It's Official: Women DO pack too much!!

[Oi]

I create a spreadsheet that breaks down into a few catagories one for me and one for hubby. it has casual, smart casual, formal (and then shoes) also a category for any med stuff we might need on the just in case scenario ie, nyquill, dayquill, asprin, etc...

 

I make sure I have extra's in each of these categories so we have plenty of clothes if we fell overboard several times a day and needed to change! :-)

 

ah well, I guess even with the spreadsheet I overpack for us JUST a little ;-) but I still think it is better to be safe than sorry!

 

Just my 2 cents!

 

Happy Cruising! Alaska Cruistour in Less than 2 weeks now! Whoo-Hoo!

[Coolmama_1]

GUILTY!!!! On our last cruise we were also staying in Puerto Rico for 4 days before and 1 after. We swore we were not doing laundry on our vacation. By Thursday, the dirty stuff had piled up and we decided to just do a "load of whites and a load of darks". We then wore those clothes over and never touched several outfits. I do like choices and tend to overpack even for a weekend, but this next cruise I am going to cull it down a bit!

[patlanta]

My current attitude is, "It's a cruise. Take whatever you want." I do admit I've pared down to one 27" suitcase over the years, but if I want more, I just add a garment bag or a smaller bag. I'll hand wash a couple of things but doing laundry doesn't seem to be in my vacation-experience thought process.

 

We do transfers, pre-cruisetours and/or post-cruisetours many times. Princess always has people taking care of the luggage. My DH tends to tip too much though; he feels grateful that the luggage arrived or, on leaving, he likes to put some money on "insurance' that our luggage is going to be with us.

[bickee]

Um...is this a problem? That I bring an extra small empty suitcase just to bring back all the duty free purses I buy in St maarten/st thomas? :D

[scousecruiser]

According to a survey commissioned by P&O half of the garments we women pack are NEVER worn. I had to smile when I read that a third of women admitted to packing a waterproof jacket when headed to a sunny beach resort "just in case". Hey they are talking about ME!! :D

 

By contrast men 'apparently' tend to pack too little... with socks being the most commonly forgotten item and a third of us forgetting to take a toothbrush!!

 

The Excess Baggage

The average woman packs the following for a 14 night break in 2 cases

• 21 pairs of panties (5 not worn)
  
• 9 bras (4 not worn)
  
• 6 pairs of shoes (3 pairs not worn)
  
• 1 waterproof jacket
  
• 20 tops inc. t-shirts and jumpers (8 not worn)
  
• 3 evening dresses (1 not worn)
  
• 6 pairs of trousers (3 not worn)
  
• 5 skirts or pairs of shorts (2 not worn)
  
• 10 pairs of pantyhose (4 not worn)
  
• 2 items of swimwear
  
• 2 hats (1 not worn)
  

I wonder, are you guilty of packing too much?

 

How early to you start? It would be interesting to see whether the statistics in the survey hold true that women start planning months in advance and pack their case about a week before and the men... well they don't think about it until the very last minute i.e. the night before :eek:

 

What have you forgotten to pack?

Lol

 

I can definately relate to this statement. It cost me £108 in excess baggage charges last week, mainly for all of her tops/skirts/dresses. Thats not to mention her doing the Imelda Marchos impression with 15 pairs of shoes!!!

 

SC

 

PS I didnt mind paying then cos I was still on cloud 9 at the time but it hurts now

[scousecruiser]

I'm not guilty. I've learned over the years to pack light. In fact, I only carry a dufflebag (which could fit in the overhead compartment) and a suitbag for a 7 day cruise. For a 14 day Europe trip, I only carry the dufflebag and I don't check any luggage. My motto is, "if I don't pack it and need it, I'll buy it". I rarely have to buy clothing but I do buy lots of other things that require an additional bag on the return trip.:D

Blimey mate. Sounds to me that if you only have a duffelbag full for a 14 day trip to Europe you should change your name from pungo to pongo.

 

SC

[Aquarian]

I overpack and I really overpack my carryon's. I think it's a reflex from having a suitcase taken by mistake at the airport. I now overpack my carryon and cross-pack to overcompensate from that one bad experience. Too many shoes? Well, that's another story. I almost take more shoes than clothes!

[dbmiller1956]

I create a spreadsheet that breaks down into a few catagories one for me and one for hubby. it has casual, smart casual, formal (and then shoes) also a category for any med stuff we might need on the just in case scenario ie, nyquill, dayquill, asprin, etc...

 

I make sure I have extra's in each of these categories so we have plenty of clothes if we fell overboard several times a day and needed to change! :-)

 

I thought it was only me that did the spreadsheet..:D

 

How else will I fit everything into the suitcases without being organized. And yes, I take 6 pairs of shoes..wear all of them...and could take more!

 

Deena

[iancal]

After many, many trips we have a rule. If you pack it..you carry it. Has worked wonders. Our kids are now hooked. I bag each max, 1 carry on. Working towards a 21' carry on each but not so sure we can get there on a cruise..we can on a three week Europe trek.

[Tania]

Could someone please explain why one would spend precious time on the last day of a 7 day cruise doing laundry? I mean, this vacation costs hundreds of dollars a day.

 

I do laundry in the middle of a long cruise so I only need to pack one suitcase or the beginning of a long cruise if we've started our vacation on land.

 

A friend of mine washes all her laundry before going home after a two week trip on Aruba. I just don't get it...maybe it's because I do the laundry while I do other things like cook and clean...Oh well, to each their own:)