how long in advance do you pack

[luckyinpa]

ive seen more than one person say they pack months in advance. so i'm curious what you pack?

 

maybe people have 2 sets of clothing, 2 sets of toiletries etc etc but i dont 🙂 

[clo]

I've wondered about that myself. We actually pack the day before we leave. But maybe a week before we cover our dining table with a former bedspread and it becomes our "staging area." And we have a "travel box" in the basement that holds nothing but travel paraphernalia. So we bring it up and take out the things we'll need for the particular kind of trip. It's worked for us for quite a few years. As far as clothes I have a pretty big walk in closet so I'll move the clothes I intend to take away from the things from the others. 

[Aquahound]

5 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

ive seen more than one person say they pack months in advance. so i'm curious what you pack?

 

maybe people have 2 sets of clothing, 2 sets of toiletries etc etc but i dont 🙂 

 

I travel a lot for work, so I do have a separate set of travel toiletries that I can just grab-and-go.  As for clothing, I pack the day before.  DW packs a couple days before.  

[ed01106]

Depends on the schedule.  If I am flying out first thing Saturday morning, I probably will make my list and start packing the weekend before.  If I am leaving on a Sunday, I might not start until the day before.  

 

Time of year is also a factor, if I am taking a winter vacation down south I will pack most of my clothes months in advance while doing the fall clothing switch over.  (Otherwise I would need to dig the boxes from the back of the closet). In the summer much of the clothes can’t get packed until I do my last pretrip laundry.   It is quite possible that many of the months in advance packer are packing summer clothes in the fall for a winter vacation.  
 

 

Edited February 5, 2021 by ed01106

[TheOldBear]

26 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

ive seen more than one person say they pack months in advance. so i'm curious what you pack?

 

maybe people have 2 sets of clothing, 2 sets of toiletries etc etc but i dont 🙂 

 

We are local to the port [no flying or other public transport] so we tend to overpack [more than] a bit, but we know what can be stowed in our preferred stateroom category.

 

After each cruise, we will have any formal clothing that needs cleaning, cleaned.  There is a guest room dresser drawer and about 18 inches of closet rod space devoted to tuxes, tux shirts, gowns, blazers, dress slacks, dresses. 

Thats the several months ahead part.

A Cunard transatlantic round trip will have three formal nights each way, plus a couple of other formals for any European leg of the sailing. That is usually covered by a tux & two shirts + a gown & accessories.

We figure on packing clothing for 7 to 9 days between laundry room visits.

A month or so ahead, we will check out the stored clothing [not just sea air makes waistlines shrink 😉 ] and see what needs updating. That's about the time socks, underwear & casual clothing are diverted onto a [neat] pile on the guest room bed. 

A week before, we have everything ready - and it gets packed into a single large suitcase. We will add a few hangers - never enough hangers.

A day or two before, we have our carry-on items in or on their bags. My carryon is mostly filled with wine bottles, padded with socks and underwear. Mrs Bear's carryon has jewelry, toothbrushes, prescriptions & travel medicines - and the other recommended 'first day' stuff.

We both wear clothing that is suitable for the Cunard's "Smart Casual" nightly dress code - that means wearing a jacket, instead of packing a jacket. Anything that would upset the terminal's metal detectors are in a pocket of my camera bag, or Mrs Bear's purse. 

[sydbarrett]

I'm still packed from my cancelled cruise back in March so I'm good to go any time 🤣 But normally I pack a month or 2 in advance, if I travel to a place with an opposite climate/season to the one I'm in. I only get one fun travel vacation a year if I'm lucky so I get very excited. I like collecting different things as they go on sale and then just keep them in the suitcase til the end. Do a final pack a few nights before.

[getting older slowly]

1 to 2 days generally for a cruise.... 1 day for other holidays

[mom says]

We each have packing lists, honed over many years. About a week before leaving, I review my list and check to see if anything needs to be purchased. At that time I'll make a more detailed list of the specific clothing pieces that I will bring, depending on the season and type of trip. The actual packing is done the day before we leave home.

[jocap]

I plan weeks ahead, in case I need to buy anything new; usually clothes are slowly moved to another room and the cruise drawer is opened and searched.

I've learnt not to fill the suitcase too many days in advance because I always have to open for something, and all the careful layers are disturbed...

OH packs once, about a week before, zips the case and is finished, about a week early.

 

[neverbeenhere]

Normally, (regular years) we always have cruise bags packed, with a list of the last minute additions that we need to make prior to leaving.

[clo]

1 hour ago, sydbarrett said:

I'm still packed from my cancelled cruise back in March so I'm good to go any time 🤣 But normally I pack a month or 2 in advance, if I travel to a place with an opposite climate/season to the one I'm in. I only get one fun travel vacation a year if I'm lucky so I get very excited. I like collecting different things as they go on sale and then just keep them in the suitcase til the end. Do a final pack a few nights before.

So you're 'vacation clothes' aren't worn any other times? I find that quite unusual. If I like something well enough to buy it I don't want to wear it just once a year.

[navybankerteacher]

I will start making  a list about a week before departure - double check it a couple of days later, then pack the day before leaving.

[luckyinpa]

9 minutes ago, clo said:

So you're 'vacation clothes' aren't worn any other times? I find that quite unusual. If I like something well enough to buy it I don't want to wear it just once a year.

 

i'm sure i'm in the minority and its probably men vs women thing, but i wear the same 'stuff' every day of the year. whether its 100 in july or 0 in february . i wear the 'same' shirt so to speak.(admittedly a fleece jacket in winter) alsoi dont spent 30 min at a bus stop like some of you do nor do i walk to work so i'm lucky there . but my house and my office are the same temp year round. i can walk 75 seconds from my car to my office so theres never a reason to wear other than my short sleeve shirts and if i did wear something warm id be dying in the office.

 

but to the point made above, i too, wear my vacation clothes every day of the year. did a canadian cruise in october and bahamas in december. same clothes except shorts of course. i cannot imagine you people that have seasonal clothes, the logistics behind all that changing etc. id go nuts.  also the prep for that TA cruise above made my head spin. 

 

i guess taking just the sneakers on my feet is probably in the minority too for cruises. i'm sure women have a bit more footwear than that 🙂

 

i used to do a long distance relationship and i packed 10 min before i left for the airport. when my mom would ask me days before if i packed i just laughed and said no 😉 but like a lot of you i have a 'master' list that includes things like turning off the water, mail and making sure i have my passport etc

[ilikeanswers]

I pretty much pack the day before but then I am a pretty unusual traveller for these boards as I generally like packing as light as possible since if I cruise it is combined with a land trip so I don't want to be encumbered by too much stuff. The way I see it as long as I have my passport, credit cards and phone I have everything that is essential😁. Anything else left behind I can work it out on the way 😉. 

[iancal]

DW starts one-two days prior to departure.   I pack in the  evening if we have an early morning flight next day (which is often the case) or if we decide to stay at an airport hotel the night before.  

 

IF we are on an afternoon flight, I pack the morning of the flight.  

 

Not a really a big deal for us...we only travel with a carry on roller each.  We travel frequently so we have the process down pat.  If need be, we could both be packed and our of the house in 30 minutes.  Less for me.

Edited February 5, 2021 by iancal

[57redbird]

6 hours ago, Aquahound said:

 

I travel a lot for work, so I do have a separate set of travel toiletries that I can just grab-and-go.  As for clothing, I pack the day before.  DW packs a couple days before.  

DH packs a couple of days before & then ends up digging through his suitcase for something he already packed....  😁. I pack most everything the night before & just add in the few things I used that night.

[jwattle]

2 hours ago, clo said:

So you're 'vacation clothes' aren't worn any other times? I find that quite unusual. If I like something well enough to buy it I don't want to wear it just once a year.

Unusual to you is the norm for some of us; Some of us have special "cruise clothes". These are the clothes that only come out to play for cruises. My formal night clothes would look, as you would say, quite unusual, at my work. Elegant, but definitely out of place. Needless to say, DH and I do formal night as f-o-r-m-a-l.

But to the topic at hand, we start months ahead with suitcases on the guestroom bed with the afore-mentioned formal wear in hard-case garment bags and contribute other outfits as time goes by. A week or two before D-day, we take stock, cuts are made and the final team is announced. It feeds the anticipation! 😍

[Nebr.cruiser]

We generally do the actual packing the day before we leave.  I start a list of things to do/buy/pack a week or two before.  My closet is huge so I start hanging things I know I will take a few days before the cruise.  My husband always packs the night before. If we are leaving late in the day, he might pack in the morning of that day.

 

We have several shelves and drawers with travel items/gadgets/toiletries that I go through before we leave, things such as first aid kit, etc.  

[rkacruiser]

I hate packing for a trip of any length.  

 

For a cruise, I pack in "fits and starts".  I am a "list maker" for cruises.  I will start to pack items that I know I won't be using before I leave a 3-4 weeks before I leave.  After doing some of that:  I am bored and stop.  Only, to repeat again.  And again, etc.  

 

The formal clothes and last minute items don't get packed until 2-3 days before departure.  

 

The carry-on bag(s), if I am driving to the port, are not completed until the day before departure.  

[clo]

33 minutes ago, jwattle said:

Unusual to you is the norm for some of us; Some of us have special "cruise clothes". These are the clothes that only come out to play for cruises. My formal night clothes would look, as you would say, quite unusual, at my work. Elegant, but definitely out of place. Needless to say, DH and I do formal night as f-o-r-m-a-l.

But to the topic at hand, we start months ahead with suitcases on the guestroom bed with the afore-mentioned formal wear in hard-case garment bags and contribute other outfits as time goes by. A week or two before D-day, we take stock, cuts are made and the final team is announced. It feeds the anticipation! 😍

Oh I get the formal part. We no longer travel that way. But as far as slacks, skirts, tops, shirts, shoes, you name it, it's 'my clothes' and I wear them wherever they're appropriate. 

[evandbob]

I can pack the night before we leave. I'll bring a small 21" roller luggage for my clothes and a shoulder bag for travel essentials - meds, docs, binoculars, camera, phone. 

 

It usually takes me longer to count out my meds than my clothes.  Fairly routine after 50 + cruises and maybe 75 land vacays.

 

Lately but pre COVID, I was bringing twice as many "essential" pills (blood thinners, HBP, etc.) as necessary in case of a delay or diversion at sea. Post COVID, whenever that is, I may make it triple.

 

[Philob]

Once we decide or put down money for vacation, SWMBO and I start going through Kid's stuff to see what we need to buy for him. Bought him water shoes/sandals for Hawaii last year, of course cancelled. A year later now they're too small 😐 

 

Otherwise I start collecting my stuff & Kid's when final payment is made. SWMBO packs her stuff a couple of days before departure. 

[sanger727]

3 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

 

i'm sure i'm in the minority and its probably men vs women thing, but i wear the same 'stuff' every day of the year. whether its 100 in july or 0 in february . i wear the 'same' shirt so to speak.(admittedly a fleece jacket in winter) alsoi dont spent 30 min at a bus stop like some of you do nor do i walk to work so i'm lucky there . but my house and my office are the same temp year round. i can walk 75 seconds from my car to my office so theres never a reason to wear other than my short sleeve shirts and if i did wear something warm id be dying in the office.

 

but to the point made above, i too, wear my vacation clothes every day of the year. did a canadian cruise in october and bahamas in december. same clothes except shorts of course. i cannot imagine you people that have seasonal clothes, the logistics behind all that changing etc. id go nuts.  also the prep for that TA cruise above made my head spin. 

 

 

Yeah, I definitely have seasonal clothes. Not quite sure how I could be comfortable wearing the same thing year round. My house is 65 in the winter and 72 in the summer. So, quite a bit of difference there for me. pants, long shirts, sweatshirts in winter. Capris/shorts, tanks tops/t shirts in the summer. In my old house where we didn't have enough closet space I would actually switch my winter clothes out and summer clothes out every year. Now I have more closet space but I still switch between my winter work uniforms and summer work uniforms (we can only wear summer uniforms from March to October).  

[Heidi13]

DW starts a couple of weeks before.

 

If leaving first thing in the morning, I pack the night before, if leaving in the evening, I pack that morning. When I worked on ships and had limited leave, you didn't waste time packing. Packing for a 4 month WC, which is the same length as my old contracts, takes under an hour.

[clo]

8 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

Packing for a 4 month WC, which is the same length as my old contracts, takes under an hour.

I'd likely take the same amount for two weeks or four months.