Flying from US with Carryon and Backpack to Queen Anne ( Cold weather cruise )

[jrmende63]

Has anyone every flown with just carryon and  backpack? 

Any tricks with the formal wear? Do the guys wear the same dark suit  or tux for all formal Nights?

 

 We have traveled to Norway and Alaska before with cold gear and semi dressy clothes. This time I will be bringing dressy clothes for both. 

I hate bringing checked luggage. But will if I have too.

 

   

[fourmile.ranch]

Yes, one suit for us. Well tux, but tux shirt and bow tie only on formal nights. If we share a table I inform the others that I hope they like my outfit as they will see it nightly. Has never been an issue that I know of.

[jrmende63]

I know about the black and white , red and gold  and Ice white nights. ( I don' t know if we would participate with a Masquerade mask.) And he will have bow ties, as we both like them better.

 

[exlondoner]

10 hours ago, jrmende63 said:

Has anyone every flown with just carryon and  backpack? 

Any tricks with the formal wear? Do the guys wear the same dark suit  or tux for all formal Nights?

 

 We have traveled to Norway and Alaska before with cold gear and semi dressy clothes. This time I will be bringing dressy clothes for both. 

I hate bringing checked luggage. But will if I have too.

 

   

You can wear most of the formal wear for the flight, perhaps not the jacket, but even that if it is a dark suit.

 

 

 

[Pushpit]

I normally manage on just one bag, within the airlines' dimensions, 53cm long x 23cm wide x 35cm high. British Airways is 56x25x45 cm. It's a nylon holdall weighing 300 grams so I'm not carrying a heavier rigid structure (plus the bag itself can be run through the washing machine when empty). With careful packing, and not taking too much superfluous items I can get all I need for a 7 day Crossing in that, including formal wear.

 

I would expect to do at least one clothes wash or laundry run on that, noting the "15 items for $52" service: I pack with that in mind to save time on ironing. I do all the usual tricks from my time in the Army such as putting soft items inside shoes and rolling shirts. If I'm over 10 days away then I may take a small backpack as well but I try to avoid that. I do a lot of travel, not just on Cunard, so I'm forever analysing "did that item really deserve its place in my bag?", there's no scope for "just in case" items. Just in case for me is deploying my credit card, I rarely need to do so. 

 

I still take some things which many people don't take with them, such as a coffee mug, I use that so frequently when travelling that it earns the space. When I buy something that I may go travelling with I always consider the practicalities, so for example "is it a USB-C?" so I only need to take one such charger, a very small one, with me.

[jrmende63]

Thank you. I appreciate the information. I know there will be washing machines I can access. This is just under a month in travel length.  

Edited October 7, 2023 by jrmende63

[techteach]

If you want to take more, but don’t want to check bags on an airplane remember Luggage Forward is an option. Use the link from the Cunard website and create a fake shipping to see the cost, which varies by the date you ship. I have trouble getting my toiletries in a backpack. 🤭

[Winifred 22]

6 hours ago, techteach said:

If you want to take more, but don’t want to check bags on an airplane remember Luggage Forward is an option. Use the link from the Cunard website and create a fake shipping to see the cost, which varies by the date you ship. I have trouble getting my toiletries in a backpack. 🤭

Me too I take a cabin size suitcase just for shoes, toiletries, chargers and other non clothing stuff. Luckily I drive to port and never fly!! 

[tony s]

We are doing it in 2 weeks for QE. Will let you know how it works. 

[jrmende63]

18 hours ago, techteach said:

If you want to take more, but don’t want to check bags on an airplane remember Luggage Forward is an option. Use the link from the Cunard website and create a fake shipping to see the cost, which varies by the date you ship. I have trouble getting my toiletries in a backpack. 🤭

Do the shipped bags go straight to the ship? 

[Covepointcruiser]

Shipped bags will go straight to your cabin.

[techteach]

@jrmende63 Yes, the bags go straight to your cabin. If you ship them both ways when you disembark you take them off of the ship and leave them with an attendant from Luggage Forward. They deliver to your house.

[jrmende63]

7 hours ago, techteach said:

@jrmende63 Yes, the bags go straight to your cabin. If you ship them both ways when you disembark you take them off of the ship and leave them with an attendant from Luggage Forward. They deliver to your house.

Even if I live in the USA and am sailing from Southampton UK? 

Edited October 9, 2023 by jrmende63

[esrs]

13 minutes ago, jrmende63 said:

Even if I live in the USA and am sailing from Southampton UK? 

Yes

 

[jrmende63]

Problem solved. Thanks everyone! 

[rmsEtruria]

So Luggage Forward would pick up our bags here in the U.S., take them to Southampton, hold them for three weeks while we’re traveling on the continent, and magically have them appear in our cabin when we board the QM2–it really works like that?

[esrs]

29 minutes ago, rmsEtruria said:

So Luggage Forward would pick up our bags here in the U.S., take them to Southampton, hold them for three weeks while we’re traveling on the continent, and magically have them appear in our cabin when we board the QM2–it really works like that?

They may not always hold for that long. They would not take our bags more than 13 days in advance so we left them with friends and they were picked up there at the right time and deliveredto our stateroomon embarkation day.. I've heard this lead time varies a bit, best to ask.

Edited October 10, 2023 by esrs

[rmsEtruria]

2 hours ago, esrs said:

They may not always hold for that long. They would not take our bags more than 13 days in advance so we left them with friends and they were picked up there at the right time and deliveredto our stateroomon embarkation day.. I've heard this lead time varies a bit, best to ask.

Thanks for clarifying. I had looked at their website (from the link in Cunard) several months ago, and dismissed it as being impractical for us; but I couldn’t remember exactly why, except for a vague notion to do with time. But all the accolades their service gets on this board wanted me to check it out again—and it sure looks good, if your schedule is compatible.

[WoorimBeachLady]

I rolled a tuxedo / dinner suit into the top of my duffel bag 3 weeks ago and it was barely creased today.

[rmsEtruria]

8 hours ago, WoorimBeachLady said:

I rolled a tuxedo / dinner suit into the top of my duffel bag 3 weeks ago and it was barely creased today.

I’m curious: how do you roll a tuxedo (or any jacket) into a bag? (Clearly not up to speed with today’s packing practices—I fold things neatly, but that’s about it.)

[Pushpit]

Roll it like a sausage, starting at the neck end. Then when you get on board, unroll the jacket, you then hang it in the bathroom and have a long hot shower with the door closed. You then leave it hanging until the shower condensation has cleared, and hey presto. Also works with shirts and trousers. I'm probably breaking the Official Secrets Act by letting you know this, the Royal Navy had this perfected.

[rmsEtruria]

2 hours ago, Pushpit said:

Roll it like a sausage, starting at the neck end. Then when you get on board, unroll the jacket, you then hang it in the bathroom and have a long hot shower with the door closed. You then leave it hanging until the shower condensation has cleared, and hey presto. Also works with shirts and trousers. I'm probably breaking the Official Secrets Act by letting you know this, the Royal Navy had this perfected.

Since it’s an RN approved method, I may give it a try. The Royal Navy had lots of things perfected, after all—just think of “All hands to witness punishment!” or “Up spirits!” (the latter abolished, unfortunately, by the Heath government, probably before your time . . .).