how to pack less

[mared1]

I will be going on an 8 night cruise in January and want to pack less than I usually do - any tips? I can't seem to pare down anything.

[Andee]

Decide that it's OK to wear something more than once. Mix & match. Bring tops that go with all your pants/shorts.

[cusyl]

I am packing much less this time. Will wear some outfits twice. No one is going to notice, especially if you are switching off tops with bottoms.

[Mur-cruiser]

If you lay everything out, then match up outfits. Figure out how many port day and sea days. The days at sea, I usually wear an outfit(usually a jogging suit, or such) to breakfast, then the bathing suit goes on(bring a coverup with me to go to lunch), if need to, I'll put the jogging suit on again with a different T-shirt and then I'm good to go till dinner. Bring the basic shoes.

what we have done in the past is make a list of all the clothing you bring and when you get home, list the clothes you didn't wear. Keep the list for the next time. You'll be surprised how much you didn't wear. Unless of course you like to change clothes 6 times a day.:D

Remember, you'll probably never see the other cruisers again, so who cares if you wear the same shirt twice.

[comfixit]

One way to pack less is to figure out what you can purchase on the go. If money is worth less to you then the hassel of packing then there are allot of concesions you can make.

 

The ships overpriced gift shops will have all the toiletries you could need. Also why not purchase an outfit or two on the boat or in port.

 

Don't want to pack your camera, why bother, purchase a disposable one for only twice more then what you would pay at a local drug store.

 

If you really want to pack extreamly light think about what you really need that you can't buy along the way (medicines and such). Make sure you have enough clothing to get you through your first day at port and your home free.

 

And as others have said, not a problem wearing the same outfit more then once.

[suezyq50]

I have heard and it runs true. Pull out what you think you need and put back one third. Too much of the time I bring back cloths I have not worn.

[Host Kat]

Howdy Mared1!

 

Just my for you.

 

While doing your "mix & match", don't forget to do the same with your shoes. They take up a lot of room, and you do NOT need a different pair to go with each outfit.

 

If you color coordinate all your choices & stick to just a couple of colors, it will help a lot.

 

Kat

[springtxbill]

Evenly diivde what you plan to take into two suitcases. When you leave for the ship, leave one of the bags at home.

[DEL67]

Some of the ways I have learned to reduce the amount I take are:

 

- Limit the number of shoes you take. For example, stick to one

predominate color for dress clothes so you only need one pair of dress

shoes. Take a neutral color pair of sandals that will go with everything.

 

- Only take one or two pairs of slacks for casual and smart casual nights. A

dressy top can transform a pair of black slacks from casual into smart.

casual.

 

- Use tops you have worn for casual dinners with shorts or capris for later in

the cruise.

 

- Invest in silk "formal" wear. I have 2 two-piece silk cocktail dresses that I

wear for formal night that fold to almost nothing in my suitcase and do not

wrinkle.

 

- Plan to wear shorts or capris more than once.

 

For longer cruises:

 

- Buy T-shirts at ports

 

- Plan to do laundry once during the cruise if your ship has a landromat.

[cruiser22]

I always save clothes I am planning to dispose of. I take these clothes on cruises and throw away after wearing. By doing so, I have room in my suitcase to bring home souveniors. I also purchase many of my T-Shirts at the ports.

 

Also, purchase vacumn travel bags that you can role out the air. This will save a lot of room in your suitcase and make it very easy to unpack.

 

Shoes seem to take up the most room and weigh the most. Try to only take 3 pairs with you.

[cruiser22]

I always save clothes I am planning to dispose of. I take these clothes on cruises and throw away after wearing. By doing so, I have room in my suitcase to bring home souveniors. I also purchase many of my T-Shirts at the ports.

 

Also, purchase vacumn travel bags that you can role out the air. This will save a lot of room in your suitcase and make it very easy to unpack.

 

Shoes seem to take up the most room and weigh the most. Try to only take 3 pairs with you.

[caa]

On the way to our cruise last month, we had a canceled flight that caused us to get separated from our luggage. Standing in Walmart an hour before you get on the ship, having no idea where your luggage is, will definitely concentrate your mind on what is a necessity and what is not!

 

Here's what we bought for myself and my daughter (husband had enough in his carry-on to make it 3 days to our first port):

 

- 3 T-shirts each

- 1 pair pants each

- package of underwear each

- package of socks (for her, I was wearing sandals)

- pajamas

- couldn't find shorts, bathing suits, hats, decided to buy one each of those on the ship

- sunscreen

- deodorant

- toothpaste (got toothbrushes at the hotel)

- razor

- batteries (had the digital camera with us, but battery charger was in the luggage)

- duffel bag to carry it all aboard

 

We figured we'd shop on board and in ports, and send a bag to the ship's laundry a couple of times. Luckily we didn't have to do that because our luggage made it to ship just before we sailed (NCL went out of their way to send their airport transfer staff to the airline and pick it up for us, otherwise we would not have gotten it). But I do think we could have gotten through the week with just this list plus what we had with us. We were wearing sweaters and I had a hairbrush and some cosmetics in my carry-on, so we had a few things that we didn't have to buy. I might have spent a bit more of my vacation shopping than I would really like, and we wouldn't have been able to dress up on formal night, but we would have got through the week and had a good time.

[horsler]

I could use some help on this too. We are going for 24 days to climates that will range from the tropical in Cairns, AU to the last stop before Antartica (Christchurch & Dunedin, NZ) I understand that even at the height of their summer, when we are going, days can top out at 60F. How can I avoid packing my entire closet? Help please.

[cusyl]

I could use some help on this too. We are going for 24 days to climates that will range from the tropical in Cairns, AU to the last stop before Antartica (Christchurch & Dunedin, NZ) I understand that even at the height of their summer, when we are going, days can top out at 60F. How can I avoid packing my entire closet? Help please.

 

Plan on doing some laundry on the ship either yourself or having the ship do it. Also, you can dress in layers on the colder days. I envy your long trip.

[MrsPete]

I am the queen of packing light. On our last cruise -- four nights -- our family of four took ONE HUGE SUITCASE and a couple small carry-ons. A few weeks ago, we went on a weekend trip with only two carry-ons for the same family of four (we did that to avoid checking luggage on the airplane). I went on a business trip to Vegas with only one carry-on. My girls and I are all small (I'm wearing a child-sized large tank top right now), so that helps, but it's mostly good planning. I rarely wish I'd brought something else along. Suggestions:

 

Be realistic about your needs (and that probably bears little resemblance to my needs). If you never work out at home, you probably won't suddenly start on vacation; leave the athletic clothes home. If you're bringing small children, you probably do need to bring a backpack full of toys for them to have in the cabin. But PLAN what YOU need -- most overpackers just throw things in without much thought.

 

You're going to want to carry on a small bag; choose one that'll double as an excursion bag -- a tote bag, a backpack, whatever suits your plans.

 

Ladies, clean out your purse before you go. You don't need your local video rental card or your grocery store discount card on the cruise. So pack a tiny purse with just your IDs, cruise tickets, insurance card, credit card, and a little cash and leave the bulky everyday purse at home. If you should happen to lose your purse, you'll also minimize your loss.

 

Limit your shoes. More than anything else, this will save space. If, like me, you want tennis shoes for workouts /walking in port, wear them as you board; they're likely your most bulky shoes. Black strappy sandals will probably work with most of your dinner outfits. A pair of nice leather flip-flops can serve as your walking-around-ship shoes AND your pool shoes.

 

Use the space inside your shoes to pack socks, small bottles of booze, batteries, etc.

 

Lay out one outfit for each day's wear -- no more. Choose two shirts to go with every pair of shorts. So for a week-long cruise, you could get by with three pairs of shorts and seven shirts.

 

It's not hard to conserve on dinner wear clothing: If you're going to the specialty restaurants, plan to wear a "repeat outfit"; since you're not sitting with the same people, no one will notice. Choose separates that can be worn more than once; for example, bring a black skirt to be worn with a black top one night, then a silver top another night -- looks like two different outfits. Unless you stand out (either for good or bad reasons) people don't pay as much attention to your clothes as you think they do. Formal wear is much "smaller" than it used to be; my formal dresses take very little space. Men can certainly wear the same pair of pants to dinner for several evenings, wearing a new shirt each night.

 

My husband's clothing seems to take up much more space than mine! Renting a tux onboard is one way to keep the suitcase lighter, though it's not really a cheap suggestion.

 

Plan to use the laundry onboard, if necessary.

 

If you're planning to buy new outfits on the trip, be sure you have enough room to bring them home in your suitcase. Often I pack snacks and sodas, then use that space for souveneirs. Also, I frequently dump my travel-sized toiletry items -- even if there's one more use left in them -- before coming home.

 

Don't bother bringing things that will be provided for you. You don't need to weigh yourself down with a hairdryer or beach towels.

 

If you're driving and spending the night before in a local hotel, pack your one-night's stay needs in a small suitcase. No need to bring your cruise suitcase into the hotel room; no need to drag dirty travel clothes onboard.

 

Finally, don't sacrafice things that you really want to take just because you think you should be packing light. If you're going to snorkel, take your own gear. I wouldn't go without several paperback novels. Don't skip bringing extra batteries for the digital camera, just-in-case medicines, etc. Pack a pair of sunglasses, plenty of sunscreen, and all those necessities. Bring everything you need, but leave home the "oh, this might come in handy" stuff.

[kannna]

try the cruise diva website. she has a good pack light article. I tried to post the link but it wouldn't let me.

[1cat4jan]

Your evening clothes? You will only be wearing these things for less than half a day - so you can get at least two wearings out of each item.

 

Port days are "dirty" days. Walking around in the hot sun makes you sweaty - spending the day at the beach gets your "over the swimsuit" clothes dirty - buses are dirty, etc.

 

Plan on wearing the shirt you wore on casual night to the port during the day. Plan on wearing your shorts more than once. There is no sense in putting clean shorts on to sit on the beach or hike in the hills.

 

Remember - since you are showering and changing at least twice a day - you are not wearing your outfits for an entire 16 hour day. If you're wearing your evening clothes for only 4 hours - shouldn't you get 4 wearings out of an outfit?

 

Unless you are a celebrity - no one will be photographing you - nor paying the least bit of attention to what you are wearing. Why bother hauling different formal outfits because of what others may think about your clothing choices.

 

If you are sitting with the same people for dinner each night, try something the second night. Ask everyone what you were wearing the night before. I'm betting no one will remember what you were wearing.

[dogladyjw]

I have found that if you sail in a full suite with Holland America, laundry and dry cleaning are free. Leave it out on Monday night and get it back Wednesday morning. Well, worth the cost of the suite and only one of the perks!