Weight limit

[JMAE]

6 minutes ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

How could it have 'hit home' with me that "...the porters can tell the first time cruises[sic] by the weight and amounts of checked bags"?  I am far from a first time cruiser.🙄  

 

OK, great.  I'm happy for you.  But that has nothing to do with what I was saying.  I was asked by a poster what i pack due to cutbacks and I answered.  I never said that Carnival has never made any good changes as well as making cutbacks.  This isn't a Cutbacks vs. Changes thread.  It is a thread about luggage limits.  My posts were all related to luggage limits.  The question asked of me was relating to luggage limits.  And until this off-topic part here, this post of yours was about luggage limits, kind of.  It was actually a lame jab at me, but it could at least be considered on-topic.  What the heck does any of your lovely list of brilliant changes and how you feel about them have to do with luggage limits???

Of the people I know that cruise a lot, as the number of cruises increase, the amount of items they pack decreases.  I have several friends that only use one carry-on bags (aircraft size carry-on) for a 7 day cruise.  If you need to pack a lot I don't care, you are carrying and paying for it if you are flying.  It is your vacation and if you need these items to have fun, I'm happy you can carry them.

 

My point to the list was not packing, you used the term "cutback" in your post.  If you want to pack a mattress pad, a tray etc (your list), once again I don't care, it is your vacation and if you need these items to enjoy your time on a cruise bring them all.  My point is, I don't see them as cutbacks, I see them as changes and I pointed out many positive changes that has happened since I started to cruise.  From my list I see two thing that addresses bags, FTTF is a change that you can receive you bags early which was added a few years ago and with the Hub App, they will deliver food and drink to you anywhere on the ship, so they are carrying the tray of food and drink to you.

[sanmarcosman]

53 minutes ago, JMAE said:

1. Big Chicken

We've sailed Carnival since '87 and this one eludes us. 

 

[JMAE]

15 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

We've sailed Carnival since '87 and this one eludes us.

 

Big Chicken, will be on the Carnival Radiance and Mardi Gras.

[Saint Greg]

I’m interested in a layout of the clothes the light packers pack. I need to cut back for a future cruise and I’m curious what others do. Flying in for this one not only am I going to have a smaller suitcase, but for the first time I’m going to have to pack dirty clothes. The clothes from my travel day the day before the cruise have

to come with me. That’s wasted space there. Elegant night...clothes I’m going to wear for a couple hours are going to take up a significant portion of my suitcase. I don’t know how I’m going to do it.

[JMAE]

With the more relaxed cruising style now a days, I use the sports jacket for both elegant nights (7 day cruise) one dress shirt and two different ties since we change right after dinner.  In days past, I would have a different shirt, tie and pants for each night  and for Formal Nights I would carry two different suits.  The less restrictive Elegant Night dress code helps me pack less.  For dinner I carry 5 shirts, one dress shirt, a sports coat and 2 pair of pants.  I also, carry 2 bathing suits, 6 tee shirts and 3 pair of shorts along with underwear and socks.  I also take 3 sets of footwear, a shoe, sneakers and a water shoe.  In the pass we found we would take home a lot of clothing we never would wear.   

[Saint Greg]

3 hours ago, JMAE said:

With the more relaxed cruising style now a days, I use the sports jacket for both elegant nights (7 day cruise) one dress shirt and two different ties since we change right after dinner.  In days past, I would have a different shirt, tie and pants for each night  and for Formal Nights I would carry two different suits.  The less restrictive Elegant Night dress code helps me pack less.  For dinner I carry 5 shirts, one dress shirt, a sports coat and 2 pair of pants.  I also, carry 2 bathing suits, 6 tee shirts and 3 pair of shorts along with underwear and socks.  I also take 3 sets of footwear, a shoe, sneakers and a water shoe.  In the pass we found we would take home a lot of clothing we never would wear.   

 

Thanks. What size suitcase is that?

[Doggielover68]

7 hours ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

Good for you.

 

In my opinion, that is "roughing it" and I prefer not to rough it when on a cruise.

Yeah. I wouldn't want to "rough it" for 7 days without my mattress topper or heavy cream. 

 

Seriously. Heavy cream? 

[JMAE]

56 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

Thanks. What size suitcase is that?

It is the mid sized suitcase in my set.

[SRQbeachgirl]

For those of us who have to fly to port (one of the things I miss about living in Florida) the weight limit is driven by the airlines, rather than the cruise line. Has anyone (besides me) had to crack open their luggage at the airline counter and transfer stuff to the carryon or backpack to get their checked bag under the weight limit? Should have known not to pack those hard cover novels. 🙄

[2wheelin]

9 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I’m interested in a layout of the clothes the light packers pack. I need to cut back for a future cruise and I’m curious what others do. Flying in for this one not only am I going to have a smaller suitcase, but for the first time I’m going to have to pack dirty clothes. The clothes from my travel day the day before the cruise have

to come with me. That’s wasted space there. Elegant night...clothes I’m going to wear for a couple hours are going to take up a significant portion of my suitcase. I don’t know how I’m going to do it.

Clothes from travel day can be worn again on a cruise day, or if coming from a different season, can be worn on the travel day home. Better yet, wear them the next day to board. I will frequently wear a soft knit or T shirt for travel days and that becomes my sleepwear for the next few days. Shirts worn early in the week can also be changed out for sleepwear later in the week. 

All other clothes including elegant night wear can certainly be worn again, especially if only being worn for a couple hours at a time.

Experienced travelers become more efficient at packing. It’s not always how much you bring but how efficient you are at saving space. Never found a need for more than one bag.

[Doggielover68]

OP, 50 lbs is the guideline. If it goes a little over by a pound or two I wouldn't worry about it. A lot of the weight can be the suitcase itself, so try to find a lightweight one if you don't have one already. 

 

Some tips for decreasing the weight:

 

Remove all tags from new clothes

 

Use travel sized bottles for liquids, even in your checked bag unless it's something you need a lot of (sunscreen)

 

Remove packaging from anything you're packing, such as otc meds, pool/snorkel gear, etc.

 

Use plastic bags or shower caps for your shoes instead of heavier storage items

 

Avoid vacuum sealed bags. While they create more space, you end up packing more weight. 

 

Don't bring towels (beach towels are provided)

 

 

[purplephenom]

I'll usually do a week's cruise with 1 checked suitcase and a backpack- though the backpack is mainly just for electronics.  The one thing I still haven't figured out how to cut back on is tshirts, without doing laundry.  On a 7 day cruise, plus a day or two in the home port, I'll usually go through 12-13 tshirts and really, I could use a few more but I get tired of packing them.  I'm pretty active on our cruises, both on the ship and excursions, and finding myself wanting a fresh tshirt fairly often.  I also end up taking lots of showers and that contributes.  But, I could roll them up pretty small if I needed to fit them into a smaller bag.  Since I fly Southwest, and don't have to pay to check my bag, I don't worry about it.  Though I'm sure if anyone ever saw my suitcase they'd wonder about the ridiculous number of tshirts compared to everything else in the bag. 

[purplephenom]

11 hours ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

For those of us who have to fly to port (one of the things I miss about living in Florida) the weight limit is driven by the airlines, rather than the cruise line. Has anyone (besides me) had to crack open their luggage at the airline counter and transfer stuff to the carryon or backpack to get their checked bag under the weight limit? Should have known not to pack those hard cover novels. 🙄

 

sounds like you need a kindle! :-) 

 

 

[Sailor_Sally]

I always only take one suitcase no matter how long the trip is .I did a four week trip with one suitcase I just sent out  laundry . For five day cruises I pack in a carry on size bag and have lots of choices . I just limit the shoes .

[SRQbeachgirl]

1 hour ago, purplephenom said:

 

sounds like you need a kindle! :-) 

 

 

 

I have two, but I have a deep-rooted love of hardcover books. It's an addiction I haven't been able to break.

[coevan]

2 hours ago, Doggielover68 said:

Don't bring towels (beach towels are provided)

 

 

We always bring microfiber towels. Carnival's towels are huge and take up a whole beach bag. 

 

 

2 hours ago, Doggielover68 said:

Remove all tags from new clothes

 

 

seriously?

[Doggielover68]

1 minute ago, coevan said:

 

 

We always bring microfiber towels. Carnival's towels are huge and take up a whole beach bag. 

 

 

 

 

seriously?

Yes, seriously. I don't mean garment tags, but price tags and such. I know a lot of people buy lots of new things before a trip and you'd surprised how much extra weight can come from a silly thing like that. Not to mention, women's clothing can be more delicate and when cramming things in a suitcase, those plastic tag holders can poke holes into your new duds. Has happened to me many times. 

[coevan]

5 minutes ago, Doggielover68 said:

you'd surprised how much extra weight can come from a silly thing like that

 

 

yes I would be, less than 1/2 oz at the most

[Doggielover68]

Just now, coevan said:

 

 

yes I would be, less than 1/2 oz at the most

When combining it with other small weight saving techniques to avoid excess baggage fees imposed by the airlines, every little bit helps. Trust me. Every trip I find myself packing, weighing, removing things, weighing, adding things, weighing, etc. And these steps have helped me out.