How long before you Sail, do you start packing.....Any tips on how to make it easy....

[Solent Richard]

I'm not sure 'Grab & Go'  the day before would work for us, particularly as we cruise with a number of different cruise lines with variances in styles of dress and social.

 

We both find individual lists are essential, particularly when sailing with Cunard,  when repetitive dress and colour is definitely not our style. 😀

 

 

[Victoria2]

8 hours ago, njpln said:

I must say to the people who can pack the day before— I am so impressed.

 

I always start packing about two weeks before any trip. I have packing lists and I leisurely do things so it’s not all on me to do it at the last minute. However for Cunard, I actually have to pack the formalwear earlier because I ship them to the port,  we don’t carry them...

 

 

 

 

It really is so easy.

When you're used to the environment [Cunard in this case], and the climate to be encountered, you know what kind of clothes are needed and if the clothes are put back in the wardrobes clean and ready for action, packing the day before is a cinch.

 

I have [had in reality] lists, but as we used to travel so much prior to Covid, the essentials are ingrained in my mind. It remains to be seen if I forget anything from the supposedly ingrained lists!🙂

 

[Cruise Puss]

I have a master list, that I change according to where we are going, and print it off around 2 months before.

 

It also includes a list of all the things we need to do leading up to the cruise, like getting travel insurance, booking our local taxi guy, booking hair cuts, colours, etc etc.  It has sections starting from a few months before, right down to the evening before, which includes things like, not forgeting to record any programmes on TV, water the house plants, charge our mobiles, etc.

 

I usually start packing a week before we go, and finish with the main cases the day before.  The last minute stuff, like toothbrushes, go in the small pull alongs in the morning.

 

[techteach]

We travel frequently and have his/hers/ours already packed in the proper suitcase. There is a charger and cord for each phone and tablet already packed. Toiletries for her/him/ours are refreshed upon return. (I learned this when my mother had a stroke and I had one hour to pack and get to the airport). He requires a hat and sunscreen and they are in the suite case along with plastic bags for wet swim suits. One time we got half-way down the coast to the beach and I realized I had left the hanging bag with all of my dresses on the bed. Golly, I had to go shopping! So I tend to overpack because I’ve been caught short a dress or pair of pants. Gotta go take care of a grand child, more later.

[rakkor]

On 6/8/2022 at 10:05 PM, 2BACRUISER said:

Dies anyone use packing cubes, I discovered them for my last cruise and find them a game changer for my packing and especially DH. I just give him a cube and say fill that with pants and socks, another with bathroom gear, it has truly revolutionised getting him organised ♥️😛 otherwise he's a last minute Larry 🙄 and it all just get thrown at me or worse in the bag. 

 

Oh yes! Jane poo-pooed them when I first used them, but came around when she saw how quickly they allow me to pack and unpack my case.

[Victoria2]

4 hours ago, techteach said:

We travel frequently and have his/hers/ours already packed in the proper suitcase. There is a charger and cord for each phone and tablet already packed. Toiletries for her/him/ours are refreshed upon return. (I learned this when my mother had a stroke and I had one hour to pack and get to the airport). He requires a hat and sunscreen and they are in the suite case along with plastic bags for wet swim suits. One time we got half-way down the coast to the beach and I realized I had left the hanging bag with all of my dresses on the bed. Golly, I had to go shopping! So I tend to overpack because I’ve been caught short a dress or pair of pants. Gotta go take care of a grand child, more later.

I have refreshed any essentials with a sell by date which are always in a suit case ready to go with the other must takes. This thread was a good reminder.

[AspirationalFlyer]

I usually pack the weekend before. 

 

However, well in advance I try to: 

1. Order any new clothes, shoes and toiletries required. 

2. Make sure the dinner suit, regular suits and jackets I want have all been dry cleaned. 

3. Confirm if there is any themed balls etc. and work out what (if anything) I need - e.g. mask. 

[Solent Richard]

16 hours ago, AspirationalFlyer said:

I usually pack the weekend before. 

 

However, well in advance I try to: 

1. Order any new clothes, shoes and toiletries required. 

2. Make sure the dinner suit, regular suits and jackets I want have all been dry cleaned. 

3. Confirm if there is any themed balls etc. and work out what (if anything) I need - e.g. mask. 

 

That's my man, love the style: you are not alone.

 

[Solent Richard]

On 6/8/2022 at 10:05 PM, 2BACRUISER said:

Does anyone use packing cubes, I discovered them for my last cruise and find them a game changer for my packing and especially DH. I just give him a cube and say fill that with pants and socks, another with bathroom gear, it has truly revolutionised getting him organised ♥️😛 otherwise he's a last minute Larry 🙄 and it all just get thrown at me or worse in the bag. 

 

My good lady swears by them.

 

Funnily enough we are sailing with another line in a couple of weeks time ( Lady Eleganza) and APT have sent us two cubes each as a thank you for booking again gift.

[WestonOne]

Generalising 'packing'  beyond literally putting things in suitcases:

We have washbags with toothbrushes, paste, some tablets (hayfever etc) constantly packed.  Similarly we have a complete set of phone chargers that live in one of our 'carry on' - sized cases.  There are never unpacked:  we used them at the weekend visiting our grandchildren, for example. 

 

For a world trip I started packing (in a sense)  about a year beforehand, reviewing what I would be taking and making sure everything electrical I used could be run from a USB socket if that was at all possible.  So, for example, I bought a stand-alone USB-capable charger for my camera batteries.  I have a GPS gadget that I carry on trips out to record where I was when.  That again I picked to be USB only and not to need a SIM card (as many of them do).  A month or two beforehand ordered a few new dress shirts and such like.  I got a USB chargeable tablet, though I would also take my laptop for photo editing.  I also got a USB external disk drive. Then one or two plugs which are six way adaptors overcome the shortage of sockets in cabins which must cruise lines have.  One adaptor would be sufficient, but using two reduces the tangle of wires arising.

In short:  I tend to be starting 'mentally packing' almost as soon as I book the trip.  For a really long trip, I might start a checklist that I keep adding to as I think of things, but for something under about 18 days I don;t bother.  Then typically two days before the trip I actually start physically packing, giving me a day to dash out and buy a replacement that I discover at the last minute.

Long dresses, suits, and so on go on a rail until the day we travel, then they are transferred to suit carriers.

Edited June 13, 2022 by WestonOne

[BklynBoy8]

7 hours ago, WestonOne said:

Generalising 'packing'  beyond literally putting things in suitcases:

We have washbags with toothbrushes, paste, some tablets (hayfever etc) constantly packed.  Similarly we have a complete set of phone chargers that live in one of our 'carry on' - sized cases.  There are never unpacked:  we used them at the weekend visiting our grandchildren, for example. 

 

For a world trip I started packing (in a sense)  about a year beforehand, reviewing what I would be taking and making sure everything electrical I used could be run from a USB socket if that was at all possible.  So, for example, I bought a stand-alone USB-capable charger for my camera batteries.  I have a GPS gadget that I carry on trips out to record where I was when.  That again I picked to be USB only and not to need a SIM card (as many of them do).  A month or two beforehand ordered a few new dress shirts and such like.  I got a USB chargeable tablet, though I would also take my laptop for photo editing.  I also got a USB external disk drive. Then one or two plugs which are six way adaptors overcome the shortage of sockets in cabins which must cruise lines have.  One adaptor would be sufficient, but using two reduces the tangle of wires arising.

In short:  I tend to be starting 'mentally packing' almost as soon as I book the trip.  For a really long trip, I might start a checklist that I keep adding to as I think of things, but for something under about 18 days I don;t bother.  Then typically two days before the trip I actually start physically packing, giving me a day to dash out and buy a replacement that I discover at the last minute.

Long dresses, suits, and so on go on a rail until the day we travel, then they are transferred to suit carriers.

Excellent list! Will make list of most...... 

[techteach]

Add bandages, small sewing kit, eye glass fixing kit, eye glass cleaner and clean cloths, wine cork screw and wine cork. If champagne is a possibility throw in the champagne bottle sealer to keep the fiz fresh!

[WestonOne]

10 hours ago, techteach said:

Add bandages, small sewing kit, eye glass fixing kit, eye glass cleaner and clean cloths, wine cork screw and wine cork. If champagne is a possibility throw in the champagne bottle sealer to keep the fiz fresh!

We don't take bandages, though that is a good idea and we will add it to the list.  The permanently packed washbags we have also include things like nail scissors and one of these emergency sewing kits hotels often provide.  It is an excellent idea if that emergency sewing kit contains a number of safety pins of varying sizes.

I did not mention I normally take my camera bag, and that includes glasses cleaners, clothes and a small set of screwdrivers  to fix glasses - I learnt that one the hard way when I had to spend several days effectively wearing a monocle! 

I should have made it explicit but I hope it is obvious from the rest of my post that when I talked about a six way adaptor, I did not mean the trailing adaptors that many cruise lines ban.  I meant the things about the side of a standard plug with six USB ports.

On the GPS gadget: my camera does not have a built in GPS system.  For a while I used an app on my phone, but I found it unsatisfactory, not least because I had to remember to start it and stop it, so I switched to a dedicated recorder.  When I get back to the ship or home as convenient, I use Adobe's Lightroom which can then assign the correct GPS coordinates to every photo.

Edited June 14, 2022 by WestonOne

[lissie]

16 hours ago, techteach said:

Add bandages, small sewing kit, eye glass fixing kit, eye glass cleaner and clean cloths, wine cork screw and wine cork. If champagne is a possibility throw in the champagne bottle sealer to keep the fiz fresh!

Carried bandages for years - then figured out that a) I've never used them b) if  there was blood all over the place I would be incapable of using them! They stay home. Like the champagne bottle sealter though! 

[techteach]

Bandages are for blisters on the feet from wearing heals. After buying them on every trip they are now even carried in my purse.

[Mrs. H.]

On 6/8/2022 at 3:33 PM, BklynBoy8 said:

 

I'm In Bath Beach/Lower Dyker Heights next to the Fort with a wonderful view of the VNB. Hello!!!!

What fort?

[Host Hattie]

21 hours ago, techteach said:

Add bandages, small sewing kit, eye glass fixing kit, eye glass cleaner and clean cloths, wine cork screw and wine cork. If champagne is a possibility throw in the champagne bottle sealer to keep the fiz fresh!

Champagne is always a possibility surely !

[AspirationalFlyer]

On 6/11/2022 at 7:42 AM, Solent Richard said:

 

That's my man, love the style: you are not alone.

 

 

Nice picture!

 

I suspect we agree that making effort and looking good for the formal nights is all part of the Cunard experience. 

 

[lissie]

8 hours ago, techteach said:

Bandages are for blisters on the feet from wearing heals. After buying them on every trip they are now even carried in my purse.

You mean plasters? Bandages to me are stripes of fabric which you wrap around a major wound or support a broken arm with 

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, lissie said:

You mean plasters? Bandages to me are stripes of fabric which you wrap around a major wound or support a broken arm with 

 

Or what we in the US (my region anyway) call "band-aids" using the brand name rather than the more formal/lengthy "adhesive bandages". That's our name for what we put on small cuts or blisters. Similar to the way we use the brand name "kleenex" to refer to "facial tissues".

[techteach]

@lissie I love it! Yes, I am referring to what you call plasters. Fabric we use around wounds such as an ankle sprain is an elastic bandage.

[BklynBoy8]

7 hours ago, Mrs. H. said:

What fort?

 

Fort Hamilton Army Garrison.

 

Next to Poly Prep Private School near the old Victory Memorial Hospital and Cannon Ball Park on 4th & Shore Road under the VZ Bridge.

[Mrs. H.]

17 minutes ago, BklynBoy8 said:

 

Fort Hamilton Army Garrison.

 

Next to Poly Prep Private School near the old Victory Memorial Hospital and Cannon Ball Park on 4th & Shore Road under the VZ Bridge.

huh.  That's a lot of different places.  

 

Bay Ridge/Fort Hamilton.  Not sure why you said Dyker/??

 

I grew up right by Poly Prep/off 92nd St.

[lissie]

1 hour ago, techteach said:

@lissie I love it! Yes, I am referring to what you call plasters. Fabric we use around wounds such as an ankle sprain is an elastic bandage.

You taught me a new Americanism - I thought I knew most of them!  In your language I do carry a variety of bandages too , but no elastic bandages! 

[BklynBoy8]

4 hours ago, lissie said:

You taught me a new Americanism - I thought I knew most of them!  In your language I do carry a variety of bandages too , but no elastic bandages! 

 

Also known as ACE Bandage on the shelves. Comes in many lengths and widths...