17 day cruise then 4 days in vegas

[Davechipp74]

any advice on packing for a 17 day panama canal plus 4 days in vegas?

my wife and i are doing the cruise from n.y. to l.a. then flying to vegas, before we have to fly back to n.y.

i very worried about how we should pack(enough clothes for 21 day vaycay, plus in as few bags as possible that weigh under 50lbs)

any advice, tips, or tricks will be great thank you :)

 

 

this is not our first cruise so we are good on all the over the door shoe hanger, power strip, and duct tape stuff. just clothes stuff please :rolleyes:

[Happy ks]

No way would I pack for 21 days!

 

If it were me I'd only pack for 7 days and have things laundered or dry cleaned. I would rent a tux onboard for the husband (if there are formal nights) take only 2 formal dresses for the wife and re-wear them. Mix and match clothing for both day and evenings. I'm liking to take dresses for casual nights. Easier to pack than a top and pants.

 

On longer cruises you will notice a lot of people will re-wear clothing several times. It's crazy not to, your excess and overweight baggage fees will come out to be more than the laundry charges.

 

Temps in Las Vegas in (was it April?) will be nice, you will probably be able to wear the same clothes as you did for the cruise.

 

And leave the over the door shoe holder at home, there really is no need for it.

[Lady Chew]

I agree with packing less & using laundry on board

 

but I mostly posted to say how jealous I am! :D Two of my favorite vacations rolled into one ... heaven!

[jlrn366419]

I too am envious...love cruising and love Vegas. It might be cheaper and better (for your clothing) to send a lot of your stuff out for cleaning when you arrive at your hotel. I think most hotels have your stuff back same or next day. You could also take most or all of your dirty laundry one of those places that washes and folds all your laundry (not a dry cleaner but a laundry service). Might be an option especially if you are arriving early and don't have a room yet.

[Keith1010]

Did a 19 day Panama Canal Cruise last November and many other long cruises.

 

You will definitely need to make sure of the laundry on the ship so factor that into your packing decision.

 

Plan to wear items multiple times and pack accordingly.

 

My wife will plan outfits to minimize shoes. So certain outfits she might not take if she can only wear shoes with one outfit.

 

You can do likewise in how you match shirts to pants and even shoes and so forth.

 

Research weather carefully so you take the right items with you. If you arrive before the start of your cruise you can purchase some of the toiletries

on land to minimize cost.

 

Be sure that you each take a carry on bag and a personal bag to minimize checked luggage.

 

Finally, in the scheme of things if you had to take one extra bag the cost for the additional item would really be small in the scheme of things relative to the cost of the trip. So, while it's great to minimize what you take you want to enjoy your cruise so take that into consideration as well.

 

Keith

[5326jan]

Just got back from 12 day cruise/7 day land tour in Europe. Packed black and white with a "pop color" mixed in. Everything could be worn with everything... mix and match, so if you pack 5 pants/capris/shorts and 10 tops you have the potential of 50 different outfits! I took 1 black long pant, 1 black capri, 1 black shorts, 1 white capri, 1 white long pant. All my tops were a variation of black and white prints, some with other colors mixed in. I also took a black sweater. My shoes were black sandals, white sandals, black/white sneakers.. not the big clunky type. One night we commented that all the women at our table of 8 were wearing black and white tops. It was a very common combination! We also took formal attire, but decided it wasn't worth the extra weight. Next cruise we'll do alternative dining on formal nights.

 

We buy the laundry sheets, tear off the fabric softener (it sometimes stains) and do laundry on board. Luckily, there is enough humidity that if there are a few wrinkles they fall out. If not, there is an iron in the laundry room. The laundry sheets fit into a ziplock bag, take only what you'll use. They do double duty as a room freshener if you leave the bag unzipped and store in bathroom. :)

[Happy ks]

I too am envious...love cruising and love Vegas. It might be cheaper and better (for your clothing) to send a lot of your stuff out for cleaning when you arrive at your hotel. I think most hotels have your stuff back same or next day. You could also take most or all of your dirty laundry one of those places that washes and folds all your laundry (not a dry cleaner but a laundry service). Might be an option especially if you are arriving early and don't have a room yet.

 

Now, I think the opposite would be true. Cruise ship laundry/dry cleaning prices are nominal. Hotels tend to overcharge for anything and everything. Plus, you would have to pack for at least 18 days before anything got cleaned. That is, 17 day cruise plus the first day in Las Vegas.

 

Count me in as envious about the cruise. Not so much Las Vegas, I used to go there a lot when younger but now don't care much for it. If it ever becomes non-smoking, I'll go again. Even the non-smoking hotel rooms and non-smoking areas just reek, blech.

[Davechipp74]

thank you everyone for youre replys, i have hear a new idea or two, and will be better off :D:D

[STARFISH*4]

the most so far i have done is 16 days--2 weeks cruising-2 land and i packed for 2 weeks.....

doing 21 days + a day or 2 next year and packing for 2 weeks...for me just the way i am i couldnt do it just for a week--dont like to wear my things multiple times.

 

i am begining to pack for my cruise in Dec now (getting things together) and i have 2 weeks worth of clothes--repeating my dressy pants twice

but not much else of anything--maybe a pair of capris or two for day.

 

i think its Great how alot of you pack so lite, but that is never gonna be me--not yet anyway!!

[Happy ks]

Starfish*4, there will come a time when you finally get tired of schlepping so much along with you, paying overweight/extra bag fees. And more importantly (to me) having to figure out how to pack so much, organize the cabin, only to have to repack it for the return trip.

 

I started cutting back several years before luggage fees happened. I just got weary of taking so much along. It was multiple suitcases that got to me, way too much of a hassle when you have to handle your bags yourself.

 

I'm a firm believer in quality over quantity. A person can look stylish and pulled together with less. Sending a few pieces out for cleaning is no big deal and if you accessorize well, no one will notice you are wearing the same clothes 2/3/4 times each. Plus, no one really cares.

 

Start from the shoes up. If you only take a few pair, everything has to go with what you have. Believe me, the vacation can be so much simpler and more enjoyable once a person gets used to doing with less.

[cruise kitty]

My usual formula is to pack for 3 days with; no repeats; for 6 days or less, & 4 full days for up to 9 days. Longest we've done together was 21 days, I packed us for 7 days & sent out laundry almost every day, it was well worth it.

[STARFISH*4]

Start from the shoes up. If you only take a few pair, everything has to go with what you have. Believe me, the vacation can be so much simpler and more enjoyable once a person gets used to doing with less.

 

actually i have to take more shoes and i am not a shoe person, just never know what is gonna fit after extensive ports days or other--and i find that a few more shoes really arent taking up that much space-enough trial packs have proved that!

 

after 13 cruises i finally know pretty much what works for us and that is important.

 

maybe one day much later on in years i might try packing lighter, but packing what i do and how i do works and makes for a very enjoyable vacation--having just what i need and maybe a little more is the key for me.

 

when i packed less or not enough shoes etc--i wasnt happy!

i think like most everything else everyone has to find what works for them-

i always say if i took as little as some people do i would be miserable and if i packed as much as some others probably wouldnt be happy either so i am somewhere in the middle and it is working!!