When do you pack?

Hello everyone

I was just wondering when to start packing (we depart 4 weeks yesterday, Saturday) although do not board the ship until the Tuesday.

Just that I said to my husband that I might start to get my clothes out from the wardrobe to hang up in the spare room and take the opportunity to have a clear out of those clothes that haven't seen the light of day for years but, and I know each person is different, but I just wondered if I was probably the only one who was starting to get very very excited about our first Azamara cruise. Its been 18 months in the making and its very nearly here.

Ive picked up a few nice bits in the sales over the year(s) - hidden away in the back of the wardrobe and you know us girls, when dear husband says "oh is that new" I can honestly say. "No Ive had this ages". He will pack his stuff about 10 minutes before we go to bed on the last night before we leave......... drives me crazy.

Haha, could be us. For me it's part of the pre cruise excitement to start taking out the clothes. Maybe not 4 weeks but at least two weeks before departing.

Don't pack until the day before. Its more fun that way !!!

When we first started cruising, we would get the suitcases out and set up in the spare bedroom at least a week before the cruise. Now, we pack the day before.

A generic list is saved on the computer to print and I pack the night before. I work better under pressure!

Phil

I'm just like you. I put my case on the spare room bed then start to hang the clothes that I may take. Then I half it, then half it again. This is about 4 weeks before the cruise, but then I sometimes go back to the original plan and add more, lol... I always think that this is the beginning of the holiday fun. Omg yes, like you I have the old clothes at the back of the wardrobe that I have had for ages. Yes my husband can pack the night before and has in the past. I hope you have a fantastic time.

I start planning my packing as soon as a trip is booked (business or pleasure) I have a standard Word packing list I adapt per trip, and I like to put together photos of my clothing in a powerpoint - helps me pack lighter when I can visualize the mix & match outfits. I do the same for my husband or he will overpack.

Actual packing with suitcases on the weekend before departure, esp so we can check last minute weather forecasts...

When we first started cruising, we would get the suitcases out and set up in the spare bedroom at least a week before the cruise. Now, we pack the day before.

I should have said that I physically pack the hanging clothes the night before we go BUT its getting them all out so that I can see what there is and then thinking that there is far too much and by a process of elimination discarding those that I don't really want. Weve only got 30kg weight each plus of course our carry ons up to 7kg each, the problem is not the clothes as such, its all the cosmetics I need to take, my hairdryer my ghds, my shoes weigh a lot. Getting stressed now thinking about it.

Think I will start to get them out next weekend.

Two to three weeks before departure I put a hanging rail in the spare room. I add and take away things every day!!!

Don't pack until the day before. Its more fun that way !!!

Do you mean just get them out of the wardrobe and drawers? If so, that would be a disaster for me. My husband thinks I am far too organised. I need to be prepared and have an A3 spreadsheet detailing every day from the first day and time we leave home for the airport together with the temperature of the places we stop at. Then Ive written down the sea days and our excursions so that I can hopefully choose our speciality restaurants and Chefs Table evenings and then there is a space for the two sets of clothes for the day. Day time and evening time.

I have even factored in the WHite Night (although I haven't a clue when that will be) and the Azamara Evening in Manila.

The girls I work with think I should have been an event organiser not a property lawyer.

Two to three weeks before departure I put a hanging rail in the spare room. I add and take away things every day!!!

I always do this for any holiday we go on. We tend to go to Spain for two weeks every summer and play golf every other day. Whilst I have a generic packing list 14 pairs of knickers, 8 days of golf clothes, 14 evening dresses/pants and 6 days of casual, they all go up in spare room (I use the picture rail to hang my clothes on) plus a few more then the night before when I come to actually put them in the case I can see that I will only have room for so many and then the selection/elimination process begins.

We once got charged £150 for overweight luggage one, never again so everything is now weighed before we leave home.

Two to three weeks before departure I put a hanging rail in the spare room. I add and take away things every day!!!

This is exactly what I do!

I have to say I usually just keep adding, until the day before I pack and then I have a massive cull.

I have a Word generic list saved on my computer which I look at and amend to be for a specific holiday about a month before departure, then print it off. A couple of weeks before I put stuff for both me and OH in the spare bedroom wardrobe and on the bed in there, ticking things off my list as I do. Over the next couple of weeks I add to and take things away from them. We pack the day before we go. I pack everything as mix our things up in our two suitcases, in case one of the cases gets lost ( happened to us once). We also make sure on of our hand luggages cases has enough clothes in it to last us for at least 24 hours, in case both our cases get lost.

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[quote name=Jarronwood;48936421

We once got charged £150 for overweight luggage one' date=' never again so everything is now weighed before we leave home.[/quote]

LOL. We even take our luggage scales away with us just in case, especially if we go to the US because we love shopping there.

LOL. We even take our luggage scales away with us just in case, especially if we go to the US because we love shopping there.

I agree that having a luggage scale is a good idea.

It relieves a lot of stress for me not having to worry about overweight luggage fees.

We usually start packing about 2 weeks before a cruise.

Using packing cubes also really helps us keep our things organized.

Do you mean just get them out of the wardrobe and drawers? If so, that would be a disaster for me. My husband thinks I am far too organised. I need to be prepared and have an A3 spreadsheet detailing every day from the first day and time we leave home for the airport together with the temperature of the places we stop at. Then Ive written down the sea days and our excursions so that I can hopefully choose our speciality restaurants and Chefs Table evenings and then there is a space for the two sets of clothes for the day. Day time and evening time.

 

I have even factored in the WHite Night (although I haven't a clue when that will be) and the Azamara Evening in Manila.

 

The girls I work with think I should have been an event organiser not a property lawyer.

We have done so many cruises now, that we just throw in what we think we will need the day before. No lists, no spreadsheets.... If we forget anything we can always pick it up on board or at one of our ports, but luckily the only thing I have ever forgot, so far, has been a hat.

LOL. We even take our luggage scales away with us just in case, especially if we go to the US because we love shopping there.

We travel with the scales also. On our land trip over Christmas to Santiago we bought too much wine and other items and had to buy a small suitcase because we were way over in weight. Using the scales a couple of days before returning told us we were too heavy!

I get my toiletries, meds and vitamins together the weekend before we depart. Pretty much everything fits into my 3-1-1 bag. If I need a larger size of anything (usually lotion), then I buy it when I get where I'm going.

I start to think about clothes a few weeks out, right around the time I restart the Scarsdale Diet for the umpteenth time to drop a few pounds.:p. I'll start accumulating items in the closet, then move them to the guest room a few days before the cruise. Anything snug goes back in the closet - it's a sure bet that I'm not going to lose any weight on any cruise.:p. By two days before the cruise I usually have everything ready and pack the night before.

DH is a last minute flinger, which a few years ago resulted in his bringing his beach shoes to Alaska. He's slowly adapting to my method. Very slowly.;)

My wife and I are the other way around, i tend to pack earlier than her, usually a week before whereas she does the majority of hers the day before.

One question I do have is how many of you divide your clothes between each of your cases in case one of them goes missing on your journey? This is something a good friend of ours does on every trip, but so far we have only put a change of clothes for one day in each other's case. I also never put my medication in checked luggage and always take it in my hand luggage. Likewise with cameras.

We don't split our clothing in half but do put a few pieces in each other's checked bags (when we check bags). Always have a change in our carry-on bag as well. Since I pack in a limited palette to mix and match, most of my pieces should go with most everything else, cutting down on stress while packing and dressing, and should anything go missing..

This is Margaret, not Dave, replying. I'm so organised right now that most of my clothes are already ironed and hanging in the wardrobe in a spare bedroom. I haven't gone as far as deciding on which day to wear them ,though!

This is Margaret, not Dave, replying. I'm so organised right now that most of my clothes are already ironed and hanging in the wardrobe in a spare bedroom. I haven't gone as far as deciding on which day to wear them ,though!

Hi Margaret - not long now. I will sort out my clothes next weekend (I take the opportunity to pull everything out of my wardrobes and drawers and then put back those I definitely wont wear on the cruise or dump those that I know I will never wear again (or take to the recycling bins)) and hang up and set aside the others I will probably wear then iron them if needs be. I try and mix and match thus cutting down on weight.

Have you checked in on line yet? I did last weekend and requested luggage tags but as yet these haven't arrived. I also printed off the express pass which shows embarkation between 12 and 5 pm. As we don't leave port until 2 pm the following day I would have thought that check in could be anytime? No worries though, Ive ordered a private taxi/car to pick us up from the Hotel at about 11 am and give or take traffic to the port we should be there about 12 noon or a bit later. The idea is to check in and dump our bags and get a taxi into the nearest town/beach (Kuta I think) and have a wander, or we might just chill by the pool for a few hours. Depends on how we feel.

Oh, I don't have a hanging rail. Maybe I need to look at them!

Just kidding...I start worrying about what I am going to pack at least three months before I am supposed to leave. I pack, unpack, repack, then start over again. And I have been on so many trips, you'd think I would learn something different. But it's that old dog new tricks thing.

Hi Josie,

Just to let you know that there has been an ongoing problem with the Azamara luggage tags supplier and it is unlikely that you will receive them. You can print them out from your e documents, but then it will have to be a Blue Peter job with sticky tape and scissors!

Hi Josie,

Just to let you know that there has been an ongoing problem with the Azamara luggage tags supplier and it is unlikely that you will receive them. You can print them out from your e documents, but then it will have to be a Blue Peter job with sticky tape and scissors!

Or get these from Amazon. I've used them a few times and they are good.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00X6M2CFA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00

Phil