less luggage

[jandm]

This post is not meant to be in any way confrontational. It is a sincere request for helpful knowledge. We are starting to think about packing for our July cruise. Some posts mention that people are able to pack all their cruise essentials into carry on luggage. We are often able to do this when on our self-guided land vacations where dinner is often a quick snack not requiring a clothing change. On a cruise with formal and smart casual evenings our clothing needs expand and so do our luggage requirements. I would really appreciate some hints from others who have managed to cut back on their clothing needs while still conforming to Princess guidelines. Thanks

[srphnx]

Yes, it is easy, don't set your sights on carryon sized bags. We just made sure our bags rolled and stacked and then took off full sized bags when express debarkation was announced.

Sure it is faster at Airports with carry on only but that isn't a big delay going through customs.

[B] Life is at it's best when your address floats [/B]
Two MORE open Bookings.
[B]<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>[/B]
Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02
Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95
[B]<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>[/B]
Diamond Princess 12/04
Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04
Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02[B]<FONT color=red>
West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>[/B]
Ecstacy 09/01
[B]<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>[/B]
Century 12/97
[B]<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>[/B]
Century 9/96

[Druke I]

The only time I have managed to get by with just a carry-on was on a 2 night Left Coast repositioning.

I did cheat however, I put my suit into my wife's 26' suitcase. We took the one 26" case, and each had one carry-on.

Had we come home directly, I suppose we could have gotten by without the one suitcase - but we stayed over in Vancouver BC and then Seattle.

I personally would rather overpack than underpack.

Michael

[10X]

We color coordinate.

I take one dark suit for formal nights. 1-2 white shirts and a couple of different ties and I'm good. Since the suit calls for black shoes, everything else I take goes with black shoes. The shirts are interchangeable with different slacks for a different look, and these all match with the 1-2 sportcaots I take. No brown shoes or clothing for me. However, if I elected to do brown, then no black. The same goes for shorts etc. One pair of my shorts would go with 90% of the shirts I take, and a second pair of shorts will go with then remaining 10%, and then some.

My wife does the same thing.

When we travel, we wear some of the clothing, like slacks and dressy top/shirt. That way we don't have to pack it. We leave the blue jeans home.

If anything needs cleaning we simply send it to the ship's laundry. We've found that they are not that expensive, especially when compared to the cost of the cruise. We're not rich by any stretch of the imagination but since we've never had to spend more than about $15-$20 for laundry services, I don't find this to be a problem.

You don't need a new and different outfit for every day of the cruise. Trust me, you're the only one who will notice.

'89 Commodore/Caribe I
'92 NCL/Westward
'96 NCL/Seaward
'99 RCI/Rhapsody Of The Seas
'00 RCI/Legend Of The Seas
'01 Princess/Ocean Princess
'02 RCI/Vision Of The Seas
'03 Princess/Sea Princess, back-to-back
'03 Princess/Sea Princess
'04 Hawaii, 2 weeks on land

TAHITIAN PRINCESS 02/11/05

[KAJOKG]

I used to pack two formal dresses...no more. I wear the same one twice and nobody notices. Also, I wear black sandals with my formal, and the same sandals look good with smart casual. I have cut down considerably on the shoes I take. Once my feet swelled so much on a shore excursion, I had to wear my leather thong sandals to dinner with my formal. That taught me that it all didn't matter. My husband brings a navy suit and the jacket looks fine with other tan slacks. We live in Florida, so a full size suitcase isn't a problem considering we don't have to check in for a flight. However, in all of our travels, land and sea, I have a rule of thumb. We each have one 26" suitcase and one tote bag. Wherever we go and forever how long, that is it. What doesn't fit doesn't go. Works for us.

KATY

NCL NORWAY - 2000
GOLDEN PRINCESS - 2001
GOLDEN PRINCESS - 2002
HAL NOORDAM - 2002
HAL VOLENDAM - 2003
ISLAND PRINCESS - NOV. 2003
HAL VOLENDAM - JAN. 2004
CORAL PRINCESS - OCT. 2004

[ADNWL]

MY MOM AND I PROBABLY GET THE AWARD FOR BRINGING TO MUCH..AND THE PRINCESS YOU HAVE A LAUNDRY WHICH IS "NOT VACATION" BUT YOU CAN COUNT THAT YOU WILL NEED EXTRA BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW ABOUT SHOES AND CLOTHES..BUT AT LEAST TWO OUTFITS PER DAY..AND THE UNDERCLOTHES YOU CAN WASH PRETTY EASY BUT WITH THE FORMALITY OF THE EVES AND THE SMART CASUAL IT IS PRETTY HARD TO IMAGINE IT IN A CARRY ON BUT A GOOD SIZED ROLLER BAG AND YOUR CARRY ON SOUNDS RIGHT!! HAVE FUN..AND JUST THINK YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND A DEAL ON SHIP.

[CruiseFever]

[I]"I would really appreciate some hints from others who have managed to cut back on their clothing needs while still conforming to Princess guidelines."[/I]

Great question!

There are probably as many stories about packing including sizes, shapes and brands of luggage as there are travelers. I'll tell you some elements of our packing strategy which works for us and you can take it from there. Some elements might be good for you, some not.

First, I think the best way to see exactly what you need...I mean get it down to the last sock, is to pay really close attention when you are packing up on the last day of the cruise. I didn't do that for many cruises and suddenly realized that some of this stuff I never wear but continue to bring on each cruise.

That's something you can tuck away and remember on your last day on the ship. Some people keep a little notebook of things to do again or things not to do when cruising that they may forget later. This is info that should be in there for sure.

Preparing for the cruise, though, regardless of male or female, to me, revolves around formal nights. That's where we start the planning.

If we are on a 7 day cruise we know there will be two formal nights requiring (duh) formal wear. I will wear the same tux to both nights. DD and DW want to bring a different outfit for each. I've seen ladies that dress formally for each dinner appearance and really get into it. I think that's great. Formal night is...well...[I]formal.[/I]

That part is fairly easy to plan. What's hard (or seems to be) and I think is where the thrust of your question originates, is the definition of "smart casual", "resort wear" and other terms. There's a lot of interpretation there as opposed to formal wear.

But clothing IS the lions share of your packing space so a good definition is required. Once you have that and what it means to you then you can make decisions and plan accordingly.

I'll leave that for the board to help give you ideas.

As far as carryon's are concerned, I consider that a critical piece of luggage and what I call my [B]survival bag[/B] here's more on all that: [url="http://www.lifeiscruising.com/luggage___packing"]http://www.lifeiscruising.com/luggage___packing[/url]

But I think the trick to it all is organization. There are a bunch of packing lists out there that can be helpful but I think everyone needs their own, if for no other reason that so you don't forget your toothpaste.

Specific hints for cutting back? Here, this should get the ball rolling:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>The age old rule "take twice as much cash and half as much clothes"
<LI>There IS a full service laundry on board, self service and dry cleaning...consider using it
<LI>My favorite: Give up. Just be sure you make the cut on the airline restrictions so you don't have to buy your bermuda shorts a seat on the plane.
[/list]

Happy Cruising

Chris

[url="http://www.LifeIsCruising.com"]www.LifeIsCruising.com[/url]

Next up:
Caribbean Princess 06/26/04
Star Princess 10/24/04
Diamond Princess 12/22/04
Sapphire Princess June '05
Carnival Valor 10/30/05

[KAJOKG]

.....and like the old adage regarding the comma, "When in doubt, leave it out.!"

KATY

NCL NORWAY - 2000
GOLDEN PRINCESS - 2001
GOLDEN PRINCESS - 2002
HAL NOORDAM - 2002
HAL VOLENDAM - 2003
ISLAND PRINCESS - NOV. 2003
HAL VOLENDAM - JAN. 2004
CORAL PRINCESS - OCT. 2004

[mandiecandie5]

Before my last cruise I got this great tip from someone on these boards....

Pack your clothes into gallon-size ziplock bags. It helps them not wrinkle as much (which I found to be very helpful). Push all the air out of the bag, and seal it tightly, it packs the clothes into the suitcase more efficiently and orderly. This is the only way I can get all of my stuff to fit in the suitcase!!! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

Days till Caribbean Princess 12/4/04
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=9400d3&cdt=2004;12;04;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]

[hrob777]

We ran into one couple who said they brought old clothes on the cruise. When the clothes got dirty, they threw them away!

They then had room to pack all of their souvenirs.

[dosi]

Bring a four year old....they qualify for full luggage allowance on the plane. You just squish their little outfits into one corner of their suitcase and then fill it up with the rest of your own stuff!!! Works for me everytime!!

doris

"I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine"--Caskie Stinnett

Elation 10/20/02
Paradise 9/21/03
Pride of Aloha 6/07/04
Star Princess 10/24/04

[sue d. miller]

You sneaky little devil!! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img] I do that to Dickie!! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Sue
7 days on Star Princess 10/24

GROWING OLD IS MANDATORY..... GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL

[srphnx]

I bring old clothes too, problem is that I bring em home.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by hrob777:
We ran into one couple who said they brought old clothes on the cruise. When the clothes got dirty, they threw them away!

They then had room to pack all of their souvenirs.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[B] Life is at it's best when your address floats [/B]
Two MORE open Bookings.
[B]<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>[/B]
Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02
Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95
[B]<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>[/B]
Diamond Princess 12/04
Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04
Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02[B]<FONT color=red>
West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>[/B]
Ecstacy 09/01
[B]<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>[/B]
Century 12/97
[B]<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>[/B]
Century 9/96

[jandm]

Thanks for the help. I found many useful hints. I appreciate the assistance of all those who took the time to reply to this post.

[srphnx]

What would us "know it all's" do if we didn't have someone to know it all for?

[B] Life is at it's best when your address floats [/B]
Two MORE open Bookings.
[B]<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>[/B]
Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02
Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95
[B]<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>[/B]
Diamond Princess 12/04
Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04
Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02[B]<FONT color=red>
West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>[/B]
Ecstacy 09/01
[B]<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>[/B]
Century 12/97
[B]<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>[/B]
Century 9/96

[Layla]

I use the zip lock method of packing and it's great. Less wrinkles, more room and if TSA does open your suitcase, they don't handle your clothes. - Works great!

Yours in Cruising, Layla

[Haven]

I travel a lot for business and I've learned a few tricks along the way that have served me well both for work and vacation. One trick is to narrow your wardrobe down to one or two colors, i.e. black and white. This means helps you mix and match and limits number of necessary shoes and undergarments. Also a simple matte jersey dress or pantsuit travels well and can be dressed up or down for formal nights with great jewelry, shoes, and wrap.
Rolling your clothes is very helpful and allows you to get more into a suitcase. Also carry coats and jackets on board with you.

The other thing I've learned for cruising was to pack two outfits to get me though the first couple of days in case my luggage and I get separated. I usually pack a smart casual, casual and formal outfit (the matte jersey dress), and swimsuit with all of my toiletries.

Hope this helps. Happy cruising.

[rumbaLiz]

You really can cut down on shorts and tops for the day. I took too many of those and I favoured two shorts and top sets and put them in the self serve laundry. Put them in the washer while I had a shower, went back, threw them in the dryer, went back to dry my hair etc, ran down to get then out and ...all done and put away and went to dinner...easy. The others I brought with me didnt see the light of day..so thats on area I can cut down on next time...but not the evening wear...just yet.

[bubr61971]

Is there a limit of the number or the size of a carry on. We have a neat little dolly that we use that will hold 4 suitcase rechoiring only one person to roll. I realize you need to pack light there are other things that I require because of my medical conditions. Thanks for your answers
We will no be flying in we are driving.

[bubr61971]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bubr61971:
Is there a limit of the number or the size of a carry on. We have a neat little dolly that we use that will hold 4 suitcase rechoiring only one person to roll. I realize you need to pack light there are other things that I require because of my medical conditions. Thanks for your answers<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>