First Cruise With Just Carry-on's

Wife and myself just returned from 7 night cruise from Seattle also stayed one night before and one after for a total of 9 days with just carry-on bags . Over the years we seem to find a couple of items each drip that we do not need and can do without. The weather was mild, I agree that we probably could not do this in the Caribbean. We sailed on Royal they do not have coin op laundry as some lines do. Always bring Dri fit for the gym its easy to wash in the sink and drys quickly

I actually need much less room when traveling only to warm climates because the clothes are smaller. We do 2 months in Acapulco (Jan/Feb) with a relatively small backpack each. I don’t fill my backpack so I put some of DHs clothes in mine.

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Wow! I am impressed by some of the responses, but I realize that traveling with a carry-on and a back pack will never be me. On our upcoming 10 day girls cruise I have one suitcase set aside for my super scrabble game, with all the tiles (we use 300 tiles) plus eight tile holders (sometimes we play with 9 tiles and sometimes we play with 12 tiles) two Webster dictionaries and a long notebook to keep score. Two noodles for the pool or ocean and two over the door hangers, one for inside the bathroom for bathroom items for 4 women and one for outside the bathroom for shoes and misc. items for 4 women. Another suit case for ginger ale and soda for us for the 10 days in our cabin. Then I will am going to try to get all my clothing into one large suitcase. It is easier now that I have ship's laundry for free, I will need it. We will be in the Caribbean and there you do not wear anything twice. I figure a bag a day going to the laundry will be enough. Lastly I will have my purse and computer bag for my computer and camera. So for me it will be three bags and a carry-on. I don't "rough" it. I will have dh load it when I leave and the porter will pick it up when I arrive at the port. When we come home (I will only be bringing back two filled bags the third will be inside one of the bags as the soda will be all gone. But again first thing I will do when I get off the ship is hail a porter. Then when I get home dh will unload the car for me. Thank goodness we live near cruise ports.

On an extended trip DW cracked a vertebrae. We were in Kuala Lumpur. We stayed an extra five days so she could recuperate and decide whether to return home or continue on ffor another six weeks. We did the latter-mostly because the flight to Gold Coast was shorter than the one to go home.

I became the sherpa simply because she could not lift even her carry on roller. Pull it no issue, just no lifting. We had two more months and I was very happy at the end of it that were travelling with carry on.

What is solid shampoo and conditioner? I've never heard of that.

 

P.S. love some of those make-up names.

The solid shampoos and conditioners are from Lush. http://www.lushusa.com to see all the offerings and what each is good for and how to properly use them. And, there are a couple of Lush stores in malls in the Sacramento area - Arden Fair and Roseville (the Galleria area). Right now, I'm using the Avocado Co-Wash (conditioning wash) which doesn't need conditioner after it. I've used Godiva and Karma Koomba as my go-to travel bars for years. Warning - once you go into a Lush store, you will be hooked on all the things they have to offer!!!

Yes, I love the names of products that Urban Decay, Too Faced and Benefit come up with!

Wow! I am impressed by some of the responses, but I realize that traveling with a carry-on and a back pack will never be me. On our upcoming 10 day girls cruise I have one suitcase set aside for my super scrabble game, with all the tiles (we use 300 tiles) plus eight tile holders (sometimes we play with 9 tiles and sometimes we play with 12 tiles) two Webster dictionaries and a long notebook to keep score. Two noodles for the pool or ocean and two over the door hangers, one for inside the bathroom for bathroom items for 4 women and one for outside the bathroom for shoes and misc. items for 4 women. Another suit case for ginger ale and soda for us for the 10 days in our cabin. Then I will am going to try to get all my clothing into one large suitcase. It is easier now that I have ship's laundry for free, I will need it. We will be in the Caribbean and there you do not wear anything twice. I figure a bag a day going to the laundry will be enough. Lastly I will have my purse and computer bag for my computer and camera. So for me it will be three bags and a carry-on. I don't "rough" it. I will have dh load it when I leave and the porter will pick it up when I arrive at the port. When we come home (I will only be bringing back two filled bags the third will be inside one of the bags as the soda will be all gone. But again first thing I will do when I get off the ship is hail a porter. Then when I get home dh will unload the car for me. Thank goodness we live near cruise ports.

We all pack based on what each of thinks is "required" or "necessary." Because you are going with a group, sure, you want to take that game, so you need a suitcase just for it (I guess - I've never seen how big a Scrabble game is). You want to bring your own soda for 4 women for 10 days - you need a trunk for that one ;). You shouldn't be the one to have to bring all the group items - split up those organizers, noodles, among the women. You are also doing the car-to-ship thing, so you are able to load up as much as you want because you won't be handing it. Very different from multi-mode travel or trips where you are prescribed a set size/weight of luggage. 10 days on safari in Kenya - no more than a carryon and a daypack and a 10kg weight restriction - 2 weeks Egypt/Jordan with a no more than a carryon and a daypack restriction - I would have not missed those adventures because I would/could not pack that light!

We all pack based on what each of thinks is "required" or "necessary." Because you are going with a group, sure, you want to take that game, so you need a suitcase just for it (I guess - I've never seen how big a Scrabble game is). You want to bring your own soda for 4 women for 10 days - you need a trunk for that one ;). You shouldn't be the one to have to bring all the group items - split up those organizers, noodles, among the women. You are also doing the car-to-ship thing, so you are able to load up as much as you want because you won't be handing it. Very different from multi-mode travel or trips where you are prescribed a set size/weight of luggage. 10 days on safari in Kenya - no more than a carryon and a daypack and a 10kg weight restriction - 2 weeks Egypt/Jordan with a no more than a carryon and a daypack restriction - I would have not missed those adventures because I would/could not pack that light!

You all are much more adventurous than I am any more. Did a land trip to Switzerland many years ago. Suitcases, train stations, finding restaurants, etc. Sorry, but this way of traveling is not for me. I want to board a ship and know where I am sleeping and eating every day. But this is just me.

We leave in mid Jan for two months in SE Asia. We know where we fly into, where we fly home from (different countries). We will have made a hotel reservation our first three nights and a hotel reservation for the night before our flight home. We may or may not have any other reservations made. Just a general idea of where we want to go but it is subject to change.

This is a significant departure from how we traveled prior to retirement. Like travelling with carry on , it takes some getting used to. All we know is that in all likelihood we will be staying in everything from small chalets on the beach to a six star hotel/resort and possibly a cruise. Not for everyone but it suits us. And it does involve work. and it is not for everyone.

You all are much more adventurous than I am any more. Did a land trip to Switzerland many years ago. Suitcases, train stations, finding restaurants, etc. Sorry, but this way of traveling is not for me. I want to board a ship and know where I am sleeping and eating every day. But this is just me.

Everyone has their own "style" of vacation, and packing! Me - I bore very quickly on a ship. It becomes like the movie "Groundhog Day" - same restaurant, same food, same everything. Very short times at ports where thousands of people have been disgorged which gives only a glimpse at some place. The Nile cruise was a big exception to me - we were at fantastic antiquity-laden places every day and spent at least 8 hours a day on shore visiting one or two sites so we were pretty immersed in Egyptian culture and the place of women in Egyptian society at various places in time (the subject of our trip - and we had an excellent female PhD Egyptologist with us the entire cruise for just our group). I only take those "mass market" cruises when I just want to relax and have downtime and not have to "think." I still love my land vacations much more than cruising. I love searching out new food and fun restaurants, new locations where I have multiple days to explore, riding trains through the countryside...

We get bored on a cruise if there are too many sea days in a row...that is two for us. We also get very tired of the food. It all starts to taste the same. I actually enjoyed the cruise and the ship more when I was working because it was a great get away with no plans to make. No so since we have retired. Now we view a cruise as either a respite from land travel or a way to see some places, and there are not that many, that we do not want or do not expect to travel to , by land. The bottom of South America was one.