no checked bags?

[mindyish]

Has anyone been on a cruise and NOT checked any bags? My one and only cruise back in 2013 I used one carry on and one personal item on southwest and it was tight coming back but made it.  This time we are going with kids (all over 10 yrs old).  Is it possible to not check any luggage again if every person had one carryon and one and one personal smaller bag like allowed? Im super paranoid about bags being lost or delayed.

Side question, Any recommendations for carryon luggage?

[JMorris271]

You do not have to check bags but make sure they fit in airlines carryon size limit, which is able to fit under the seat. Personal means like a purse, small camera gadget bag, brief case.

For some, flying with no luggage is a red flag to security.

[iancal]

Since retiring ten years ago all of our twice yearly extended trips have been with carry on only, ie no checked bags.  One of the decision factors was the need  to physically handle our luggage without the assistance of others.

 

Sometimes we know in advance that a cruise will be part of the trip but more often than not we  book last minute cruises while we are on a land trip.

 

Never had an issue with security-anywhere.  Not dissimilar to my years of business travel with a only a carry on suit bag or small case.   We use international carry on size (slightly smaller than NA size).   We try to keep the weight down to 7 or 8 KG which is the limit on many regional airlines in Europe, Asia, and Australia.   

 

We both use Eagle Creek int. size carry on rolling flatbed and have done so for 10 plus years.

Edited December 6, 2021 by iancal

[slidergirl]

I do carry on size.  BUT, if I'm not doing a connection, I will check the carry on just so I don't have to deal with the overhead scrum.

 

I'm doing a month in Europe this summer, including a river barge week.  I'm doing carry on again, but I'll check my bag on my non-stop flight to/from.  The rest of the time I'll carry/roll because I'm doing trains and maybe some car rental.  Since I rent econo-boxes, I need something small that will fit in that car.

 

Eagle Creek is going out of business end of year.  Unfortunate.  They were a great price point for bulletproof bags.    If you need rollers, I'll recommend Osprey.  Nice bags - I have 1 roller and 2 carries.  If you don't need roller, take a look at Cotopaxi.  They have a really cool carry on bag - the Allpa.  One is oversized, the 42L, but they have a 35L and a 28L.  I'm picking up the 28L to be my small bag to replace my eBags MotherLode Jr.   I love the colors you can do with Cotopaxi so that I can absolutely identify my bags.  I have a bunch of bags from them for camping.   Oh yeah, I forgot, eBags MotherLode series is good for both roller and non-roller.  

[Tapi]

It’s totally doable, even with small kids. We even packed for our family of 4 (kids 6 and 8 years old) for 10 days (3 days pre cruise and 7 day cruise) when we sailed in the Mediterranean with carry ons only, one for each family member.
 

It’s eye opening how much more efficiently one can pack when you convince yourself that all you can bring must fit in a carry on. 😃

Edited December 6, 2021 by Tapi

[mammajamma2013]

Some cruise ships have self-service laundry rooms as well. That might be an option to packing less if you don't mind doing laundry on vacation.

[iancal]

We started with the bag.  That was our limit. What fit, went.  What did not, stayed home.  Forced us to make choices that we never did regret.

 

Each time we return home and unpack we take note of what we seldom wore/used.  Then we replace it with something else.   DW often puts a pair of shoes or a make up bag in carry on as I usually have a little more room left.

 

This is not for everyone but it suits us down to the ground so to speak.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 6, 2021 by iancal

[Honolulu Blue]

15 hours ago, mindyish said:

Has anyone been on a cruise and NOT checked any bags? My one and only cruise back in 2013 I used one carry on and one personal item on southwest and it was tight coming back but made it.  This time we are going with kids (all over 10 yrs old).  Is it possible to not check any luggage again if every person had one carryon and one and one personal smaller bag like allowed? Im super paranoid about bags being lost or delayed.

Side question, Any recommendations for carryon luggage?

 

I've done it on every cruise, though I don't have any kids to deal with.  As others have said, it's a matter of capacity management, but it's not for everyone.

[evandbob]

Whenever I cruise, whether a week long or 3 week B2B sailing, I can manage with a 21" Delsey and a shoulder bag.  I've even done this for a 6 week land Australia/NZ/Cook Is. trip, 2 weeks in Bora Bora and Moorea and numerous Caribbean week or 10 day respites.

 

Perhaps the only trip I needed a larger piece of luggage was a land/sea 2 week Alaska vacay.

 

We sail or vacay often enough that packing becomes routine and simple.  Sometimes it takes me longer to count out all my meds than to put clothes in my suitcase.

[Sea Hag]

We did that once. We used our big backpacking backpacks, which fit through the scanners just fine. We concluded that, for us, it was more trouble than it was worth. That's especially true when you can't get into your cabin immediately.

[navybankerteacher]

It can be done - but it means doing a fair amount of laundry (or wearing “tired” clothes) while on board.  It also means toting your carry-on and personal item while waiting for your room to be ready.

 

I do not see the point.

[SbbquilterUT]

Carry on only is our preferred way to travel - for those who fly multiple legs it is a bit of peace of mind.  

[Joebucks]

Why wouldn't it be allowed? Someone's boast about "traveling light" may or may not actually apply to you. My guess is you are looking how to save on a couple hundred dollars of luggage because there is a large group. 

 

If you want to save money on luggage (or flying), it often starts with comparing the total cost of the flights. Some people only look to the "cheapest airfare" or "free luggage". When in reality either can cost you more in the end. For the two of us, we often find the "cheapest fare" and combining into one suitcase makes the most sense. I'd stay away from the common "fee" worry and compare total costs.

 

When I don't have a checked bag for a cruise, I will be left without a bit of liquids. Wine, sunscreen, and soda will easily cost more on a ship than a luggage fee. God forbid I buy some bottle at a port or on the ship. Doing laundry is also time and money if you don't have that perk.

 

Now with kids, a lot of those concerns go out the window. They could probably fit a lot of their stuff in a carryon. Their clothes are also smaller. They don't need a lot of the stuff that adults bring.

[iancal]

Baggage fees are certainly not the reason why we do carry on.  On most international flights our bags would be checked gratis..  It takes us three flights to get to Bangkok for a typical snowbird winter.  Then we head south.  The last thing we want is not to have our luggage when we arrive at midnight after 22 hours of travel and then have to start the lost luggage process.

 

Luggage fees are nothing to us compared to our total travel spend.  Simply not on our radar.  Never have been.

 

On some  airlines, Jetstar  for one, we pay a higher tariff for our carry on bag that we would had if we checked it.  

 

The only liquids I travel with is 100ml of sunscreen.  Plus same size toothpaste.   It lasts me through two plus months.  We would have a challenge obtaining this sunscreen in some countries-especially SE Asia.

Edited December 7, 2021 by iancal

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, iancal said:

Baggage fees are certainly not the reason why we do carry on.  On most international flights our bags would be checked gratis..  It takes us three flights to get to Bangkok for a typical snowbird winter.  Then we head south.  …

You spend a “snowbird winter” with just carry-on?

[iancal]

21 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

You spend a “snowbird winter” with just carry-on?

Yes.  Both of us.  Limited to 60 days because of out of country medical/evac coverage.   We do exactly the same in Sept/Oct if we go to southern Europe.  Did the same for a 14 day SA cruise plus 6 weeks of independent travel.  We did take a headband and gloves each  for the SA cruise.  Worked out just fine.  We had excellent weather.

 

We leave winter behind wearing lightweight cotton slacks, ss shirt, cotton sweater, w/p nylon shell and street shoes to the airport.  All good after that.

 

Been doing it for nine plus years since we retired.  Other than covid times of course.

Edited December 7, 2021 by iancal

[slidergirl]

7 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

It can be done - but it means doing a fair amount of laundry (or wearing “tired” clothes) while on board.  It also means toting your carry-on and personal item while waiting for your room to be ready.

 

I do not see the point.

Sigh.  Here we go again with the "fair amount of laundry" or "wearing tired clothes" line...

Not for everyone, but I can do a little laundry in the sink each night as part of my "getting ready for bed" routine.  I don't wash in hot and I really don't like things put in a dryer.  It takes me all of maybe 5 minutes to wash what I need.  I even did this on a one month business trip.  I never looked "tired".

It's also part of traveling for me that I have clothes that are made for "adventure".  Easy dry, things that actually don't "stink" the second day if needed.  My Woolx shirts are a great example.  

I also don't dress up all fussy.  The clothes I bring work for me for whatever I do.  IF something is special, like a big concert, I do have room for something to wear.   

I don't have an issue toting my stuff while waiting for a room - how long does it take me to get a comfy chair somewhere and put on my headphones???

 

[iancal]

The flip side......lugging your bags up a few flights of stairs in a hotel, B&B,, etc   

 

Heaving them in and out of a motor boat or a longtail taxi boat when going from one small  island in Thailand to another.

 

Heaving them in and out of van transfers, tuk tuks, ferries,  railcars, small Fiat rentals,  etc in Europe, SE Asia. 

 

Being able to make what becomes a very tight air connection or last minute diversion because our bags our with us and not stuck on the flight we just de-planed from fifteen minutes ago.

 

Not having to depend on others when traveling to carry, move, or manhandle our bags.

Edited December 7, 2021 by iancal

[navybankerteacher]

I never travel with more than I can comfortably carry/haul myself - but to me part of the enjoyment of travel is comfortable living - which does not include washing underwear and socks in the sink every night or being unable to be appropriately dressed for occasions with friends/relatives in England, France and Italy.  A literal carry-on bag, plus a somewhat larger roller (which I can also carry) and a small backpack allow freedom to travel  

—- while enjoying it, and  not continually proving to myself how footloose I can be. 

[evandbob]

Perks like immediate access to your cabin and free laundry make the one carry on bag quite feasible and avoids inconveniences mentioned above.

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, evandbob said:

Perks like immediate access to your cabin and free laundry make the one carry on bag quite feasible and avoids inconveniences mentioned above.

Of course, if you think immediate access to your cabin outweighs all the inconveniences of bare bones travel -- fine.

[2wheelin]

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

I never travel with more than I can comfortably carry/haul myself - but to me part of the enjoyment of travel is comfortable living - which does not include washing underwear and socks in the sink every night or being unable to be appropriately dressed for occasions with friends/relatives in England, France and Italy.  A literal carry-on bag, plus a somewhat larger roller (which I can also carry) and a small backpack allow freedom to travel  

—- while enjoying it, and  not continually proving to myself how footloose I can be. 

Commonly referred to as high maintenance—with a need to ridicule anyone with a different opinion.

[sanger727]

16 hours ago, iancal said:

Baggage fees are certainly not the reason why we do carry on.  On most international flights our bags would be checked gratis..  It takes us three flights to get to Bangkok for a typical snowbird winter.  Then we head south.  The last thing we want is not to have our luggage when we arrive at midnight after 22 hours of travel and then have to start the lost luggage process.

 

Luggage fees are nothing to us compared to our total travel spend.  Simply not on our radar.  Never have been.

 

On some  airlines, Jetstar  for one, we pay a higher tariff for our carry on bag that we would had if we checked it.  

 

The only liquids I travel with is 100ml of sunscreen.  Plus same size toothpaste.   It lasts me through two plus months.  We would have a challenge obtaining this sunscreen in some countries-especially SE Asia.

I am the opposite, even when going on a shorter trip and carrying a bag I could carry on; prefer to check it if the fees aren’t outrageous. I don’t like having to fight for overhead space, especially since we don’t have ‘priority’ so we don’t get on the plane first. I don’t like having to deal with the process of getting on and off the plane and having to retired items from the overhead. Unlikely you, I typically travel with larger liquids. Not sure how you can manage with 1 small sunscreen and 1 small tube of toothpaste for 2 months. I go through a travel size toothpaste every 1-2 weeks. And can go through a full size sunscreen in under a month. Plus if I am traveling more than a week I like to have other liquids that I use frequently. 

[navybankerteacher]

11 hours ago, 2wheelin said:

Commonly referred to as high maintenance—with a need to ridicule anyone with a different opinion.

How do you define “high maintenance” - is it simply wanting to have a change of clothes without needing to wash socks and underwear in the sink every night?
 

Isn’t referring to someone who just happens to have a different opinion as “high maintenance” a childish attempt to ridicule?

[K32682]

I've done three-day trips where I've needed to check bags and 6 week business trips with carry-on only. It is the trip that determines the luggage including location, connections, planned activities and social obligations. I am not however going to be wasting my vacation time scrubbing my undergarments in a hotel/cabin sink or madly scrambling around looking for the local equivalent of Walmart just so I can boast about never checking a bag.