Garment bag question

[HarleyGirl]

My DH and I are going to carry on our bags. I'm packing very lightly and using some things more than once, like the standard black pants that you can wear two or three different shirts with, a couple prairie skirts that are supposed to be wrinkled and you can roll them up, etc. I tried it all and the bags are within the regulation size to carry on. My question is about the garment bags you put your dresses/jackets, etc. in. I have seen some that fold up and was just wondering if your formals get all wrinkly in there. I thought maybe I would hang my dress in the car across the backseat until we get there (we are only about an hour from the port) and then put it in the bag, fold it up and then take it right out as soon as we're in the cabin but I'm still worried about the wrinkle factor. This will be our first cruise and I'm sure not much of a fashion-oriented person. My dress is a fuschia, shiny, satin-looking material and straight, therefore wrinkles will REALLY show. HELP? Suggestions? :o

[cusyl]

Put your dressy clothes in dry cleaner plastic bags. They slide against each other and do not wrinkle. Also, pack your other clothes in big zip lock bags, it compresses them and will save you room in your suitcase.

[Jan_In_Maine]

cusyl gave the answer that I was going to write - have a wonderful time on your cruise and enjoy the adventure. Jan

[HarleyGirl]

That seems easy enough! It never occurred to me that the plastic would keep them from wrinkling although I had planned to keep them in the plastic anyway to prevent anything dirty getting on my dress. Thanks! 64 days!!

[gerif]

Or just stuff it in and have it pressed when you get on the ship - very reasonable and they do a good job.

[onlysister]

LOL, that is what I am gonna do.

[Happy ks]

If your dress is long, hang it on the hanger and put a dry cleaner bag over the top. Then, hang the bottom portion of the dress on another hanger and put another dry cleaner bag over that, your dress will be folded in two at this point. It keeps the longer portion of the dress from bunching up in the bottom of the garment bag.

 

One other suggestion I would like to make is that since you will be carrying heavy bags (or even rolling heavy bags) that you not try to arrive at the ship before 1 PM. Many times the ship will not allow pax to go near the staterooms until at least 1 PM and you would have to keep everything in your possession until that time.

 

We've never carried our own bags on and have only carried off ourselves one time before. We don't ever care to do it again, even though we only had two carry on bags and a lightweight garment bag, it was difficult making way through the crowds waiting to disembark. You may have to wait in lines, carry your things up or down stairs and the elevators may be crowded. I don't mean to sound negative or to dissuade you from your plan, but it is something to consider.

 

Our bags usually make it to us within a couple of hours of boarding (especially if we board a bit later than the crowds) and we do carry on one small bag with valuables and toiletries. It's really not a big deal to turn your bags over to the porters, we tip $1-2 a bag and avoid feeling like pack mules.