How have you lightened the load

[SamFritz]

Gonna get flamed here but no longer dress up for formal night as it requires an additional case for a seven night cruise (2 formal dinners). This is ONLY due to an extra case and the cost involved.

 

We got off Adventure last month and it would have cost us an additional $60 round trip for formal clothes.

 

Tim

 

I get even dressier, and rent a Tux! Did it for the first time on my last Cruise. It was easy, fit great and really added to the elegance of the evening. The savings of not having a second checked bag just about paid for the tux.

[Philly Steve]

Black, khaki and white mix'n'match resort wear. I wear a black or blue blazer (lots of pockets for docs), white polo, khaki's and dress shoes for embarkation to free up packing space. I usually buy new t-shirts so I don't pack many. I pack deck shoes in the sides of the bag and sandals/shorts in my carry on.

[arkking]

Take 8 clothespins. Throw wet clean clothes over lounge chairs if you have a balcony and pin them in place so the neighboring islands don't get your unmentionables.

[SingingPixie]

I've always been a light packer- those of you mentioning packing 4 suitcases are boggling my mind right now! I make a spreadsheet ahead of time which includes a day-by-day breakdown of all of our activities by port, dress codes, etc. Then I decide what to wear each day based on the spreadsheet, and take only these things- no extras whatsoever (ok, maybe an extra pair of underwear and socks). I plan to wear shorts/jeans (for travel days- I freeze on planes) twice, and I only wear dresses to dinner regardless of dress code because they're smaller to pack. I have two little lightweight sweaters- 1 brown and 1 black- which go over the dresses to keep my shoulders warm. I also only bring 4 pairs of shoes- 1 pair flip-flops, 1 pair sneakers (we tend toward more active shore excursions), 1 pair casual sandals and one pair dress sandals. I use the ship's hair dryer and towels. I'm not a big souvenier-shopper, and what I buy tends to be small. My toiletries are all in mini-containers; I buy the generic containers and then just fill them from my full-sized bottles at home.

 

Honestly, I could probably pack for a week-long cruise in a rolling carryon, but it'd be tight. I prefer to pack in a full-sized bag in case I do accumulate more souveniers than usual, and then bring a small shoulder bag as an airplane carryon as well as my carryon for the ship.

[Kaboochi]

My toiletries are all in mini-containers; I buy the generic containers and then just fill them from my full-sized bottles at home.

I do the same but have a hard time finding the tiny jars and bottles. Where go you get your generic containers, maybe you can help my hunting time reduce. Thanks

[PhoenixCruiser]

I do the same but have a hard time finding the tiny jars and bottles. Where go you get your generic containers, maybe you can help my hunting time reduce. Thanks

 

Walgreens carries them - they are next to the travel size items - usually next to the deodorant / shaving creams.

 

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[1lovehols]

I decided after this last cruise got home yesterday that I still took way too much.

I didn't use my handbags as he has pockets on ever pair of trousers he wore. Sea pass went down bra or bikini top if was on my own.

 

I also have decided that where ever I go on hols in future I will take mini shower gel nad shampoos tooth paste and then call at a shop and buy bigger ones there as well as suncreams . Might be more cash but gosh they add up the weight and if you take a carry on you can't take big bottles. Book I took 5 and read 2 so that was a waste of weight too.

 

I already streamlined the shoes down to 3 pairs and wore them all.

[janetz]

This is a great thread. :) I have found using the 5 gallon zip locks are great. Iron, fold, slip into the bag and press out the air. The clothes have hardly any wrinkles when taken out of the bag. I can pack outfits for both of us stacking them on each side of the suitcase, leaving the middle space free for anything else. We too have cut down on what we take. 2 cruises ago I left half my clothes hanging in the closet at home and I managed without them..:o