Question about packing

[BetsyS.]

When I get clothes back from the dry cleaner, should I remove plastic from clothes 

or keep it on when packing? TIA

[horseymike]

Hi Betsy,

 We have had pretty good luck leaving the plastic bags on when packing for a cruise.

We really feel like it prevents wrinkles to some degree.

To that point , I actually save the bags from the dry cleaners and try to place a bag over 
each and every piece of my “ better “ clothes aka evening wear , collared shirts , slacks etc.

My wife does the same with her dresses , blouses and slacks.

One last little thing, we also try to keep these items on the wire hangers from the cleaners, so when we unpack all we do is hang them in the closet.

Hope this helps, good luck 🍀 and have a great cruise 🚢 

 

[Sea Hag]

27 minutes ago, BetsyS. said:

When I get clothes back from the dry cleaner, should I remove plastic from clothes 

or keep it on when packing? TIA

My opinion is that leaving it in the packaging will result in fewer wrinkles.

[OlsSalt]

Plastic bags have long been recommended as a packing tip, since they allegedly allow the clothes to "slide" a bit instead of just getting crushed by what is on top of them. So leaving them on would work for that benefit.

 

However, HAL is trying to reduce plastic wastes so you might want to think about taking them home with you instead of disposing them onboard. Picky, I know. 

 

I have also found "rolling" clothes works the best for me, instead of folding and stacking to avoid as many wrinkles as possible.  I stack like-kind of clothes together  - pants, tops, etc and then roll them up in a bundle to go into the suitcase. Seems like it takes less space too.  Unroll shake things out and hang them up, upon arrival.

 

But my best hack is simply not taking clothes that do not pack easily. And  believe it or not taking linen which does wrinkle like crazy but smooths out so easily after wetting it a bit. 

[BetsyS.]

horseymike - Thanks very much.

[BetsyS.]

Sea Hag - Thanks a lot.

[BetsyS.]

OlsSalt - Thanks for the tips. I will put plastic back in my suitcase and take it home -

good to know.

[horseymike]

18 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

Plastic bags have long been recommended as a packing tip, since they allegedly allow the clothes to "slide" a bit instead of just getting crushed by what is on top of them. So leaving them on would work for that benefit.

 

However, HAL is trying to reduce plastic wastes so you might want to think about taking them home with you instead of disposing them onboard. Picky, I know. 

 

I have also found "rolling" clothes works the best for me, instead of folding and stacking to avoid as many wrinkles as possible.  I stack like-kind of clothes together  - pants, tops, etc and then roll them up in a bundle to go into the suitcase. Seems like it takes less space too.  Unroll shake things out and hang them up, upon arrival.

 

But my best hack is simply not taking clothes that do not pack easily. And  believe it or not taking linen which does wrinkle like crazy but smooths out so easily after wetting it a bit. 

They actually make a good laundry bag to take soiled clothes home in. Just tie a knot in the bottom when you’re done putting the soiled clothes in.

[BetsyS.]

horseymike - Thanks! Great idea!

[RuthC]

Packing clothes in plastic bags not only helps keep them from wrinkling, but might keep them dryer if the bags are set out in the rain when being loaded/offloaded from a plane or the ship. 

I once opened my suitcase on the ship to find the inside all damp on top---it was well lined with plastic dry cleaner bags on all sides. The clothes were fine. 

[BetsyS.]

Ruth C - Thanks. That's a big help! I forgot about bags being left out in the rain. That's a distinct possibility.

[Haljo1935]

There is pressing service available if some wrinkles get past all these good tips 😀 

[shipshape sam]

8 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

There is pressing service available if some wrinkles get past all these good tips 😀 

Will have to check on the pressing service.  Last cruise, I could have used some ironing out of wrinkles.  Thought I had packed well..  We do use the plastic dry cleaning covers too.  

[Haljo1935]

On 7/6/2023 at 6:59 AM, shipshape sam said:

Will have to check on the pressing service.  Last cruise, I could have used some ironing out of wrinkles.  Thought I had packed well..  We do use the plastic dry cleaning covers too.  

Although listed under packages in your booking, pressing services are also available by the item once onboard, so you do not have to buy for the entire cruise.

Safe travels  - enjoy your cruise!

[albingirl]

I pack pretty lightly and that helps to prevent too many wrinkles.  When clothes are jammed, they are likely to look like a mess when unpacking. Of course, I use the laundry service liberally as well.  It's crazy good.

[jakers]

We have learned over the years that leaving hanging clothes on hangers makes it far easier to unpack and also solves several problems. You don't have to ask your room steward for more hangers and they don't take up as much room as the wooden hangers supplied by HAL. We put any excess wooden hangers in our luggage under the bed until the end of the cruise. This also eliminates the noise from clacking wooden hangers when the ship is rolling.