this may seem like a silly question but...

[jennyr41979]

For 2 people, how much luggage is appropriate to bring with you. There's so much stuff to bring other than clothes; beach bag, beach towels, sunscreen, drinks...etc. Is 1 carry-on and 1 large suitcase each going to be enough?

[Cotton]

Jenny, welcome to the boards. There are no silly questions; ask whatever you like.

 

Since the cruiselines don't limit your luggage, bring whatever you need. I'm a solo cruiser, and I take one of the LARGE suitcases for just a five-night cruise!:eek: And I pack conservatively - lots of mix-and-match stuff. I also take a carry-on, but it contains things like my cameras, Cokes, and book/magazines. Remember, you'll probably be buying a few souveniers, so save some room!

[CaptData]

Ditch the Beach towels, you don't need them. The cruise line will provide them for you. I use a 26" suitcase and a 20". I don't use everything I take but I take a lot of meds. I have the med in a carry on along with my cameras.

[Happy ks]

Yes, leave the beach towels at home, the ship provides towels for you. Carry your beach bag (packed onto the airplane with you as a carry on, don't pack empty bags into bags. Believe the old advice to take half as many clothes and twice as much money.

 

The ship does not limit the amount of bags you can have onboard (actually, I think they do, 200 lbs per person, that would be a steamer trunk!) but you have to consider storage once onboard.

 

A cruise is different to pack for, because you need formal clothing, not what you take on a regular vacation. But, cut down in any area you can, wear a few things twice, take advantage of the ships laundry service and don't try to pack enough clothes to last the week.

 

If you have taken a look at some of the packing advise lists found on these boards, go back through the list and eliminate as much as you can. There is one popular list, I think Calgons, I went through it and marked off over 100 items before getting out of the carry on bag! There is so much "stuff" that can be left at home and not missed for an instant. Don't take anything along the ship provides, such as cups, water (OK, maybe a bottle or 2) towels, bungee cords, alarm clocks (wake up calls on the phone work quite well) night lights, extra suitcases (see above). The cabin will supply you with paper and pen, you really don't need highlighter pens. I've never packed, nor used duct tape (maybe one day I'll be sorry, but I make sure the luggage is in good shape before leaving).

 

I took the advise of some of these packing lists the first couple of cruises and I still to this day have items that were never used. I also came home the first couple of times with clean clothes, everything should be dirty when you get home!

 

Wax, tweeze manicure, pedicure and make sure your clothing is in good repair before leaving home. Pack in dry cleaner bags and fold items (or roll) so wrinkles don't show much, leave the travel irons and wrinkle sprays at home.

 

What you really need is, your clothes, cutting back where you can, minimal toiletries, minimal make-up, a small first aid kit, a good camera with plenty of memory or film, one large bottle of sunscreen per person and a good hat. I do take my own blow dryer as I haven't met one in a hotel or cruise ship that I like yet. Take at least 2, if not more, bathing suits, that is what you will really be wearing onboard and in port. Take enough underwear for the week so you don't have it hanging around your dinky bathroom. Bathing suits and underwear do not take up very much room, a pair of shorts and t-shirt for every day of the week does.

 

Pare down on the shoes, most ladies hate the idea of this, but I highly doubt any ladies have noticed that I wear the same black heels to both formal nights. Ditto for semi-formal or casual nights. I wear the same outfit to disembark as I did to embark. Unless you wear day-glo or something equally obnoxious, absolutely no one will notice or care that you have the same clothes on that you did a week ago. Take one pair of walking shoes, one pair of flip flops, that is all you need, really. Look at how (most) men pack, they don't take a different pair of shoes for every "outfit".

 

 

So, getting back to your original question (I can blather on at times:) ), if you are flying, the maximum you can take is 2 checked bags and one carry on per person, plus a personal item such as a purse or camera bag. If you are driving, you really don't have a limit, but just remember, whatever you take, you have to unpack, store and organize, reapck and haul back home again.

 

My DH and I have decided we are not pack mules and we try to pack as lightly as possible. On our return trips, we sometimes even check our carry ons and I cannot tell you how pleasant it is to board and debark an airplane unemcumbered. OK, I'll stop for now:rolleyes: .

[voyageur]

My husband and I usually take 2 medium-sized suitcases and share a garment bag. We both have back-packs as carry-on so we have our hands free to pull our luggage.

[jennyr41979]

Thank you all very much for the great advice. Will definitely leave the towels at home. Will be harder to leave the shoes at home-but I can do it:p You guys have definitely helped me a ALOT! :)

[smeyer418]

remember if you are flying most airlines are strick about a 50 lb limiation(some have higher ones) and charge extra for oversize overweight and over limit items...

[Cotton]

Jenny, you might want to reconsider taking the beach towels - I always take one of the thin $4 beach towels from WalMart. My reasoning is, the Carnival beach towels are huge and thick and heavy. They're fine for Lido Deck, but when taking them ashore, they're so bulky they take up all the room in a tote bag.

 

Also, when taking the ship's towels ashore, if you lose one or it's stolen, you're responsible for it, and will be charged $22 or more for it on your S&S card!

 

SO, my little beach towel is just about perfect. Most all the beaches you'll go to have the lounge chairs to sit in anyway, and you need the towel only to dry off. I would never lug one of those big towels around with me.:rolleyes:

[auntienance]

Jenny, you might want to reconsider taking the beach towels - I always take one of the thin $4 beach towels from WalMart.

 

I would ditto this -- the WalMart towels are thin and easy to pack and were much easier (and lighter) to carry in a beach bag that already had snorkeling equipment weighing it down. They also dried quickly and I never worried about leaving them laying on the beach. Plus they came in handy to wrap bottles in! :D

[Happy ks]

No way would I want to haul around dirty beach towels week. Do you leave them on the ship when you travel home?

[Cotton]

My towel is dry long before going back to the ship. It isn't dirty. I don't use it while on the ship. I put it into a 2-gallon ziploc bag like I do my used clothing and put it in my luggage to take home. No biggie. EZ!:)

[RachelD]

DH and I shared a 26" upright and a wheeled garment bag which we 'checked' and used a wheeled tote and a backpack as carry ons. We found that even with this, we packed too much.

[auntienance]

No way would I want to haul around dirty beach towels week. Do you leave them on the ship when you travel home?

 

What do you do with your dirty clothes? :confused:

[Fam of 5]

Last year I bought ( at a cheap dollar store ) mesh bags, one for each room. I hung them in the room for everyone to deposit their dirty laundry. Wehn we packed to go home, one suitcase was designated for these bags so it could be dropped right in the laundry room. Worked very well, I have the bags all ready for us to take with ius this Sunday.

[Allis154]

On my honeymoon, my husband and I went camping for a week. I pack one 'weekender' small suitcase for the two of us. Had everything we need and nothing that wasn't used. And I didn't have to do laundry while we were away.

 

A few years later, we would go away for the weekend, and I would pack a large suitecase for the two of us. Brought most of the things home unused.

 

A few years after that, we went on a three week driving trip across Canada. I packed a large suitcase and a small suitcase for both of us. Made due and did lots of laundry while travelling.

 

In 2003, we week to London for 5 days than sailed to New York on the QE2. We took a super-sized suitcase, 2 large suitcases, 2 small suitcases and 2 carry-ons. Still had to do laundry. Three times.

 

This year, a three week driving vacation to Florida was done with 1 super-sized suitcase and 1 small suitcase. You guessed it, still had mounds of laundry to do. Twice.

 

Next year, we'll be gone for 17 to 24 days. I am doing a cruise to Alaska and then DH is joining me and doing a 17 day Panama Canal trip. I'll pack the super-sized, one small suitcase and a carry-on for me and 2 large suitcases and a carry-on for DH. I am determined that I will pack less this time, and do laundry. Seems like I have to do it regardless how much I pack!

[serene56]

What do you do with your dirty clothes? :confused:

 

 

We store our empty suit cases under the bed-- dirty clothes do back into the suitcase-out of the way.

 

Carnival also has a self laundromat which is good for packing-- now we take less clothes and wash half way through the week.

[katie286]

We are going on a 4 day cruise with a prior day in Orlando. There are 2 of us. I have a medium size suitcase, (there is definitely room left over, I did good this year!!) a garment bag for the dinner clothes and a carry-on suitcase for the prior day at a hotel. The carry-on holds all the toiletries, jewelery, bathingsuits and clothes for embarking the next day. I also have my personnal bag that holds my book, wallet, camera, book, etc. I also bring a mesh laundry bag for the dirty clothes and then pack them at the bottom of the suitcase for the trip home. I am also one for bringing my own beach towels! They were so much easier than the ships towels and I never cared if we lost one. We've only been on one cruise, but I learned so much from that experience and from the veteran cruisers here, that I've got this down pretty good now. I'm starting to really get excited now! :D

[tribbs1]

Just don't forget to pack a sweater, or sweatshirt. The bars and entertainment venues are freezing.

[montgomeryfamily]

If you are flying, don't try to bring drinks--they are too heavy and the extra weight fees are very costly. Stop at a store after you get to the embarkation city--grocery store or other store that would have the drinks--and purchase them there. Depending on the cruise line, you might want to forget bringing sodas and just get a soda card. Princess and HAL both have very reasonably priced soda cards. (RCI and Celebrity soda cards are about double in price)

[celbercrz333]

jenny,

a lot depends on which cruiseline you sail with, too. carnival fascination had laundramats where you could do your own laundry. celebrity zenith had valet laundry. this is a big factor in how much you bring. space bags will allow you to pack more, but clothes could get wrinkled. carnival had irons and ironing boards set up in the laundry room. let us know which line you are sailing with and i'm sure we will give you more advice!