What to Pack?

[Marion]

Could someone post what they would pack for a 11 day cruise. Weather should be in the 80's. Sometimes I take too much and sometimes not enough.

I would like some tips on packing. Thanks

[JanineM]

If you do some searching in this forum, the "First Time Cruisers" and "Ask A Cruise Question" boards here you'll probably find detailed packing lists.

 

Are you cruising in the Caribbean? If so, be prepared for humidity - which means that clothes may need to be changed more frequently. If you plan to hit the beach or do water excursions then you'll need at least 2 bathing suits (they need time to dry!). Remember that you can always have things cleaned!! On our 10-nighter I sent out a big bag of cleaning midway through the week (DH's khakis, a few shirts, a couple of my skirts & capris).

 

I personally tend to overpack, but have gotten better by spending some time planning before I pack. I list the days and the activities for that day, then figure the number of outfits I'll need.

 

Then I put everything I could want to take on my bed and start mixing & matching. The formals and dresses are easy .... it's the daytime stuff that tends to pile up for me. I don't take anything that can go with only one other item (i.e., no shorts that will only go with one top). I'll generally plan to wear a cotton skirt for casual evening, then wear it again with a different top to go ashore the next day. I do take at least a sweater or something a bit warmer for evenings when I may get a chill. Add to this the workout clothes and bathing suit coverups and that about does it.

 

Shoes are tough ... but whatever I take it has to be comfortable, and versatile. I have a pair of Teva sandals that I wear most days with shorts & casual skirts, then also a casual pair of flat sandals for casual evenings or for shopping, the a dressy pair of sandals, and maybe even a pair of sandals or shoes for formals. I am lucky to have found a pair of evening sandals that goes with all of my dresses.

 

Last cruise I spent several hours going over my outfits and I actually had extra space in my one large rollaboard! I wore almost everything at least once, so figured that was a successful packing job.

 

 

Others will doubtless have good suggestions ... but thought I'd throw in my 2 cents!

[caviargal]

What line and itinerary?

[celbercrz333]

Ok you really want to do a mix and match wardrobe. Think like this. Supposed you had tops, pants, a skirt, shorts, blazer or jacket all in combinations of blue, white and tan. Say you had 1 pr tan pants, 1 pr white pants and a navy skirt. You could mix and match with tops that had floral, paisley, or something with a little design in them or use solids and add a scarf that has a design in it. I just got a Speigal cataog that I requested. IT's not their big catalog, but a summer sale/fall preview catalog. They had all kinds of sets where you mix and match about 6 items to give you about 10 looks. That's what I would take. You don't have to use my color combo, try doing browns, rusty red and orange or how about green, yellow and white? What colors look good on you? Using 3 colors figure out the pieces and you'll be a winner.

[cb at sea]

I'm not a "mix and match" gal, so I take alot of stuff. I'm able to wear the shorts and daytime things a few times--sometimes they're just on for breakfast, then it's off to the pool!

I do try and bring one outfit per night--I don't want to wear things twice there.

The longer cruises do require more clothes! But--that's the fun of the whole "packing" ordeal! I must admit, it's harder to pack for hubby, who doesn't have as much stuff as do I! We have used the laundry service to refresh some of his things!

[Ehpride]

To make sure I take enough stuff but not overly too much for a cruise, I make a day to day list of outfits for day and evening. You could do this whether you mix and match (I don't!) or have seperate outfits. That way you can decide which shoes to wear with outfits and just keep track so that you know you have everything you need.

 

For example:

 

Friday-flight

jeans, t-shirt, flip-flops, windbreaker

 

Saturday - Tampa

Blue skirt, tank top, dk blue flip-flops

 

Sunday - Embarkation

striped sundress, green flip-flops, hat

tan skirt, pink tank top, black sandals (dinner)

 

And so on... If you know what activities you're doing in ports, you can figure it out from there.

[Marion]

Thank you for all you nice ideas. We are doing Pamama Canel on Princess Island in December So I guess I should only take summeer clothes.

I got some ideas from all your posts.

[Happy ks]

Don't pack for more than a week and have some things laundered. It's far easier to pack that way, not as much to organize and it saves on the weight overall.

 

If there are 3 formal nights, take 2 dresses, wear one dress on the 1st and 3rd nights, changing the accessories. Or, one black skirt and 3 different tops.

 

Wear shoes that fit and that are comfortable to stand and walk in. Leave home the cute shoes that go with only one outfit.

 

The absolute truth is that unless you wear clothing that is eye catching unusual (that can be good or bad, depending on your taste), no one is paying attention to your clothes. That you have worn the same pair of shorts 3-4 times is really of no concern to anyone else.

 

Make the trip about the travel, not the clothes.