Why Do I always Do This? Last Minute Packing Poll...

[falkcor]

every time i travel, i vow to not wait until the night before to 'really' pack.

 

yeah, maybe a half-hearted effort at first... like last night. but it really gets done... the night BEFORE! :eek:

 

and now i just realized i left my camera charger at work... and i leave tomorrow morning! now i have to go get it! 1 hr round trip later, damn! :mad:

 

so... indulge me... i'm not alone, eh? ;)

 

WHEN DO YOU PACK FOR YOUR CRUISE?

[Cruise Cat]

We are packing for our cruise right now. Nothing like the last minute!

[flutepilot]

Wellllllll - my wife starts a couple of days out. As for me, I am retired from The USAF Band and have packing down to a science since we did extensive touring. My carry on bag takes a little more thought, but I easily do everything the night before.

[chachi]

I usually have a corner in my closet for things I buy that I want to take on my trip. This corner starts as soon as I book a trip. I actually start packing a couple of days in advance. The night before is when I start taking things out because I overpacked!

[aubreysmom]

Wish I were packing now!!!!!

[flutepilot]

Wish I were packing now!!!!!

 

Me too! Finally below 50 days now. We reeeeaaaaaaallllly need this vacation!:p

 

Dan

[DarthGrady]

I usually start 2 or 3 days ahead of time, and finish the night before.

[falkcor]

ok, so i'm definitely not alone... in fact... about half of us right now... do it the night before... :)

 

nice ;)

 

update: i have my damn camera charger, just got back :D

[falkcor]

I usually start 2 or 3 days ahead of time, and finish the night before.

 

that's pretty much what i do... but it's the night before the most of it gets done...

 

bon voyage :D

 

back to packing :(

[Juli]

Now don't forget the CAMERA!

 

Have a great cruise!

[falkcor]

Now don't forget the CAMERA!

 

Have a great cruise!

 

i remembered that... just not the charger...

 

i took a second at work, looked around and asked 'what do i need from here'... grabbed a highlighter, a post it pad, and a pencil... and was like 'that's it' - i'm getting AWAY from here, for vacation... what could i need from here... forgot the danged charger was there. oops :rolleyes:

[Cruisintink]

I don't think I could sleep if I left it all to the night before! :eek: I start at least 2 weeks before (lining it up in the closet, packing jewelry and other items that I don't use on a daily basis) and then finish it the night before. Wish I could do it all in one night...I'd forget something important like my bras and panties! No commando for me.

[diathoney]

I start my list about a month before. It's matured over the years, but it's always tailored for each cruise. I begin the actual suitcase packing about 2 weeks before. This gives me time to try on, reassess and consolidate. I take way less when I have time to think about what I'm packing. Last minute packing means too much unnecessary stuff for me!

[lollylew]

I am packing as I read this. Leaving Monday for my 5 day to Cabo. This is the latest I have started packing in my 3 cruises :(

[lazydayz]

We leave on the Legend tomorrow and haven't started packing yet. I don't stress over it and if we forget something, it is just an excuse to go shopping.

[T. Advisor King]

I wasn't sure what the difference was between "a few days before" and "the week of". Not a biggie, but I think they're the same, aren't they?

 

Generally, we will pack in three stages. The first packing takes place 3-4 days before. That's when we assemble camera equipment, battery chargers, coolers and anything else that isn't something we'd use day-to-day. If it is a long trip, we might also assemble some clothes.

 

Then usually the evening before (or the evening before that) we do the main packing, going through our detailed list and putting things into suitcases. Then the final packing is the day of, when we pack things that we were still using overnight.

 

The key is to have a comprehensive vacation packing list -- broken down by category and, ideally, categorized by type of vacation. It really takes little time to go through a five or six page list and you will almost never forget anything.

[bonnie&clydecruzers]

Well I might set some stuff off to the side like a week before but honestly I end up packing the night before heading into the morning of when we are supposed to leave. I always swear to myself that I will not wait to the night before to start packing but procrastinate I always do. I think I have to blame Cruise Critic.;) I always try to get that last minute info so I stay up late on these boards when I should actually be packing. I think this year I'm going to try and write down a game plan because I really don't like to wait until the night before. But then again I told that to myself last year. I can still hope though right.:confused::D

[MrPete]

I chose the night before only because you didn't include my choice:

 

THE MORNING OF

 

Drives the wife NUTS!

 

She sometimes packs more than a week away.

 

RESULTS are everything.

 

I find I always have everything I need. She's always missing something, sometimes something important. Our last cruise, she had NO underwear. And then she gets mad AT ME!

[sylvasta]

As my signature line says, I am a "overpacking proscrastinator". I HATE packing! But not as much as I hate un-packing. :(

[marshhawk]

I have a drawer that I have been throwing things into, since we are going WARM in January, but I still have fall and winter to get through here. I will know where the stuff is. Now if I don't gain any weight between now and then I just pack it from the drawer, and I'm done. If I gain any thing,:eek: I rethink what's in the drawer, but I'm taking stuff that I don't normally wear at home.

[Skywench]

I always pack the night before I leave the house. I travel for a living, so I live out of a suitcase and packing is just a normal everyday thing for me, lol.

[richfret]

First of all, you have to realize I am a PLANNER. I start months in advance. It all begins when I put my sign on the Guest Bedroom door that reads "CRUISE CENTRAL". It is done in red and blue (The Carnival colors). Along side it is a listing of all the things I intend to take. Their is a box next to each written item to be checked. I bring the suit cases down about two months before the cruise and put them in Cruise Central. I have another drawer in our bedroom where I store all the new clothes I buy during the year "Just for the cruise". At this point all the new items are brought to Cruise Central.

 

About a month in advance, I put all my items on the bed so I can view them. They are all neatly folded. Two weeks before the cruise I put them in the suitcase but I do not close the suit case just in case I need to add some thing which has never happened.

 

Now while all this is going on my wife is watching me and giving me "The look!". It's kind of like "What is wrong with you?". She in turn will begin packing the night before the cruise and will still be adding things to her suitcase as I am putting my suitcases in the car. Happens every cruise.

 

Some how, some way, we have been doing this for 13 cruises and 45 years of marriage. As they say opposites attract.

 

Who has the better system? ...................................... No doubt about it! .................. I do! The only part I can't figure out is how she gets on the same cruise with me with her nicely packed suitcases. Must be pure luck!

[falkcor]

I chose the night before only because you didn't include my choice:

 

THE MORNING OF

 

Drives the wife NUTS!

 

i didn't include that, because i thought... surely, nobody just packs the morning of :eek:

 

but guess what i'm doing this morning... :rolleyes:

 

it's next to impossible to make a poll that pleases everybody... but, i just joined the club lol. :D

[StillPooh]

surely, nobody just packs the morning of :eek:

 

but guess what i'm doing this morning... :rolleyes:

What time is your flight? :eek:

[MrPete]

i didn't include that, because i thought... surely, nobody just packs the morning of :eek:

 

but guess what i'm doing this morning... :rolleyes:

 

 

I'm an early riser.

 

And I sail from my "home" port, which is 22 minutes away.

 

SO, I have a bit of an advantage.