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Ladies what clothes do you pack for your Europe river cruise?


Cruiseoholic000
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I am bringing a carry on and a personal item on my Viking river cruise (Amsterdam - Basel).

 

I see that shorts are not option for dinner and just read a articles that Europeans don,t wear shorts (https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/packing-light/packing-tips-clothes) (https://adventureswithsarah.net/packing-shorts-europe/)

 

I was planning on wearing Keens sandals during the day and a nice sandal at night.

 

I also don’t want to pack heavy clothes. https://adventureswithsarah.net/weighing-the-weight-in-packing/

 

I was wondering what light clothes do you bring?

 

I am going to have to go shopping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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When and wear are you going? That will help us to advise you. How long will you be gone? My first river cruise was 8 days long, and the second one 10 days. I could not get by with just a carry on and personal item. Any particular reason you don't want to bring a suitcase? What is a Keen sandal?

 

Roz

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I think the sandals will be fine for daytime touring. I've not river cruised in the summer, so I'm at a disadvantage as far as advising you. If you wear shorts for tours, just know that you may not be able go inside religious buildings such as cathedrals.

 

I'm sure some others will come along and offer their expertise based on personal experience.

 

Roz

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I think the sandals will be fine for daytime touring. I've not river cruised in the summer, so I'm at a disadvantage as far as advising you. If you wear shorts for tours, just know that you may not be able go inside religious buildings such as cathedrals.

 

I'm sure some others will come along and offer their expertise based on personal experience.

 

Roz

Personally, I almost never wear shorts. If it is hot, I wear capris. They will be acceptable everywhere, including at dinner on your cruise.

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My advice. Plan on layers. We did the Rhine in July and the weather turned out to be rainy and chilly some of the time. Oh well, I was prepared. I had a waterproof Gortex jacket, a pair of jeans and sneakers. A couple of days was hot and I wore skorts and walking sandals. At night I had black slacks and a couple of dresses. Good to go! Enjoy and don’t worry. Comfortable shoes and a jacket for inclement weather is the most important.

 

 

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I think it depends on the time of year. I sailed on my first River Cruise in April 2016 out of Amsterdam. It was cool out every day and I wore jeans/pants during the day on all the tours, along with walking shoes (and socks). Needed a jacket of some sort as well. Shorts would not have been needed at all for this cruise.

 

Middle of summer? I would probably be wearing cotton capris and cotton tops...…...for me, cotton is breathable:D

 

Evenings, I wore slacks and tops with sandals.

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I don’t travel with jeans. They are generally heavy and very hard to wash in your cabin. If they get wet or are laundered they take a long time to dry. I prefer lighter pants that take up less space in the suitcase and wash and dry more easily. If summer I also want pure or almost pure cotton.

 

 

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Here's what my husband and I brought for 12 days in France (River cruise + 4 nights on our own), including some fancy dinners off-ship. We both traveled with only a carry-on (Tom Bihn Aeronaut 45) and a personal item. We had a few thing laundered on-board during the first seven days using the "all you can fit in the bag" deal on Emerald.

France River Cruise Packing List

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I am cruising the Danube mid July and had thought about a shorts as well, the shorts I am considering are actually to the knee, would these be acceptable during the day and would they be acceptable for most tours?

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Nine day trip this Summer, Amsterdam, France and Germany. A sample of Keen sandals are https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/77940?page=women-s-keen-whisper-sandals&bc=474-630-503423-503443&feat=503443-GN3&csp=f

 

 

It is much simpler for me to bring a carry on.

 

DH and I have done three weeks in winter with just carry-on, so you can easily do a summer trip.

 

Sending stuff to the ship's laundry is an essential part of our packing plan, as is doing our unmentionables by hand each day (in the shower with shampoo or shower gel). I choose clothing that I can wear day or night (which is why I like Viking's fancy casual approach).

 

My basic packing list (including what I wear to fly) is 5 tops, 4 bottoms (skirts, in my case, but one pair of pants and all tops must work with any of the bottoms), three changes of undies and a couple of nighties. After that I start adding the seasonal layering items (Gore-Tex rain coat, polartec jacket, sweater for the air conditioning), the meds, the electronics and other miscellaneous items. When the suitcase and the "personal" item are not quite full, I'm done packing. As for what, suffice it to say that my closet is a mix of LLBean and J.Jill and I dress for comfort. I would totally bring a couple of simple dresses on a summer trip.

 

AND SHOES. Two pairs of comfortable walking shoes that have been road tested (two in case one pair gets too wet to wear the next day) and a third to wear to dinner or just wandering around the ship.

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I brought capri's in blue, white, and khaki. Shirts that would mix and match with all three pants. A couple neutral colored sweaters that went with everything. My walking sandals, a pair of casual canvas shoes, and a nice sandal. Black slacks and a dark blue skirt that both went with with my sandals and some tops that I could wear with both. Mixed and matched with my sweaters. I also brought two nice dresses because we had dinner plans in at Jules Verne in Paris and a couples photo shoot there as well. Other than that I brought two pairs of sleep shorts and shirt for lounging in the cabin, and other essentials.

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I am cruising the Danube mid July and had thought about a shorts as well, the shorts I am considering are actually to the knee, would these be acceptable during the day and would they be acceptable for most tours?

 

Throw a light shawl/sarong or two into you bag--to wrap around your waist or to cover bare arms or head, if needed (just make sure it will cover waist to below knees and wrap completely around, no gap). We walked into a couple of churches in Ukraine where they had wraps available to borrow as skirts; I would rather carry my own.

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Here's what my husband and I brought for 12 days in France (River cruise + 4 nights on our own), including some fancy dinners off-ship. We both traveled with only a carry-on (Tom Bihn Aeronaut 45) and a personal item. We had a few thing laundered on-board during the first seven days using the "all you can fit in the bag" deal on Emerald.

France River Cruise Packing List

 

 

 

Fantastic list and very handy format! Thank you [emoji120] ( I wish we were going on a river cruise) :)

 

Your list is quite comprehensive, how heavy was your carry on? ( I thought usual weight limit is 7-10 kg)

 

 

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I don’t travel with jeans. They are generally heavy and very hard to wash in your cabin. If they get wet or are laundered they take a long time to dry. I prefer lighter pants that take up less space in the suitcase and wash and dry more easily. If summer I also want pure or almost pure cotton.

 

 

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Good morning:)…..they make very lightweight denim these days....actually they make a knit that looks like denim too;)….easy to pack and not heavy. And I choose not to do laundry while cruising...…(that is just me).

If something needs to be cleaned, I send it out and have the ship's services do it for me.

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Good morning:)…..they make very lightweight denim these days....actually they make a knit that looks like denim too;)….easy to pack and not heavy. And I choose not to do laundry while cruising...…(that is just me).

If something needs to be cleaned, I send it out and have the ship's services do it for me.

I do know about light weight denim; in fact I have some. It still isn't anything that I travel with. It doesn't breathe as well as pure cotton in the heat.

I also try not to do laundry, but sometimes I have to. I don't trust laundries not to wash everything in hot water, so I generally choose to do it by hand. (I did send a bag of laundry last year in Siem Reap; they had a decent price on a bag of laundry.)

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Denim is pure cotton. There are "blue jeans" made from fabrics that look like denim that are not all cotton. For years I was a believer in cotton for warm weather, then I discovered the newer fabrics that employ wicking technology - much superior comfort wise and quick drying too.

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Denim is pure cotton. There are "blue jeans" made from fabrics that look like denim that are not all cotton. For years I was a believer in cotton for warm weather, then I discovered the newer fabrics that employ wicking technology - much superior comfort wise and quick drying too.

 

Agree with you 100%, especially for travel clothes.

 

Roz

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Thank you for all your input! I leave in less than a month. I am in my 30s and am going to go out and by Capri skimmers. Would these work with sandal Keens?

 

 

What sandals does everyone recommend with a dress that can be walked in for over eight hours?

 

Another packing list that may be helpful https://adventureswithsarah.net/packing-checklist/

Edited by Cruiseoholic000
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I am cruising the Danube mid July and had thought about a shorts as well, the shorts I am considering are actually to the knee, would these be acceptable during the day and would they be acceptable for most tours?

It depends on if you want to be able to enter churches. Most require that knees and shoulders be covered. If I'm wearing a sleeveless top, I bring a scarf to drape around my shoulders.

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Thank you for all your input! I leave in less than a month. I am in my 30s and am going to go out and by Capri skimmers. Would these work with sandal Keens?

 

 

What sandals does everyone recommend with a dress that can be walked in for over eight hours?

 

Another packing list that may be helpful https://adventureswithsarah.net/packing-checklist/

Obviously shoes are very personal. If you don't know whether you can walk in them all day, I wouldn't wear them. I personally can't walk in sandals. (I have all sorts of foot issues.) For this reason I rarely wear dresses, and I don't mind wearing good walking shoes (and socks) with capris.

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This has been great to read. We are taking our first river cruise on viking in August, and spending 10 days in paris beforehand. I have a terrible time packing light so I will be bringing a checked bag and a carry on, with hopefully room for souvenirs. I will have a washing machine in paris (although I assume not a dryer). I know the temps will be warm... though for me I freeze anywhere with air. I wear a ton of dresses (maxi and sun) that I can layer with a light weight sweater for churches. These will also be fine to go into dinner with no need to change. I'm taking one nice lightweight dress in case we do a nice dinner in paris. I'm wearing yoga pants on the overnight flight but otherwise I might take only one lightweight pair of nice pants.

In terms of shoes, I'm hoping to leave my tennis shoes at home but I have foot issues. Planning on buying one or 2 pairs of Clark or Teva sandals and going they go walking to dinner! Jane

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Thank you for all your input! I leave in less than a month. I am in my 30s and am going to go out and by Capri skimmers. Would these work with sandal Keens?

 

 

What sandals does everyone recommend with a dress that can be walked in for over eight hours?

 

Another packing list that may be helpful https://adventureswithsarah.net/packing-checklist/

 

 

 

I have a black pair of Ecco that work well...walked all over Italy in them last year. They go from day to night easily as well.

 

 

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Thank you for all your input! I leave in less than a month. I am in my 30s and am going to go out and by Capri skimmers. Would these work with sandal Keens?

 

 

What sandals does everyone recommend with a dress that can be walked in for over eight hours?

 

Another packing list that may be helpful https://adventureswithsarah.net/packing-checklist/

 

I wear my Keens with everything, and they are great on a rainy day, because they dry off instantly. They will be fine with capris. Though I agree about no shorts and bare shoulders in churches, I wouldn't leave shorts out of your suitcase. For DIY time and sun deck time, I would absolutely pack them. When we did our Venice/Po River cruise 5 years ago, it was in the 80's, and I'm very happy we had shorts with us.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Robin

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We (husband 7 I) travel in July &I pack a mix of capris & crops (beige, white & black) along with casual shirts for day & dressier tops for dinner. I wear boat shoes or canvas keds for daytime & then change to my 2 pairs of slingbacks-1 black & 1 white for evening. I also swap the casual earrings/necklace from daytime to dressy jewelry for dinner. A scarf comes in handy for the overnight flight & no matter how warm it's supposed to be a rain jacket & pair of jeans go in my bag as well. I don't do laundry on vacation (just my preference) & take a carryon, personal item & a checked bag. I may overpack by a shirt or two but I like to be safe not sorry if my flight gets canceled & I'm in town for an extra day or two. We also cross pack all our clothes in each others checked & carryon bags-again better safe than sorry.

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