Royal Caribbean 5 night trip packing ?

[MethodKS]

Hello,

First I wanted to say thanks to everyone here. I don't know how I would have gotten this far without all the information and help I have gotten just from reading these boards. It is hard to find such a online community that has no other interests except for their favorite thing and helping other people have the best experience possible doing it too. That being said. I have booked the NoS for my girlfriend and myself for our first cruise in January, and there are a hundred things to think about and the first one that comes to mind is what kind and how much clothes to pack since that seems to be a big rookie mistake. I understand we will be casual during the day almost all the time but how much of and what to pack for evenings and dinner is spinning my head. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[cb at sea]

You'll have 1 formal night on a 5 nighter....the rest of the evenings will be "casual"....dockers, collared shirt for you and similar casualwear for your GF...capris, slacks, skirt, sundress...are fine.

Most folks are in swimwear or shorts during the day...I've found that shorts can be re-worn more than once, especially if you only have them on for breakfast....then it's into the swimsuit for the day! Some shirts, too, unless you spill alot!

If you're flying, you need to watch the weight of your bags....if you're NOT flying, the sky's the limit...bring what you want!

Men's shoes are the heaviest clothing items....limit what you bring! Dress shoes (or something that will work on formal night!), flip-flops and something casual for those other evenings...sneakers are fine!

If your GF is like most women, shoes are a big issue! I bring flip-flops for beach and pool, (and I can wear them with shorts, too!) and I do splurge and bring different shoes for the evenings...you don't want to wear flip-flops in the dining room even on casual nights.

Hopefully, you'll have warm weather the entire time, depending where you sail from...if it's a northern port, you'll need a jacket or layers for the 1st couple of days in Jan...it's cold then! Once you hit a bit south of Fl., it will be quite warm!

[Passin Thru]

All she really needs are a silk nightgown, a bikini and a pair of flipflops. :rolleyes:

Actually theres a firstime thread on here and everyone says, pack light. No-one cares. 2600 people, it's pretty easy to be juast a face. Relax, enjoy, cruising is for you to be a veggie.

[KirkNC]

Lay out everything you think you need and take halve of it, seriously. When we first started cruising we took waaaay too much. Now we go on three week cruises with only one medium suitcase apiece.

 

Kirk

[RCI_FADM_76]

Lay out everything you think you need and take halve of it, seriously. When we first started cruising we took waaaay too much. Now we go on three week cruises with only one medium suitcase apiece.

 

Kirk

 

Totally agreed. In fact, this last cruise I was on I felt like "I must be forgetting something" as our suitcases were nowhere near as full as previous cruises when we left. We made the distinct effort to cut back. In retrospect, I still brought too much.

 

I always still get a laugh at the folks who drop a whole U-haul of luggage off at the pier.

 

With airline bag fees and the general hassle of travel - less is certainly better.

 

One other tip to enhance your experience...when you get your luggage unpack everything and "move in." Put your suitcases under the bed and be on your way. Seems obvious but on our first cruise, we didn't exactly do that. It made part of the first evening/second morning a bit of a hectic mess.

[Passin Thru]

UAL added another fee starting in Nov. If you check more than 1 bag on International flights the 2nd will be $50, $172 if it over wt. Airlines stink

anymore.

 

the pilot announces "...sorry for the delay in taking off, but our automatic baggage smashing equipment is not working, so we are having to smash your bags by hand."