When Is It Too Early To Start Packing?

[depplep]

How early is too early? 6 months out I would say.

[emeraldcity]

For me, 4 days is too early. I have to be under 100 hours because otherwise it's bad karma. I packed 5 days out for my Grandeur cruise in May 2013. I woke up the next morning and logged into cruisecritic thinking "100 hours till boarding!" and the first post I read said "Fire on the Grandeur". Unpacking later that day was one of the most depressing things I've ever done.

[Smitty815]

I usually fly down to Florida from Canada. I stay in Florida for a week and go on a 7 day cruise.

I pack about 2 or 3 hours before I leave to get the plans. Drives my girlfriend crazy! Haha

[Tee & Chilli]

Still in the high 80s here in Florida. We're still wearing our Summer clothes. Too soon to pack for Caribbean vacations.

[mcatmcat]

I'm in the look out for new clothes at least a week before so I know what I'm taking for the cruise ( color, style, matching with my partner ). I start packing 4 days before I finish 2 days after

[4dachsies]

It doesn't seem to upset her. We board her at our vets and she likes it there. It's a family place and they treat her special. Still, she'll be glad to see us when we get back. I do bet she'd enjoy the buffet on the cruise much better. She's tall enough to serve herself. She's too polite to do that but she is a foodie.

 

Super cute. We call our oldest dachshund a foodie too, he's 17.5. I'm anxious to bring him back gouda from St. Martin next month! He loves it!!

[cincicruisers]

I find packing for my cruiser is so much easier if I stow my suitcase under the bed for my next cruise. :)

[John&LaLa]

I don't like my clothes to wrinkle so I generally pack the morning of. It helps if you can see the ship from your front door

[goodycruising]

We waited once to do our last washing the day before we were going. (Mainly due to work) So of course the washing machine made a funny noise and the electronics fried on starting the first wash. Luckily the electrical store over the road had one in stock and installed it! Never going to wait until last minute again!

 

Sent from my GT-I9506 using Tapatalk

[goodycruising]

not before current cruise - Lol liked that one!

Edited October 13, 2015 by goodycruising

[Mjoellnir]

Well our itinerary in February takes us first north in Norway (cold), then to Stockholm (also cold) then to Fort Lauderdale for 3 days (hopefully warmer) then cruise to Fallmouth and Labadee (warm), back to FLL for 3 days and then one day in NYC (probably cold) berfore return to Oslo.

 

Probably need some serious planning of what to pack, and I guess we make a list 3-4 weeks in advance. The packing itself will probably not be started before a few days in advance.

[Keith1010]

Never too early to start packing.

 

Keith

[h20skibum]

There might be a strong correlation between cruisers that live in cold weather climates and those that pack early.:D

 

Not so sure. We are in the cold weather area, and we usually pack the night before we leave. We always have the packing list printed, and all the clothes laid out in one of the spare bedrooms ahead of time.

 

My theory, however irrational it is, is the less time they spend in the bag, the less the chance of wrinkles.

 

This cruise also dictates last minute packing, because we have a trip to the west coast for a week, then only home for a little over a week before the cruise. Will be using the same bags, and maybe some same clothes.

[Anita Latte]

Never too early to start packing.

 

Keith

 

This.

 

We use packing cubes. If I didn't need the clothes that I wanted to take on the cruise, I would pack everything that wrinkles weren't an issue for whenever the mood hit. For those things that were more wrinkle sensitive, I would pack the day before leaving...or even two days.

 

My efforts these days focus more on the transitions into vacation mode and the inevitable one back to "real life." I find that the better I get at those transitions, the easier it is for me to getaway more...more being not only more often but also for a mentally longer time with each getaway as I get things done earlier to prepare for the getaway

[griffy116]

If I pack too early, I have a tendency to re-think what I've packed. I then go back and add the additional items, rather than substituting. Then I find a few travel items that I think I just might need. By the time I'm ready to go, I've added at least 5 lbs to my luggage.:(

[pixiestyx]

I start laying certain things out a few weeks in advance like documents. I live in Florida so there's no swapping out clothes for the seasons. What I'd wear in the Caribbean in Nov. is not far off from what I wear at home in Nov. so I can't really pack clothes three weeks out.

[Rala]

I like to have everything packed AND in the car or by the door if we are taking a limo to the airport the night before we leave. I start getting things together about a week or so before we are scheduled to leave. If anything gets really wrinkled which it seldom does, I send it out for "press only" onboard. Of course, anything I send out is already washed and clean. It is not that expensive. A couple of cruises ago, a pair of khakis and 2 dress shirts for DH cost less than $7 to press and they did a beautiful job...much better than I could ever do!!:)

[ddebaets]

I'm 169 days from leaving for ours and I'd pack now if I could LOL

[Blasian]

Leaving in about three weeks for a seven day cruise on Oasis. When is it too early to start packing? I'm not talking about placing a few things back or making a packing list kind of packing. I'm talking get out the big bags and and start filling them up packing.

 

So when do you guys start serious packing for your cruise and is three weeks too early?

---

We leave on our cruise in a little over 7 weeks and are about 85% packed.

For me, it is therapeutic and helps me relieve stress. :)

[js]

Leaving in about three weeks for a seven day cruise on Oasis. When is it too early to start packing? I'm not talking about placing a few things back or making a packing list kind of packing. I'm talking get out the big bags and and start filling them up packing.

 

So when do you guys start serious packing for your cruise and is three weeks too early?

 

I take my clothes and other items out at about 5 weeks or so and then by week 4 or 3 before the cruise I iron and pack everything in packing cubes. I am always packed at least 2-4 weeks prior to any vacation. Anything less than that stresses me out LOL

 

I LOVE having everything done and the last week not running around. I get a mani/pedi and my hair done if needed, download movies to my Kindle and I'm good to go :)

 

I sail on Independence over NYE, but leaving end of December and will take out my stuff before Thanksgiving and possibly iron over Thanksgiving weekend since I'll have an extra day off from work :)

 

My sister, on the other hand, packs for her family of 5 (which includes 3 boys under 12) the night before and doing laundry into the middle of the night even though our cruises are booked at least a year in advance????!!!!?????

Edited October 13, 2015 by js

[Scotty G]

Not before I've finished my current cruise.

 

Exactly! :)

[clo6216]

I keep a “must pack” check list of essentials like bar soap, chargers, bonine, etc. which can wait until last minute because I know I have it all and it’s just a matter of throwing it in the carry on. I’m leaving on the 28th and last week I wrote up a clothing pack list to cover a 15-day cruise, using a black, gray, tan, and navy capsule wardrobe. I’m trying to keep luggage to a small suitcase and a carry-on duffel. I put the clothes on a rack. Everything mixed and matched. Then I edited. Over the weekend, I removed: one set of workout leggings and top, one dress, one pair of casual jeans, one sweater and two pairs of shoes. Shoes are tough! I’m fine with my black heels most nights, but a pair of the slacks and dress jeans I’m taking are dark blue and I wanted navy shoes for them. But I removed the navy shoes figuring no one is going to notice if I wear black shoes with navy clothes. Last night, I put back the navy shoes because I will notice! This probably will continue until right before the cruise. Hmm. A good reason not to start packing too soon!

[harlekuin]

I guess we just don't have enough clothes to pack very far ahead of time. :( 48 hours would be the earliest I would start. Wrap up the night before the flight/drive. Each have a carry on and a backpack. That's plenty of stuff for 2 weeks.

[KiwiGal117]

I have a drawer in my home office where I keep the "travel stuff" - chargers, passports, foreign currency from past trips. I also start placing clothes on the guest bed a week before. We have to hide the suitcases until the last minute otherwise the cat gets very concerned and distrusts them around the place.

[RocketMan275]

I have a drawer in my home office where I keep the "travel stuff" - chargers, passports, foreign currency from past trips. I also start placing clothes on the guest bed a week before. We have to hide the suitcases until the last minute otherwise the cat gets very concerned and distrusts them around the place.

 

I had a cat once, we called him Joe, who would hide in the luggage. I picked up a small carry on and it seemed rather heavy. Yes, it was Joe all snuggled inside with a very smug look.