Carry On Cruise

[Sacstephen]

I know this well sound like a bizarre question to many of you, but has anyone managed to comfortably do a week long cruise just using what you could take on a "carry on" bag - in other words, no airline checked luggage?

[Toto2Kansas]

I know this well sound like a bizarre question to many of you, but has anyone managed to comfortably do a week long cruise just using what you could take on a "carry on" bag - in other words, no airline checked luggage?

 

I have seen some do it, but for me it would be impossible. Mainly because of the liquid restriction for carry on bags for flights. I am not sure that 2 oz of some of the things I use would last me for an entire 7 days.

[A Sixth?]

I know this well sound like a bizarre question to many of you, but has anyone managed to comfortably do a week long cruise just using what you could take on a "carry on" bag - in other words, no airline checked luggage?

 

Yes, all the time.

 

[happycat Bainbridge Is]

She just did 3 1/2 weeks in Europe with a carryon only ....

 

Washable fast drying fabrics that don't wrinkle, willingness to do some laundry, and two color themes (black and navy) with changes in tops and bottoms, add-ons of jewelry, scarves, different shoes. If you're willing to wear the same clothes repeatedly with variations in look then it's possible ....

 

HCBI

[rcacace]

My wife & both each travel with a 23 inch suitcases + a backpack for myself to carry the ipod, camera, gps, pills, liquor. We got fed up with bring home clothes that we never needed or used only to have my wife iron them again. Although a 23 " bag wouldn't qualify on an airline as carry on, it certainly works for a cruise ship.

[A Sixth?]

She just did 3 1/2 weeks in Europe with a carryon only ....

 

Washable fast drying fabrics that don't wrinkle, willingness to do some laundry, and two color themes (black and navy) with changes in tops and bottoms, add-ons of jewelry, scarves, different shoes. If you're willing to wear the same clothes repeatedly with variations in look then it's possible ....

 

HCBI

 

It really isn't too hard at all. Wear a sport jacket and zip off pants on the flight. For Caribbean cruises the only tricky thing is Sun tan cream. We bring in several small containers and if that's still not enough we'll just buy some at the port.

 

Travel detergent and a self serve laundry/laundry service when it's a B2B or long cruise.

 

We did 24 days in Greece with a High Sierra AT3 Lite carry-on each. Very handy if there's a flight delay and you are ready to be switched to a different flight route at the gate. It can only happen without checked bags. Saved us a whole day one August coming home from a cruise out of Canaveral when our Chicago connection was experiencing long delays for thunderstorm. They re-routed us through Dallas at the gate!:D

[Treven]

And I "need" two big rolling duffels and a carry-on, AND, my laptop bag.

[janie315]

I just came off a one week cruise on the Emerald Princess with a carry on suit case and a 17 inch Vera Bradley bag that I put more cloths in. I used the travel plastic bags to put cloths in and sit on them to get the air out. I also found a 3 oz tube of colgate tooth paste. I brought a small travel size of shampoo and conditions. After that ran out I used what Princess give you each day. For formal nights I found two one piece long dress and wore the same black jacket with both. Found the dining room cold! Worked out fine! This is the only way to travel these days. Mix and match outfits. Black and white goes a long way! Try a dry run and see if it works for you!

[50cruiser]

Thats the only way I travell . Ive done 14 day cruises with a 23 in. case. I use vacume bags and take just what I need and have a few things washed I through away my underwear { I bring older underwear } Its cheaper than cleaning plus I dont bring stinky underwear home.This frees up extra room for suveneers I bring a dress coat for formal nights that match a pair of dress slacks . No problem at all. My suitcase meets airline requirements CARL

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Yes, we do this for 7 - 10 day cruises. Each have a 22" suitcase plus another small carryon. We check the 22" when we fly and thus can take larger liquid containers but take all 4 bags on the ship ourselves. Relatively easy to do this for a warm weather cruise but a little more challenging for Alaska. We don't take a lot of clothes and have laundry done when needed. Having cruised often we found we were taking too much stuff and not wearing it so now have it down almost to a science using Excel spreadsheets listing clothes and items to take.

 

Barbara

[iancal]

Yes. 21" rollerboard for a 7 day cruise and especially for a 4-5 week land tour in Europe.

[donna5]

We have done carryon only a few times. The easiest was on the Starclipper, since there is no formal evening, we had room in our luggage for our snorkle, mask, and fins. Of course we couldn't buy anything on that trip.

[G'ma]

No matter where I'm traveling and no matter how long I'll be gone, the suitcase I use is a 22" roll-on-board weighing less than 40 pounds.

 

If an airline charges for luggage, I carry it on with me.

 

I pack very, very light. For me, freedom is one small suitcase. If you plan it right, mix and match, take only things you know you'll need, you can do it.

[donna5]

No matter where I'm traveling and no matter how long I'll be gone' date=' the suitcase I use is a 22" roll-on-board weighing less than 40 pounds.

 

If an airline charges for luggage, I carry it on with me.

 

I pack very, very light. For me, freedom is one small suitcase. If you plan it right, mix and match, take only things you know you'll need, you can do it.[/quote']

 

I have been really selective lately on purchasing clothes that I would tend to take on any trip and trying to stay within the black and beige mix and match outfits.

[Sacstephen]

Crap. I was going to argue with my partner it would be impossible to do our cruise without at least one piece of checked luggage, but I guess its an argument I'm going to lose.

[Iamcruzin]

We could probably pack enough cloths in one carry on each on a Caribbean cruise if we did't go to the MDR on formal nights, and if DW didn't bring make up and contact lense solutions. The 2oz liquid restriction on airplanes is probaby the main reason we don't do it. We pack 75% of our cloths and shoes in a 21in carry-on. If the one large suitcase we check got lost we would still be able to enjoy our vacation. We just wouldn't go to the MDR on formal night and DW would have to purchase here makeup and contact solution on the ship.

[georoc01]

I'm not sure how much contact lens solution you use, but I have an airline approved bottle that I refill for travel and gives me more than enough for a week trip. I used to carry larger liquids but after having my airline lose a bag and having to scramble to find product, I now carry on the smaller packages.

 

As far as formal wear goes, I only carry on my shoes, socks & underwear and rent a tux.

 

One of the nice things about Princess is the laundromat. I just plan on doing a load every couple of days and work basically out of a weekend bag.

[AreWeThereYet2]

Yep, just did a 10 night New England cruise with my High Sierra ATQ Carry-on Wheeled Backpack. We don't go to the dining room on formal nights. I washed a few things out in the sink and either hung them up to dry or utilized the dryer on the ship. If I need any liquid items that can't be carried on board, I buy it when I get there. I've had too much luggage ruined by the airlines, so I will handle my own luggage from now on.

[Blue0824]

I pretty much always pack carry on. I can only think of 3 times when I couldn't: Summer camp, when I studied abroad, and my wedding (needed to carry on my dress and the 2nd was my purse). Sometimes we will check our carry ons on the way home from a trip, but never at the start of a trip.

 

Our next vacation is a 12 day Mediterranean cruise, but in total we'll be gone for like 16 days and we have no plans of taking more than one carry on and one personal item each.

 

I can understand toiletries being an issue, but 3 oz bottles last longer than you'd think. Also, since both me and my husband can bring them, that means we can have multiples. This trip is a little longer than we generally go away for, so I was just planning on grabbing larger sized things of toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner & face wash once I landed.

 

I don't really think I'm a light packer, just good at fitting a lot into tight spaces!

[Sailor Gal]

We thought we were doing good with one medium size suitcase and one small rolling carry on suitcase each! We are on vacation and don't want to wear the same clothes repeatedly, rent a tux, or wear a sport coat on the plane, etc. Even with this amount of luggage we may do a load. We are active in port and dirty a lot of t-shirts and shorts. We're also flying Jet Blue which allows one 50 lb bag for free. It can be done - but that would not be a vacation for me.

[bajaed69]

We did a 30 day on the Crown Princess. I had a 22'' and a large day pack. I got both on the airlines. We did "dine any time". I didn't need a tux. I used the Rick Steve's method of packing. It worked out just fine. We met a lot of other who also packed lite and got more tips from them also.We are taking two long terips next year. First will be a Clipper trip (34 days) from Tahiti to Panama. Shorts and Hawaiian shirts. Second is a 60 day trip next year fron San Francisco to Sydeny and back to L.A. Not going to have to worry about cool weather. Will just layer it up in New Zealand.;)

 

Ed:cool:

[A Sixth?]

We could probably pack enough cloths in one carry on each on a Caribbean cruise if we did't go to the MDR on formal nights, and if DW didn't bring make up and contact lense solutions. The 2oz liquid restriction on airplanes is probaby the main reason we don't do it. We pack 75% of our cloths and shoes in a 21in carry-on. If the one large suitcase we check got lost we would still be able to enjoy our vacation. We just wouldn't go to the MDR on formal night and DW would have to purchase here makeup and contact solution on the ship.

 

No reason to dine at the buffet (or as we affectionately call it... the "troth") :p when guys just need to pack a tie and wear their sport/dinner jacket aboard the flight. Ladies just mix and match adding jewelry and voila! Perfectly acceptable main dining room dress. No way I'm missing any of the fabulous meals in the MDR. :D

[m steve]

Wasn't that an Ealing comedy from the 50's?

[TwinCruiserMom]

We always fly Airtran and they allow a carry on up to 55" (l + w + h) which really helps. We have older rolling suitcases without all the bulky pockets in the front and they are about 49" fully packed. We each take one of those as a carry on and then I have a large purse and DH has a laptop sized bag that easily fits our small netbook, camera, and other clothes packed in as well.

 

It is very easy to cruise with carry ons only and then the joy of it all is being able to get to your cabin, unpack in 15 minutes and your vacation begins :) It also takes no time at all to pack at the end of the cruise.

 

This lesson was learned after packing WAY too much for our family of 5. I spent so many hours unpacking and packing that I was cranky and irritable at the end of every cruise. No fun. I also ended up bringing home so many pieces of clothing that were never worn and that was frustrating too.

 

I decided to write out what clothes we would need for each day and then I strictly pack by that list. If there is room, I add an extra top or two. Toiletries are easy as I buy the refillable 3 oz bottles for shampoo, sunscreen etc. Contact solution can be bought in 2 oz containers which is plenty for DH to use on a cruise.

[sunshine nana]

We have done 2 7 night cruises with a night pre cruise each time with just a carryon each. The main space hog seems to be shoes. Wear your heaviest on the plane along with your heaviest jacket. You can put the jackets above the seats as soon as you sit down. Do one or two wash loads, have everything match and take chico type "formal" wear. You don't know anyone else so who cares if you wear the same thing more than once? It is really "freeing" to self embark and disembark and be able to leave the airport as soon as the plane lands! This is from someone who loves clothes, shoes and purses, but loves easy cruising more!