Have you traveled with only a carry on?

[bcnvcanada]

Has anyone done a three week cruise with only a carry on case? I am hoping to to a cruise this fall with just a carry on case. Do you need to have diferent clothes for each day? Do you think that this is possible? Thanks for you assistance.

[Toto2Kansas]

If flying, I would think any liquids would be the main problem, as you will only be allowed the (slightly over) 3 ounces for each item in the quart ziplock bag.

For me, traveling with only a carry on for a three week cruise wouldn't only be just not practical, but toally impossible. I don't need to wear something different each and every day and night, but there is no way I could get enough in a carry on for that long of a cruise. I would pay whatever to check at least one bag on the airline.

 

Is there a reason you are trying to just travel with only a carry on for that length of a cruise?

[paul929207]

Some people do cruise with only a carryon. Obviously, the shorter the cruise the easier it is.

 

No you do not have to wear different clothes each day.

 

Just be sure you are not taking anything that violates TSA rules if you are flying.

[qld cruiser]

Hi, we have friends who often cruise with only a carryon each,

they say it is great for flying, they don't have to line up at the carousel

waiting for luggage, the same for checking in to board ship.

they cruise mostly with Princess, and being Elite, have their washing done for free. so that helps bigtime.

but me, I need a carryon just to take my medications.

 

kind regards, Lorraine:):)

[Iamcruzin]

Where are you sailing? Being a man, if I were traveling to the Caribbean I think that I would be able to do it. The cloths are lighter and you can fit more in the bag. I wear a bathing suit all day even in port and only put a shirt on when traveling to an excursion or to get something to eat at the buffet on sea days. I always select anytime dining so I would be eating with different passenger each night. I also do laundry at least once on a 7day cruise.

[DonnaK]

Not me...I am WAY too high maintenance...I can't even go away on a non-cruise weekend getaway with just a carry-on.

[sunshine nana]

We have done 2 7night with extra day pre cruise with just carryons. It really helped when our first flight turned around mid flight and went back to Buffalo and we were able to get another flight before others who needed to wait for their bags. On same trip, we were able to quickly take an earlier flight for second leg on way home for same reason. We washed clothes, did not take formal clothes or shoes and bought a few items to wear and left a few old things in the waste basket before disembarking.Be sure to cross pack as the smaller planes may take your carryons and put check them. I always worry when they do this.

[AFT_LOVER]

As retirees without checks for 2-5 years we travel as cheaply as possible. If we fly we are carryon & can get a 4 days of clothes packed, and the Purex 3 in 1 sheets to do laundry as they wash & dryer sheet in one. Formalwear is a past for us. My husband had burning of his old suits & my formal dresses with other friends from the State who lost jobs they had for over 20 years.

 

Biggest problem is my contact lenses products since I am preservative free. I fill 3 - 3 oz plastic bottles for each (disinfectant & saline) but TSA has to open them, putting stuff in them, contaminating them. So I end up wearing glasses.

[Whimsy]

We sailed one time with someone from our roll call who insisted they only traveled with carry ons. They were a bit "ripe" everytime we met them in port or on the ship. We would also run into them in port buying this or that because they forgot it.

 

I have scaled my packing way down from my first few cruises but no way could I travel with just a carryon.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I haven't done it, but I think I could if I could figure out the toiletries issue. We generally cruise for about 3 weeks and I use refillable bottles for most of my stuff, but for most things, I'd need more than 3 oz worth. We generally do a KMart/WalMart run in the departure city pre-cruise, if possible, but I can't buy my hair or skin care at KMart or WalMart, so that doesn't help. And I could use those Princess eucalyptus things for a few days or even a week, but not for 3 weeks, especially when I'm in the sun and salt water so much. Talk about bad hair days!!

 

I do a lot of land trips, too, in foreign designations, and manage to fit everything into my 22" Eagle Creek Switchback with backpack. But then I'm usually just around the corner from a pharmacie, or whatever it is called in each country, and not on a ship in the ocean, so I can re-stock as needed.

 

The older I get, the less I want to schlep luggage.

[veggie59]

Wow.....no way I could do just a carry-on. Like someone else said.....Im too high maintenance also. And we have been around some folks who have limted what they packed......and yes I would say RIPE. I will re-wear a pair of capris that I wore around the ship for a few hours.....but tops and other stuff gets worn once. Then there is the medications, toiletries (alot), makeup, hair styling stuff (curling iron and hairspray), cameras, snacks, powercord, chargers for everything, oh......and some clothes. Im sure I forgot a lot of stuff. We tend to have a large suitcase, large garment bag, and 2 carryons.....plus my large purse type bag. We used to use a medium suitcase too......but we have cut down some. :)

[onthelake]

We have now done this several times on longer trips because we did not want hassles with luggage at multiple airports and customs. We are happy to use the laundry room and do a load or two when needed. (On another thread, folks are saying they don't want to do laundry on vacation but I tend to throw in a load when I feel like hanging in the cabin and watching a movie. The machine will tell you exactly how long it will take so you can be back. If the toughest thing I do is an occassional load of laundry, life is good).

 

I tend to take a couple of skirts for the dining room with tops that match the slacks I took - the whole mix and match idea. Polo shirts work for the guys (DH and teenage DS) with their slacks. Shoes and the formal wear tend to be the most difficult but we have one of those garment bags that folds into a carry-on size and has pockets for the shoes and sandals. With three of us sharing, it works for us.

 

With the liquids, I just make sure every container is the appropriate size and fill my three zip lock bags. I take a good size tote bag instead of a purse and drop all three in. When we get to airport security, one zip lock bag is presented for each of us and we are good to go.

[centurycruiser]

If we are on a short cruise 3-5 nights we do carryon only. They will fit thru the x-ray at the port.

 

If we are 7 nights or longer we do one full suit case each. They have to be handled by the longshoremen at the port.

 

It helps to have access to free laundry and dry cleaning. I would not try to wear anything more than once without cleaning/laundering.

[sunluva7]

With some creative packing and "space bags" it can probably be done. Not for us, though, because we always bring along snorkel gear, water shoes, books, cameras, Ipods, formal wear, so on and so on....

[tothemall&beyond]

We're planning on doing a 16nt TA in October with just a 21" rollaboard and shoulder tote each. No way do we want to deal with lost or delayed luggage, pilfered personal items or waiting to check and retrieve luggage. It also makes us much more mobile in our gateway/embarkation cities.

I have gotten so good at packing our 3-1-1 bags that we can take all the toiletries we want/need for the 20 nts of our trip, even contact lens solution, hairspray, special shampoo and facial cleansers.

I plan color schemes for our clothes that allow for easy mix n match, and I pack mostly clothes that can multi-purpose. Eg, my DH's dress shirt one night can be his rolled-up sleeve casual shirt the next day before I then wash it in the self-serve laundry. The ship has laundry on every deck, and it's easy to find a few hours during the course of a 16 nt cruise to do a few loads of laundry.

Also, no more tuxes for DH or gowns for me. He takes a suit (again, multi-purposing because pants and jacket can be worn as separates) and I wear easy-packing cocktail clothing.

I pack very tightly, roll packing whatever I can and using every nook and cranny of our bags and everything in them. Eg, shoes are stuffed with socks, underwear, travel umbrellas, whatever...

Each successive cruise, we find something else to eliminate. :)

[ISABELLA]

Sure you can, if you don't mind to spent half of your cruise time doing laundry or spending some $$ for laundry. It will be my DH dream if I can pack for even 7 days cruise into a carry on. But we did 14 night cruise + hotel in Europe with 1 suitecase, one garment bag an one carry on.

[teetee91477]

I don't know how anyone could only bring a carry on for a 3 week cruise! If your trying to not pay the checked baggage fee, most of the time international flights allow one checked bag anyway. Besides, your already spending so much on the cruise, what's another $35. But, if you have to, and your heart is really set on bringing only one carry on...Compression Bags!!! You can shove about 7 days worth of clothes, squeeze the air out, and it takes up hardly any room! You can get them at Walmart or Target!

[srlafleur]

I've come close, very close. But then there's always one thing or another and we've ended up checking a bag. But it's at no cost for domestic flights, since we can and do fly Southwest to FL and CA. So far (knock wood), one checked bag pp has been no cost on international flights. I'd better check the status on that before my next cruise...

I still like to pack as light as possible, since we prefer lugging our stuff off the ship when we disembark to leaving it all out the night before. Just thinking about "what do I pack?, what don't I pack?" on the last night gives me a headache..

[Raamo]

Our 1st cruise to Alaska + 3 days on land all we brought was 2 carry on suitcases.

 

I brought a suit (so we did dress up for Formal night) and we did laundry on the ship. It wasn't too bad at all. For the 10 day we brought a carry on + checked a bag. For Antarctica we expect 2 carryons + our checked bag.

 

Our luggage is all expandable - so you can expand a carry on bag and check it when you return. Good for all the stuff you buy :)

[Sunsailor]

We have traveled for 19 days with one 22" each and a computer bag for DH and a Tote for me. We do check the 22" but we never travel with more that we can handle ourselves. We follow Rick Steves packing guidelines. E.g.All shirts can be worn twice: if you wear a polo at dinner, you can wear it once more ashore. I do laundry once every 7-8 days -one large load, nothing that needs ironing.

When we arrive at the embarcation city I shop for mouthwash and wine and any other "too large to pack" things that we use up.

We pack the same way for land trips as we do for cruises and at the end of the trip we always say "We could have taken less"

I will admit that we pack more freely when we drive to the port but we have learned that no one cares what we wear so long as we observe dining room guidelines. I'm not vain enough to think that anyone will remember what I wore last night....most of the time I can't remember what I wore last night!

[Cruisers from WA]

No way could I do it....as my coffee pot takes up half my carryon:rolleyes:

[Woobstr112G]

Might be able to be done on a short cruise if you maybe wanted to rent a tux. Another reason it could be done is the uneven enforcement I've seen by airlines as to size and weight restrictions. It's amazing what some people try to pass off as a carry on.....:D:):D

 

Bob

[wizard-of-roz]

On our last trip to the Northwest [drive] we left my bag sitting in the hallway. Boy did I learn how to travel light.

It was only a 2 night stay but it was interesting to see how much stuff we can really do without.

I did have to go into a Target, along the way, to pick-up some underwear [there are some things one can not wear over and over again!] :eek:

[1 HappyCruiser]

It sounds to me that there are a lot of paranoid people cruising on Princess who are more concerned about what other people think of their clothing than having a good time.

Learn to wash out you underwear, socks each night in the bathroom sink & wash a load of shirts about mid way through and you'll be fine. If someone doesn't approve of your clothing let them look the other way. You'll never see them again.

Sign me up for 1 - 22" suitcase for unlimited days.

[Go-Bucks!]

I've done several land vacations for over 2 weeks each with only a carry-on. And I didn't smell "ripe", either. :rolleyes:

 

Packing light is not difficult if you coordinate outfits, be willing to buy extra supplies in ports or on the ship, and do laundry. Not a big deal. I haven't tried it on a cruise yet because I don't have to pay airline baggage and I don't have to lug the suitcase around with me all the time like on a land vacation. But I still pack lighter than most people seem to.