How much clothes

[JackieH]

Do you worry about much clothes to pack for your kids? We are going on our 3rd cruise in Aug. The Grandeur does not have any self serve wasshing machines. We went on the Carnival Valor two yrs ago and they did, and yes I did wash a few things mid way LOL..

 

Anyways, this is a 9 night cruise.My kids will be 14 , 9 and newly 4... Im more worried about the 4 yr old, who always has some sort of food stain on her clothes LOL.. I should own stock in all those stain removers..

In reality, 9 nights, 10 pairs of shorts...but logically, we change her clothes a couple of times a day at home some days because of spills/stains etc...Id hate to over pack,yet Id hate not to have enough clothes...Luckily we are driving to the port(only 10 miles away)not worried about heavy luggage on the plane..

 

Sodo you all overpack for kids, or is it just Me?

 

Swimsuits, how many? I am thinking 3 each for the girls. Last cruise my little one never made it in the pool and onlyused a swimsuit for the exursion with the stingrays..But since we have 2 sea days comign and going i figured the kids will probably use the pool.

[aaklang]

My advice is don't overpack. Even though you are driving to the port, you still don't want to deal with tons of luggage. Plus, it's hard to store it all away in a small cruise ship room.

 

I hate seeing food stains on my son's clothes, too, but the reality is that stains aren't that big of a deal. Even if she spills something at lunch, wearing the outfit through the afternoon is ok (unless, of course, she's soaking wet). I think your best bet is to bring less than you think you need and hope that some of the clothes are suitable to be worn twice. Worst case scenario is paying $20 or so to have the ship wash a few of her things.

[mousey]

I agree that during the day it doesn't matter if she gets messy. I would make sure to have at least one outfit for each night though. You could probably hand wash a t-shirt or a small pr. of shorts and hang it to dry in the shower. However, if you feel more comfortable taking more stuff for her, do it! Whatever makes you the most comfortable and stress free is the best bet!

 

My personal opinion, and its just an opinion, packing lite is not anything magical!!! ;) Personally, I would pack a day outfit for each day and an outfit for each night. How much room can a small child's clothing take up? For a 9 day cruise I think 3 bathings ea. are fine.:D

[Karita]

I agree with mousey. I am also going on a 9 days cruise with a 11 months old and i am packing 1 outfit for each day with 3 extra outfit for the what-if spills and 1 outfit for each night, no extra there since if any accident we will just change her for bed. 3 bath suit and that should be enough.

Most people talk about doing laundry, i personally refuse to do laundry on my vacation:p

[gvi]

I always over pack for my kids, at least enough for an extra day or two. On our last cruise (Feb.) I didn't have enough shorts for my older DS. He managed, though. He didn't care about the stains. Some days they will wear the clothes for just a short time - swimming and dressing for dinner. Those might get re-worn.

 

I would pack what you know you will need plus two extra tops and two extra bottoms. Kids clothes can mix an match pretty well - but then I have boys. . .

 

I pack the clothes by outfit in zip bags and stack those in the closet - grab and dress when needed. . .

 

Have a wonderful time!

[abba_dabba_doo]

I too have a 4 yr old who always seems to get messy. Both my kids will have a different outfit for each day, as well as a different outfit/skirt/dress for each night. If my 4 yr old gets messy during the day, I know she's going to be changing for dinner anyway. I wouldn't change her day outfit, unless of course it got wet. Summer clothes are small/light enough where they don't take up too much room (shorts and tank tops can be easily rolled).

 

I will be bringing 3 swim suits each.

 

So I say stick to one outfit per day for daytime and one outfit each night for dinners. That way you don't have to worry about spending money on getting things washed. Also if you bring some sundresses for dinner, they will come in handy if she needs to be changed during the day - she can just wear the sundress she already wore to dinner if it isn't stained.

[JackieH]

Thanks everybody for your advice. I tend to stress about the silliest things;) .It is that so often my almost 4 yr old likes to use her sleeve as a napkin:rolleyes: ...

[Gigi&Don]

Hi,

 

We went on a cruise when our son was 9 months old and I did indeed pack quite a few outfits. But, I also packed a small bottle of delicate wash liquid soap and shout wipes. On some things I was able to wash them in the sink and hang them to dry allowing him to wear some items again. :)

 

Just a thought....

[Gigi&Don]

Hi,

 

We went on a cruise when our son was 9 months old and I did indeed pack quite a few outfits. But, I also packed a small bottle of delicate wash liquid soap and shout wipes. On some things I was able to wash them in the sink and hang them to dry allowing him to wear some items again. :)

 

Just a thought....

[mcfam5]

Do you worry about much clothes to pack for your kids? We are going on our 3rd cruise in Aug. The Grandeur does not have any self serve wasshing machines. We went on the Carnival Valor two yrs ago and they did, and yes I did wash a few things mid way LOL..

 

Anyways, this is a 9 night cruise.My kids will be 14 , 9 and newly 4... Im more worried about the 4 yr old, who always has some sort of food stain on her clothes LOL.. I should own stock in all those stain removers..

In reality, 9 nights, 10 pairs of shorts...but logically, we change her clothes a couple of times a day at home some days because of spills/stains etc...Id hate to over pack,yet Id hate not to have enough clothes...Luckily we are driving to the port(only 10 miles away)not worried about heavy luggage on the plane..

 

Sodo you all overpack for kids, or is it just Me?

 

Swimsuits, how many? I am thinking 3 each for the girls. Last cruise my little one never made it in the pool and onlyused a swimsuit for the exursion with the stingrays..But since we have 2 sea days comign and going i figured the kids will probably use the pool.

 

. . . would be to pack a few extra shirts that you can mix and match with shorts you are already bringing. *MOST* stains tend to pop up on shirts so you would still be able to freshen her up. But, a few shirts will take up minimal space in the luggage.

 

I admit, we are heavy packers. But honestly, we do wear nearly everything that we take. Enoy your trip with your family!

[Quilcruisers]

I'm probably the wrong person to ask about packing but I'll give it a shot. We went to Disney last July and I took my 4 yr old. We have also been on a number of cruises but never with my son.

 

For Disney and for the cruise, 7 day:

 

7 shorts/shirts

2 or 3 pants- only for dining room (in Disney, we dressed up for dinner one night). While on the cruises, we eat in the dining room each night and will usually dress up as if we were going to dinner at a nice restaurant.

4 pairs of swim trunks

wear tennis shoes to the boat, pack dress shoes, pack 1 or 2 pair of sandals

Tuxedo/dress shoes (for 30 mins for pictures--he is a not into "frufru" or dress up for too long of a period.

underwear for 20 days (LOL--never know with underwear)

 

My biggest problem packing for my son is I like to bring his lifevest for the beach, a DVD player and movies for in-room entertainment and I want to take his beach toys.

 

All in all, I managed to pack my son's stuff in the smallest of our set of luggage, even with the lifevest.

 

Boys are pretty easy. Now, if I can get my husband to pack light--he is worst of all--we flew to New Orleans for 2 days and his bag weighed 58 pounds!!!!

 

Good luck to you and enjoy!! You will have so much fun, and so will the kids.

Angela

[JackieH]

Thanks everybody for responding. Its funny, we have traveled a lot, but I tend to worry too much about the silliest of things;) .

 

I am so bad, I was at Kmart yesterday. They had the toddler size 2 piece outfits on sale for $3 each. I surely couldnt pass up on that deal;) I figure a few extra clothes for the cruise wont hurt:) . I would of bought more, but my youngest is in a 5T and they only had a couple of things left in that size.