Ideal (or not) cruise trunk size?

[Kay S]

23 minutes ago, Cliff-FLL said:

Don't ever let anyone convince you to "travel light".  I've never found any advantage to it.

That's the truth and I'm sticking with it.

This looks about right.

[Cliff-FLL]

@Kay S  Yes!  But is it available as a matched set?  (And we're gonna' need more hangers!)

[riversights]

Thanks to all the tipsters for great advice and sense of humor.  Maybe we'll relax and enjoy the sail after all.😂  

[MEFIowa]

Marina and Riviera pretty much have a laundry room on every major passenger deck. We did laundry 5 times on Riviera on our 20-night B2B (Trieste to Athens and Athens to Barcelona) in Oct-Nov 2023. Just walked down the hall on decks 9 (our A4) and 7 (our B3) to the laundry room.

[cjwags]

On 4/3/2024 at 1:12 PM, AMHuntFerry said:

There is everyone from carry-on-only (us except for cruises) to Paris-Hilton-luggage-quantity on this site. I know you've chosen size, but if you haven't purchased yet, I have been eyeing a Brigg's and Riley bag lately that is a rolling duffle. I also looked at the hard sided 28" trunk (~ 10 liters more), but I leaned toward the rolling duffle since it will fit under the bed to use for either clothes headed for the laundry, or rarely used (or "out of season") items. I was getting ready to buy, but there is now a 20% off sale on one line of their more traditional compression luggage, so now I'm waffling (I'm the slowest shopper ever!). Anyhoo, if underbed storage is appealing and you go with the trunk, you could always pack some fabric underbed storage bags. Enjoy your cruise!

I have lived the "carry on only" lifestyle for may years as i traveled space available due to airline connections.  I mastered the art of a "capsule wardrobe" and washing clothes in the bathtub when there was no other option.  While I loved not worrying about lost luggage and waiting at the baggage claim, I now travel with a large suitcase and a decent size tote bag on board.  While I don't love the heavy suitcase, I do love having choice and more than two pair of shoes! 🙂

 

We have the Brigs and Rile "trunk"style suitcases. Unfortunately I don't see them on their site anymore. They are taller and narrower than the standard ones.  This makes them perfect for trains in Europe as they fit compartments much better. They do have to stay open under the bed, but it becomes our "laundry hamper" and extra storage.  Just pull it our when you need to access it.  

 

We also travel with a foldable dufflebag in our suitcase on the way to our destination.  We then unfold it, stuff it with packing cubes of clothes or shoes, and refill our suitcases with wine or other purchases we picked up along our travels for the way home! Sometimes my husband takes it as his carryon.  Other times we check it if the fee is reasonable.🙂  

 

I know lots of folks will disagree with the more is more perspective.  Maybe being forced t travel carryon only, even for very long trips has made it feel like a luxury to have mmore space and more choice now!

 

Here is a link to the bag I take on the plane with me.  It holds EVERYTHING!

 

 

Here is the foldable duffle.

 

 

[EJL2023]

11 minutes ago, cjwags said:

I have lived the "carry on only" lifestyle for may years as i traveled space available due to airline connections.  I mastered the art of a "capsule wardrobe" and washing clothes in the bathtub when there was no other option.  While I loved not worrying about lost luggage and waiting at the baggage claim, I now travel with a large suitcase and a decent size tote bag on board.  While I don't love the heavy suitcase, I do love having choice and more than two pair of shoes! 🙂

 

We have the Brigs and Rile "trunk"style suitcases. Unfortunately I don't see them on their site anymore. They are taller and narrower than the standard ones.  This makes them perfect for trains in Europe as they fit compartments much better. They do have to stay open under the bed, but it becomes our "laundry hamper" and extra storage.  Just pull it our when you need to access it.  

 

We also travel with a foldable dufflebag in our suitcase on the way to our destination.  We then unfold it, stuff it with packing cubes of clothes or shoes, and refill our suitcases with wine or other purchases we picked up along our travels for the way home! Sometimes my husband takes it as his carryon.  Other times we check it if the fee is reasonable.🙂  

 

I know lots of folks will disagree with the more is more perspective.  Maybe being forced t travel carryon only, even for very long trips has made it feel like a luxury to have mmore space and more choice now!

 

Here is a link to the bag I take on the plane with me.  It holds EVERYTHING!

 

 

Here is the foldable duffle.

 

 

I say travel with whatever you want! You are the one having to handle it and pay for it!!  Who cares what others think. 

[riversights]

2 hours ago, cjwags said:

I have lived the "carry on only" lifestyle for may years as i traveled space available due to airline connections.  I mastered the art of a "capsule wardrobe" and washing clothes in the bathtub when there was no other option.  While I loved not worrying about lost luggage and waiting at the baggage claim, I now travel with a large suitcase and a decent size tote bag on board.  While I don't love the heavy suitcase, I do love having choice and more than two pair of shoes! 🙂

 

What great commentary.  Having voyaged with the minimum in the past, we now prefer the flexibility of choices.

 

[clo]

On 4/4/2024 at 2:56 PM, Cliff-FLL said:

a perky college student traveling light

How light is HE traveling???

[Tr1v1alCru1ser]

2 Words - compression bags!  I’ve been using them for years and people are always amazed how much I can get in my suitcase.  I don’t travel light! 😆  We have hard bodied Samsonite spinners, and even the smaller ones are a bit of a struggle to fit under the bed.  

 

One word of advice, pick the brightest colour you can find, makes it so much easier to find your luggage amid the sea of black, navy, grey cases at the port (and airport).  Ours are shocking pink and lime green. 

[clo]

2 hours ago, Tr1v1alCru1ser said:

2 Words - compression bags!  I’ve been using them for years and people are always amazed how much I can get in my suitcase.  I don’t travel light! 😆  We have hard bodied Samsonite spinners, and even the smaller ones are a bit of a struggle to fit under the bed.  

 

One word of advice, pick the brightest colour you can find, makes it so much easier to find your luggage amid the sea of black, navy, grey cases at the port (and airport).  Ours are shocking pink and lime green. 

We used one of those when we were going to be traveling from cold to warm. Used one of the bags to get my knee length, Northern Face down jacket put away. Just brilliant.

 

[Vallesan]

11 hours ago, Tr1v1alCru1ser said:

2 Words - compression bags!  I’ve been using them for years and people are always amazed how much I can get in my suitcase.  I don’t travel light! 😆  We have hard bodied Samsonite spinners, and even the smaller ones are a bit of a struggle to fit under the bed.  

 

One word of advice, pick the brightest colour you can find, makes it so much easier to find your luggage amid the sea of black, navy, grey cases at the port (and airport).  Ours are shocking pink and lime green. 

 Or just add a ‘shocking pink or lime green’ luggage strap to your black, navy or grey case!

[ORV]

8 hours ago, Vallesan said:

 Or just add a ‘shocking pink or lime green’ luggage strap to your black, navy or grey case!

We have travel stickers on ours. They are unique and standout on a carousel or terminal. 

[Tr1v1alCru1ser]

On 4/10/2024 at 12:56 AM, Vallesan said:

 Or just add a ‘shocking pink or lime green’ luggage strap to your black, navy or grey case!

You can’t necessarily see those when you approach the luggage area, whereas we can always see our cases when we’re coming down the stairs in to the luggage area 😄

[anonymousegirl]

We're on the Nautica in June, our first R class ship and I've been spoiled by the multiple laundry rooms on Riviera. Now I have to plan to bring enough clothes to hold me over the 3 days it takes to get laundry back. Plus, we're spending a week in London first. We get 3 bags, though, as we're in a PH2. I just really hate having my laundry done--I much prefer doing it myself. I hang dry lots of my clothes, and if I send it out, they machine-dry my linen pants, silk blouses, etc. I once had a super luxury hotel ruin (beyond wearing) a pair of linen/silk trousers. Completely unwearable, so a huge dent in my clothing allotment. Losing a pair of trousers when you only brought 5 "bottoms" is a tragedy.  

[sunlover12]

3 hours ago, anonymousegirl said:

We're on the Nautica in June, our first R class ship and I've been spoiled by the multiple laundry rooms on Riviera. Now I have to plan to bring enough clothes to hold me over the 3 days it takes to get laundry back. Plus, we're spending a week in London first. We get 3 bags, though, as we're in a PH2. I just really hate having my laundry done--I much prefer doing it myself. I hang dry lots of my clothes, and if I send it out, they machine-dry my linen pants, silk blouses, etc. I once had a super luxury hotel ruin (beyond wearing) a pair of linen/silk trousers. Completely unwearable, so a huge dent in my clothing allotment. Losing a pair of trousers when you only brought 5 "bottoms" is a tragedy.  

Yes, there is a big difference in self-serve laundry between the R and O ships. I’ll be on Nautica in September, also in a PH and will make use of the complimentary laundry bags.  The 1 self serve laundry room on the R ships is small and crowded every time I’ve gone in there so now I don’t use it. It’s not how I want to spend my vacation.

 

The good news is that the last couple of cruises the laundry has come back quicker than 3 days. As I recall, I handed it in in the morning and got it back in the evening the next day. 

[ncsongbird]

On 4/2/2024 at 5:12 PM, FlyerTalker said:

FWIW....a number of luggage manufacturers are now referring to some pieces as "trunks".  These are often bags that are larger in the "thickness" dimension, shorter in the "width" and about the same in "length".

 

Here's one example:

 

https://july.com/us/luggage/checked-trunk/?light-sand=

 

You can compare it with their "classic" type luggage.

 

 

Yikes, these suitcases weight over 13 lbs. empty and look like mini refrigerators.  No thanks!

[FlyerTalker]

13 minutes ago, ncsongbird said:

Yikes, these suitcases weight over 13 lbs. empty and look like mini refrigerators.  No thanks!

 

For a quality bag, it will be heavier.  Lots of lightweight crap out there.

 

And FWIW, the large Rimowa bag is almost 14 lbs.  So July is not outlandish.

 

 

[clo]

15 hours ago, anonymousegirl said:

We're on the Nautica in June, our first R class ship and I've been spoiled by the multiple laundry rooms on Riviera. Now I have to plan to bring enough clothes to hold me over the 3 days it takes to get laundry back. Plus, we're spending a week in London first. We get 3 bags, though, as we're in a PH2. I just really hate having my laundry done--I much prefer doing it myself. I hang dry lots of my clothes, and if I send it out, they machine-dry my linen pants, silk blouses, etc. I once had a super luxury hotel ruin (beyond wearing) a pair of linen/silk trousers. Completely unwearable, so a huge dent in my clothing allotment. Losing a pair of trousers when you only brought 5 "bottoms" is a tragedy.  

We sent our a single bag of laundry once. Just underwear and other rough things. I'm sure they were clean but they had a gray tinge to them.

 

Every single thing I take when traveling can be worn three times easily. Lots of dark colors on top so stains don't kill it. And when we're back in our cabin/room, we change into "lounge wear" a pair of elastic waist pants and a loose top. Keeps the 'going out ' clothes peachy clean far longer.

[ORV]

51 minutes ago, clo said:

We sent our a single bag of laundry once. Just underwear and other rough things. I'm sure they were clean but they had a gray tinge to them.

 

Every single thing I take when traveling can be worn three times easily. Lots of dark colors on top so stains don't kill it. And when we're back in our cabin/room, we change into "lounge wear" a pair of elastic waist pants and a loose top. Keeps the 'going out ' clothes peachy clean far longer.

Remind me not to stand downwind of you. 

[clo]

9 minutes ago, ORV said:

Remind me not to stand downwind of you. 

As I've said before "horses sweat, men perspire and ladies glow." That's "ladies" not "women."

[AMHuntFerry]

On 4/18/2024 at 2:49 AM, anonymousegirl said:

We're on the Nautica in June, our first R class ship and I've been spoiled by the multiple laundry rooms on Riviera. Now I have to plan to bring enough clothes to hold me over the 3 days it takes to get laundry back. Plus, we're spending a week in London first. We get 3 bags, though, as we're in a PH2. I just really hate having my laundry done--I much prefer doing it myself. I hang dry lots of my clothes, and if I send it out, they machine-dry my linen pants, silk blouses, etc. I once had a super luxury hotel ruin (beyond wearing) a pair of linen/silk trousers. Completely unwearable, so a huge dent in my clothing allotment. Losing a pair of trousers when you only brought 5 "bottoms" is a tragedy.  

I only like to have things like jeans, t-shirts, socks, etc. (i.e., hardy fabrics) laundered by unknown facilities. Even when using the laundry room, I don't trust some of my clothes in the machines. There is usually a sink in the laundry room (not sure if all have one), and I've done hand washing of things like silk and linen in our bathroom sink...so retro 😉 

[Kay S]

2 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

 I've done hand washing of things like silk and linen in our bathroom sink...so retro 😉 

So Rick Steves...🙂

[AMHuntFerry]

5 minutes ago, Kay S said:

So Rick Steves...🙂

I was Rick Steves-ing it before Rick Steves was a thing 😉 (thank the Boy/Girl Scouts and eccentric parents). I do have his clothesline and some luggage...quality stuff.