what to pack in one suitcase

[arcone]

we are limited to one medium suitcase as the three of us are drving and car trunk space will allow only one suitcase for each of us. we are going on a 7 day cruise. any suggestion or tips on packing smart. the drive time is hopefully 2days from home to port.

[SadieN]

Do a thread search on the Fashion and Beauty Board. Many ideas over there.

 

We travel with small suitcases all the time and are still learning. We use a variety of packing methods- cubes, compression bags and bundle wrapping. Do not forget to put items into your shoes and in the channels created by the luggage handles in rolling luggage.

 

Check out onebag.com for packing advice.

 

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These are the rules we aim for and most of the time we are almost there.:p

 

---Mix and match. Every top goes with every bottom. 4 tops and 3 bottoms is 12 outfits, add a cardigan and that's now 16 outfits.

One cruise I wanted to bring my green cardigan so everything had to go with that.

--Only bring one CE outfit. A LBD can be accessorized to look different for the second night.

 

--Plan on rewearing and maybe doing laundry. We rely on Febreez and will send out laundry once during a cruise. Nothing delicate is sent out.

--Limit shoes. Flip flops (can also be slippers), walking shoes, sandals dress, water. Bring worn in shoes, nothing worse than blisters from new shoes.

 

--Share what you can, such as blow dryers and shampoo.

--Minimize your beauty routine. Take travel sizes. Buy or rebottle. Figure out how much product you use in a week.

Right now I am testing out how many applications of argan oil is in an eye drop bottle. It is already labeled. Do not want oil in my eye, ouch.

I already know that a travelsize toothpaste will last me 14 brushings.

 

--First Aid kit. Some people bring nothing, I bring the kitchen sink. It all fits into a 6x4x2 cosmetic bag. I take blister packs and travel tube sizes of meds we commonly use. Also several 'whatif' things. DO NOT FORGET THE IMMODIUM.

 

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For a seven day cruise our clothes lists are something like- including what we wear on and off the ship.

 

DH's - 2 pr dockers, 1 short, 1 swim trunk, 7 short sleeve button shirts, underwear, socks, walking shoes, flipflops.

 

Mine- sandals, mary janes, 7 shirts, 2-3 pants, 2 shorts, cardigan,

For CE night DH wears his nicest of what he brought and I wear travelers pants and a nice top with the mary janes.

A trick we try to do is to wear a clean shirt at night then rewear it the next day.

[thomarvin]

Rolling your clothes instead of folding gives you more space and less wrinkles.

 

I would bring

1 pair pants (or a dress) for formal nights

1 pair capris

2 dress tops for dinners. (No one is going to remember if you wore it before. And do you care? )

3 shorts (dark color so dont show if dirty)

multiple casual shirts.

Neutral shoes or sandles for dinner and flip flops for the beach wear you sneakers.

undergarments.

Bathing suit(s) and cover up

PJ's

[rferr]

Go to youtube there are lots of videos on travelling with just a carry on. We were on the Victory in July and we did not want to pay 150 dollars in bag fees for the three of us so we decided this time to all try to do carry ons only. It actually worked out great. If you watch the videos on youtube we used the bundle method as opposed to the rolling method and it worked great. In fact we had not trouble getting all our stuff into carry ons. And the best part was no bag fees and no porter tip and no waiting for your bags to arrive and we just walked off the ship at the end of the cruise too. No waiting for them to call your zone. We will never check another bag again I am sure.

[Bamaman1]

See RickSteves.com for a packing list of what he and his staff have traveled indefinitely with. Of course, a cruise has slightly different needs than general European travel, and the list can be modified slightly.

 

My wife and I travel with 21" rolling bags, and we never check a bag with an airline (to lose.) We're leaving Saturday for New Orleans (and the Conquest), and if we cannot get items in the allowed space, we're not carrying it.

 

You mentioned traveling with a medium size bag. We suggest you scale down to a 21" bag. A lady can carry a big beach bag (used as a purse) if you need slightly more room. A man can carry a backpack if needs more room for a laptop--or another pair of shoes.

 

You can do it!