Luggage - I can't squeeze into 1 bag

[sandydandy4]

We are flying out for our Avalon River cruise shortly and the literature says 1 bag not exceeding 50 lbs. Are they kidding me. It's a 15 day cruise and I'm tacking on days to the front and end of the cruise. It's late March and the weather calls for long pants and jackets. If I show up with 2 bags will they let my second bag on the ship.

 

Freaking Out!

[Kamloops50]

We are flying out for our Avalon River cruise shortly and the literature says 1 bag not exceeding 50 lbs. Are they kidding me. It's a 15 day cruise and I'm tacking on days to the front and end of the cruise. It's late March and the weather calls for long pants and jackets. If I show up with 2 bags will they let my second bag on the ship.

 

Freaking Out!

 

The 1 bag 50lb limit is the airline limit . Presume you are using their airfare .

[4774Papa]

We are flying out for our Avalon River cruise shortly and the literature says 1 bag not exceeding 50 lbs. Are they kidding me. It's a 15 day cruise and I'm tacking on days to the front and end of the cruise. It's late March and the weather calls for long pants and jackets. If I show up with 2 bags will they let my second bag on the ship.

 

Freaking Out!

 

You can take a carryon as well.

 

However, we have found that we can go on trips for 3-4 weeks with one bag each. Of course, we have to do some laundry about halfway during the trip. Generally, paying for the laundry is cheaper than paying the airline for an extra bag.

 

On ocean cruises, we are elite on Celebrity and Platinum on NCL, with free laundry, so no problem. On river cruises, I suggest asking the river cruise company for a list of laundry onboard ship prices. The only other suggestion is find a self service laundry to wash some clothes, either before or after the river cruise.

[Hydrokitty]

We are flying out for our Avalon River cruise shortly and the literature says 1 bag not exceeding 50 lbs. Are they kidding me. It's a 15 day cruise and I'm tacking on days to the front and end of the cruise. It's late March and the weather calls for long pants and jackets. If I show up with 2 bags will they let my second bag on the ship.

 

Freaking Out!

 

I share your frustration, sandy....I'm leaving Saturday for 15 day cruise and my suitcase weighed in at 54 lbs. Time to swear and shout and then start weeding out what you really don't need!! Got mine down to 48 pounds now....previous posters are right...but check your airline for weight limit....I though some allowed more on International flights. I fly business so it's never been a problem.

 

A suggestion: wear one pair of jeans on the plane and pack 2 more pairs of jeans and one pair of slacks for dinner. Barring some unforeseen accident, you can get a week out of a pair of jeans and you'll have your travel pair as a back-up. You only need one pair of walking shoes, wear them on the plane and pack a soft pair for on board. If you have one, leave the jackets at home and bring a down vest. It fits over everything, keeps your core warm and depending on where you're leaving from you can wear it on the plane....see where I'm going with this? Plus pack a knit hat and pair of mittens. I'd also pack 2-3 pull-over sweaters; a few light weight long sleeved shirts and maybe a dressy sweatshirt or two. If you need more they're easy to find and you can buy more on your trip. And one more: bring your oldest pajamas, socks and underwear and throw it out as you use it. Makes room for any new sweatshirts you buy on the way. Good luck. :D

Edited March 16, 2016 by Hydrokitty

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I don't wear jeans at all when I travel, they weigh too much, and aren't comfortable on a long plane flight. If it's cold-weather, I have light-wale corduroy pants.

 

Our two last trips we did with carry-on only. The last was multi-climate, Paris in late October, then hot Egypt. It *can* be done. After this trip, do an inventory of all the stuff you took that you didn't use.

[Capt_BJ]

whine whine whine

 

 

50 pounds is an airline rule ... in general .... even the ship guys don't want to hurt their back!!!! but I've never seen a ship weigh 'em

 

we combined a river cruise with a Queen Mary cruise ..... had to carry formal wear for the QM side . . . . we managed to keep the yellow one under 50 .... but 49.9999 maybe!

 

our bags

 

typical dinner and after wear on a river cruise

 

REQUIRED dinner wear on QM2

Edited March 16, 2016 by Capt_BJ

[sandydandy4]

Yes we are flying from the states to Europe. Luckily I can take two bags on my flight. I didn't want to do laundry since I'm on vacation :) I do laundry all the time at home. All I really wanted to know from those that have done river cruises before is if they took two suitcases rather than the one.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited March 16, 2016 by sandydandy4

[purduemom1]

Yes we are flying from the states to Europe. Luckily I can take two bags on my flight. I didn't want to do laundry since I'm on vacation :) I do laundry all the time at home. All I really wanted to know from those that have done river cruises before is if they took two suitcases rather than the one.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

I recall seeing cabin pictures posted on this forum and was surprised to see 4 suitcases and some smaller totes in one of the pictures. Don't recall the cruise line however. Not sure where they stored all of it. Cabin space is limited.

[Host Jazzbeau]

The airlines are trying to be helpful -- the charge for an extra checked bag is higher than the laundry bill you are likely to run up on a river cruise! ;)

[Hydrokitty]

The airlines are trying to be helpful -- the charge for an extra checked bag is higher than the laundry bill you are likely to run up on a river cruise! ;)

 

Leave it to a guy to come up with this solution and make it sound like it's a good thing!!! :D:D

[jklc123]

We've always done one just under 50 lbs and a carry on, ocean and river. There's been room on river under the bed for suitcases. I did do laundry on an ocean cruise sea day, but, yeah, I'm on vacation! We do get free laundry now as repeat cruisers on Uniworld, but if you have to pay to have a few things laundered, it's worth it.

[Hoyaheel]

Leave it to a guy to come up with this solution and make it sound like it's a good thing!!! :D:D

 

That's pretty sexist. My husband has always been the overpacker in our family and I've been working hard to get him to do more mix & match planning ahead of time so he can pack less - and it works. He's successfully done it on multiple trips at this point so he'll continue on.

 

Back on track - OP, are you taking cruise line bus transport anywhere? Pre-cruise or Post-cruise? Often luggage rules apply to bus portions of a vacation due to space limitations. That said - lots of people disobey the rules and I've not heard of anyone here being turned away from boarding because of two bags.

 

We each had a 22" checked bag and a carry-on, and they fit under the bed on Avalon. I packed a nylon lesportsac duffel for dirty laundry on the way back and packed souvenirs in the more structured 22" rolling bag for the trip home (I'm elite on Delta so I have 2 or 3 free bags when I fly)

 

I did laundry of underthings in the sink, spot cleaned outer layers if necessary. Washed the black ponte pants I wore on the plane the first night and was able to wear them the rest of the trip. I will not carry a 50" bag because I want to be able to move my bags around whenever and wherever I want. Learned that lesson the hard way in Venice many years back:p So I don't mind doing a little laundry on vacation as my priorities are different from those of others.

Edited March 16, 2016 by Hoyaheel

[Lois R]

I can't imagine imagine that a cruiseline would have luggage weight

restrictions. The airlines yes, but the cruiseline? That doesn't make much

sense to me.

I am taking my first River Cruise in less than 3 weeks:D.....in all my

ocean cruises (over 40 of them) I have never exceeded that 50lb limit.

I bring one checked bag and one carry on and will be doing the same for

my upcoming cruise too.:)

[Coral]

I struggle to pack lightly......

 

On my Russian River cruise - I had 2 suitcases and a carry on. There were not any guidelines back then for suitcases that I saw anywhere. Well - I was known as the person with 2 suitcases through out the entire cruise.

 

This was also the cruise that the airline coming back (Swiss Air) weighed my carryon and it was overweight also.

Edited March 17, 2016 by Coral

[caviargal]

We almost always travel to Europe in cooler months. I pack in a 24inch suitcase that weighs in at about 35 pounds. My carry on is for my electronics and personal items.

 

We both bring layers so that we can add and subtract as needed. We also both like to dress up a bit for dinner and pack accordingly. No problems meeting our weight goals with creative wardrobe management. For us, travel to Europe almost always requires use of public transportation and that is not heavy luggage friendly.

 

We wear our heaviest/bulkiest shoes on the plane, along with heaviest jacket.

 

DH packs more than I ALWAYS and his bag comes in at 47 or so.

 

We have been on two week trips to Europe in a carry on and medium back pack (for electronics and personal items) and still had everything we needed. We do laundry or have it done as required.

[Floridiana]

A suggestion: wear one pair of jeans on the plane and pack 2 more pairs of jeans and one pair of slacks for dinner.

 

Why so many heavy jeans? My pants have to be lightweight washable and dryable, a warmer pair of corduroys in black is nice enough for dining rooms.

[Canal archive]

If I can do it you an to, yes wear your heaviest shoes, you can take them off in the plane, take only 1 pair of comfy shoes and 1 pair of dressier shoes. Don't pack your electronic gear in your hold luggage. Share with your partner, you don't need to take shampoo etc unless you need especially sensitive stuff. Ladies take your flimsiest underwear every gram counts, pity men don't have flimsy underwear, wa hay just think! Good luck hope you get the scales to comply.

 

Happy cruising CA

[suspaul]

As mentioned above, the cabins on river cruise ships can be much smaller with less storage, depending on the class and cruise line you're traveling with. 2 suitcases will fit under the bed but you may not have a place to put extra luggage. Just my opinion. Enjoy your cruise.

[Rebel54]

Avalon is supposed to have storage under the bed for suitcases so as far as that goes, I think you'd be ok with a second. We are trying for one each plus our carry on luggage but my husband wears a size 15 shoe. His shoes alone take darn near a suitcase. We will be gone 3 weeks total and have to bring a wide range of attire. I booked the Royal suite so I'm not too worried about space however.

 

If you are on facebook, try posting a question on their page about the number of bags. If you aren't on facebook let me know and I can do it for you. They are very responsive on there.

[id4elizabeth]

Sandy Dandy - contrary to everyone else who can fit in a back-pack, I'm like you - 2 suitcases, but neither are over about 40 lbs, plus a very small carry-on. My DH takes 1 suitcase plus a very small carry-on.

 

We're both a bit on the senior side, so we fly Business and are allowed 2 bags. We know we may have to pay porters, bellmen, etc to help us with luggage, and just expect that. We've have no problem on ocean or river cruises - the bags fit inside each other and fit under the bed. I highly doubt any river cruise would turn you away over the 2nd suitcase. I tend to not over pack my suitcases so that I have a bit of room to bring back some "stuff."

[Imasima752]

We are flying out for our Avalon River cruise shortly and the literature says 1 bag not exceeding 50 lbs. Are they kidding me. It's a 15 day cruise and I'm tacking on days to the front and end of the cruise. It's late March and the weather calls for long pants and jackets. If I show up with 2 bags will they let my second bag on the ship.

 

Freaking Out!

 

Wow, I don't blame you freaking out. I've been trying to pack less every vacation with horrible results. I know others can, but I have yet to get everything in one bag, and having to pack for cold weather :eek:. I wish you the best of luck!

[nancyevans]

How much does your suitcase weigh? Even some of the so-called "light" cases weigh pounds more than others.

 

Color coordinate clothes. Every top should be able to be worn with every skirt and every pair of pants. (It's amazing how many outfits you can make when you do this. See the Vivienne Files for some very nice outfits. http://www.theviviennefiles.com/2014/09/packing-5-pack-would-have-worked.html )

 

Take light weight nylon underwear/knickers. Cheap at Walmart.

 

Buy some dress shields to wear with blouses or shirts. I've gotten them at Steinmart. Makes it easier to wear tops multiple times.

 

And, yes, plan on having some laundry done. Our cruise offered a special price at mid point in the cruise. (On the next cruise, one bag per cabin is included in the price)

[CPT Trips]

Several airlines limit the weight of carry-ons, it's wise to check with yours.

We layer our outerwear for flexibility and wear all the layers on the flights - vest, fleece and outer layer. Not fashionable, but saves weight and space in the suitcase.

[Bailey Swedishfish]

We bought some 28' super lightweight Samsonite suitcases a few years ago. Hard sided, super light weight and spinners. LOVE them. We also have a small inexpensive luggage scale we stow in our carry on. There is no way I am ever paying airlines for additional baggage fees.

 

It's hard to pack for shoulder seasons...you still need warm wear but don't want to sweat if it warms up (happened on our May Rhine cruise..the temps jumped almost 30 degrees and a lot of people were out shopping for light weight clothes in Strasbourg!)

 

I tend to pack our shoes and heavier jackets in our carry-ons..never had a problem with airlines weighing those. (They just have to fit the size requirements)

 

I don't care if I'm hauling a trunk--as long as it's under 50#, I'm good to go.

 

And yes, plan to have laundry done on board. So easy to do, inexpensive and cheaper than paying the airline the additional fees.

[TravelerThom]

Several airlines limit the weight of carry-ons, it's wise to check with yours...

EXAMPLE: Lufthansa carry on weight restriction is 8kg (17.6 pounds) - they do weigh and if you can't get it down to that you have to check it and pay for it assuming that put you over your included luggage limit. :mad: