Packing hints-everything actually fits in 1 suitcase?

[horatio123]

If I am going from river cruise directly to ocean cruise, 13 nights, would you say my wardrobe will be the same....France to Med cruise, September...Just trying to figure out because my husband needs a suit on Equinox...it needs to be rolled up during the river cruise....what a hassle, we are not formal people. Then where do the souvenirs go? Not enough room!

[upwarduk]

I know that some people hire a 'tux.'

I have also heard that the staff in the dining room will supply a jacket that you can put on the back of a chair for the formal evening.

Other passengers decide to eat in the buffet on Formal evenings.

 

We spoke to a couple on our last T.A who had been in Europe for 2 weeks prior to the cruise. They travelled with 'Carry On' only. They knew that they could make use of laundry facilities on the ship.

Edited January 12, 2014 by upwarduk

[neverbeenhere]

That is what postage is for. You can mail reasonable gifts. A new set of collector silver, no, but some items can be done within cost concerns.

[neverbeenhere]

If hubby brings a light weight black sportscoat, he will rock. Hey he can wear it as his day jacket too.

[wander]

I would probably go for the Lido on formal nights for the cruise. However, you say it would remained "rolled-up during the river cruise". Why not just hang it up with your riverboat clothes - won't take much space. At least for the riverboat cruises we have taken, the closet can accommodate the clothes we have needed.

 

Now, if you were on a train tour - that would be a different thing. For our 10 day train trip across Siberia - we had all of two large wall hooks for a closet.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Both of you are going to need a jacket on a trip. So you both wear them on the plane and then hang them up when you get where you are going. The suit coat is what your husband should use as his jacket. A tie takes up very little room. The suit pants also don't take up too much room and can be worn casually with a polo or button down shirt at other times. One thing I have learned is to bring half as many clothes as you think you need.

 

Bring one outfit to wear on formal nights. Even on river cruises- people do like to dress up for dinner and wear jackets if it is chilly.

Edited January 12, 2014 by rebeccalouiseagain

[horatio123]

Alright a jacket it is....I thought it needed to be a full suit.

[F5Loar]

If you do a sport jacket and tie you will be in the majority on formal nights. If you wear a Tux you will stares. I found that out a few weeks ago on Reflection. Celebrity has gone the way of other cruise lines. Formal night, just ain't formal anymore. No enforcement.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

That isn't really the case in Europe. The more expensive cruises attract a different type of passenger. I would say that most people wore very nice clothes at dinner time in general and really dressed up on formal nights. For instance- you will not see people in jeans as a rule at night even on informal nights. Think nice pants and a button down short sleeve shirt or polo shirt not t'shirts and jeans.

 

Bottom line- I always bring at least one formal outfit because if you do want to walk around the ship on formal nights-you would stick out like a sore thumb in casual clothes- in the Med.

Edited January 12, 2014 by rebeccalouiseagain

[phoenix_dream]

I respectfully disagree - there absolutely is enforcement of the dress code the vast majority of the time. Now is it to the letter? No, in the sense that you can get away with a sport coat rather than a suit or tux, but in almost all cases you will be turned away at the entrance to the MDR without at least a sport coat. (or given one to wear/hang on your chair). Does it happen 100% of the time? No, sometimes there is less enforcement.

 

I think it also really depends on the cruise as to formality. I have been on some cruises in recent years where I have seen a lot of tuxes and dark suits, and others where sport coats ruled the scene. I have not cruised to Europe but even in the Caribbean on the longer cruises you are more likely to see a somewhat higher age demographic which usually translates to a more formal bunch. No hard rules - I am talking generalities. I do think overall cruises are less formal than say 15 years or so ago, but in the MDR most ships do in fact enforce the dress code.

 

I have not done back-to-back cruises like that, but have done 10 day cruises with 3 pre-cruise days. We managed with one suitcase, and a very heavy carry-on in which we put all our heavy shoes and things of that sort. We do make use of laundry on the ship, which helps. I also bring lots of black. Two pairs of black slacks with a few very lightweight tops (talking women here) really gets me through a lot of days. Who the heck cares if someone sees you in the same outfit twice? Who the heck knows if you have worn those black pants 2 or 3 times before? It can be done with very careful planning and some confident attitude:D

[Azulann]

Have done three European cruises, and jeans are not pratical for port or evening. Too heavy and hot. I never saw them in MDR.

Have always ate in main dining room and women and men dress nicely, slacks for men and nice shirt or polo; women in capri, slacks, nice tops, sundresses, little black dress .

On formal nights I did see very few women in long gowns and tuxs or even a kilt or two for men, all men had a jacket but I never really noticed if it was a full suit. Lots of scarves, wraps and sparkle for women to set off the black pants and tops. What I noticed in Europe is the shoes of the Europeans. OMG , they have some nice shoes for evening.

Of course I wear things more than once, no one would notice in a ship of 3,000 passengers.

I would take one large suitcase each and one carry on.I think a dufflebag type or backpack for under the seat on the way home. what you store in above on plane is the bag full of all your "treasures" you bought on your journey.

I pack for 6 days only and love using the laundry or drycleaning on ship.

[Waterlily777]

That is what postage is for. You can mail reasonable gifts. A new set of collector silver, no, but some items can be done within cost concerns.

 

Send the suit home by mail. :p

[horatio123]

What is MDR?

[Waterlily777]

What is MDR?

 

Main Dining Room.

[bigbenboys]

When it comes to dining attire I wear what is asked in the MDR. When we dine in Blu on formal night I might wear nice jeans. Formal attire is only required in the MDR. So yes I might change into shorts after dinner. Richard

[neverbeenhere]

Mediocrily Dressed Room.

[cruise kitty]

To the OP, the only place that formal dress (suit, or tux is required is the main dining room, all the specialty restaurants & Blu (if you're in AQ or a suite) is smart casual every night. We recently returned from almost a month in Europe, in really cold weather, 5 days in Rome, 2 weeks on Silhouette, a week in Paris, we met the carry on guidelines but did not due to liquids (enough shampoo, conditioner, hair gel for DH to last a month) Pack an empty duffel in each of your bags to carry souvenirs in, & plan on sending out lots of laundry.

 

I roll & use packing cubes & zip locks, I fit 5 pairs of pants & 5 tops in a 2 gallon zip lock... :)

 

Good luck!

[CathyCruises]

We've done a two week cruise plus a month afterward in land with one 24' suitcase each. DH wears his suit coat on the plane, and uses the slacks for 'smart casual' dinners. It's just a relatively lightweight black suit. We often send it out for cleaning/pressing on the first day and it's back for the first formal night. Counts as 1 item.

[fleckle]

If I am going from river cruise directly to ocean cruise, 13 nights, would you say my wardrobe will be the same....France to Med cruise, September...Just trying to figure out because my husband needs a suit on Equinox...it needs to be rolled up during the river cruise....what a hassle, we are not formal people. Then where do the souvenirs go? Not enough room!

If you each bring a rollaboard plus a large shoulder/camera bag as your "personal item" it is easy to do.

 

There are a number of youtube videos that show different ways to pack a lot of clothing into a small space very efficiently.

 

Souvenirs can be mailed, as previously mentioned.

Or you can pick up an inexpensive additional bag close to the end of the cruise, pack the souvenirs in it, and check it at the airport.

Depending on the airline and how you fly, you may or may not get stuck with a charge for checking the bag, but to many it is very worthwhile for the convenience.

 

Then there is the method of packing old clothes to wear for the last time on the trip and then leaving them behind to make room for souvenirs on the return.

But, as to be expected, there are different schools of thought about doing that.

We like to do that with comfortable, old shoes that are starting to look a little scruffy.

 

Edited January 13, 2014 by fleckle

[lcmslady]

You may not have one right now but as you replace luggage, consider buying one with a suiter (?? spelling). Basically, it's a garmet bag that's on the front of the suitcase. You can hang dresses, suits, etc and then don't have to be rolled up or folded.

 

All of my luggage (except carry on) have it now - even my 22" piece. Wouldn't travel without one now that I've seen the value.

 

Good luck.

[islandgirlejfan]

 

This is the method we use to pack when we travel now. My hubby has a suit compartment on his 21" Delsey carry on. We are not small people and I've never had an issue packing his stuff along with his suit.:) I just had a friend ask me for this video as her son was going on a business trip and she told me she wouldn't have believed it would work unless she would have seen it done. This will also work for larger bags of course. A collapsible bag to stow into your regular bag would be great if you are returning with souvenirs.

[K.T.B.]

Check these out: http://shop.eaglecreek.com/packing-solutions.html

 

I got mine at the Container Store. The packing folders are awesome!

 

Currently, my wife and I are mostly packed for our upcoming 7 day cruise. We'll get everything in 2 bags with no problems. The one very large suitcase has about 80-85% of what we need, sans last minute stuff and "private" stuff. ;) And the bag only weighs in at 45 lbs. (Love my luggage scale! I HIGHLY recommend this for anyone who flies and has weight restrictions on their luggage: http://www.containerstore.com/shop/travel/travelEssentials?productId=10024933)

 

Hopefully some of that can help!

[CathyCruises]

Check these out: http://shop.eaglecreek.com/packing-solutions.html

 

I got mine at the Container Store. The packing folders are awesome!

 

Currently, my wife and I are mostly packed for our upcoming 7 day cruise. We'll get everything in 2 bags with no problems. The one very large suitcase has about 80-85% of what we need, sans last minute stuff and "private" stuff. ;) And the bag only weighs in at 45 lbs. (Love my luggage scale! I HIGHLY recommend this for anyone who flies and has weight restrictions on their luggage: http://www.containerstore.com/shop/travel/travelEssentials?productId=10024933)

 

Hopefully some of that can help!

 

Gosh I hope you can pack for 7 days in two suitcases!

[GRBlizz]

On our recent 11-night Equinox cruise, we were each given coupons for free laundry for UP to 30 PIECES. That's a lot of free laundry! If I'd known this in advance, I'd have packed lighter. But I'm not complaining!

 

These are in the Elite pack, so the other levels might just have a percent off or a smaller number of free items.

 

We couldn't even get to 30 items we wanted to wash after a week, and it still took up three laundry bags - so a lot better than the traditional "$20 for a bag full" coupon.

 

So if you're Elite, this might be something to plan on.

[turning46]

 

This is the method we use to pack when we travel now. My hubby has a suit compartment on his 21" Delsey carry on. We are not small people and I've never had an issue packing his stuff along with his suit.:) I just had a friend ask me for this video as her son was going on a business trip and she told me she wouldn't have believed it would work unless she would have seen it done. This will also work for larger bags of course. A collapsible bag to stow into your regular bag would be great if you are returning with souvenirs.

 

I heartily agree! I couldn't believe how much clothing I could fit into a carryon last fall. I had to pack for an Alaskan cruise, so that meant long blue jeans, heavy fleece, an overcoat, two formal outfits (one a dress with a big poufy skirt), gym clothes, shoes, the works. If it weren't a cruise, and I had to pack and unpack several times, this wouldn't be a good solution, but for a cruise, it's perfect!

 

You lift out that "cube" of clothes, unfold, and hang directly in the closet. Easy-peasy. I know that our upcoming Caribbean cruise will be much easier, because coverups, swimsuits, and sundresses are easier to pack than blue jeans and heavy jackets!