Need packing advice for 7 day cruise!

[KrissyRoxNJ]

This upcoming cruise will be me and my families 2nd cruise. This one we will be flying and then boarding our ship to the western Caribbean. We are a family of 5 and wanted everyone advice on the essentials to pack as i want to pack as lightly as possible. any tips and ideas of how to pack light and what to specifically bring would be helpful. I do not want to over pack and or under pack. 

 

Thank You

 

[mom says]

What cruise line? Since some cruise lines have much more relaxed dress codes ( they basically don't care what you wear into the MDR at dinner) than others, it can make a big difference in your clothing choices. 

[iancal]

We solved the problem simply by deciding on what size of luggage we would take.  In our case it was carry on only.

 

So....if it fit in the bag we took it.  If it did not, it either stayed home or something was taken out to make room for it.

 

When we traveled with our children we had another rule.....you pack it you carry it.   It worked.

[clo]

21 minutes ago, iancal said:

In our case it was carry on only.

Curious why carry on only.  Do you have to pay for checked bags?

[SmoothFlying]

Also consider ages and sex of the kids. Are they pool intensive ?(swim suits,) or just pool side: shorts/tops needed. Some cruise MDR on certain nights (formal)  will not let shorts in but it may not be the case for children under a certain age. You are so right about the pack light and 'you pack it, you carry it' adage especially where young girls are concerned, or some women regardless of age. Teach all kids about mix AND match skills when packing clothes are concerned  Good Luck !!

Mac

[Essiesmom]

1 hour ago, clo said:

Curious why carry on only.  Do you have to pay for checked bags?

 For us, paying for bags has nothing to do with it.  We simply are too old to be wrestling checked bags to the point of checking them or giving to the porters.  We travel with large backpacks and a carry on size rollaboard.  Mostly when we fly it is on a smaller plane where we have to 'gate check' the rollaboards anyway so we don't have to wrestle them into the overhead bin (we are short).  EM

[evandbob]

3 hours ago, KrissyRoxNJ said:

This upcoming cruise will be me and my families 2nd cruise. This one we will be flying and then boarding our ship to the western Caribbean. We are a family of 5 and wanted everyone advice on the essentials to pack as i want to pack as lightly as possible. any tips and ideas of how to pack light and what to specifically bring would be helpful. I do not want to over pack and or under pack. 

 

Thank You

 

 

For the males, in addition to what they are wearing when they board:

 

7 tee shirts  3 polo shirts  7 briefs   7 sox    3 shorts (1 dress, 2 casual)    2 bathing suits 1 pr dress pants  1 hat   1 water shoes 1 sneakers

 

If an emergency shortage occurs, there is always the $15 bag of laundry to fall back on.

 

For the females, mix & match and limit footwear., otherwise being a guy, I'll stay silent on what the ladies pack except they'll only use 1/2 of it anyway.  Now my lips are sealed......🙄

[jocap]

Mix and match carefully so that you don't have all red shorts and orange Ts…  base colour shorts/trousers which will pair with any tops you're taking; sandals and a pair of closed shoes for rain/walking tours; something smart for the evening- sparkle is good for females. Many things especially underwear can be rinsed out and dried in the shower room overnight.

 

 

 

[iancal]

We only do carry on because we typically combine cruises with an extended land trip.   We each can only physically handle a 20" roller.  Trains, ferries, boats, cobblestones, stairs, whatever.  10KG max.   IF we were going from home to airport-hotel/ship and back it might be different.   

[clo]

3 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

 For us, paying for bags has nothing to do with it.  We simply are too old to be wrestling checked bags to the point of checking them or giving to the porters.  We travel with large backpacks and a carry on size rollaboard.  Mostly when we fly it is on a smaller plane where we have to 'gate check' the rollaboards anyway so we don't have to wrestle them into the overhead bin (we are short).  EM

So those fit the airlines "one carry on and one personal item"?

 

We no longer take public transpo with luggage (in our early 70s).  We have something to the airport which drops us to the doors for our airline and check the bigger bag.  When we arrive, we pick up the bag and walk a short distance out to a taxi-esque to whatever our destination is.  Same on the return.  A couple of years ago I was pretty much forced to get a carryon that was guaranteed to fit under the seat as the overheads were filled with oversize bags.  I wish the airlines would enforce their rules.

[clo]

2 hours ago, evandbob said:

 

For the males, in addition to what they are wearing when they board:

 

7 tee shirts  3 polo shirts  7 briefs   7 sox    3 shorts (1 dress, 2 casual)    2 bathing suits 1 pr dress pants  1 hat   1 water shoes 1 sneakers

 

If an emergency shortage occurs, there is always the $15 bag of laundry to fall back on.

 

For the females, mix & match and limit footwear., otherwise being a guy, I'll stay silent on what the ladies pack except they'll only use 1/2 of it anyway.  Now my lips are sealed......🙄

Not even one "dress shirt"?

[ed01106]

Here is my fool proof method for assisting some one who over packs.

 

1. When packing layout both the bags you plan to check along with your carry on bag.  Be mindful that every year millions of pieces of luggage are lost by airlines and millions more are delayed so it is imperative that you place anything you absolutely need in your carry on bag including a couple of changes of clothing.   

 

2. Place your larger luggage in the corner and take your carry on to the airport.

 

At this point you are probably thinking, “what about the rest of my luggage, I need that stuff”. Remember when you put anything you absolutely needed into your carry on, well that means the rest is stuff you really don’t need.  Spend the trip pretending that the airline lost your luggage.

[JimnKaren]

Keep in mind that many people will not be grading you if you wear black on 5 nights. A button down shirt for dinner and maybe a show should work three times. Again, no one will be counting.

Jim

[crystalspin]

7 minutes ago, ed01106 said:

Here is my fool proof method for assisting some one who over packs... Be mindful that every year millions of pieces of luggage are lost by airlines and millions more are delayed so it is imperative that you place anything you absolutely need in your carry on bag including a couple of changes of clothing.   

This ^^^ is what did happen to me and changed the way we travel for good. We were in Dublin and neither of our 26" Samsonites came off the carousel. I realized we would be fine with what we were carrying. The larger bags WERE delivered to our hotel, but the realization stuck.

 

We have done a 26-day cruise plus travel home on either end, with a 10kg rollaboard each and an unweighed but maybe half of that daypack. Our first flight to Europe with Norwegian Air econo class, I managed to get the rollaboard and the daypack down to 10kg together... but we wound up paying what a checked bag would have cost, in laundry fees on the TA cruise, meanwhile having fewer choices. So when we sailed to CPH and flew back with Norwegian Air, we planned it out so that we checked one rollaboard home.

 

The total weight was still under 30lbs apiece; we did one $30 laundry bag of smalls on the ship, had all the choices we wanted, AND had everything we NEEDED in our carryons home, including any clothing that it would be expensive or impossible to replace.

[clo]

49 minutes ago, JimnKaren said:

Keep in mind that many people will not be grading you if you wear black on 5 nights. A button down shirt for dinner and maybe a show should work three times. Again, no one will be counting.

Jim

Absolutely, positively agree with you.  Back when we did "formal nights" I had one long black skirt and top and changes scarves.  I 'discovered' this when I realized that I couldn't tell you what co-workers had worn the day before.

[iancal]

We only pack for six days.  We just booked a seven week land trip.  Six weeks in Europe. We may or may not pick up a last minute cruise.  In the past we have skipped formal evenings in the MDR.  Not a big issue because they have become progressively less enticing over the years.  Even with the relaxed rules on many cruise lines we might not even bother with them.

[clo]

10 minutes ago, iancal said:

We only pack for six days.  We just booked a seven week land trip.  Six weeks in Europe. We may or may not pick up a last minute cruise.  In the past we have skipped formal evenings in the MDR.  Not a big issue because they have become progressively less enticing over the years.  Even with the relaxed rules on many cruise lines we might not even bother with them.

Yeah, that's plenty for an entire season.  Going to have to do laundry at some point anyway.   In warm weather three pairs of shorts and maybe five tees is plenty.  And that's a little extra in case I "dribble." 🙂

[navybankerteacher]

4 hours ago, clo said:

Not even one "dress shirt"?

A conversation like this should refer to the ship/line.  On NCL the list seems adequate - on certain other lines - not so much.

[clo]

1 hour ago, fyree39 said:

 If an item is heavy, I'll probably wear it on the plane if we're flying.

I do that with shoes!

[clo]

12 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

A conversation like this should refer to the ship/line.  On NCL the list seems adequate - on certain other lines - not so much.

Bob's "dress shirts" in this case are iron-free and light stripes or checks so casual.  But, yeah, I get ya.

[iancal]

We do not pack any clothes that we will only wear a few times.  I would never consider packing a dress shirt, dress shoes etc.  All fabrics are easy care.  Casual shits, shorts, and one pair of casual slacks. One pair of shoes on our feet, another lightweight pair in our bag.

 

Our first trip post retirement was 6/7 months.  This is how we packed/travelled.  We picked up three last minute cruises, each of varying durations, along the way.

 

We do two longer trips per year-7 to 8 weeks each. When we return and unpack we take note of items that we did not use very often .  They stay home next time and  are replaced by items that we wish we had taken.

 

 

Edited June 29, 2019 by iancal

[evandbob]

20 hours ago, clo said:

Not even one "dress shirt"?

Not for mass lines like Celebrity, RCCL, MSC, Carnival and NCL.  Polos/Golf Shirts work fine for dress up or not night or dining in specialty rstaurants.

Edited June 29, 2019 by evandbob

[clo]

2 hours ago, evandbob said:

Not for mass lines like Celebrity, RCCL, MSC, Carnival and NCL.  Polos/Golf Shirts work fine for dress up or not night or dining in specialty rstaurants.

My "Bob" just likes wearing one occasionally 🙂  He plays golf so much that it's sometimes nice to spiff up a bit.

[cb at sea]

RCI and celebrity do not have self service laundries, so it will cost more than a load of clothes would cost if you did it yourself.

 

I find that the shorts I wear to breakfast can be worn MULTIPLE times...they are only on me for about 1 hour...then it's into a swimsuit until dinner,  on most days!

 

As a woman, I've never, ever brought socks on a cruise!

[clo]

1 minute ago, cb at sea said:

As a woman, I've never, ever brought socks on a cruise!

So I guess you don't go where the weather might dictate socks.  Like Antarctica 🙂

 

I was tickled pink when the man at Oceania got us upgraded to their concierge level...includes three free bags of laundry!  But I'm sure we'll only do underwear!