Going CRAZY....how much luggage is too much????

[Poohjo]

Me and my DH are flying from Tampa to LAX on Tuesday with a pre-nite at the Marriott before boarding the Golden Princess on Wednesday for a 14 night Hawaiian cruise plus we have 2 post nites to spend at Disneyland. I feel like I have packed everything but the kitchen sink. I have 2 cases for my dh, 2 cases for me plus 1 carry on. I am trying to prepare for everything (warm weather, cold weather, colds, etc) We did this same cruise last year and we both got terrible colds where we were in the shops everynite buying cough meds, etc which was pretty pricey, however i am thinking I am over packed. I guess my question is, can u every be over packed, especially since we are flying Southwest which doesn't charge for the 1st 2 pieces of luggage per person and allows a carry on per person. I know we can do laundry on the ship, but do I really want to do laundry on vacation? We bought the same amount of luggage last year and these 2 older couples were laughing at us because of everything we had, however we ran into them at the end of the cruise and they wound up in the shops having to buy a duffel bag b/c they didn't have enough room to bring their items home.

 

Is it better to over pack or to pack just want u think u might need?

 

Just curious on one's opinions.

 

Penny

[melody hounddog]

As long as you are flying Southwest, and not being charged for bags, you might as well bring 2 each. Just leave some room for purchases.

 

Remember, they usually over laundry specials, $20 to wash a bag of clothes. We usually do this. Just cram in what we really want to wear again.

 

I did do laundry on our China trip, since we had so many sea days and the kids had school work to do. This next trip,(Hawaii too!) we are in a suite so laundry is free!

 

Have fun and don't stress!

[melody hounddog]

BTW, I'm in San Diego and the weather is perfect right now! Capris, short sleeves, and maybe a light sweater. Always wear my Sanuks.

[Pam in CA]

You can bring as much as you want.

 

Even for a 3-4 week cruise with everything from hot and humid to freezing, I bring one suitcase and one carry-on. The trick is layers, layers, layers.

[BettyCruiser]

Back when we started cruising and all airlines let you check two bags for free we each used to check two bags for a one week cruise. Now that most airlines charge for checked bags, we're down to one bag each for two weeks. I usually do a load or two of laundry at some point, I'd rather do that than hump the extra bags around. If your worried about room for souvenirs pack a collapsible extra bag to use on the way home.

[Sea Gypsy 2]

After 5 cruises, have learned to pack a little bit lighter, but still have 1 checked bag each for DH and I and one carry on each. I am always amazed by those who say they can pack one carry on for 10 days:eek: Having a hard time right now wrapping my mind around packing for 2 weeks in Alaska. I think whatever you are comfortable with is what is important!

[jean s]

We do one checked bag for each of us and one small carry on for each of us. I wish I could get it down to less but I do need lots of shoes!

[Loonbeam]

We typically travel with one hard sided 'main bag' and one specialty bag (garment bag, etc) each. I'm a big fan of have and not need as opposed to need and not have.

[Loonbeam]

BTW, Packing cubes are your friends!!

[cr8tiv1]

I over packed for my cruise to Hawaii this past February, and I knew it. But that didn't stop me. There was no plane ride either. I think this is the first time I admitted to myself that i was way too indulged. But then again, I was from Hawaii and was going to dress the part, act the part, and be totally immersed.

 

2 large suitcases, a carry on, my ukulele, and a load of water/drinks, and Trader Joes for the family.

 

If luggage allowance isn't a factor, pack to your hearts content. Just be sure to bring something for rain and something to keep you warm. They've had the cold winter this year. A couple of days ago, it dipped into the 50s at night. BRRRR. I was up at the Volcano with pouring rain, 40s and little droplets of hail.

 

Enjoy your cruise. It was wonderful.

 

Renee (displaced local girl)

[ChiefBoats]

You can always wash at some point in the cruise. We do and that reduces the amount of cloth we have to take. Even on a 14 day cruise we only take one large for each.

 

_________________________

Previous Cruises

Island Princess – 2008 Alaska

Island Princess – 2009 Alaska (B2B)

Royal Princess – 2010 Alaska

Golden Princess – 2011 Alaska

Coral Princess – 2012 Panama Canal

Star Princess – 2012 Alaska

Crown Princes – 2013 Western Caribbean

 

Upcoming Cruises

Island Princess – 2013 Alaska

Caribbean Princess – 2013 Western Caribbean (4 Day)

Royal Princess – 2014 Caribbean

[PescadoAmarillo]

We fly SWA to cruises a lot too, and when we do we always bring two checked bags and one carry on each. I wish we didn't, but we do. Part of it is just not wanting to mingle liquids with formalwear, shoes with clothes, snorkel gear and wetsuits with anything else. On SWA, there's just no monetary incentive not to bring the kitchen sink.

 

OTOH, I deplore that last night of a cruise, having to pack everything. If there was ever a motivation to pack lightly, that would be it.

[PurpleHays]

I pack all liquids and heavy stuff in one carry-on size and all my clothes in one other suitcase and check both. I generally fly Southwest. Carry on this time was a camera bag and a back pack.

[greenie082756]

My DH and I are also going on the Golden as well this Wednesday and we are bringing 2 suitcases and 2 carry ons. I actually will have some room left over for hawaian gifts to bring back. I already know that there will be a few things I will leave on the ship that the next person can use. I am bringing laundry soap and dryer towels as well to do laundry.:eek:

[Pam in CA]

BTW, Packing cubes are your friends!!

I agree 1000%! I used to think that packing cubes added weight and were a nuisance. I'm now a believer. I have the super-lightweight cubes from Eagle Creek. It helps organize my stuff and when packing, psychologically its easy to pack a cube at a time and when packing for the cruise, throw the cubes in my suitcase. When unpacking, I just take the cubes and put them on the shelves or in drawers and I'm almost done. Coming home, packing's a breeze because I again pack each cube.

http://shop.eaglecreek.com/packit-specter-cube-set/d/1229

[DoulaAnn]

If you want some hints on packing, there are some here on CC and Rick Steves' site has some good ones, too. We did Alaska with a land tour at the end with one regular sized suitcase and one carry-on size. We checked them both (we get 2 checked bags each), but never regretted only having to deal with 2 suitcases each. I did some laundry on-board but didn't take long at all. Purex 3-in-1 sheets are great. The new pods that some laundry detergents come in, coupled with some dryer sheets, would probably do the same, but I would be sure to pack the pods in a container that they wouldn't get crushed in.

 

All in all, you have to do what is right for you. Have a great cruise.

 

Ann

[Cruisin' Chick]

My hubby tends to look askance at what I pack for the girl and me. But after I had a breakdown over not having enough space in the suitcases for our Alaskan cruise, he tries hard to stop that.

 

Our last three cruises have been the two-week Hawaiian RTs, so I do pack those 3-in-1 laundry sheets in the allergen-free version, and we do laundry (we will avoid cruiselines that don't have the self-service laundries -- my daughter is allergic to regular laundry soap so using the ship's laundry service is out).

 

This last time I actually under-packed as far as I was concerned, despite trying to re-wear some of the tops and bottoms. So I bought a couple of shirts in our first port.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I checked weather.com and it does say that it'll be in the 70s/50s in San Pedro Tuesday and Wednesday. The OP should check that and the other weather sites (wunderground.com or any other) the day before they leave home. Definitely take a light jacket or sweater for sea days and if going in the volcano area on the Big Island or on Maui.

[Pmorton3360]

We take 2 suitcases and a garment bag. We each take a carry on. It seems like a lot but the suits and dresses take up a lot. Also the snorkel gear. I use to never take a carry on. Now I have a fear of not having my swimsuit. We get 2 checked bags on Delta and he doesn't complain about the charge( any more) of the third. I have actually run out of clothes on trips. I think you need more on a cruise.

[mek]

We were on Golden Princess a year ago last November and DH and I had one large suitcase, one large hanging garment bag, and two carry on bags. We were prepared for cool/windy/wet weather and it was a good thing we did - they came in handy over and back when the sea days were dicey at times.

[piper28]

Most people pack more than they really need. I know I look back at my first cruise, and I'm kinda amazed at how much luggage it took us (of course, for that cruise we weren't *supposed* to have an airline flight). Nowadays, for most cruises we tend to do ok with one 26" roller each, and then one carryon (my carryon doesn't have room for clothes, it's full of camera gear and other electronics). We've still done a couple cruises with more than 1 bag each when the airfare rules allowed for it - such as the south american cruise, which did have a wide range of temperature on it. We haven't really decided what we're going to do for packing for this summers cruise. Our airfare does permit two 70 pound bags, but I don't really want to deal with the extra bag. We might just do one each, then pack a collapsible for if we need a little more room coming home.

[PunkiC]

One carry on each and one shared checked bag will do it for almost any cruise for us, and that's with me taking my mandatory 6 pair of shoes. We are dancers, so shoes are a big deal for us. We never wear everything we take no matter how lightly we pack.

 

I, BTW, am a huge fan of Chico's Travelers and, like Pam, layering.

[Poohjo]

Thank u all so much for your responses. I now do not feel as bad as I did for packing everything but the kitchen sink. :)

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

We did 28 days starting Quebec in the snow to South America, in the jungle

 

 

including formal, with less than the OP is planing

 

yours Shogun

[Twinkstarr]

I agree 1000%! I used to think that packing cubes added weight and were a nuisance. I'm now a believer. I have the super-lightweight cubes from Eagle Creek. It helps organize my stuff and when packing, psychologically its easy to pack a cube at a time and when packing for the cruise, throw the cubes in my suitcase. When unpacking, I just take the cubes and put them on the shelves or in drawers and I'm almost done. Coming home, packing's a breeze because I again pack each cube.

http://shop.eaglecreek.com/packit-specter-cube-set/d/1229

 

We love our packing cubes! Great to organize clothes for the kids(travelling as a family we timeshare, so I just look and toss each boy his cubes, saves me walking from bedroom to bedroom).

 

Just back from a trip that we spent a couple of days in Orlando before heading for Vero Beach, packed separate cubes for the 1st 2 days in Orlando, and put them on top. No need to unpack.

 

I use tall kitchen garbage bags for dirt clothes, I then squish a full one into one of the large cubes, makes repacking easier.

 

We checked our 2 26" suitcases for this trip, Hubby is a road warrior and doesn't check bags that often, and we usually do 20" carry ons. The pained look on his face as we waited for bags was funny, "could have been in the car and on the road by now."