Packing help needed!

[NCteacherlovescruising]

 

You keep saying this is all only to look good for your husband and not about impressing other people, but a few replies ago you said that as soon as you come home from work you change into sweats or pj's. I don't think there's anything wrong with that (I tend to do the same), but I doubt it impresses your husband very much. So I do have to wonder if this "pulling out all the stops" beauty and clothing routine on a cruise is really about looking good for him or about impressing other people. Don't get me wrong, a cruise is a special occasion so of course you aren't going to run around in sweats, and I'm all about "date night" and looking nice for your husband, but I doubt you need to go to these far-reaching extremes if the goal is simply to look nice for him.

.

 

 

I seriously don't get why so many think I'm trying to "impress" people! I wear swimwear, tank tops, and t-shirts by day and a dress, dress pants or capris with a nice top at night. That's nothing out of the ordinary. I either flat iron or curl my hair at night and put on make-up. I would do that anywhere I went with my husband, even if he took me to a remote cabin. If my husband is going to take me away, I'm going to look nice for him. I have no idea why some seem to think they need to judge me because I'm a typical woman. I don't see anything extreme or far reaching about it. I tend to blend in with everyone else.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

Judging by this paragraph, I don't think there's much hope in you bringing fewer suitcases. You alone will need three bags. Until you decide that three pair of shoes is enough, that you can wear to dinner what you wore during the day, that you can actually do a load of laundry and re-wear an item, then you'll continue to have three suitcases. Best of luck!

 

 

First I've all, I've never had three bags just for myself. For the last time, I'm not wearing a swimsuit, tank top or t-shirt with shorts to dinner in a dining room. I think that's tacky. Not to mention those "day clothes" will be repurposed for working out. I'm done addressing the same thing over and over again. [emoji36]

[NCteacherlovescruising]

Only if you're willing to do laundry. ;). Doubt anyone brings 32 days worth of clothes. Pack for a week and repeat.

 

*****

The folders will hold a lot of clothes. We use the medium sized ones (large are a bit too big for our liking). I know I've packed at least 4 of DH's shirts, 2 khakis and a pair of shorts on one folder. Hint- pack men's shirts with the fronts facing and alternate the necks. Once their locked in, there's no movement.

If you have a Flip Fold it'll make everything a uniform size. It's the only time I use that contraption.

 

 

I'm sure I could find time to do laundry if I were on vacation for a whole month!

 

I was looking at the medium size. Did you mention your favorite brand? I've looked at a few different ones.

 

A flip fold?

[SadieN]

I'm sure I could find time to do laundry if I were on vacation for a whole month!

 

I was looking at the medium size. Did you mention your favorite brand? I've looked at a few different ones.

 

A flip fold?

 

 

Our folders are Eagle Creek. Got them on clearance years ago at REI. I think ebags.com also has them. Have other ebags items (packing cubes and duffles) and they're well made.

 

This is a flip fold. http://www.flipfold.com. Also sold in hsn. Ours were a gift, wouldn't buy them. Very good for the obsessive compulsive among us.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[NorthernLite]

I seriously don't get why so many think I'm trying to "impress" people! I wear swimwear, tank tops, and t-shirts by day and a dress, dress pants or capris with a nice top at night. That's nothing out of the ordinary. I either flat iron or curl my hair at night and put on make-up. I would do that anywhere I went with my husband, even if he took me to a remote cabin. If my husband is going to take me away, I'm going to look nice for him. I have no idea why some seem to think they need to judge me because I'm a typical woman. I don't see anything extreme or far reaching about it. I tend to blend in with everyone else.

 

I think everyone just saw the number of suitcases for a week long cruise in your original post and were stunned and just can't get by that. Call it a failure to communicate. Most of us who head off on excursions in the warmer weather areas tend to dress in shorts and tops they would not wear to dinner. Or maybe the tops if they wore them the night before for dinner and a movie under the stars. I think it is the idea of needing a totally new outfit every night for dinner, for every beach excursion and another halfway in between after taking off your suit and maybe putting the shorts back on until dinner.

 

I like to dress to impress my hubby too but I have to balance my evening make up regime with his desire to get a decent matini before dinner. I have slowly tweaked my packing over the years. I may have thrown a cocoktail party when Celebrity did away with "Informal Dress". Very few know what it is anyway and it caused women undo stress, men who agreed to tuxedos suddenly needed a good jacket and ties and then there was casual. We are Elite Plus I think on Celebrity so we have been skipping formal nights in the main dining room for the French service specialty restaunant on their M-Class ships. Now those lovely, laid back dinners we dressed for because they werea seductive pleasure for us. And now they are replacing those old world restaurants with glorified Olive Gardens. Should we go back on Celebrity I doubt we will pack above the minimum for their Elite Chic nights. We enjoy finding local restaurants to eat in always using a touch of caution like raw oysters in warm waters is not a good idea a shore in the Caribbean. Get them grilled.

 

NCL may allow shorts during breakfast and lunch but have they included dinner now? I would stick with your capris. Kind of like we removed his tux from most cruises in the last 5 years and I cut back on dress shoes with heels but we still had resort wear that could get us in to any shore based restaurants we wanted to try. If you make it to Tasmania head to the Blue Eye Bird. Lovely, lively, new artist ara and the freshest seafood and curries to keep the locals and tourists happy.

 

I would love to know what you finally decide to pack, if anything came back unworn and did you need to buy any clothing. And how any folders, etc. helped. I am still learning.

 

As for flying, start slow by maybe looking at an Alaska cruise. Personally, we get to Chicago or Milwaukee the night before so no stress the following morning when we fly. Once past security find a place that serves food and drinks. I have a breafast of 2 Bloody Mary's and that keeps those wings in the air. French Fries are optional. :). Alaska is a must do!

 

Really do not sweat looking great on Norwegian. We saw gym shorts in the main dining room. The French Restaurant that actually had flamed foie gras a top a seared to perfection filet is no longer there. There is a place they call French but not so much and no one but us dressed for it on POA. The best specialty was the Brazilia Steakhouse in our opinion. Guys love it because they keep serving them meats until they flip their dowel and women like the gazpacho, cold and hot salad and sides bars. How soon do you leave and on which ship? Sue

Edited April 21, 2016 by NorthernLite

[midlevel_curator]

I like posing for pictures and I don't like wearing the same thing in every picture.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

Our folders are Eagle Creek. Got them on clearance years ago at REI. I think ebags.com also has them. Have other ebags items (packing cubes and duffles) and they're well made.

 

This is a flip fold. http://www.flipfold.com. Also sold in hsn. Ours were a gift, wouldn't buy them. Very good for the obsessive compulsive among us.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

 

Thank you!

[NCteacherlovescruising]

I think everyone just saw the number of suitcases for a week long cruise in your original post and were stunned and just can't get by that. Call it a failure to communicate. Most of us who head off on excursions in the warmer weather areas tend to dress in shorts and tops they would not wear to dinner. Or maybe the tops if they wore them the night before for dinner and a movie under the stars. I think it is the idea of needing a totally new outfit every night for dinner, for every beach excursion and another halfway in between after taking off your suit and maybe putting the shorts back on until dinner.

 

NCL may allow shorts during breakfast and lunch but have they included dinner now?

 

I would love to know what you finally decide to pack, if anything came back unworn and did you need to buy any clothing. And how any folders, etc. helped. I am still learning.

 

As for flying, start slow by maybe looking at an Alaska cruise. Personally, we get to Chicago or Milwaukee the night before so no stress the following morning when we fly. Once past security find a place that serves food and drinks. I have a breafast of 2 Bloody Mary's and that keeps those wings in the air. French Fries are optional. :). Alaska is a must do!

 

Really do not sweat looking great on Norwegian. We saw gym shorts in the main dining room. The French Restaurant that actually had flamed foie gras a top a seared to perfection filet is no longer there. There is a place they call French but not so much and no one but us dressed for it on POA. The best specialty was the Brazilia Steakhouse in our opinion. Guys love it because they keep serving them meats until they flip their dowel and women like the gazpacho, cold and hot salad and sides bars. How soon do you leave and on which ship? Sue

 

I guess what nobody realized is only half of our luggage was mine, although most of the items in our toiletry bag are.

 

Yes, NCL does allow shorts for dinner. I don't know if I would wear them though. I would have to see if many others were and If I would be too cold. I get cold easy.

 

I'm still undecided how many folders we will need. I may buy two, try it and see if I think we will need more. We have plenty of time, 73 days! We are sailing on the Getaway.

 

My husband really wants to do Alaska so we may do that before too long. I really am terrified of flying, but will do it for him.

 

We have been thinking of trying Moderno, although reviews have been mixed. We love Chimas, but from the reviews it doesn't sound like it will be as good. Im sure we will do Cagneys and possibly Le Bistro, or maybe the guys will want to do the Asain place. (I don't like it)

[NCteacherlovescruising]

I like posing for pictures and I don't like wearing the same thing in every picture.

 

 

Me too! [emoji4]

[Hoyaheel]

Check ebags for their house brand- good quality, can be cheaper than Eagle Creek or REI for folders or other packing aids. I don't use folders but have a couple packing cubes - I got mine on clearance from SierraTradingPost.com - I use a medium size ultra light as my medicine bag (husband and I share, but it also goes with either of us when we travel alone on business trips) Per another thread, we're "separators" when it comes to toiletries, HBA, medicines and prefer smaller bags with more discrete contents. Easier for me to pack and to utilize.

 

I'm addicted to Sierra Trading Post. I order from there all the time. Not just "outdoor" stuff - I actually get a lot of work clothing & shoes there. And luggage. They often have discounts on their FB page or via emails.

 

(as for me wearing the same stuff for dinner and the next day - I tend to wear sundresses - which can be "nicer" at dinner in the main dining room but casual with a pair of sporty sandals during the day. On the other hand, we're not really Caribbean cruisers so my wardrobe in general appears to be different than OP's)

[waterbug123]

First I've all, I've never had three bags just for myself. For the last time, I'm not wearing a swimsuit, tank top or t-shirt with shorts to dinner in a dining room. I think that's tacky. Not to mention those "day clothes" will be repurposed for working out. I'm done addressing the same thing over and over again. [emoji36]

 

I don't believe anyone is suggesting you wear shorts etc. to the dining room. But SOMETIMES people do wear clothing during the day that might be equally appropriate in the evening. A pair of capris for example, or a maxi dress appropriate for casual night, or a cute top or whatever. I'm sure the suggestions to wear last night's attire the following day were assuming you might sometimes wear such clothing during the day; they weren't suggesting you wear shorts and flip flops to dinner and then put them on for the pool the next day.

 

I'm sure I could find time to do laundry if I were on vacation for a whole month!

 

 

It takes about 2 minutes: Get the laundry bag from the cabin closet, fill out the attached laundry slip with name, cabin number, and number of each type of article of clothing, put clothes in bag with slip, leave on bed and cabin steward will send it out. If sent out early enough, it's usually back the next day. Easy peasy! And well worth it in my opinion, if it means being able to travel with one less bag!

[waterbug123]

I like posing for pictures and I don't like wearing the same thing in every picture.

 

No one is saying to wear the exact same thing every single day, LOL. But a pair of black pants for example, can be worn with multiple tops both casual and dressy. Same pants, but different outfits for different photos. Same for shorts during the day and so forth.

[Cruiseoholic000]

I too am thinking of purchasing a Eagle Creek Pack-It Specter Folder (light weight model). I am unsure of the size to get for my carry on luggage and both sizes should fit in the inside left compartment. Ebags now has a restocking fee for returns. I wish I could go to a store and take a look at these but haven't found any.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

I don't believe anyone is suggesting you wear shorts etc. to the dining room. But SOMETIMES people do wear clothing during the day that might be equally appropriate in the evening. A pair of capris for example, or a maxi dress appropriate for casual night, or a cute top or whatever. I'm sure the suggestions to wear last night's attire the following day were assuming you might sometimes wear such clothing during the day; they weren't suggesting you wear shorts and flip flops to dinner and then put them on for the pool the next day.

 

 

 

It takes about 2 minutes: Get the laundry bag from the cabin closet, fill out the attached laundry slip with name, cabin number, and number of each type of article of clothing, put clothes in bag with slip, leave on bed and cabin steward will send it out. If sent out early enough, it's usually back the next day. Easy peasy! And well worth it in my opinion, if it means being able to travel with one less bag!

 

 

We have 2 sea days, which I will spend laying out in the sun. I usually go back to the cabin in time to get cleaned up in time to get a drink and a couple pictures before dinner. We have 4 port days, 3 of which are beach days and the other we are doing a ruins/river tour. I will live in swimsuits and shorts with tanks/t-shirts by day. Although on our last cruise I did wear a dress as a coverup in Aruba because we spent the day on palm beach and had dinner reservations at Passions on the Beach.

 

I do wear the same pants more than once if they don't get dirty. I don't wear the same shirts more than once unless it's a t-shirt or something. For instance, I may wear something over my swimsuit at port, as I prefer that over a coverup in ports. The next day I may wear it to workout.

 

We are also spending a day in St Augustine, then a day in Miami pre-cruise and a day in Savannah on the way home.

 

I would prefer to carry an extra bag then spend money to have someone else wash my clothes. I spend several hours a week working out, with my main focus on lifting/strength training. Carrying two bags off a ship is no big thing. Speaking of my workout habits, my husband sees me in my workout clothes all the time. I like to dress girly for him when he takes me out for dinner or on vacation.

[geocruiser]

I too am thinking of purchasing a Eagle Creek Pack-It Specter Folder (light weight model). I am unsure of the size to get for my carry on luggage and both sizes should fit in the inside left compartment. Ebags now has a restocking fee for returns. I wish I could go to a store and take a look at these but haven't found any.

 

I use a medium and it fits into my carry on. I can get about 12 shirts or more in one. I love the folder. I have the Eagle Creek folder.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

I too am thinking of purchasing a Eagle Creek Pack-It Specter Folder (light weight model). I am unsure of the size to get for my carry on luggage and both sizes should fit in the inside left compartment. Ebags now has a restocking fee for returns. I wish I could go to a store and take a look at these but haven't found any.

 

 

I'm going to shop around a bit and hope to order something this weekend. I'm leaning toward the medium Eagle Creek SadieN suggested.

[SadieN]

I'm going to shop around a bit and hope to order something this weekend. I'm leaning toward the medium Eagle Creek SadieN suggested.

 

 

There are 7 REI stores in NC. Might be one near by to 'test drive' the folder. Either bring your own clothes or take some off the rack. REI has no issue with customers 'playing' with their products. I've done it many times.

Edited April 22, 2016 by SadieN

[NorthernLite]

HoyaHeel, thanks for the Sieera Trading Post tip. I didn't know they had expanded so much. I saw somethings that Nordstrom Rack carries (I bought my North Face Motivation heat shirts from them and STP has some too) and even Neiman Marcus although right now NM has better sale prices on the Lafette 148 NY stuff.

 

NC, I miss when my in-laws lived near Daytona. Driving back to Maryland we always stopped at the Premium Outlet at St Augustine just off 95 to hit their Tommy Bahama store.

 

As for laundry, I think my husband started it when we took our first Transatlantic 14 day cruise with a bunch of friends. He sent out his T-shirts, boxers, socks and tux shirt. I refuse sending my lingerie to the ship's laundry after I did a trial run with 3 new basic pairs of white cotton panties. Two came back tie dyed with dark blue and one pair just wasn't mine. Never have had any further problems on Celebrity with laundry. On vacation we don't do laundry and I think that may even include this next trip when the ship has laundry rooms for guests. We would need a Titanic style steamer trunk to carry everything for this trip. We probably spend as much on laundry as you do on pictures each cruise. We used to get them all the time but with no children we found we were putting them away and never looking at them when we got home after the first few years. We still buy some at attractions like the one on Funchal when we sledged down the hill with cars cutting across as we flew past. Didn't even know they had a camera set up near the first intersection. I love the brave look of terror on my husband's face when he saw there were no stop signs on those crossing roads. I totally understand people trying to get family photos especially when the kids dress up too. And yes, retirement is fantastic. No one trying to tell us we can't take all our vacation days at a time. I mean why have them if you can't use them?

 

Oh, if the Getaway has the Italian restaurant I'd skip it. It is a fairly normal pizza place with some pasta dishes and a lot of families go there with crying toddlers. If you want to escape school age children on your vacation head to the Brazilian Steakhouse, Cagney's or the Bistro. :)

Edited April 22, 2016 by NorthernLite

[vickykay]

Also a big fan of the Eagle Creek folders. Really keeps everything from shifting around in suitcase and everything is wrinkle free. We have two larger ones for my husbands tops and two smaller ones for myself. We also use the Eagle Creek tri-fold ( soft sided) for husband's blazer, all my dresses. No wrinkles. Plus there are pockets for other items as well. Can get these at the container store or online.

[waterbug123]

 

I would prefer to carry an extra bag then spend money to have someone else wash my clothes.

 

It might be easiest if you just give up on trying to pack more lightly. ;)

[Hoyaheel]

It might be easiest if you just give up on trying to pack more lightly. ;)

 

I think we've established that OP's actual quest is to squeeze the same stuff into fewer bags without wrinkling, and she's been given product & packing tips to attempt such....

 

 

NorthernLite - I agree that on specific items it's possible to find better prices than on STP, but on the other hand - their regular price is pretty good if you don't feel like waiting for a sale. Last year they had a bunch of 40% discount coupons (none lately :-( and so I'd put a bunch of stuff in my cart and wait for the coupon and hope that most of the stuff I wanted was still available. Got a great price on a briggs & riley 22" rolling suitcase!!

Edited April 22, 2016 by Hoyaheel

[SadieN]

I think we've established that OP's actual quest is to squeeze the same stuff into fewer bags without wrinkling, and she's been given product & packing tips to attempt such....

...........

 

 

 

 

Barely passed physics in college and am very good at Suitcase Tetris. There's only so much a suitcase can hold even using all the tricks known to women. :D

 

Mindset trumps all. OP is an overpacker. Nothing wrong with that.

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[midlevel_curator]

I myself would personally choose not to wear the same thing to dinner and the next day. Idkw

it makes me....choosing not to expand on it so not to offend. I would however repeat an outfit at least 30 hours later. Therefore, I would not repeat outfits on getaway cruises but would on >5 day cruises.

[NorthernLite]

If she is an over packer then so is her husband. I wonder who he is asking for advice?

 

And after 30 cruises or so I am still learning. I'm going to try a file folder for this next cruise because of all the layers suggested by the line itself to deal with the various temperatures.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

There are 7 REI stores in NC. Might be one near by to 'test drive' the folder. Either bring your own clothes or take some off the rack. REI has no issue with customers 'playing' with their products. I've done it many times.

 

 

I'm not familiar with REI, but I checked online and we do have one in Charlotte.