage themselves, others utilize the luxury and convenience of the crew bringing your luggage to your stateroom for you. On an NCL cruise, they makes it simple to print out luggage tags online to ensure that your luggage makes it to your ship's cabin on time. Bringing these tags and all of your travel documents are cruise essentials. If this is your first cruise, first time using luggage tags, or first cruise on NCL, to make sure your embarkation day runs smoothly, follow these luggage tag cruise tips.

The Importance of Luggage Tags

The purpose of luggage tags is to identify where the bags are supposed to be in case they get misplaced. If you are flying to get to the cruise ship, these tags ensure that if the bags are delayed, misplaced or you switch flights, the airline will deliver them to the embarking location. The Norwegian Cruise Line luggage tags also assist boarding personnel to pick up your bags and bring them onto the proper ship, as there are often multiple ships embarking at similar times. If you’re leaving on the Norwegian Breakaway, you would hate for your luggage to end up on a Carnival Cruise Line or Royal Caribbean ship. These tags also identify the cabin number you are staying in.

Accessing Your NCL eDocs

In order to print your luggage tags, you first have to access your Norwegian eDocs. Visit the Norwegian Cruise Line site and click "Create Account" to register and start the check-in process. You must enter your name, cruise ship name, cruise sailing date and the reservation number on your ticket. If you have an outstanding balance on your cruise, you will need to pay it before you can access your e Docs. After payment is made, click the "Vacation Summary" tab and then click "Check-in." Here you can online check-in for your cruise to get your luggage tags.

Printing the Luggage Tags

Click on the "My eDocs" tab to display your electronic boarding pass. The last page of these documents contains your luggage tags. Print a copy of all of the documents, as you will need the tags and the boarding passes. These cruise documents are available up to 30 days prior to your departure date. You must print one luggage tag for each piece of luggage you are carrying on board. Once you print these out, attach them to your suitcase with a cruise luggage tag holder. These are available for purchase on Amazon and other places online. Ones with steel loops tend to last the longest, but there are many options online.

Verify the Luggage Tag Information

Your name, address, contact number and your cabin number is preprinted on the luggage tags according to the information that you entered online. Verify that the information is correct, and make any changes if it is not. If you are staying in a guarantee cabin and the number is not displayed online or on any of your documents, write “GTY” in the cabin number field. When attaching the luggage to your bag, ensure that the side containing your cabin number faces upward to avoid delays in getting it to your cabin.

Holland America, Celebrity Cruises, Disney Cruises, Carnival Cruises, and Princess cruises all have very similar luggage tag rules, but refer to their individual websites for details.