50# Luggage Limit....How do you do it?

[gtalum]

Just to give people some inspiration, my wife and I can travel indefinitely with one 21" rollaboard suitcase and a backpack each. A 21" rollaboard is legal for carry-on on all US airlines and a backpack counts as a "personal item" for the second piece of carry-on.

 

When you set aside what you want to pack, get rid of half of it. :) No one will care if you wear the same outift twice. And it's not that painful to do a load of laundry in the middle of your trip. It's a lot less painful than waiting for baggage claim at the airport or lugging around loads of extra clothes. We do a lot of very mobile vacations to Europe where we travel to a new city every 2-3 days, which is why we have become so disciplined in our packing.

 

Edited to add:

 

A very helpful website that helped to teach us the fine art of packing lightly is Onebag.com.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Have done several 21 and 22 day cruises. Each of takes a 28 inch bag and a 26 inch bag - that can be made larger. We pack just enough for 12 days, and since we are in a suite on HAL, have free laundry. Each suitecase weughs between 35 and pounds - easy to get in and out of car, airports, hotels, etc.

Just flew Delta in January - 50 pounds per suitcase.

[goforfun]

Patti--

 

I think your problem may be using your organizing cubes/compression bags with a large suitcase. When you fill your case you've squeezed all the air out and replaced it with heavier things. To come in below the weight requirement, you could 1) pack a smaller suitcase with your organizing cubes; 2) not use the organizing system; or 3) or use your big suitcase and the organizing cubes, up to the maximum allowable weight and fill the remaining void with lightweight packing material--could even be styofoam peanuts in a trash bag!

[vjblk]

I believe on the international flights that as long as you are flying back to the U.S., even if you do go between European cities your bags can still weigh 70 lbs each. We flew Barcelona to Amsterdam and then to Seattle in 2003 and had no problem checking our bags and they were over the 40 lbs. It might make a difference if you were stopping over in Amsterdam. We also did the same a few years ago when we flew from Venice to London then to Seattle. Again no problems with heavier luggage even though we were flying between European cities.

[pilgrimduke]

Southwest Airlines allows 3 bags at 70 pounds each, assuming that you're near a place they fly out of. A lot of people don't like Southwest, but as the legacy airlines decline in service, SW looks better and better and is superior in many ways. Personally, I was a Northwest Airlines platinum flier for a couple of years and thought that I was treated better on Southwest when I flew them. The luggage policy is another example of how they are superior to the legacy airlines.

[jnc411]

Hi, packing is always a challange, especially for longer cruises. I do think that laundry at least once during your cruise is a must. I mix and match and ware some things more than once. Believe me if I can do it you can. My husband is 6 ft 6 1/2 inches wares a size 15 shoe and is the size of a football lineman, and I pack for him. It can be done. just lay everything out on the bed and figure out how many things can be used together and then eliminate what ever you can. I use ziplock bags. and we each have one large checked bag and one carry on bag each. Takes some practice but it works. :) I use the bathroom scale to check the weight and have never gone over the amount yet. And be sure to cross pack your luggage, just in case a piece goes missing :( then you will still have clothes for both of you in one case.

Cori

[ladycaveat]

I am so confused . . . one post says it's 50 pounds max per person and another says it 50 pounds per bag with two suitcases being allowed. If I have one bag that is 54 pounds . . . I have to pay $25.00 but if I have two suitcases that weigh 49 pounds each . . . I pay nothing (this is for one person traveling solo) . . . is that right? Boy do I ever feel dumb! Didn't have to worry about this on my last cruise because I drove to the port . . . this time, I'm flying to Florida.

[MyImagination]

I am so confused . . . one post says it's 50 pounds max per person and another says it 50 pounds per bag with two suitcases being allowed. If I have one bag that is 54 pounds . . . I have to pay $25.00 but if I have two suitcases that weigh 49 pounds each . . . I pay nothing (this is for one person traveling solo) . . . is that right? Boy do I ever feel dumb! Didn't have to worry about this on my last cruise because I drove to the port . . . this time, I'm flying to Florida.

 

What airline are you flying? On their website it will list the luggage restrictions. I have never heard of any American carrier that has limits of 50 pounds total.

[kitty9]

The rules for all US-based airlines is 50lbs for EACH piece of luggage, and unless you're flying first class, or on Southwest, JetBlue and AirTran (they allow 3 pieces of luggage), you are limited to 2 checked bags, which means 100 total pounds, for domestic flights.

 

And the total number of inches for your bags can be no larger than 62" when you add the total of the height, length and width of the bag. I think someone in an earlier post said the max was 70" and that is wrong.

[cruisenfever]

Can't believe the response to this thread. Many great ideas. The weight of each piece of checked luggage on domestic flights is 50# and 70# on international flights. Each passenger is allowed 2 checked pieces. Packing can be a real hassle, especially when you are going for an extended length of time. Guess wearing something twice is the answer, which is fine by me. Who cares if we smell bad, we are never going to see these folks again...... all 2000+ of them. Keep the suggestions coming.

[ladycaveat]

What airline are you flying? On their website it will list the luggage restrictions. I have never heard of any American carrier that has limits of 50 pounds total.

 

 

I'll be flying United . . . actually, I think it's TED from Washington, D.C.'s Dulles airport to Ft. Lauderdale.

[LuckyDogsV&E]

It is 50lbs per bag, not total for all bags for domestic flights. It's 70lbs per bag for international flights. But, that's where it gets sticky. Say you're flying from Chicago to London---you get the 70lbs per bag. But, you cruise to Barcelona and then have to fly from there to London and then you have to change planes to get back to Chicago. In Barcelona, you're limited to only 40lbs per bag, as this is the rule for flights between European cities. That's a tough one.

 

This is from Northwest's website:

Checked Luggage

Northwest Airlines will accept checked luggage up to a maximum weight of 50 pounds (23kg) per piece and a maximum total linear dimension (length plus width plus height) of 62 inches (158 cm).

 

All other airlines have the same limitations

 

For the OP, I've done cruises as long as 35 days, and have managed with three pieces of luggage--two large and one small. Have you thought about shipping your bags to the ship? I've done that a few times and it's a great way to handle packing for long cruises. You can easily recycle clothes for your cruise. Start by doing a lot of mix and match. When I do long cruises, I usually take black, white, navy and khaki things and then mix and match them. For my longest cruise I got away with only taking four pairs of shorts, 7 t-shirts, three pairs of capri pants and two bathing suits, all for daytime wear. I was lucky because Crystal has free self service laundries on all their ships. The general rule of thumb for cruises is: pack your bags and then take half the stuff out. You're really going to be surprised by how little you need.

 

I would be interested in knowing who you used to ship your luggage. We are going on a 62 Day cruise on Holland America and was thinking of doing that.

We live in Florida and are sailing out of Seattle.

Vie