Packing (light) European cruise

[Cruiser1862]

Hi, I’m desperately trying to pack as light as possible for a European cruise (western). We will spend 3 days prior in Rome and take a 7 day cruise. This is early June so warm weather items with also pants, light jacket and a sweater or 2. 
 

Biggest question…I’m used to Caribbean cruises where I’m in a bathing suit by day, shower and get changed for dinner. Even if it’s just a casual dinner night of capris, sundress, etc. 

On the Mediterranean cruise, we will mostly be out doing excursions all day. So that’s an outfit right there. Then coming back to ship for dinner do you all change?  Are you sweaty, etc from touring all day and freshen up?  If so, that’s double the amount of clothes I’ll need. 
 

please don’t suggest sending things to be laundered. I bring enough undergarments but my shirts, dresses, pants I hang to dry so it won’t help me. 
 

just curious so I can pack as light as possible. 

[cloud_nine]

6 minutes ago, Cruiser1862 said:

Then coming back to ship for dinner do you all change?  Are you sweaty, etc from touring all day and freshen up?  If so, that’s double the amount of clothes I’ll need. 

Yes, we always change for dinner. June can get pretty warm in the Med, and lots of the tours are quite walking-intensive so you could get quite sweaty (I do). For day wear I tend to take one or two pairs of shorts and some tops to go with, and a few lightweight summer dresses. Also, remember that if you'll be heading into cathedrals or other religious places that shoulders (and knees too I think) need to be covered. Sundresses, capris are fine for evening wear. Or to cut down you could take a skirt and/or pants with a few tops and mix and match. 

[xxHadleyxx]

20 minutes ago, Cruiser1862 said:

Hi, I’m desperately trying to pack as light as possible for a European cruise (western). We will spend 3 days prior in Rome and take a 7 day cruise. This is early June so warm weather items with also pants, light jacket and a sweater or 2. 
 

Biggest question…I’m used to Caribbean cruises where I’m in a bathing suit by day, shower and get changed for dinner. Even if it’s just a casual dinner night of capris, sundress, etc. 

On the Mediterranean cruise, we will mostly be out doing excursions all day. So that’s an outfit right there. Then coming back to ship for dinner do you all change?  Are you sweaty, etc from touring all day and freshen up?  If so, that’s double the amount of clothes I’ll need. 
 

please don’t suggest sending things to be laundered. I bring enough undergarments but my shirts, dresses, pants I hang to dry so it won’t help me. 
 

just curious so I can pack as light as possible. 

I'm comfortable touring in a sundress.  I'll wear one to dinner in the evening (it won't get sweaty then) then the same dress out touring on a different day later on.

 

Could do the same with capris and a cute top.

 

Don't forget that many churches, especially in Italy, require shoulders and knees be covered to enter 

Edited May 11, 2022 by xxHadleyxx

[yogimax]

Just a heads up.  Pack some basics in your carry on.  Our daughter just returned from a European cruise (Copenhagen) and KLM didn't deliver their luggage until six days later.

[barriedavis]

17 minutes ago, Cruiser1862 said:

Hi, I’m desperately trying to pack as light as possible for a European cruise (western). We will spend 3 days prior in Rome and take a 7 day cruise. This is early June so warm weather items with also pants, light jacket and a sweater or 2. 
 

Biggest question…I’m used to Caribbean cruises where I’m in a bathing suit by day, shower and get changed for dinner. Even if it’s just a casual dinner night of capris, sundress, etc. 

On the Mediterranean cruise, we will mostly be out doing excursions all day. So that’s an outfit right there. Then coming back to ship for dinner do you all change?  Are you sweaty, etc from touring all day and freshen up?  If so, that’s double the amount of clothes I’ll need. 
 

please don’t suggest sending things to be laundered. I bring enough undergarments but my shirts, dresses, pants I hang to dry so it won’t help me. 
 

just curious so I can pack as light as possible. 

Limits on luggage weights have taught many to pack sparingly.  I don't know whether you bring stuff to impress others or to be decent.  Many years ago, I decided that I did not want to impress people I would never see again.  Clothes for dinner/evenings are, in my case, worn for 4 hours maximum each day in air conditioning.  I do not sweat and am not a messy eater.  I see nothing wrong with wearing the same shirt and pants for 2/3 evenings.  If 3 evenings, the total time spent wearing these items will be no or little more than a standard working day but in conditions much more tolerable temperature wise.  I take a pair of sneakers, a pair of leather shoes and flip flops for the pool.  My wife has not yet complained.

[Joseph2017China]

I pack what I fit in a suitcase (50.7 lbs).  I often times never dress for dinner outside what I am wearing unless, I'm wearing shorts.  I have no issues wearing jeans or shorts multiple times.....so all I worry about is some polo or button down shirts to go with jeans or maybe a pair of dark khakis

[Acruisingperson]

I did a challenge where I wore the same merino wool dress for 100 days in a row and I had a two week trip in France and Italy during that challenge. I packed next to nothing and wore that dress every day and it was lovely. I plan to do something similar on future trips, although I'll likely bring two dresses. I did wear my "pajamas" (sweatpants and a tshirt) on the plane and I packed two light sweaters, a pair of tights, a pair of cropped leggings, a tshirt, two lightweight scarves, and a Ripskirt (brand name of a wrap skirt I threw in my purse for when I needed to cover my knees), and a pair of nice flats. I wore black sneakers and a light jacket on the plane. I could have fit everything into a backpack and I had everything I needed during that trip. All that to say, you don't need a lot. If you're worried about getting sweaty while touring, which is a legit concern, pack one outfit to wear to dinner every night. Trust me, nobody is going to notice or care if you're wearing the same thing every night. Not one person noticed I wore the same dress for 100 days! 

[Tapi]

We packed for 10 days in the Mediterranean in one carry-on per person. It worked. Just plan on wearing some outer garments more than once, but bring enough under garments to change into after a long, sweaty day of sightseeing. Summers in the Med can be brutally hot. 

[loman]

1 hour ago, Joseph2017China said:

I pack what I fit in a suitcase (50.7 lbs).  I often times never dress for dinner outside what I am wearing unless, I'm wearing shorts.  I have no issues wearing jeans or shorts multiple times.....so all I worry about is some polo or button down shirts to go with jeans or maybe a pair of dark khakis

I pack about 30 lbs per suitcase and we bring too much for a one week cruise .

I will wear the same shirts a couple of times if i didnt sweat in them.

Like another poster said , low hours in a particular garment allows for this.

No more packing  jackets for formal night either.

[Joseph2017China]

3 minutes ago, loman said:

I pack about 30 lbs per suitcase and we bring too much for a one week cruise .

I will wear the same shirts a couple of times if i didnt sweat in them.

Like another poster said , low hours in a particular garment allows for this.

No more packing  jackets for formal night either.

Well, I don't actually fill the suitcase.....just using it as humor.  It might only be 45lbs with room to bring extra stuff home

 

[SbbquilterUT]

We pack in 22" carry on bags as I hate messing with luggage.  I wear hiking pants for cooler days with tee shirt and sweater, capris on warmer days or my black skort.  I can wear the black knee length skort for dinner as well as one pair of black knit slacks.  My tops are fabric I can rinse and hang to dry.  I have a couple scarves/knit shawls that dress up those plain tops.  We are so tired after a day of touring that we clean up, put on clean evening clothes and go to dinner.  That top can be worn more than once.  I do admit to taking advantage of free laundry bag for pajamas, socks and underwear.  Do not forget a hat and very comfortable shoes which for me are running shoes.

[Bound4Bermuda]

We did a 12-night Mediterranean in October. I definitely didn’t pack 24 outfits! I wore the same thing for dinner. You’re already going to be dressed nicer for walking around Europe than you would be in the Caribbean. I just brought a few different items to change into just in case. 

[Cruiser1862]

Thank you for these replies. We recently did a B2B Caribbean and I wore the same pair of capris 4 times in the evenings. They were so comfy and as you have all stated, you wear them for a few hours. I honestly didn’t care if anyone noticed. I appreciate all of your responses

[clochette]

1 hour ago, Acruisingperson said:

I did a challenge where I wore the same merino wool dress for 100 days in a row and I had a two week trip in France and Italy during that challenge.

just curios did you wash the dress every night?

[vjmatty]

I would recommend also packing a light cardigan or other type of cover-up because ships tend to be over air-conditioned, especially at dinner time.

[Nunagoras]

Pretty much everything has been said. Permit me just to add that while respectful clothing is recommended elsewhere for Churches, the more conservative attire requested is mostly such an Italian sort of thing. If you're going to visit the Vatican, dress accordingly. Full pants and full sleeves shirts is what I recommend.

[Acruisingperson]

On 5/11/2022 at 12:40 PM, clochette said:

just curios did you wash the dress every night?

Nope, the great thing about merino wool is it doesn't hold odors. I washed it once during that two week trip. All the other nights I just hung it up to air out and it was perfectly fine the next day.

[trotzoll]

This was so helpful. This morning I decided I'm going to double up on some of my clothes too. Just don't want to buy a bunch of clothes, nor do I want to go over 50 lb. Thanks for all the tips.

[alfaeric]

We've been travelling out of carry on only for over 20 years now, including long trips to Europe- so this is very possible.  One thing I will suggest is to change your clothes when you get back on board.  So the next day's clothing to take on shore will be the evening wear the day prior.   The only time you can't really do that is on formal nights- which is only two nights if you follow the recommendations.  

 

Also, layer.  So that you can dress up a wear with something simple like a sweater or slacks or even a different skirt.   For men, wearing shorts during the day and repeating pants at night is easy- and my wife has different dress/skirt combos so that she can wear shorts or skorts during the day.

 

Shoes are a big deal- but do your best to have one pair of nice shoes and one pair of comfortable walking shoes.  That way when you really pack, keeping shoes to 3 pair per person can happen (LOL).  

 

We've also transitioned a lot to travel specific clothing- which are lighter to pack and easier to clean (if needed).  Again, layers for comfort- one jacket or sweater will make a light top into a warm one.

 

Lastly- I'll repeat another post- plan every single day.  You have a pretty firm itinerary, even for the time before and after the cruise- so you should be able to have a pretty firm schedule of clothing.

 

And all of that will allow you to keep your underwear moving every single day (as it takes up hardly any room).

 

edit- just remembered some other things- packing cubes or folders are totally awesome.  And if you can get an expandable bag, that also means you can squish it tight after filling it up.

Edited May 12, 2022 by alfaeric

[NOLALADY]

Let me also add that when I did a Mediterranean the days were so long that we rarely went to the dining room, so I didn't have to change.  Most days we got back so late and were so tired, no one felt like going to the dining room.

 

 

[sellwingri]

On 5/11/2022 at 10:43 AM, Joseph2017China said:

I pack what I fit in a suitcase (50.7 lbs).  I often times never dress for dinner outside what I am wearing unless, I'm wearing shorts.  I have no issues wearing jeans or shorts multiple times.....so all I worry about is some polo or button down shirts to go with jeans or maybe a pair of dark khakis

If your luggage weighs 50.7lbs, you’ll have to pay an overage fee when flying to Europe.  If you’re referring to a Caribbean where you drive to the port, it’s not what the OP is asking.