Packing Light

[Beach710]

Does anyone sacrifice fashion for packing light? I would love to be able to travel with only carry on luggage. Is it is possible to do so for a 7 day cruise? Any suggestions?

[sha259]

I have every intention of taking only carry on luggage for my 7 day in May. I will be taking pretty lightweight clothing (shorts, skirts, dressy and daytime camisoles, bathing suits, a sweater or two if it gets chilly). The only thing I cannot carry on is one of my formal dresses, which I plan to pack with my DH's suits. I did a test run pack, and everything I plan to take, minus that one dress, fits into my standard 11x17 in carryon bag.:D

[Trevoli]

It's the formal wear that'll get you every time.

 

I would even be tempted to pass on both formal nights on a 7-night cruise in order to be able to pack into one carry-on.

 

T

[KamloopsCruisers]

I take a rolling carry-on suitcase (9" x 14" x 22") for our 7-night cruises. I roll up my formal dresses and send them out to be pressed when we get onboard. I hate waiting for luggage to arrive in our cabin - or worse having my luggage get lost. For our upcoming 14-day cruise, I'm taking two carry-on bags. I've split my outfits between the two suitcases, as I'll have to check one of them for our flight. But, I'll still be able to wheel both of them onto the ship. I'm usually all unpacked by 2:00 p.m. and ready to enjoy my cruise.

[missybirchfield]

I went and bought one big bag and hope everything fits in it! Am hoping to do the one bag trick, except for the formalwear. Gonna stick it in hubby's stuff! Won't he be surprised??:eek:

 

Missy

[zotzer]

I don't think I will ever be able to do carry-on only....

 

Just cannot wear sleeveless tops! And I am not big on shorts either. So, the clothing I bring tends to be double the fabric. Sounds silly, but it's true. Kudos to those who can do it!!

 

Tracy

[caribbean dreams]

What about the shoes?

most people bring a whole carry-on for them alone.

[3dogmom]

I always plan to pack light, and then the 'what if' clothes make their way into the suitcase. I'm going on a 3-nighter and will have to take 2 bags. Anyone a reformed over-packer that can help the rest of us?!

[critterchick]

I think the key to packing light is to let go of some fashion habits. For example, it's ok to wear the same thing several times on one cruise, either make sure you don't spill or stink it up or have it cleaned in between wearings. My basic color is boring old black, pants & skirts, and I dress them up with different tops. We have sailed the Caribbean yet, but I have a number of ultra light-weight outfits that can roll up into small bundles for packing. I still carry one or two nights' worth of formal dresses, made from lightweight materials (see my rant on another post about sewing with chiffon), but take one pair of shoes for both. I wear my heaviest shoes, usually my gym shoes, then have a pair of sandals & a pair of flip flops. For our upcoming Alaska cruise, I'll have to add something waterproof for our shore excursions.

 

DH bought a pair of dancing shoes and wears them on formal night and with his dark slacks - they are lightweight and take up a lot less space than his Rockports or other clodhoppers (and he dances like a dream in them, not that I'm biased). He just can't go onto rough surfaces with them. He takes a tux & has his shirt cleaned in between formal nights.

 

We make liberal use of the onboard laundry - we'd rather pay another $100 or so than haul an extra bag. So I can get away with one pair of khaki slacks and 1-2 pairs of shorts for 7 nights. I don't always pack economically, but I can if I want to.

 

Our carryon bags are carryon for cruise purposes only, since they only care about the size of your carryon stuff, not the number or weight (well, 200 lbs is the maximum per person, but that's a LOT of stuff). We generally check even the carry on size on the airplanes because they tend to be stuffed to the gills.

 

Also, if you're travelling internationally to get to your cruise, you may not be able to carry on the same size suitcase you can in the US. I think British Airways, for example, limits you to 13lbs of luggage if you're travelling in coach.

[Sassy Chassis]

Maybe on a 5-day or less I could do it...just a carry-on size bag + my backpack or other "small" bag. However, 7 days and formal wear I just can't do it! I bought a garment bag for a purpose and I definitely use it.

[Bethwte]

I've heard of people doing this... formalwear is what gets tough. I suppose I would recommend some kind of formalwear that would be ok if you packed it kind of tightly, but then you can have dry cleaned or pressed onboard and will be fine. I personally used half a suitcase for shoes last cruise, so I cannot fathom packing light, but I'm sure its possible.

[Ehpride]

I know some people can pack light. I'm not one of them nor do I think I will ever be. Next cruise I swear I will pack *slightly* lighter than I did before though!

[Happy ks]

You don't have to sacrifice fashion, you just have to know how to combine things so it seems as though you have more. As far as formal nights go, to lighten the load I pack knits. No full skirts, no extra shoes, no extra choices. Sometimes, even when I have packed extra choices, I still end up wearing the same black pants with different tops, it's just easier. Never once have I had anyone ask me if they are the same black pants I had on 2 nights ago.

 

I'm not one for cute shoes during the day, I'd rather have my comfortable sandals, so I can save my feet for the heels at night. I make sure I can wear the same evening shoes with both formal nights, the same pair of black casual shoes all other nights.

 

Taking advantage of the cleaning services, I wear the same outfit to disembark that I did to embark, the same outfit on the last night as the first. I wear the same shorts during the week a couple of times, sometimes even the same Ts, if they didn't get dirty. On todays ships with 3000+ people onboard, no one will really notice if you wore something twice. Try to remember how many women you've noticed wearing the same clothes. I can only remember it on one cruise, only because it was an eye catching, very memorable red dress. Many times, when we disembark, I'm seeing a lot of people for the very first time.

 

There are so many ways to cut back and still look good and I'm happier with myself if I go home with a suitcase full of dirty clothes, rather than cart home a bunch of clean, never worn stuff.

 

However, I still haven't been able to do it all in a carry on sized bag! But, I can pack us (just the 2 of us) in one suitcase, one garment bag and one carry on for the week.

[jennylane]

hubby and i are going for 8 nights, and we're taking 2 large rolling duffles, 1 large and 1 medium rolling suitcase, 2 carry ons and the laptop/case. so noooo, i'm not one to pack light. in fact if the airline would allow another suitcase i'd probably take it! i figure if i cant pack entirely in my carryon, then i might as well not worry about it. and theres no way i could pack everything in my carryon. for me half of the fun is having a daytime outfit and a nighttime outfit every night, and i dont want to assume i'm going to repeat outfits, because i might not feel like it! for me personally, i'm much happier with the extra luggage than i'd be if i'd have packed light, but hats off to those of you who can do it...i envy you!!!

[zqvol]

Does anyone sacrifice fashion for packing light? I would love to be able to travel with only carry on luggage. Is it is possible to do so for a 7 day cruise? Any suggestions?

My DW did it for a 12 day trans atlantic on one of the luxury lines with no problem at all.

 

It is easy to do if people will realize that you can get away with wearing things more than once, that you don't need 40 pairs of shoes nor two different swim suits for each day.

[Ehpride]

My DW did it for a 12 day trans atlantic on one of the luxury lines with no problem at all.

 

It is easy to do if people will realize that you can get away with wearing things more than once, that you don't need 40 pairs of shoes nor two different swim suits for each day.

 

The thing is that I know I don't need everything I bring and could mix and match to pack lighter, but getting to wear those clothes was part of the fun for me and I just wouldn't want to mix and match. So I think it depends on what you want out of the vacation. I want a chance to relax and wear my cute summer clothes that match shoes. Other people can live with wearing a black skirt with different tops multiple times. I would say that if I were going on a cruise longer than 8 days, I'd pack some things to wear more than once.

[swissmiss]

I totally agree with you Ehpride...... That is part of the fun planning all the outfits, complete with shoes and accessories, and I have never worn anything twice, just because I don't want to. We are doing a 14 day, and I have 14 hangers side by side in the closet, just ready to go into the suitcase, all ready for the dinners. To each his own.............

[Beach710]

Thanks for all the replies. It seems some people don't mind over packing because they enjoy wearing the clothes and some people like to travel light even if it means wearing the same clothes more than once.

 

I am torn - I want to pack light and can probably do so wearing the same pants or skirt with different tops. But I like to wear 'fun' clothes on vacation, not my everyday work clothes.

 

Maybe I'll do a test run and see how close I can come to fitting everything in a 22" carryon, then I'll decide. It's always the shoes and toiletries that take up the most room.