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How early do you pack?


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Do you pack early or just last minute? I'm wondering if I'm the only one that starts months in advance.

 

Years ago I started a list of "stuff to take on our cruise".

about a week before, I hang it on our bedroom wall.

As we get closer, we start gathering things, put them in a bin, or suitcase and check it off the list. It works well as don't miss things. Over the years, when we discovered that we did miss something, we add to the list, this way we have an up-to-date list for the next cruise.

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My people! I have a master list and start gathering a month out. Also have a "travel box". Please tell me a advantages of packing cubes over zip lock bags. Karen

 

I love my Eagle Creek cube set! FIrst of all, they are so darn cute! They last longer than zip lock bags and I think squish down even more than zip locks. Plus the handle on top is convenient. The set I have looks white-ish in the pic but are really translucent so I can see what is in them. The set of 3 in the link below is what I have. The smaller one goes on all trips and is for meds/emg kind of stuff, the middle one goes on all trips and the bigger one only goes on cruises. These changed me life, I love them!

 

I got my Eagle Creek from the Container Store:

https://www.containerstore.com/s/travel/clothing-accessories-organizers/eagle-creek-translucent-specter-pack-it-cube-set/12d?productId=10034338

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I love my Eagle Creek cube set! FIrst of all, they are so darn cute! They last longer than zip lock bags and I think squish down even more than zip locks. Plus the handle on top is convenient. The set I have looks white-ish in the pic but are really translucent so I can see what is in them. The set of 3 in the link below is what I have. The smaller one goes on all trips and is for meds/emg kind of stuff, the middle one goes on all trips and the bigger one only goes on cruises. These changed me life, I love them!

 

I got my Eagle Creek from the Container Store:

https://www.containerstore.com/s/travel/clothing-accessories-organizers/eagle-creek-translucent-specter-pack-it-cube-set/12d?productId=10034338

 

They look very practical.

Just curious, what is emg?

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We have a room just for cruising & photos. We have a bench cabinet where I put all the things we could need to pack such as binoculars, first aid kit, rain ponchos, etc. You know ... :D

 

We start about 2 weeks out before departure laying our clothing out on the spare room bed. Then about 2 days before departure we pack. Hubby is in charge of his clothes and electrical thingy's. I pack my clothes and all the other incidentals we might need.

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They look very practical.

Just curious, what is emg?

 

Oops - sorry, emg is my abbreviation for emergency. It is all my emergency type meds like Pepto, band aids, Imodium, Tylenol, Dramamine, etc., plus my daily meds and vitamins. Basically, your basic everything under the sun! It goes on all my trips.

 

I like the idea al lot of posters have about the cruise bin/bucket. I usually have a spot in a closet where I just pile my cruise stuff, but I am going to try this idea. Good one!

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Oops - sorry, emg is my abbreviation for emergency. It is all my emergency type meds like Pepto, band aids, Imodium, Tylenol, Dramamine, etc., plus my daily meds and vitamins. Basically, your basic everything under the sun! It goes on all my trips.

 

I like the idea al lot of posters have about the cruise bin/bucket. I usually have a spot in a closet where I just pile my cruise stuff, but I am going to try this idea. Good one!

 

Thank you!

Good ideas. :)

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This thread is making me ridiculously excited! 45days till the Diamond. Which must mean 40-41days till we fly.

 

I have a box in my wardrobe.... with books I'm taking, travel tolieteries, packing cubes and so on. Will move it all to the spare room with suitcase in about three weeks. Need to start an actual list

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I have all my lists, short cruises, long cruises, and land vacations.

 

BUT-if I don't have to fly, I LIKE CHOICES! And even if I fly, on a 7 night cruise I have at least 15 swimsuits with me as I have no idea what I might want to wear each day. On a 3 night cruise, I take probably 6/7 swimsuits. I take a different outfit for every day. I do not like to mix/match. I don't like packing cubes or rolling my clothes. I just pack. Works for me. When I am forced into 2 checked and 2 carryons for a 7 night or land vacation, I make it work. But when I don't have to, I enjoy and pack what I want!

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The list starts the day I book the cruise...not sailing until next March, but the list has been done for almost a year with revisions every now and then. I also keep a file tray to set all my notes in and everything is kept together. Clothes come out of the closet about a month ahead of time and sorted on the dining room table. About a week before everything gets ironed and put into the suitcase two days ahead of time. The process is like a well-oiled machine!!!

P.S. Thanks Princess for providing a self serve Laundromat so I can re-iron everything once it comes out of the suitcase.

 

We sail next March too on a back to back including Cabo and the Pacific Coast and nice sea days. But heard the Pacific can be cold there. SO lots of different temps to deal with. And I have been working on my list ever since we booked. And shopping for what I am missing. Also have a night before and night after in a hotel to pack for. MUST be organized. OCD, I know but lots of fun too!

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I have all my lists, short cruises, long cruises, and land vacations.

 

BUT-if I don't have to fly, I LIKE CHOICES! And even if I fly, on a 7 night cruise I have at least 15 swimsuits with me as I have no idea what I might want to wear each day. On a 3 night cruise, I take probably 6/7 swimsuits. I take a different outfit for every day. I do not like to mix/match. I don't like packing cubes or rolling my clothes. I just pack. Works for me. When I am forced into 2 checked and 2 carryons for a 7 night or land vacation, I make it work. But when I don't have to, I enjoy and pack what I want!

 

 

Can't tell if this was said jokingly or seriously.......15 swimsuits?? I used to own just one, but bought another so I could have a dry one every other day.

 

Years ago, when I wasn't a very experienced traveler, I packed my whole closet "just in case" I wanted to wear something. But as I traveled more, I got sick of hauling tons of heavy luggage with me. And I started to realize that I wore relatively few of the outfits I took.

 

Eventually I learned to pack lightly and went on a 3 week land trip to Europe where I took just a 22" carryon and a small backpack. Such freedom!! Most of my clothing is mix/match anyway so it's easy to choose what I'll take. And no waiting at the baggage claim was great - I got out of the airport before anyone else on our flight.

 

When I cruise I take one 28" suitcase and one small carryon that fits under an airplane seat. I pack a foldable bag that I can use to bring souvenirs back in, if needed. This is especially nice now that airlines charge outrageous baggage fees. I use the launderettes or ship's laundry to clean clothing as needed and take old or cheap undies then throw them away at the end of the trip so I don't have to take them home.

Edited by Go-Bucks!
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We do the actual packing the day before--sometimes my husband does his the day we fly, if we fly out late. I've already made sure everything is clean and fits.

 

I do start collecting items on a shelf that I know we will take and hanging clothes in a section of the closet a week or so ahead of time. I also go through all our travel 'stuff' to see what needs to be replaced, like small size toiletries, first aid supplies, etc.

 

I could never pack way ahead--I'd just have to take it all out and repack to be sure of what I had. I do have a list of 'to takes' and 'to do's' that I start a week or so ahead of time.

 

Doesn't clothing packed weeks or months ahead get either stale smelling or really wrinkled? Also, although there are clothes that I use mostly just for cruises (formal/dressy, for instance), I take a lot of my clothes that I currently wear as well. I don't have two complete wardrobes!

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The whole process starts when we book the voyage. I have created an Excel workbook with a series of tabs but the starting point is the first tab that l list the dates and what happens on that date showing whether it's a port day, sea day or pre or post cruise day to create the itinerary. This fills in a worksheet for a packing list, one for the expense planning sheet, and TTD before the sailing date.

The packing list automatically fills in what type of clothing for morning and evening per count of items, and then adjusts the total for how many times it can be worn to give a total to pack. Kinda complicated algorithms and there is always a little tweaking, but it has been massaged over the last 20 years to work for us. The real work is when we have a long TA or B2B when there is a modification to allow for ship laundry or DIY.

OK, now the actual picking out the stuff is a couple of weeks out from sailing and the packing is a couple of days before.

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For me, the planning takes much longer than the actual packing. I have a spreadsheet with several tabs.

 

The first tab has the actual packing list for that cruise. Down the first column are the dates and activity for that date (flight, pre-cruise location, embarkation, sea day, ports, etc.); the second through fifth column has tops, bottoms, footwear, accessories/undergarments. Each day has two rows, one for day wear, and one for evening. (I also list the average high and low temps in the day column if I'm going on a cruise with different climates.)

 

The second tab lists clothing combinations such as jeans goes with tops 1, 2, 3 etc., black pants goes with tops 2, 4, 5 (using desriptions so I know which ones I'm referring to), etc. This tab has all the clothing combinations that travel well.

 

The third tab is the toiletries and miscellaneous list including items like umbrella, kindle, various chargers, plug adapters, swimsuit, pjs, robe, medications, etc.

 

I keep a master list on my computer (which gets modified as needed when I buy something new or get rid of something).

 

Once I book a cruise, I use the master list and modify, identifying clothing based on the itinerary, deleting things from the toiletries/miscellaneous tab, etc., then save it under the cruise name (so I always have the master on file for the next trip). I add items to the first tab based on suggestions of clothing combinations from Tab 2. I'm trying to get to the point that every top works with every bottom so I can travel lighter--but not quite there yet.

 

I might start the list shortly after booking the cruise, and may work on it as part of the planning, but usually have it finalized and printed a couple weeks before. The week prior, I make sure all the items are clean and start laying them aside or hanging them separately in the closet.

 

A day or two before, I start packing using the list. I use a highlighter to "cross" the items off the list as I pack. The list then goes in my carryon (just in case luggage gets lost I have a complete list of what was in the suitcase).

 

I don't always wear what's on the list on that specific day, but I do wear what I pack, and I haven't forgotten anything (knock on wood).

 

I also have a travel bin (large plastic storage box) with things I only use for travelling like transformers, travel plug adapters, airline travel pillow for long flights, my cruise luggage tag holders, luggage scale, travel mug, small sewing kit, small first-aid kit, emergency chem light (I always pack one just in case), etc.

 

A little OCD perhaps, but it works for me. [emoji6]

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

Please what is an emergency chem light?

 

I take a small battery operated torch and have a camping torch in a harness I can wear on my head if needed.

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This is my major reason waiting until the last day or so to pack.

The longer everything sits folded up in the suitcase the more set the wrinkles become. ;)

 

I don't fold our clothes and put them into suitcases until a few days before.

 

But we start planning a few months early. We have an extra room and keep clothes on hangers while dh and I are coordinating. And, things change several times over a couple of months! For us, it is fun planning and thinking about the cruise that way.

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I don't fold our clothes and put them into suitcases until a few days before.

 

But we start planning a few months early. We have an extra room and keep clothes on hangers while dh and I are coordinating. And, things change several times over a couple of months! For us, it is fun planning and thinking about the cruise that way.

Know what you mean.

I built my wife a "staging area" for her stuff & she uses it for maybe 2 months prior but doesn't pack till the last few days.

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Please what is an emergency chem light?

 

I take a small battery operated torch and have a camping torch in a harness I can wear on my head if needed.

 

Some people call them "snap light" or even "glow sticks" but I have the industrial or military grade. They are the sticks that you snap to release the chemical inside that makes them glow really bright. I take those since they don't use a battery, have a 5-year shelf life, and can even be used underwater (where a flashlight might not). Once activated, you can get ones that last 30 minutes or up to 10 hours, and they don't get hot. My cell phone has a flashlight which does provide more actual light, but got the chem lights for emergencies after the Costa Concordia accident since the chem lights are good underwater (where a flashlight or cell phone wouldn't be). As the first ones I bought approached the shelf-life, I used a couple during a power outage and placed one in the bathroom so we could see in there. They aren't bright enough to read or anything, but they do glow enough so you can see your way around. I usually put one in the drawer by the bed so I know where to find it if something should occur in the middle of the night and there is no power--I usually book inside cabins, so no moonlight coming in. Hoping I'll never have to use them in an emergency of course, but carry one or two with me just in case.

 

Amazon carries them so you can search for chem lights on Amazon and they'll all come up.

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Doesn't clothing packed weeks or months ahead get either stale smelling or really wrinkled?

 

I pack about three week ahead of time. My suit cases never have a stale smell to start with and my clothing is fresh. Therefore, there is no stale smell what so ever.

I think if a suit case is stored in a damp place, it might get a smell.

 

As for wrinkles, well , some of my stuff does wrinkle. But, I have tried packing the night before and I have gotten the same results, some wrinkles. I have found ways to help with the wrinkles.

In the end I will press them my self on board or send them out to be pressed.

I just find it less stressful on me to be packed a head of time.

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I pack about three week ahead of time. My suit cases never have a stale smell to start with and my clothing is fresh. Therefore, there is no stale smell what so ever.

I think if a suit case is stored in a damp place, it might get a smell.

 

As for wrinkles, well , some of my stuff does wrinkle. But, I have tried packing the night before and I have gotten the same results, some wrinkles. I have found ways to help with the wrinkles.

In the end I will press them my self on board or send them out to be pressed.

I just find it less stressful on me to be packed a head of time.

 

Just wondering, how do you press the wrinkles out yourself when you're aboard the ship? Do you bring a clothes iron, and ironing board in your luggage?

Enjoy your cruise.

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Just wondering, how do you press the wrinkles out yourself when you're aboard the ship? Do you bring a clothes iron, and ironing board in your luggage?

Enjoy your cruise.

 

 

On Princess cruise line they have washes, dryers and irons and ironing board available to all PAX in the laundry room on most PAX deck. The wash and dry I think is $3. each and use of the iron is free.

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On Princess cruise line they have washes, dryers and irons and ironing board available to all PAX in the laundry room on most PAX deck. The wash and dry I think is $3. each and use of the iron is free.

I didn't know that. :)

Thank you!

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