Worst Cruise Packing Mistakes

[azrose]

Once on a trip, my husband (ex) had 2 pairs of the same shoe/style/color. He never packed ahead of time and in his haste, he packed 2 left feet! He had to wear them being he had nothing else "dressy" with his suit. It was hilarious to look at :D:D He truly had 2 left feet :D

[DonMar]

Too much clothing. I always end up wearing some things twice if I've only had it on for a few hours. My goal is to be able to only take what I can carry on.....someday.

 

Just some words of support...It can be done. DH and I travel carry on only and I mean airline travel on size. It takes some thought but we have traveled for over two weeks - both land based and cruise - with just a carry on bag and a backpack each.

 

Traveling like this make my life a lot easier and my cruise is more enjoyable.

[elliair]

Overpacking is still a challenge for me.

 

There are always things you want to bring but tend to forget to pack.

 

I tried something new and it worked out great. About 2 weeks prior I set out a laundry basket and called it the "forget me not basket". If some item randomly came to mind like camera, beach shoes, sun hat and such the family could put it in the basket as they thought of it. This worked great and added to the fun as anticipation for the our cruise grew.

 

I do the same thing but instead of the laundry basket. I pile it all on top of the suitcase until I'm ready to pack. My friends who are cruising to Alaska today asked what they should bring n the way of clothing. My answer is always "you can't put on what you don't have." I do have a tendency to over pack. Our next cruise we're going to be gone about 28 days. I will do laundry even though we get it for free.

Edited August 20, 2016 by elliair

[elliair]

Once on a trip, my husband (ex) had 2 pairs of the same shoe/style/color. He never packed ahead of time and in his haste, he packed 2 left feet! He had to wear them being he had nothing else "dressy" with his suit. It was hilarious to look at :D:D He truly had 2 left feet :D

 

LMAOI! I can see him walking into the MDR now! Thanks for the laugh. DH once packed two different style flipflops. He wore them and no one noticed.:D

[sjn911]

When invited on an inaugural 3 night with my TA friend along with some time at her condo in San Diego...I packed as if I was driving (not) and more in two suitcases than I ever had before or ever will again...I took up 3/4 of the walk in area of the closet in a mini-suite on another line...it was ridiculous. But it was fun to feel like queen for a week. Only problem; I was also the footman.

Edited August 21, 2016 by sjn911

[missygirl]

We and another couple went and she took 17 pairs of shoes!:eek:

[Namelocg]

When my daughter and her best friend turned 17 I took them on a 7 night cruise on the Norwegian Epic. I told them they could each take 1 suitcase (any size they wanted since we drove) and 1 carry on bag. Between flip flops, sneakers, nice sandals, heels, and boots (because everyone needs boots in the Caribbean) they had 21 pairs of shoes. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Most of them never came out of the suitcase!

[Missywantstotravel]

My son, bff, her daughter, and I all went on a cruise a couple of years ago and are going again in June. I read up on CC with the lists etc. I had a list of what to pack, very detailed for each day, etc. Son and I wore almost everything we packed. I ended up having to do laundry half way through though because of the bff. Instead of going off the list made by a frequent traveler and previous resident of the Caribbean, she listened to her mom who has never gone further than a day car ride from west Texas. She packed skirts and dresses for day wear. Normally not a bad idea, except she's bigger and had never been with that much humidity. She ended up borrowing half of the stuff I packed. Her daughter brought a whole suitcase of clothes, again going by what Grandma said. She wore 5 things, not including the swimsuits, all week. 3/4 of her clothes were still folded. Now they both follow the list and not the advice of a non-traveler.

 

 

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[Muumuu]

A very good friend of ours, recently retired from the police force, was going on a cruise.

And for this cruise he used his favorite backpack. The same favorite backpack he used as an officer. Of course when he retired he had emptied it. So he packs it for his cruise. He is stopped by security who call the police as he had a single round in that backpack. He had ID that he was a retired officer. He explained over and over that it was his work bag. What they ended up finding was the one bullet under the liner of the bag. Took him hours but they finally let him on. Minus that one bullet. We laugh now about it.

[sjn911]

I love that story Muumuu.

 

On my second cruise, probably around 10 years after my first. Twas the Costa Riviera and old then and fantastic food and a good time but sad tired boat. The Fantasy class now is still new in comparison. I was skinny and a good thing. The shower and bathroom was almost like the all in one style of the tiny campers.

 

So the then new white and wonderful Princess and Red white and blue Carnival ships looked better in every port.

 

I meet a couple just finished with their cruise on Princess at the airport going home. The poor husband is carrying bags of shoes? Way before 9/11. "How much is checked?" I ponder and I am not great at this still but far better. She says to her hubby, "you are a man and you just don't understand." Probably about 1992.

[richstowe]

The first was taking a single pair of sunglasses which broke boarding the ship . The replacement pair , costing 15 and worth 1 , broke a day after purchase . Now I bring 2 good pairs and a dollar store pair . Same for reading glasses .

 

Second mistake was bringing a new bottle of sun screen . We had bought this brand before but unknown to us they had changed the formula . ( I found this out when I called to complain after the cruise) . It wouldn't absorb and balled up on our skin . As others have related , a ship is an expensive place to buy it . Now we bring 2 opened bottles plus a couple of samples .

[kelib]

One thing I used to do (and must start again) was to write down what I wore either while on my trip or on the plane ride home while it is fresh in my mind. ( or also write down what I did not

Then pull that list out when I pack the next time I am on a similar trip. It really did help keep me from overpacking.

[Banditswife]

On our very 1st cruise, several years ago, we were in an inside cabin. I thought there would be a bedside clock, like in hotels. We had the very old type cell phones, so in the middle of the night, not knowing what time it was, we got up several times, turning on the TV to get the time. I now pack a battery powered alarm clock.