Packing light for cruise

[Iamcruzin]

1 hour ago, kelbell said:

You be you, you paid for your cruise. You didn't ask everyone on board

to chip in.😉  Judge free life. Like many we do not do formal night in

any fashion, we skip MDR that evening. But I enjoy looking at everyone

all dressed up. I find it charming, just not for us.

I have to agree but finding people dressed up seems to be far and few between. Princess seems to be the only line that we sail on that I would feel out of place if not dressed properly. Yes they have lowered their standards as well but not to the extent of Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.

Edited January 19, 2021 by Iamcruzin

[ReneeFLL]

3 hours ago, alfaeric said:

You can still fit a suit or long dress in that arrangement.  We've done that style of travel for over 20 years, like you for long trips, too.  Fitting formal clothing in that is pretty darned easy.  Not sure why people think it's so hard.

Exactly.

[ReneeFLL]

3 hours ago, alfaeric said:

Have your checked bags lost sometime.  Or held up for whatever reason for further checks, so that it misses your original flight.

 

We had our luggage lost for over a week a long time ago, and then also noted how much easier travel is with less stuff.  So it's one overhead bag + one under bag. 

 

For short trips, it's even less- one bag for a weekend cruise.

 

I'm fine being "that guy" filling up the bins so that we can travel w/o worrying about our bags.  And that does include carrying our luggage on and off the ship.

We met some people on a cruise whose luggage didn’t catch up with them for almost 2 weeks on a 21 day cruise. The airline gave them some money after 2 days so they could buy some clothes. Their choices were shops on Royal or in ports. Needless to say they weren’t happy. We learned after meeting them to do a few things differently. Always bring a change of clothes in a carry on or bag/purse and to have some of our clothing in the other persons bag. So if only 1 bag gets lost then we each still have some clothes. Luckily we have never had any luggage lost with any of our vacations.

[loman]

Good idea to cross pack clothes , we put half in each others suit case so if we lose one bag its not so bad . We have been doing this for a while now also .

 

[cloud_nine]

1 hour ago, ReneeFLL said:

We met some people on a cruise whose luggage didn’t catch up with them for almost 2 weeks on a 21 day cruise. The airline gave them some money after 2 days so they could buy some clothes. Their choices were shops on Royal or in ports. Needless to say they weren’t happy. We learned after meeting them to do a few things differently. Always bring a change of clothes in a carry on or bag/purse and to have some of our clothing in the other persons bag. So if only 1 bag gets lost then we each still have some clothes. Luckily we have never had any luggage lost with any of our vacations.

We always pack like this, putting half of each others clothes in the others cases. My mum used to pack our luggage like this from the time I was young and I've continued to do it to this day and fortunately I've never lost luggage.

[Eddie Wilson]

First couple of cruises I had to double pack, one set of clothes for early in the week, let’s call them “skinny” set, and another set for later in the week, let’s call them the “fluffy” set.

Later I learned how not to get fluffy while on board.

 

Eddie

[Ashland]

10 hours ago, alfaeric said:

Have your checked bags lost sometime.  Or held up for whatever reason for further checks, so that it misses your original flight.

 

We had our luggage lost for over a week a long time ago, and then also noted how much easier travel is with less stuff.  So it's one overhead bag + one under bag. 

 

For short trips, it's even less- one bag for a weekend cruise.

 

I'm fine being "that guy" filling up the bins so that we can travel w/o worrying about our bags.  And that does include carrying our luggage on and off the ship.

Nope never a luggage problem (fingers crossed)...Be "that guy" just don't try to cram your stuff into overhead's that aren't above or near your seat...so glad the FA's keep an eye out for those that try to at least in first/business.

[Missusdubbya]

7 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

We met some people on a cruise whose luggage didn’t catch up with them for almost 2 weeks on a 21 day cruise. The airline gave them some money after 2 days so they could buy some clothes. Their choices were shops on Royal or in ports. Needless to say they weren’t happy. We learned after meeting them to do a few things differently. Always bring a change of clothes in a carry on or bag/purse and to have some of our clothing in the other persons bag. So if only 1 bag gets lost then we each still have some clothes. Luckily we have never had any luggage lost with any of our vacations.

We do this too, and I always have a change of clothes plus my swimsuit in carry-on in case anything gets lost (it would be hard to replace a swimsuit at the last minute - I am so picky 😁).

[vacationlover_mn]

On 1/15/2021 at 8:49 AM, Iplayslots said:

With the hopes that my OPTIMISTIC  views that our Aug 22nd Oasis cruise is still on, I will ask my questions. 
 

Last time we sailed over 20 years ago. Formal night was FORMAL. since times have changed. im not going to bring a Tux or dark suite. However, I remember the ship was very cool at night time. If I bring dress pants, collar shirt and a sports coat. Would i feel out of place? Or should i shlep my heavy wool suit also?

That is perfectly ok.  In fact, my DH feels completely fine without the coat on formal night.  He doesn’t even pack it anymore.

[alfaeric]

12 hours ago, Ashland said:

Nope never a luggage problem (fingers crossed)...Be "that guy" just don't try to cram your stuff into overhead's that aren't above or near your seat...so glad the FA's keep an eye out for those that try to at least in first/business.

Sometimes that's hard to avoid when "that other guy" had already put stuff in our bin.

 

Realistically, I'm still trying to find the ideal bags that fit perfectly, and may have to make my own by some place locally.  And it's helped a LOT that airlines and and the manufactures have redesigned the compartments so that more stuff fits- instead of having both bags lay on their sides, both can stood up on their sides.  

 

BTW- quick tip- for those that do fly in first/business and carry on- don't get the first row.  Especially on the port side.  The first row bins are considerably smaller than the rest.  I still have to work on my travel agent (DW) to just get the third row for us.

 

For the same reason- we carry all of our stuff on the ship, and after dragging our stuff around trying to get on board first- we now shoot for ~1pm, so that we can go directly to our cabin, unpack and enjoy.  Missing a handful of hours on a cruise isn't a big deal- seen most ships, drank enough already, and nothing is open but food and drinks.

[Seville2Cabo]

13 hours ago, Ashland said:

Nope never a luggage problem (fingers crossed)...Be "that guy" just don't try to cram your stuff into overhead's that aren't above or near your seat...so glad the FA's keep an eye out for those that try to at least in first/business.

Except for putting you bags in your cabin class, there are no reserved overhead spaces and no rule to they must be over your seat.  All the overhead (in your class) is first come first served.  

[Ashland]

5 hours ago, Seville2Cabo said:

Except for putting you bags in your cabin class, there are no reserved overhead spaces and no rule to they must be over your seat.  All the overhead (in your class) is first come first served.  

One of the perks of flying first class.

I know that other class of service is different...but aren't you annoyed when you have to go back farther to find a bin.....common courtesy should be to use the bins above/near your seat is lost on many. Makes it difficult when deplaning also.

[Travelling2Some]

Most European airlines allow one carry-on bag 21.6" (55 cm) x 15.7" (40 cm) x 7.8" (20 cm).  (Ryanair is much worse - surely they will have us flying in our underwear soon, lol.)  Would a reasonable person  really bring formal wear to be worn twice on an month long journey with those limitations?  The big clunky men's shoes would be the first problem.  Hubby can't very well wear a suit with his hiking boots or sneakers. 

[Travelling2Some]

Was just thinking I'd pass on the "solution" to the dress up clothes dilemma that I've come up with when sailing on the dressier cruise lines:  black leggings and black spaghetti strap top with a sheer/sparkly top that weighs about as much as a scarf popped over it.  Menswear is tougher.  My husband has brought an older dress shirt and tie and then discarded them.  It's a bit ironic that our "formal" clothes are so inexpensive compared to our everyday travel clothes!

[lenquixote66]

On 1/15/2021 at 10:13 AM, smokeybandit said:

We're not big formal night fans, so I just wear a tie, no sports coat.

 

And I'm still more over dressed than others there.

The last time I wore a tie on a cruise was 2010.

[cloud_nine]

3 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

Most European airlines allow one carry-on bag 21.6" (55 cm) x 15.7" (40 cm) x 7.8" (20 cm).  (Ryanair is much worse - surely they will have us flying in our underwear soon, lol.)  Would a reasonable person  really bring formal wear to be worn twice on an month long journey with those limitations?  The big clunky men's shoes would be the first problem.  Hubby can't very well wear a suit with his hiking boots or sneakers. 

Most European airlines I've flown on allow you to bring a checked suitcase too. Granted I've never flown Ryan Air and never plan to, but KLM, EasyJet, Alitalia and various others I've flown have all permitted hold bags, so don't see the problem.

[vacationlover_mn]

23 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

The last time I wore a tie on a cruise was 2010.

My DH still wears a tie and nice shirt, but hasn’t done a coat in years... and never feels out of place 🙂. I wear dresses, but only because I want to- I don’t need to

[BND]

On 1/19/2021 at 12:28 PM, ReneeFLL said:

We met some people on a cruise whose luggage didn’t catch up with them for almost 2 weeks on a 21 day cruise. The airline gave them some money after 2 days so they could buy some clothes. Their choices were shops on Royal or in ports. Needless to say they weren’t happy. We learned after meeting them to do a few things differently. Always bring a change of clothes in a carry on or bag/purse and to have some of our clothing in the other persons bag. So if only 1 bag gets lost then we each still have some clothes. Luckily we have never had any luggage lost with any of our vacations.

We have always cross packed on every single cruise. That way at least we have a few days of clothes each.  We don't fly but luggage is occasionally lost getting onto the ship.  I pack half in each bag if we're taking two or spread it out if we're taking three.  

[lenquixote66]

5 hours ago, vacationlover_mn said:

My DH still wears a tie and nice shirt, but hasn’t done a coat in years... and never feels out of place 🙂. I wear dresses, but only because I want to- I don’t need to

 

2 hours ago, BND said:

We have always cross packed on every single cruise. That way at least we have a few days of clothes each.  We don't fly but luggage is occasionally lost getting onto the ship.  I pack half in each bag if we're taking two or spread it out if we're taking three.  

I wore suits for 38 years .After retiring I only wore suits for weddings and funerals and a few cruises.

[ReneeFLL]

On 1/20/2021 at 4:49 PM, lenquixote66 said:

The last time I wore a tie on a cruise was 2010.

When was the last time you cruised? That makes a difference in your comment.

 

6 hours ago, BND said:

We have always cross packed on every single cruise. That way at least we have a few days of clothes each.  We don't fly but luggage is occasionally lost getting onto the ship.  I pack half in each bag if we're taking two or spread it out if we're taking three.  

You don’t ever have to fly to or from a cruise? 

[BND]

7 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

 

You don’t ever have to fly to or from a cruise? 

We live in VA and take Amtrak to NY/NJ from DC, we drive to Baltimore and take the Amtrak Auto Train back and forth to FL.  We have flown to one cruise in San Diego 13 years ago but it was tacked onto the end of a trip out there anyway.  

Edited January 22, 2021 by BND

[Cruise a holic]

On 1/15/2021 at 9:49 AM, Iplayslots said:

With the hopes that my OPTIMISTIC  views that our Aug 22nd Oasis cruise is still on, I will ask my questions. 
 

Last time we sailed over 20 years ago. Formal night was FORMAL. since times have changed. im not going to bring a Tux or dark suite. However, I remember the ship was very cool at night time. If I bring dress pants, collar shirt and a sports coat. Would i feel out of place? Or should i shlep my heavy wool suit also?

We still enjoy dressing up for formal-chic nights.  I wear cocktail attire and my husband a suit with shirt and tie.  Especially now- since I live in sweats, I look forward to dressing up!  We don't mind bringing extra luggage and having choice.  We get a cart at the airport and easy to check luggage.  When we go home, we take luggage valet. 

[ReneeFLL]

3 hours ago, BND said:

We live in VA and take Amtrak to NY/NJ from DC, we drive to Baltimore and take the Amtrak Auto Train back and forth to FL.  We have flown to one cruise in San Diego 13 years ago but it was tacked onto the end of a trip out there anyway.  

Ok, I was thinking you have some how managed to avoid flying overseas like take a cruise over and back. I would love to do that someday and stay in the country for 6 months.

[BND]

11 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

Ok, I was thinking you have some how managed to avoid flying overseas like take a cruise over and back. I would love to do that someday and stay in the country for 6 months.

DH and I have talked about taking the Queen Mary over at some point and touring and then coming back on it after a couple of months.  

[fandash03]

hi there

My husband wears pair of dress trousers and shorts sleeve shirt - no tie for formal nights and doesn't look out of place. the only time he was really dressed was our first cruise when he wore a kilt with ghilly shirt which was 16 years ago.  we travel light with only small case but still manage to pack a lot and enough for cruise. there are still people who dress really formal and then there are people who dress smart casual too 

enjoy your cruise