so overwhelmed with the amount of stuff we are bringing (family of 5)

[curiouser123]

We are leaving in 3 weeks for an Alaska cruise on Royal Caribbean (driving to Seattle), and I am starting to be seriously stressed out about the junk we are taking. We have 3 kids under age 7, so that means we have clothes for us, maybe a few books/toys, my husband's laptop, diapers, some medications, snacks for a very picky food allergic toddler, an umbrella stroller...we had planned on bringing 2 carseats in order to rent a car in Skagway but now I'm thinking of abandoning that plan.

 

Can anyone make me feel better about getting this all on board + our 3 kids? We have traveled often, but since kids, we most often travel by car and have the opportunity to stop & get whatever we need.

 

Any suggestions to make this go smoothly?

[marseea4]

Just slap a baggage tag on everything and send it with the porters... and don't feel guilty for taking a lot... esp. since you're going to Alaska! You have to be prepared =)

[Chelley00]

We are packing for 15 nights for 6 of us. The pile of stuff to pack keeps growing bigger and bigger and I keep trying to make it smaller, but I take one thing away and add 2 more :D

 

I figure we'll tip the porters well to thank them for lugging all of our crap onboard, and I just keep telling myself "Better to have too much than not enough".

[cb at sea]

Traveling with a family is a bit of a pain...but it's worth it, in the end. Do what you have to do. Have a great time.

[cantwait2cruize]

I feel your pain!!! I once had to pack for a 17 day cruise/Disney World vacation. I packed for my husband (who changes his underwear twice a day) and three kids. We also drove from Toronto to Orlando in 24 hrs.:eek: We are still all alive and well and talk about that trip with fond memories.:)

[Mom2B&Z]

Only you know what is essential for all of you to enjoy your trip. Personally I can pack the boys (3 and 6 yrs) in 1 suitcase, which makes it easier to bring a few toys and other essentials. DS1 can manage a rolling carry on suitcase, and the two kids hold hands and one of the suitcases I'm hauling quite well now! (If you can visualize this scene, you're probably laughing by now...) I also love wearing DS2 through busy areas, so we don't bring a stroller anymore.

I would NEVER consider leaving the car seats behind, but that's me :)

[bus man]

I would NEVER consider leaving the car seats behind' date=' but that's me :)[/quote']

 

In the OP's case, I would. They're driving to Seattle, so they'll have the car seats already in the car. It's a closed-loop cruise from there, so they'll end up right back in Seattle. So the only thing they would need their car seats for is if they chose to take a drive in Skagway. My advice: don't take a drive in Skagway. Find an excursion that uses a bus (or a boat), or stay within walking distance of the dock. It's just not worth lugging those bulky car seats along when the only thing you would need them for is to take one single drive. Better to just forego the drive.

 

Another thought for the OP: pack only half the clothes you need, and do laundry halfway through the cruise. There is no self-service laundry onboard RCI ships, but they'll do the laundry for you (for a price, naturally); or, if cost were more important than time, you could probably find a laundromat in one of the ports. (Generally, I'm a proponent of do-it-yourself laundry; but I would hate to waste precious sightseeing time in Alaska watching my clothes go round and round. Better to fork over the money and use the ship's laundry.)

[sacway]

We travel alot with our three kids (now 8, 8, and 5). After leaving a big bag of toys in a hotel lobby last year, I got on line with the three of them and they each picked out a roller bag (the websites have the kids-sized bags listed, important for the length of the handle) which they must manage. The bag has to hold clothes and toys for however long we are gone (longest so far, about 10 days). We have a lot of fun planning and packing, especially leaving room for the anticipated gifts and surprises that come with travel.

 

We aren't taking the kids on a drive from Skagway though we did it once ourselves, all the way to White Horse and it was wonderful to be in the sun after mostly cloudy days on the coast. You can rent car seats, in advance. Don't bring them on the cruise.

[jac1976]

I have a feeling I will be in your shoes before too long. The hard part about Alaska is that everything says to dress in layers, which means a lot of clothes! Especially when you multiply that by 5.

 

As for books/toys, I allow my children to take whatever will fit in their backpacks. They use that as their carry on and are responsible for carrying it (unless I am wearing my 3 yo in which case we usually tack her backpack onto one of the bigger bags.)

 

My 6yo can roll our smaller (but still too big to be put in an overhead) wheeled suitcase. That is his job. DH or I take charge of the bigger wheeled suitcase. We try to fit all of our stuff in these 2 suitcases, but have issues with weight limits, so will sometimes spill into a third.

 

Whether or not to bring the car seats is a very personal issue. We ended up booking a private tour for our family for a variety of reasons, car seat worries being one of them. We will be packing a backless booster for DS and we will be bringing a Safe Rider Travel Vest for DD to use. I have talked to several US car seat techs and they say that the vest works really well and my situation (travel where there will be limited use) is a perfect time to use it. It is also small enough where it can fold up into a backpack. However I know the exact make/model of vehicle we will be traveling in, so I know there will be a shoulder/lap belt and/or tethers available. In the past when we travelled with the car seats, we just strapped them on top of the rolling suitcases, or depending on the distance, you can put them in the stroller and made the child walk.

 

I agree with the others about the porters- that's what they are there for.

[notentirelynormal]

Keep in mind too, a lot of suitcases attach to each other. My SIL is able to take 2-3 suitcases/carry-on on each arm so that mom just grabs kids and other stuff. Each kid pulls their own carry-on suitcase (5 & 3). If you rent a car, rent a car seat. It is SO not worth bringing it for that one time.

[abitaturbodog]

One of the best pieces of advice I've gotten from Cruisecritic is: After you've packed your bags, put back half of what you've packed!

[Colorado Kat]

I also would skip the private car in Skagway, and be able to leave the car seats at home. Remember, you also have to store the car-seats in your cabin for the week.

 

If you have rolling duffle-type suitcases, that might make things easier to lug. You can usually store suitcases underneath the parent's bed, perhaps nested.

[5ofusnow]

I agree with the other posters about leaving the car seat behind. When traveling with kids/family I have found that you have to find a balance between the benefit vs the effort. I have 3 kids, though not as close in age, but they have always traveled with us.

 

Usually, we let the rest of the family (& friends) know when we are taking a vacation and see if anyone else would like to join in. This works out well because we can take turns sharing child care responsibilities. Plus the more the merrier.

 

At one point I found out that using a stroller boosted you through the line while waiting to get on the ship. I'm not sure if that is still true. Also, I worried about running out of supplies but there is a store on ship in a pinch. Once I even had to find a grocery at port in Mexico but it was not a problem.

 

When we did our cruise in Alaska there were 10 of us and 17 checked suitcases, that is not including carry-ons!:eek: Last year we took a 3 week trip with 9 people (youngest 7) and it was totally carry-on, and much less stressful!:D

 

My advise is don't sweat the small stuff. Barring medications and fav toy almost everything can be purchased there in a pinch.

 

Good luck and just have a great time!

[Keith1010]

We are leaving in 3 weeks for an Alaska cruise on Royal Caribbean (driving to Seattle), and I am starting to be seriously stressed out about the junk we are taking. We have 3 kids under age 7, so that means we have clothes for us, maybe a few books/toys, my husband's laptop, diapers, some medications, snacks for a very picky food allergic toddler, an umbrella stroller...we had planned on bringing 2 carseats in order to rent a car in Skagway but now I'm thinking of abandoning that plan.

 

Can anyone make me feel better about getting this all on board + our 3 kids? We have traveled often, but since kids, we most often travel by car and have the opportunity to stop & get whatever we need.

 

Any suggestions to make this go smoothly?

 

For the items that everyone will wear at night remember that many items can be worn again as you are not wearing them for many hours. Try to plan outfits accordingly so that you can mix and match where possible.

 

Also remember that the ship will have many items to keep the children occupied so try to factor that into your planning.

 

In the end, you will have a lot of items and that is just par for the course.

 

Enjoy the moment because the cruise will be wonderful and the children will be grown before you know it.

 

Keith

[Jolimont]

1. You can get car seats with the car rental.

2. Take a smart phone not a laptop. You can do email, facebook, weather, all things internet (pretty much) with a smart phone. Turn off data roaming to make sure you don't get hit with a horrible bill. You should have data roaming off not just for the cruise but all the time, you don't need it EVER, it's a sucker's game. You get data either through your own provider (included in monthly fee) or find free wifi on land.

3. You will probably buy shirt or two along the way, pack fewer shirts and wear them. I don't dress to impress on a cruise. I show up at dinner with the same outfit several times. If it's not stained or stinky, it's good enough.

4. They have diapers in Alaska.

 

Have fun on your cruise!

[BWP]

I hear ya!! We are also a family of 5, with a 16mnth DD, 6yr DS & 7yr DS - and we leave in five weeks time for a 12 night Med Venice cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas. The packing and logistics of it all is freaking me out a little! AND - we first have to endure a 19 hour commute from Cape Town, South Africa, to Barcelona, which includes two aircraft changes :eek::eek::eek:.

 

Even just the airport scene is if freaking me out. There's so much stuff to pack... but at the same time, we can't overload ourselves, because I'm not sure how we're going to manage walking with all the luggage - we need free hands to push the toddler in her stroller, while still trying to hold onto two very energetic and mischievious boys, and push a trolley with all our luggage! And don't even get me started about how we are going to manage our troops amidst the crowds in Venice and Rome, etc!

 

Deep breath. Must remain calm....

 

(And this anxiety is coming from a pretty well travelled individual. Have travelled extensively with my DH as a couple before we had kids, and then with both boys when they were still very young.... but somehow the addition of the 3rd child is throwing me - doesn't seem as if we will have enough pairs of hands to keep a firm grip on the situation - LOL!)

[gincase]

Bring all that you want/can/should.

Let me tell you a story... We got married the day we left for a cruise. We - as in my husband and our 6-month old. The 5-day Alaskan cruise was followed by a train trip from Vancouver to Seattle, a couple of days in Seattle, and a train trip from Seattle to Los Angeles (Home).

 

We had our wedding reception on the boat, which included 50 people who boarded the boat with us, but were later kicked off prior to the boat's departure. I was in my wedding gown, Daughter in Burberry, and a husband in a priceless Philippine top. Between the three of us, we had the car seat, stroller, 6 pieces of luggage. The largest piece of luggage had two weeks of formula, diapers...the value of the suitcase's contents was over $500.

 

We were on the NCL Star, we used every bit of Red Cap, butler...to get our luggage from shore to ship, and ship to shore. The extra tips was worth it, and I'd do it all over again.

 

Don't forget to leave extra room in the suitcases as you'll be picking up stuff (or mailing it back home from the point of sale).

 

Have a great trip, and never feel guilty about bringing too much stuff. As you travel more and more you'll get a sense for what you'll want and not want. (need has nothing to do with it. You are on vacation - it's all about want!)