Best & Worst Packing Tips

[CruisingToads]

The secret is in the art of packing.

 

Example, put socks and the like in wife's shoe. Put wife's left shoe inside of my left shoe and same for right shoe. Fill up remainding space in shoe with socks, her underwear or small things like batteries, film, tissue for purse, tooth paste, traveling tooth brush, etc.

 

 

While I appreciate the tips on the art of packing and it really got me thinking for my upcoming cruise...I sure dont want my underwear to smell like a shoe!:eek:

[tinkerbell1951]

LOLOL Norman :D

[tinkerbell1951]

Just back from Dawn 2/12 - I always have a small first aid kit - bandaids, H2O2, neosporin, immodium, mylanta, Phillips, tylenol, advil, cortaid, ace wrap, crazy glue, sewing kit and always 3 extra days of Rx medicines (not the vitamins but the medicine). :)

[kg66]

The best tip I've read was, "Put out all the clothes you want to bring, put back half of them, and double the amt of money you were originally going to bring":) .

I'm going to try the dollar store over the door shoe organizer after all the reviews. I was already sold on Ziplocs of all sizes.

Another good one related to the power bar/extension cord one was to also bring a small set of lights like you use on your Christmas tree to light up your balcony at night. Easy to find your balcony when you're at port, and it's a little bit of ambiance...can you tell I'm going on my honeymoon after 10 years of marriage and 2 kids later.:rolleyes:

[Happy ks]

Probably the worst packing tip for us would have to be, putting the wifes shoe inside the husbands, because I have very large feet, DH has rather small feet, we almost can wear the same size!

 

For sure, everyones packing will be different, but you will read many more messages that state "I will pack lighter next time" and rarely do you read "I did not pack enough clothes".

 

I have given up packing electrical items and take only our digital with an extra battery and memory. We put up with the music and video they have available, we take our fully charged cell phone, turned off and only turned on for emergencies. We now leave home any paraphernalia we can possibly live without for the week. It eliminated the need for electrical cords, power strips and chargers (exception is the digital camera). We don't pack nightlights, clocks, I've even dared to leave my beloved hair dryer at home a few times. The travel steamer stays packed away under the cabinet.

 

We don't pack so tightly that our luggage will burst, plus we have invested in good quality luggage to last. We have luggage straps that will keep the bag together if that should happen. Clothing is checked for repair before we leave, I don't want to do mending on vacation. We take clothing items that can be used twice, or even three times, taking advantage of the laundry service offered.

 

The only things I've ever missed on a cruise vacation were in Alaska and it was my favorite sandals and more short sleeved T-shirts, the weather was very pleasant.

 

I can understand how a woman wants to pack too many pair of shoes, I've done that several times myself. But, over and over, I find myself wearing the same pair of more comfortable, lower heeled black shoes, so I stick with those for most evenings and only take one pair of heels for formal nights.

 

The over the door shoe bag is indespensable for families, or for women who insist they need 12 pair of shoes for a 7 night cruise.

 

So, my best packing tip would have to be to mix and match clothing and not take anything (except formal dress) that cannot be worn at least twice. Ex. - wear the same clothes to disembark as you did to embark, the same thing to first and last nights dinner, the same casual pants with different tops the other casual nights, changing accessories with the same top (or dress) worn twice.

 

For those of you who can't conceive of the idea, try to remember what the other women wore to the dinner table every night on your last cruise. Do you really remember and more important, do you really care that much?

[tinkerbelldee]

I pack mix and match outfits that I can wear more than once. Have the time DH doesn't rememeber what I wear every night. I do love shoes,so I probably pack way too many but it is my way of "changing" my outfit from night to night. I can wear the same black outfit with black shoes one night and change it up with pink shoes and accessories another night.

 

DH thinks I am insane with all of this. He packs 2 pairs of khaki pants and one pair of black and 5 or 6 shirts.

 

Overpacking just makes things wrinkled and makes me depressed when I get home and have to unpack.

[electricron]

OK, but what do you do about shoes? Don't you need evening (dinner etc) shoes and sneakers? And possibly sandals or flip flops? Our last cruise (11 days) 2 men, the shoes alone took an entire carry on sized bag. We wore sneaks, and took, 2 flip flops, 2 formal (tux)shoes, and brown shoes. That is four pair each...

Cannot understand packing lightly............~Intrepid

 

I wear a pair of brown Dockers shoes. There almost like moccasins, very comfortable. They look great no matter where I wear them or what I wear them with. I've even wear them with many of my business suits, which I don't even pack when cruising.

 

Pre-planning is key to packing light. Why bring anything for one specific activity? Make sure everything mixes and matches up with what you are packing.

 

Slacks and shorts are either blue or kaki. There's no need for other colors. Socks are gray, made of cotton, and are multifunctional. With Docker style shoes, I could go sockless if I chooose.

 

Shirts can be of any color. Red shirts go with either colored slacks, Orange with Kaki, Yellow with Kaki, Green with kaki, Blue with either, Purple with either, Black with Blue, White with Blue.

 

I don't wish to go swimming, so there's no need to pack any swimming trunks or sandals. Besides, Dockers shoes will not be out of place on a beach.

 

Since I'm wearing the shoes that go with everything, there's no need to pack any other shoes.

 

The same thing goes with my coat. It's navy blue, which matches up well with either colored slacks.

If I wished to dress more formally, I would pack a navy blue sport coat and a blue tie.

 

Since everything mixes and matches well, there's no need to pack for a specific occassion.

That's why I like NCL's casual style of cruising best.

[tinkerbelldee]

DH packs one pair of sandals and one pair of sneakers ( we work out every day) and the shoes he wears for traveling (brown casual dress) The dress shoes may not look perfect when he wears his black pants, but who is really looking?

[electricron]

DH packs one pair of sandals and one pair of sneakers ( we work out every day) and the shoes he wears for traveling (brown casual dress) The dress shoes may not look perfect when he wears his black pants, but who is really looking?

 

Does he really pack two pair of shoes, or just one paair in the bag?

Which is he wearing on arrival?

[vargen]

Worst: Toilet Paper :confused:

 

Best: Booze :D

[bobnsandi]

OK, the curiousity is killing me, and even though I'm a little afraid to ask, what's a "Boiled Sweet"?

 

Individually wrapped hard candies, to us Yanks. Sorry for the letdown.

[CruisinMK]

1) Pack hat and sunscreen. That way you can laugh at the huge number of horribly burned lobster red people, instead of being one of them. "Gee, you burn so much faster in the Caribbean than back home!"

 

2) Ear plugs. Creaking walls, snoring cabin mates, rowdy neighbors and people in halls, noises from deck above... who cares? You've got your ear plugs.

[mvctc]

Best packing tip: Use 2.5 gallon zip lock bags to pack your clothes. Fold them neatly, put them in the bag, squish the air our and zip. Keeps everything neat, removing the air reduces the wrinkles, and if TSA goes through your luggage no one touches your "stuff" just the bags. Also helps if your luggage gets exposed to rain.

 

Worst: over packing. Unfortunately I am prone to this. Everytime I try to decrease what I bring, but somehow fail.

 

Happy cruising, Kathy

Where do you find the 2 1/2 gal ziplock bags? Our grocery carries 1 gal as the largest!

[DJCRUISIN]

Where do you find the 2 1/2 gal ziplock bags? Our grocery carries 1 gal as the largest!

Hefty makes 2 1/2 gallon zip bags. Purchased them in my local grocey store. They were on sale 2 boxes of 12 for $3.00.

[carlielyn]

The best tip I've read was, "Put out all the clothes you want to bring, put back half of them, and double the amt of money you were originally going to bring":) .

I'm going to try the dollar store over the door shoe organizer after all the reviews. I was already sold on Ziplocs of all sizes.

Another good one related to the power bar/extension cord one was to also bring a small set of lights like you use on your Christmas tree to light up your balcony at night. Easy to find your balcony when you're at port, and it's a little bit of ambiance...can you tell I'm going on my honeymoon after 10 years of marriage and 2 kids later.:rolleyes:

 

This is a great idea!! I guess there are outlets on the balcony to plug the lights in? Or should I bring an extension cord?

[hsc]

Hefty makes 2 1/2 gallon zip bags. Purchased them in my local grocey store. They were on sale 2 boxes of 12 for $3.00.

 

Kmart, Walmart, or Target. Enjoy!

[mousey]

I took one of those shoe hanger things on our last cruise and I used it in the closet. I put my bathing suits and cover up that matched each one (I take 3 bathting suits for a 7-day trip). I also put my bras and undies in it. Came in really handy since you don't get much drawer space. I travel with my husband and 10 year old so space for clothing is at a premium. This worked out quite well. I take a few extra wire hangers too. One other thing is I always take an extra foldup nylon-type bag in case I buy stuff and don't have enough space in my bag. Also, I don't want to exceed the 50 lb. limit at the airport.

[judyf]

Where do you find the 2 1/2 gal ziplock bags? Our grocery carries 1 gal as the largest!

 

I got mine at Target. I have read Walmart carries them too. Sometimes they are hard to find.

[workroombee]

I'm interested in the lights for the balcony, too! Did you bring an extension cord or is there an outlet outside that you used? What a fun idea!

[jaxon41]

Hubby tried the "take the old underwear and toss them trick" on our longest cruise. Since his have bulk, it did free up space. Not much sense for most women to do it -- silky things take next to no space and can be stuffed in shoes, etc. I agree with no need to take bubblewrap when you can use all the laundry to wrap things (and stick them in shoes.) Hubby hates mixing items in the bags, but I always insist, lest a bag get lost. I also carry a change of clothes in my carry on.

 

My best tip would be for the women to buy the travel slinky outfits -- Chico's, but they also can be found in WalMart and Kmart, sometimes. Will not wrinkle, very light, take only tiny space, can be dressed up with a jacket/jewelry, and feel lovely on.

 

Question? All the NCL's suggesting a shoe bag for the bath -- is this an indication of limited storage in the bathroom? I have never had a problem on other lines finding ample space for toiletries, but I am a newbie on NCL.

[Hikini]

Each time I try to cut back, and I DO but back, but each time I find that I still took too many clothes, and too many things to 'do'. This coming cruise I won't take a book. I've never read more than 1 or 2 pages TOTAL. (And I'm a very avid reader!)

 

I will take at least one less outfit, and do a little more mix and match. For us ladies, there is a wonderful clothing line called Vicki Vi's. The clothes are very slinky and do not wrinkle.

 

Most important is to pack a sense of humor and an attitude to have as much fun as possible. Relax!

 

Hikini:D

[hopelea]

All these tips are great. But how can you pack lightly for an Alaskan cruise? We will be there at the end of May. I keep telling myself that I will wear my outfits more than once, don't pack seven outfits for the trip, take three and deal with it.

Take about three nice outfits for dinner. But we will all need coats, hats, gloves. That will be one suitcase by itself. I wish I could pack lightly, but I just don't see how it is possible. We will be gone a total of 10 days.

[workroombee]

That's my "must-take". I use them to communicate with the room steward (I stick them on the mirror) and with friends in other cabins or to put on our own door to let friends know where I've gone. They take up practically no space and are very handy!

And I have one of those inexpensive clear shoe bags, too! I put it on a hook in the cabin or use a couple of cable ties to bring it over to the OUTSIDE of the bathroom door. Jaxon41, it's not an issure (for me, anyway) of lack of toiletry space in the bathroom, this item is used for all kinds of things that would otherwise be laying around the cabin--extra sunglasses, film, sunscreen, markers (and my post-it notes!) and stuff like that. Makes it very easy to find them and since it's clear, you can see in a glance where things are. I got mine at the Dollar Tree store.

Hikini, I have to disagree on the book idea. I'm an avid reader, too--I always travel with at least 2 paperbacks, and leave them behind when I'm through. More room for other stuff on the return, that way!

Like hopelea, we are planning an Alaska vacation this time and I find myself reviewing constantly what we will need and what we might want and weighing each--sometimes literally, due to the flight pre- and post-cruise--and trying to be sure all items serve as much double-duty as possible.

[Kuffam]

Best- Clothes that can do double duty- pants that unzip into shorts. T-shirts that can be worn under dress shirts.

 

Waring: Was on Pride of Aloha and there is no self laudry (and felt laundr service is over priced) by the time was got home our clothes were ripe!!

[DaisyL]

Waring: Was on Pride of Aloha and there is no self laudry (and felt laundr service is over priced) by the time was got home our clothes were ripe!!

I hear ya ... we'll be going on the PoAm -7 night cruise + 4 night pre-cruise! Trying to decide how to pack but I think I have a plan.

 

Luckily, NCL is freestyle dining so no dressy clothes for me on this trip. I plan to wear a casual lightweight top or tank for dinner and then wear it another day for daytime touring, double-duty (=10 tops) ... instead of 2 outfits per day like I do on other cruises. Will pack 3 capri's for dinner (not denim), one pair of sandals for dinner, one pair of sandals for daytime and will wear sneakers on the plane. Unfortunately, 5 shorts (at least they're small and light) to wear twice each, 2 bathing suits (rinse & swap every day) , one coverup. Lightweight jeans for the plane, plus layer a shortsleeve top, light sweater and windbreaker.

 

I won't be a fashion plate but at least it will fit in one suitcase.;) Never needed the over the door thingy but it might be handy for the small PoAm cabins. Have brought but never needed an outlet strip.