Travel light

[Beagle2]

Want to travel light? OK, try this.

 

Use one small 21 inch max roll away bag, and maybe a small purse.

 

Besides the clothes you are wearing, include a light blue jacket.

 

Take one pair of casual pants, one dress shirt, one tie, wear shoes that will work for the dining room. Or, no tie and do not go to formal night, eat in room or eat at snack bar etc. Pack comfy walking shoes. Two pair of socks, and two undies, max. Hand wash on board.

One bathing suit, light on toiletries etc. Maybe buy a casual shirt on board. YEs you can make it for two weeks with one bag.

 

Quick on and off the ship. Other ideas? Take clothes you are not happy with, and then leave them for the crew when you get off. Go home with your toothbrush. Yes, it works for sure. You can even leave an old suitcase for them to use later.

Try it, forget the large suitcase nonsense, trust us.

[G'ma]

I've been packing in a 22" roll on for over 20 years..no matter where I'm going or how long the trip. I hate hauling luggage. Also take a small well organized carryon.

 

I take the same clothes on every cruise and those things are in a separate area of my closet ready to go....replenished or replaced as necessary. Takes about 30 minutes to pack and about 10 to unpack in the cabin.

 

Freedom is less luggage.

 

My hero, who finally got me out of my huge clamshell Samsonite was Rick Steves......way back when.

[cb at sea]

Why would you want to do that? Pack what you want...it's YOUR vacation! I've never understood the "pack light" mentality! I LIKE my stuff! I WANT my stuff! Who cares how much you bring---certainly the ship doesn't!

[Happy ks]

Probably the last thing I would do is wear clothing I don't like, or is too shabby for more wearings, on a vacation.

 

But I do like to lighten the load as much as I am comfortable with. I dress from the shoes up, so I can keep to a minimum there. I don't take so much I come home with clean clothes and I don't mind sending a couple items out to be laundered or dry cleaned on a cruise.

 

For me, it's just a smarter way to travel. You can handle your own bags if you need to and there is less to organize and take care of during the trip. It simplifies the whole thing. I've not yet been able to pack everything for a week into a carry on, but I keep trying :) I'm down to a 24 inch case.

[Doug R.]

Why would you want to do that? Pack what you want...it's YOUR vacation! I've never understood the "pack light" mentality! I LIKE my stuff! I WANT my stuff! Who cares how much you bring---certainly the ship doesn't!

 

The airline$ care about how much luggage you check $$$.

[HattieCR]

I have to agree with you, Beagle2. I always pack as lightly as possible. If you are a big strong man or a woman with a big strong man, hefting your heavy bag around is not a problem. And at some point, you will have to heft it. However, waiting for it to be loaded/unloaded from airplanes or buses or ships and then perhaps having to pay for it is a whole nother thing.

 

I like to have my stuff with me as much as possible and, like G'ma (I'm one, too) I carry an organized bag or backpack on board as well as my 22" rolling duffel.

 

What I take on the trip usually depends on the weather where I am going. However, last Spring, I visited my son in Germany and we went to Greece. So I needed warm weather clothes and hot weather clothes. Here is what I took:

 

1 pr pj's

underwear

3 long pants

3 capri pants

2 long sleeve blouses

2 short sleeve blouses

2 sleeveless blouses

1 pullover sweater

2 pr shoes

lightweight jacket

plus other things like meds, small first aid kit, small sewing kit, shampoo, etc.

 

Yes, all this stuff fit in a 22" rolling duffel because all of it is lightweight and it dries quickly if I need to wash something out. No jeans or heavy sweaters or heavy jackets. If you are too cold, you can buy a cheap jacket to tide you over.

 

I like the idea of buying shampoo wherever you are and then leaving it. Each time I pack, I am pretty obsessed, laying stuff out and then culling what I really don't need. If I have a complicated itinerary, I sometimes will make a daily list of what I am going to wear and how it will be cleaned or washed. I try to pack like a backpacker, imagining how I am going to carry what I have. Even small items add up and that extra couple of pounds can make a difference. My biggest problem is reading material. This time, I am going with an MP3 where I can put not only music but books and radio or TV shows. Cheaper than a Kindle or Netbook. And only 3.5 ounces!

 

I never feel "clothing deprived" and never wish I had a bigger bag and more stuff.

 

All that being said, we all have our different ways of travel and this is just a suggestion on how you can pack light. People who want or need to have a lot of clothes and don't mind big bags, go for it!

[rjm1cc]

Thanks, don't think I can get my wife to pack this light but we do try and pack as light as we can because we have to hall the stuff from home to the ship and back. One problem is the space taken up by formal wear.

[chadci]

We'll have to pack a little heavy as we will be spending a day before and 3 days after in FL. I'm a heavy sweater and tend to get EVERYTHING I try to put in my mouth on my shirt so.. no light load for us. We will each have a carry on, 1 rolling suit case and will share a hanging luggage bag.

[GlendaleCruiser]

For 16 days in Rome and the Med cruise, I took one carry on, and a medium to large suitcase with clothes that I decided I didn't want anymore. I left those clothes on the ship (did laundry twice) brought home the ones I loved, and had room for souvenirs in place of those discarded clothes. Will do it again, too.

 

I could do 7 days in a carry on, no prob. But I traveled 75% of the time with my last job, so I know how to make that work (coordinates).

[lovethesun30]

I pack according to what what I plan on doing. If I'm moving around a lot (europe) and going through trains, multiple planes, automobiles, I pack light. For a cruise...I'm loading up! Here's how I pack light and still look good....

 

basics for warm weather for a week. I fit this in a 26" backpack.

1 pair of very thin "stretchy" denim skinny jeans (or NICE regular jeans if you don't do skinny jeans)

3 casual dresses. Poly blend! they don't wrinkle and can be dressed up or down and take up very little space. take solid colors.

1 casual skirt

4 t-shirts/tanks. Nike dry fit. less wrinkly and wash well.

3-4 blouses

1 gauchos. dress up or down

3 NICE shorts of different length.

1 long sleeve button up.

5 underwear. 3 socks 1 swim suit.

1 large shawl. bright color (pink, purple, yellow). this can be used as jacket or to dress up the outfit. bright color can go with almost anything.

1 pair of snazzy shoes (heels to go with any dress/jean/gauchos).

1 pair nice sandals

1 pair walking shoes.

thin sweater or hoody. rain jacket depending on climate.

purse (small/thin that can collapse)

2 necklaces/earings

toiletries.

 

I lay everything out on my bed and make sure what I'm bringing will mix and match and goes with eachother. I add and takeaway until I'm comfortable.

 

 

For cruise, I'm adding 6 dresses to the mix, some formal, plus more jewelry and hair items (curling/rollers), additional jeans/pants, more shirts, and definitely more shoes and purses... Shoes do make the outfit! I don't over pack but I will bring much more on cruise than other vacations. Even with all this, I'm bringing one 29" suitcase and a carryon bag.

 

For a cruise, I will not sweat the airline fees (although it stinks)...$15-25 is not worth being uncomfortable or restricted. Trust me guys, you don't want us complaining about what we are wearing all week, let it go. Looking good makes me FEEL good, and that's worth it.

[Twickenham]

Why would you want to do that? Pack what you want...it's YOUR vacation! I've never understood the "pack light" mentality! I LIKE my stuff! I WANT my stuff! Who cares how much you bring---certainly the ship doesn't!

 

You obviously don't have to carry your own luggage.

Just completed a land-based trip to Hawaii. A total of 4 inter-island flights, plus getting there and back. I had packed light - my travelling companions, however, had not. After schlepping all that stuff on and off planes, in and out of rental cars and condos, and worrying about weight and baggage restrictions and fees, I told them: I'll travel with you anytime, but your luggage? Never again!!!

[Onessa]

My biggest problem is reading material. This time, I am going with an MP3 where I can put not only music but books and radio or TV shows. Cheaper than a Kindle or Netbook. And only 3.5 ounces!

 

Those things are a great tool in lightening the load!

 

I have an iPod Touch that I downloaded two months of NPR programs I like (free), a few audio books (pretty nominal cost), some walking tours & guidebook apps (ranging from free to $15.00 each) a few apps with Italian, Greek, and Turkish phrase translation, and a currency conversion app.

 

The walking tour apps were great and those I purchased I could place onto multiple devices (per their license agreement) -- so DD, DH and I had some great tours. Rhodes, for example, was the $15.00 app but it saved us about $150 in excursion costs for the ship's walking tour.

 

Once on board, I checked out a few books from the ship's libarary.