What are you doing about luggage?

[surfer_00]

I just did one week with two checked bags. First of all the size of the bag matters. 26 inches is too small and 31 inches is too big. 29 inches works great for me (though I only have one that size). The weight going was about 45 pounds total. The weight coming back was about 61 pounds total. I did no laundry and brought back souvenirs. There was still more room in the two bags.

 

I have cut back on shoes and jackets. My next cruise I may try one checked bag and one carry-on, but that is not until April, so I've got time to figure this all out. The next cruise after that I drive to, so it will not be a problem.

 

oh my goodness....please tell me you are going to take your 29 inch suitcase? i just bought me and hubby 28inch ones i belive, and i am having a heart attack about them being to big. usually i use duffle bags but decided to buy suitcases this time for convinience. we are flying delta and probably taking our 2 big suitcases, an extra large garmet bag, and a smaller suitcase for shoes and toiletries. this is the plan anyways. we are going to pack this weekend....just in case of any problems or new ideas i read on here....that way i can change things around before it is too late. we are going on a 7 night cruise and i have a BADDD habbit of overpacking. not to mention i own close to 75 pairs of shoes....its hard to decide which ones to bring. i did however find a website one here called onebag.com and is full of tips and tricks to packing lighter. i only got a chance to skim through it today and will read more when its time to pack.

[Cuizer2]

oh my goodness....please tell me you are going to take your 29 inch suitcase? i just bought me and hubby 28inch ones i belive, and i am having a heart attack about them being to big. usually i use duffle bags but decided to buy suitcases this time for convinience. we are flying delta and probably taking our 2 big suitcases, an extra large garmet bag, and a smaller suitcase for shoes and toiletries. this is the plan anyways. we are going to pack this weekend....just in case of any problems or new ideas i read on here....that way i can change things around before it is too late. we are going on a 7 night cruise and i have a BADDD habbit of overpacking. not to mention i own close to 75 pairs of shoes....its hard to decide which ones to bring. i did however find a website one here called onebag.com and is full of tips and tricks to packing lighter. i only got a chance to skim through it today and will read more when its time to pack.

 

The problem with the 31 inch suitcase is that it can hold so much that it becomes too heavy. For years I used a two 26 inch suitcases and could never understand how people fit everything into one suitcase until I got the 29 inch suitcase.

 

Since the April cruise is to the Caribbean, I don't need any cold weather clothing. I might just go with one pair of shoes and people will have to live with my wearing tennis shoes on formal night. Without shoes, the 29 inch suitcase will be just fine. So I guess I could go with a carry-on and the 29 inch suitcase, but I'm not going to worry about that until I buy the airplane tickets, and I haven't done that yet.

[Boo Boo]

Wow, you learn something new every day - never heard of those... must be a BIG organisation to charter the whole ship like that.

 

I imagine that you could get a nasty graze on the climbing wall or do yourself some damage on a flowrider... ;)

 

Wonder what the crew make of it all (I assume that they keep their uniforms on! :D ).

 

Boo

 

Several Royal Caribbean ships have been chartered by a clothing optional group. It always has to be a full ship charter, but it has been done several times.

 

They have to wear clothes in port. Once the ship gets far enough out to sea, then it becomes clothing optional.

 

I've never been on one, and I don't know if they are adults only. But they do happen.

[Cuizer2]

Wonder what the crew make of it all (I assume that they keep their uniforms on! :D ).

 

Boo

 

I've never asked that question. However, I also assume that the crew keep their clothing on.

[kehlx2]

Wow, you learn something new every day - never heard of those... must be a BIG organisation to charter the whole ship like that.

 

I imagine that you could get a nasty graze on the climbing wall or do yourself some damage on a flowrider... ;)

 

Wonder what the crew make of it all (I assume that they keep their uniforms on! :D ).

 

Boo

 

 

We went on a cruise after a nude cruise..my understanding was the crew could volunteer to work or not--the customers were reguired to wear clothing to dinner..this according to our waiter this was a Celebrity ship.

[peachy5361]

No after several cruises you learn how it works. You just bring black as your two formal nights with one pair of shoes to match. You are always in bathing suits during the day except for the ones that you get off port and shop for, so you bring two pairs of shorts and 3 tops. You then need for a 7 day cruise an outfit for either dinning room ( casual nights) or windjammer, or your specialty restaurants. Which would be a total of 3 more outfits also keeping in mind your shoes will match. One pair of shoes for those outfits would be helpful. Most people think they have to pack 3 outfits per day ( morning, afternoon and evening plus shoes for each outfit plus. Believe me if you look repectful for the dress code no one cares what you are wearing.

[DJSteve552003]

Well I'm a guy & I check 2 bags & carry one on. One bag is a big garment bag (called a valet) for my suits or tux and dress/formal shirts.

I am going first class that way my baggage is free & I get free meals and drinks. If you add up what the bags cost + food + drinks there is very little difference in price. Besides I am a big guy so it gives me more room in the seat.

So I say look at first class and compare the prices. :D

 

Steve

[CVU]

I think the lighter the suitcase the better. Some cases are very heavy empty.

[Linda/Ohio]

I have to say my first cruise I took way too much stuff. I now look for very lightweight fabrics and we pack less. We do use the laundry service on the ship if needed. In addition, I must say that even if a person packed only 2 outfits--no one on the ship would care or notice as long as your were presentable and clean.

[satxdiver]

We always take a 26 inch roller bag and a carryon that fits in the overhead compartment for each of us on our trips that once included a three week stay in Europe. Usually though it is for a 7 day cruise in the Caribbean. We have plenty of packing room so no complaints on the one bag checked rule. I used to travel by air every week (five work days) in my job and used a carryon for the entire week checking nothing. It can be done. No changes for us. :D

[mimikens]

I do just factor in the cost of the extra bag into my vacation. I generally don't have to fly to many of the cruise ports, so I am lucky. However, when I do, I limit what I can without ruining the experience. For me, I love to dress for dinner, so I have dresses for every night. I do try to stay to having to only bring two dress dinner shoes. Shoes weigh a lot. I also make sure the formals I bring are lightweight material as opposed to the heavy beaded ones. I also wear my heaviest clothes and shoes when I fly and tie a sweater or jacket around my waist. If I buy too many souvenirs, I will UPS them home.

[megnsamsgracie]

We just got back.. 1 checked bag for DH and I each (the 27" rolling suitcase)... and 1 carry on and a garment bag.. that had DHs suit/shirt and my dresses. We roll our clothes too. One bag was 34lbs and one was 35lbs. It wasnt hard to do!

[Tikibird]

If you are gold or platinum elite on your airline, you don't have to pay for the extra bag.

[Jadai]

There is nothing more annoying than the people that try to carry everything on! I especially love the people with the carry ons that physically cannot lift the bag above their head because it is too heavy and then bother my fiance to put it up and then get it down. If you can't lift itor fit it, check it! You are slowing up the already SLOW process and also taking up space that other people who are being mindful and following the rules actually need!!!!! My little rant, sorry!!!!! So, in response to actual post, lol, pack whatever you need to make your trip comfortable but please be sure to keep others in mind as most of us do. Whatever happens, you will have a fabulous time and that is all that matters!!!

[mimikens]

There is nothing more annoying than the people that try to carry everything on! I especially love the people with the carry ons that physically cannot lift the bag above their head because it is too heavy and then bother my fiance to put it up and then get it down. If you can't lift itor fit it, check it! You are slowing up the already SLOW process and also taking up space that other people who are being mindful and following the rules actually need!!!!! My little rant, sorry!!!!! So, in response to actual post, lol, pack whatever you need to make your trip comfortable but please be sure to keep others in mind as most of us do. Whatever happens, you will have a fabulous time and that is all that matters!!!

 

I do a lot of travel for work. I used to always check my roller bag (like the ones the flight attendants have). Now that American charges for any checked bags, I don't check it. It is small enough that it easy fits in the compartment (not one of those oversized ones that really should be checked). I used to check it because I hated toting the thing all through the airport. I often wonder when I see those people with all the bags, how they got all those bags to the plane. It must be so uncomfortable.

[cruiserbryce]

you can always take more...you just have to pay out the nose for it...many people are just packing smarter...we always overpack and are taking that into consideration next week when we cruise

[albanaich]

One of my biggest pet peeves are with those that have seats at the back of the plane...they get called to board first, which is fine, but they then put their carry-on's in the bins above the seats in the front, so they don't have to lug them all the way to the back.

.........

Your mileage may vary. :D

 

It does. It's been a long time since I took a flight where people at the back were boarded first. The last few years it's been 1st class(if any) first, then folks with kids and/or disabilities, then everyone else.

[cruiserbryce]

people pacing carry ons all over the places drives me nuts...we sat 3 rows behind 1st class on our last flight, by the time we got on the bins above us were full, we found space about 10 rows back but what got me a bit was the whole bin above us was three over sized carry ons that belonged to a family in the back of the plane:mad:

[Lynn the Cruiser]

It does. It's been a long time since I took a flight where people at the back were boarded first. The last few years it's been 1st class(if any) first, then folks with kids and/or disabilities, then everyone else.

We were just on AirTran and they board the back first!

Also, mainly because of flying and ALL the nonsense that goes with it, we booked our next cruise from a port we can drive to!!:D Gotta keep cruising!

[Duffys wife 1957]

We were on NCL Pride of Aloha in Feb. for a 14 day trip, 10 cruise, 4 days in Oahu, and each of us took 1 carry on and 1 piece of luggage. Now the problem was we were both at 50lbs each. I rolled our clothes like the good people of cruise critic recommended. I worried about the trip home because I love to shop :p. We then signed up for EZ FLY. (I do not know if it is available on RCL) Again the wonderful people at cruise critic told us that they do not charge you for overweight bags if you use it. We got our bags when we returned home and low and behold both of the bags were over weight. (LARGE STICKER ON THE SUITCASES SAYING OVERWEIGHT AND TO BE CAREFUL WHEN LIFTING) :p.

[cheaptravel]

We have switched to rolling duffel type bags for the carry-ons. They have good smoosh factor and we can get them under the seat. That way there's no messing with the overhead bins.

[FinallyConvincedDH2Cruise]

We have switched to rolling duffel type bags for the carry-ons. They have good smoosh factor and we can get them under the seat. That way there's no messing with the overhead bins.

 

We started switching to LLBean rolling duffels for checked bags and carry-ons, each of us has a different color and it has been working well! My old 26" suitcase weighed 19 pounds empty, I could never keep it under 50 pounds no matter how hard I tried! The large rolling duffels we got weighs only 8 pounds and we found with packing cubes it is much more organized when cross-packing. My DD even got a pink flowered one for her 3rd birthday and she has a matching carry-on and toiletry bag, she loves it! Now if she could just drag her own bag through the airport...

[Giorgi-one]

One of my biggest pet peeves are with those that have seats at the back of the plane...they get called to board first, which is fine, but they then put their carry-on's in the bins above the seats in the front, so they don't have to lug them all the way to the back. Then those of us who have seats in the front 10 rows are subjected to the flight attendant taking our bags to the back to the empty bins before we can leave the gate. Then, we get to our destination, and there's not a flight attendant in sight to retrieve our bags, and we now have to wait for the plane to just about empty so that we can then go to the back and get our bags. Meanwhile, the others are walking by us, still in our seat aisle, opening the bins above us and grabbing their bags. I'm sorry, but that, to me, is just inconsiderate. /rant off.

:D

 

If you are really sure someone did this, just remove their luggage from the overhead, put yours in, leave theirs in the aisle and play dumb!

[Happy ks]

We just had this happen to us on a flight yesterday - ppl carried on 2, 3 or even 4 bags onto the plane - so they wouldn't have to pay to have to check them in. It was crazy - ppl had full sized garment bags they were squishing into the overhead compartments. They almost delayed the plane because the last ppl on board couldn't find anywhere to put there carry on bags - it was crazy!!

 

I was just recently speaking with a woman who works as a baggage handler for a major airline. She told me that this is what people are now trying to do, however, the TSA is coming down hard on the airlines. They are going to become very strict with the number and size of bags people are trying to bring onboard with them. The limit is one carry on bag, no larger than 45 linear inches and one personal bag, such as a briefcase or handbag.

 

Like it or not, people are just going to have to learn to pack lighter, even for a cruise. Unless you want to pay added charges, of course, a little silly to me, it's just easier to have the cruise line do a bit of laundry for you. Even before the restrictions and limitations we've done this, it's just so much more pleasant for us to travel with less and the laundry/dry cleaning cost has never been more than $30 for the week, even with a family of 4, you don't have to have every item you bring along cleaned!

 

We find we do just fine with one bag each and typically only one carry on for the two of us. I do carry a large purse with things like documents and stuff we'll need during the flight. Once my carry on is stowed overhead, there is no way I'm going to open the bin again, I have a fear of those cases coming down on someone's head!

 

It will take a while for people to adjust, but they will, humans are (mostly) adaptable.

[Happy ks]

We were on NCL Pride of Aloha in Feb. for a 14 day trip' date=' 10 cruise, 4 days in Oahu, and each of us took 1 carry on and 1 piece of luggage. Now the problem was we were both at 50lbs each. I rolled our clothes like the good people of cruise critic recommended. I worried about the trip home because I love to shop :p. We then signed up for EZ FLY. (I do not know if it is available on RCL) Again the wonderful people at cruise critic told us that they do not charge you for overweight bags if you use it.[/color'] We got our bags when we returned home and low and behold both of the bags were over weight. (LARGE STICKER ON THE SUITCASES SAYING OVERWEIGHT AND TO BE CAREFUL WHEN LIFTING) :p.

 

 

Just an FYI, especially when travelling in the US. We have had stores ship home our purchases instead of carrying them home in our suitcases. When you ship out of state, like from Hawaii to home, they do not charge state sales tax, which helps to offset the shipping charges.

 

Of course, you are supposed to claim purchases for your own state sales tax, but I'd really only worry if the item is an expensive piece, like art. I'm not too worried about a $50 purchase of trinkets.