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Packing light. How to? Your tips.


jeffdal
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How many shoes do you need? Flip flops and closed toe is all you need, wear the closed toe in the airplane.

Color coordinate.... Depending on the line you can probably get a way with one pair of dress pants (wear just for the evening) and switch out shirts.

 

For ports just shorts or lightweight pants, beach gear ... that takes no space really. Also if you can wear casual shirts to dinner, wear what you wore the night before during the next day. So you can really get away with packing 6-8 shirts and 3-4 shorts/lightweight slacks and one dress pant.

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If your closed toe shoes are comfy, you can wear them into port!...Or, wear the flip flops, unless you're hiking!

 

 

Honestly...pack what you want and need. There is no contest about who can pack the least! We each take a med. sized suitcase, plus a smaller bag for our shoes, and my hair equipment and such. I'll also have a makeup bag. There are no prizes for "packing light"!

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If your closed toe shoes are comfy, you can wear them into port!...Or, wear the flip flops, unless you're hiking!

 

 

Honestly...pack what you want and need. There is no contest about who can pack the least! We each take a med. sized suitcase, plus a smaller bag for our shoes, and my hair equipment and such. I'll also have a makeup bag. There are no prizes for "packing light"!

 

Totally agree. I never worry about how much, just whether or not I can handle it myself.

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Why would anyone want to lug about a suitcase that is needlessly heavy just because they didn't plan what they would need in advance. Personally I enjoy the freedom of travelling light and I'd rather not have to unpack a lot of unworn clothes when I got back home.

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On the last evening of your last cruise, what did you pack that was never used? I'm guessing extra clothes you didn't need, and maybe a few "just in case" items. On the next cruise, leave that stuff at home. By about your 12th cruise, you should have it pretty well figured out. clear.png?emoji-wink-1685

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I pack too much no matter how hard I try. What are your tips?

 

 

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I'm getting better each time we travel!

 

Mix and match items that can create multiple outfits.

 

Fabric selection is key. Chiffon, tech fabrics, silk blends...look for items that fold into nothing and are super lightweight. Ten of these items take up less space than one pair of blue jeans.

 

Limit shoes! Three pair max. Sandals/flip flops, dress shoes, trainers.

 

I also tend to buy a lot of toiletries at the embarkation port. That way I don't have to fly with a lot of liquids and extra weight.

 

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I used to think I needed a clean shirt for every day, and a different outfit for every evening. Now, I divide the number of days we'll be away from home by 2, and take that many tops and shorts. I also take one black skirt or dress pants for evening, and I divide the number of cruise nights by three to determine how many "fancy" tops to take. For footwear, I bring one pair of "beach" sandals for day wear, and one pair of "fancy" sandals for evenings. I wear sneakers for traveling, so I have them available for walking tours in ports.

I remove medications from bottles and boxes, and put them in baggies which are easier to squeeze into small spaces in your luggage. I stuff small items like socks and underwear into crevices in and around shoes and other bulkier items. Instead of putting all my toiletries in a kit bag, I pack them loose so they can be squeezed into small nooks and crannies.

I carry a cross-body purse that holds all travel documents, plus my wallet, my camera, and my e-reader. I also have a shoulder bag, like a beach bag, to hold my jacket and a few snacks, and my rolling carry-on. My husband carries a laptop bag that can also fit his jacket, and a rolling carry-on. We are both plus-size people, so our clothing items are all larger than regular-sized people, so if we can do it...anyone can!

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I pack by the same strategy no matter the length of the trip, no matter if cruise or land-based tour. No matter he or she. Four bottoms, eight tops (two per bottom, if they coordinate with more than one bottom so much the better). Mostly "hi-tech" fabrics. Walking shoes. Comfy shoes (WHICH ARE WORN ON THE PLANE). Cardigan or leather jacket (depending on predicted weather)(WEAR). Raincoat. Hat(s). Enough underwear and socks for eight days. And EZWash sheets cut in quarters which are the right size for one sinkful, plus an elastic clothesline. There is still room in a standard carryon apiece and the extras I choose depend on the type of trip and the kind of place we're visiting. If something seems desirable and doesn't fit, either something else doesn't go, or it doesn't!

 

If rain is very unlikely, I leave out the raincoats; if that trip were also longer, I might take another two-top-one-pant set apiece in the space the coats left. Tropical clothes take up less room, but can't be worn as many times. I have on occasion been able to fit in a pair of flat-packing slip-on sandals just for my convenience if, say, lots of seadays, just for quick trips around the ship.

 

We too are people of size (but I can usually get an extra tanktop or two and a lightweight "topper" to add versatility to my outfits, in the space that dr'spin's cargo pants take up). We don't do formal and we don't do beach, so those things are not something I worry about, but all of our clothes are nice looking (smart casual at the least). I have brought swimsuits and coverups for both in the past... when we didn't use the hot-tub on a whole transAtlantic, I stopped packing them.

 

I use Ziploc BigBags to segregate outfits and crosspack one each in case of having to gatecheck our carryons, which has happened, though never have they not been put on the same plane.

 

There are prizes to travelling carry-on only. The ability to catch an earlier flight when the monitor shows the scheduled flight is delayed enough to miss a connection. Porters you don't have to tip. Bags not mis-routed and not there when the last luggage comes off the plane. Not having to wait then hustle at the baggage carousel at all. And of course the ability to self-disembark from a cruise ship. Of course, there is also no shame in travelling slightly heavier -- my aunt has a system that works for her -- it entails a 24" suitcase. She can absolutely handle it herself and apparently has never failed to have it make the flight with her. She can self-disembark, and that's all that mattered on our shared family cruise!

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For me, it's not about packing light, it's about packing right. I think critically about what I will need, will I be willing to do a load or two of laundry, how can my clothes mix and match ... then pack what I need and only what I need.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Best advice I have found for packing is to make a list based on your own individual needs, including some tips from seasoned cruisers (like sanitizing wipes, air freshener, power strip, etc). When you get back from your cruise, take that same list and add the things you forgot and omit the things you brought but didn't need. Use THAT list for your next cruise. By your 3rd cruise, your luggage will just about pack itself!

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IMHO, the #1 reason people over pack is for options.

 

Instead of having options, make a schedule and stick to it. That will fix 90% of over packing issues.

 

On that, and the shirt note- my schedule is to wear a clean shirt for dinner, and then use it the next day on shore. We also generally stick to taking a shower only when we get back on board before dinner. Yes, all of my evening shirts are light enough to be kind of beach cover shirts, too.

 

Since we mostly cruise to warm places, I also limit the number of pants to about 3- and just wear them in the evenings.

 

Lastly, it's a good idea to take some cleaning stuff "just in case"- as that is very light to pack.

 

We do 2 weeks on two carry on sized bags plus two small back packs, and that includes some running stuff.

 

Planning is the most important thing.

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We are "serial overpackers." No matter how hard we try, we overpack. While it can become a hassle when we are traveling around the world with so much luggage, it is really nice to have whatever we need/want without having to worry about doing laundry, washing something out in the sink, etc. Perhaps one benefit is that to get around the silly airline fees (for luggage) it has become a further incentive to book Business Class :). We find that we can go away for week or even months with 3 checked pieces of luggage plus 2 carry-ons. We can pack clothes for both warm and cold weather, rain, snow, formal, informal, whatever.

 

Hank

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I arrange my attire by day and decide which days will be worn a 2nd time. Dinner shirts are worn with a coolmax type undershirts so the dinner shirt can be worn more than once. Then the attire for every day is placed in a packing cube or stuff sack.

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I have taken less with each cruise I take. I have a carryon bag and a large purse. On my last cruise I still brought home a couple of items that I didn't wear.

 

I use travel space bags. These are available on line and in store at Bed Bath and Beyond. The only issue with them is that I can get so much in the carry on that it can get kind of heavy. But it has wheels so it's not a great problem. The large purse holds the necessary stuff like medications, travel documents and normal purse stuff. Now I don't need so many documents since you can get boarding passes on your phone as well as confirmations of hotels, tours, etc.

 

I take one pair of black knit slacks that I wear on the plane and for dinner every night. I do two small loads of laundry: one dark and one light,in the middle of the week. It's not a big deal to me but it might be to others. We usually sail Princess so self serve laundry works for me.

 

Whatever you decide to do, don't waste valuable time stressing over it and have a great cruise.

 

 

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How to pack light.

 

1. Get the luggage you are going to limit yourself to. For us, it's generally what we can carry on a plane.

 

2. Make a list.

 

3. If it fits it comes with. If it doesn't, prioritize and remove stuff.

 

4. While don't the packing test, put in something you won't take to take up the space for souvenirs etc. (Unless you have some disposable items you are taking, like diapers or wine)

 

You'll better know what to take once you start packing and see how much room you have.

 

 

 

 

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I use a packing app - it's highly personalizable and I can copy last cruise's packing list to the current journey. As I'm packing up my cabin to leave, anything I didn't use (besides something like our mini solar panel or first aid kit, which we bring with the hope of NOT needing them) gets axed off the template list. Using the app to repack the cabin also insures I leave nothing behind.

 

I bring a limited color palette of clothing, a Tide stick and a few Shout wipes for stains, Febreze To Go for second wearings, and if need be plan to take advantage of the laundry service. I have a single LBD (little black dress) that I wear for all formal/chic nights and add one of several brightly-printed scarves and a coordinating pair of ballet flats (Tieks - my favorites - they fold up and pack small, and can go from a port tour to dinner no problem!) to keep it interesting. I doubt the average passenger realizes I wear the same dress 2-3 times a cruise. My other shoes are sturdy walkers (that get worn on the plane) and a pair of flip-flops for the pool/spa/beach. I also carry an extra pair of insoles for the walking shoes. After a long day of walking in port, I just pop out the insoles and hang them in the closet clipped to a pants hanger. The next port day, after the shoes have aired out, I insert the other pair of insoles. It's like having a second whole pair of shoes without the bulk. This saved my bacon on a port-intensive Med cruise where I absolutely did not want to check bags on the plane.

 

My daily clothing choices are almost all performance fabrics - they pack smaller than their non-performance counterparts and wash up easily in the sink in a pinch and hang to dry overnight. My socks are Smartwool and I can rotate between 3 pairs for a two-week holiday and not need to launder.

 

I pack minimal toiletries, and either make a drugstore stop in the departure city or have a box shipped via Amazon Prime to me at our pre-cruise hotel. This is especially important for sunscreen because we go through a lot and the quantities we need won't fit in the TSA-approved zipper bag. It doesn't help that I prefer the spray format and my husband likes the lotion, and that I can't wear the active ingredient Avobenzone on my face so I need a more-expensive mineral formulation for the neck up. It's just more efficient to have all our sunscreen waiting for us at the hotel or go pick it up locally before checking in.

 

For cosmetics, I limit myself to neutrals, choose flight-friendly form factors (stick products rule!) and only bring a single all-in-one palette. Generally I can fit my whole face of makeup into a little cosmetic bag with some careful planning. I always have samples of stuff from makeup and skin care subscription boxes, so I will pack up things like cleansers, moisturizers, primer, mascara, etc. to use, and then toss them out before our flight home. The sample sizes are perfect for travel and I don't feel bad at all about binning them after only a week or two.

 

Electronica is an area that eats up a lot of travel bulk - I do bring a Kindle for reading instead of treeware books, and I don't go anywhere without my tablet and smartphone. It means bringing charging plugs and cables so I've pared that down as much as possible but I can't bring myself (yet) to leave these items at home. I forego high heels, therefore I can pack my iPad - that's my philosophy.

 

 

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