family of 4 in carry ons only??

[kathi316]

OK all you super packers...I was thrilled to find decent airfare and not have to drive 14 hours to the port. I was appalled to find it would cost $40 rt to check one bag :eek:

 

It's a weeklong western itenerary and there are 4 of us - 2 ad, 1 sm and 1 med kid. We get 1 carryon each. Can we do it? Any tips? Or do I give in now and pay the $40?

[boilermaker98]

The airline bag charge is standard now, so you shouldn't have been too surprised by it. I think Southwest & JetBlue are the only hold outs anymore.

 

That being said, you can certainly pack light. It's prob cheaper to do some laundry mid cruise than to pay the $40.

 

That all being said, in the whole scheme of things, I'd rather pay the $40, not worry about it and cut out a bottle of wine on the cruise.

[doctordi]

I think it can be done. Each person will have the 3-1-1 bag for toiletries. You pack mostly shorts, t-shirts and swim suits for the kids. One nicer pair of pants and two shirts that will work with either the shorts or the nicer pants for the dining room. I'm OK with nice tennis shoes on kids in the dining room - so I would have them wear the tennis shoes on the plane and bring a pair of sandals.

 

The adults will do basically the same thing. I have a dress and a pair of black pants that fold up to practically nothing and never wrinkle. The problem is my husbands dressier shoes. Just make sure to stuff them with socks or something to use the otherwise wasted space.

 

Think of this as a challenge and good luck!

[sandytoes03]

Not sure how this can be done, esp, with regular clothes, and dressy clothes. If you're wearing 2 outfits a day, seems like this would not be enough room. :confused:

[kitty9]

Are you going to be schlepping two kids and carrying on their bags also? I doubt the youngest will be able to handle their own bag, and from what I've seen at airports, the older one might not be all that great either in handling a larger carryon. Personally, I just don't see, especially with kids and their propensity of getting dirty, how you can do a week's cruise with only carry ons.

[clansac]

We have done it for two adults and one five year old for a 7 nighter before! You can do it but you have to leave out some stuff. For example- remember that you get a carry on plus one personal item usually. So my husband and I always take backpacks, as does our son. He carries his own backpack that has toys and books in it. Our backpacks have our 3-1-1, paperwork, purse, books, snacks etc. Then we take three carry-ons. Two are the maximum size they can be and we pack very carefully and roll everything up. I wear my tennis shoes on the plane because they're the biggest and heaviest. I tie a sweatshirt around my waist so it doesn't take up space. I look like a marshmallow but it works for us!

 

Leave home anything bulky like towels. Consider making a stop before the pier for sunscreen, shampoo etc. Look at clothes that are wrinkle free and have multiple purposes- a nice black skirt can be done up or down.

[boilermaker98]

If you do go this way, I highly recommend these for small kids...

 

http://www.trunki.com/

[chipmaster]

OK all you super packers...I was thrilled to find decent airfare and not have to drive 14 hours to the port. I was appalled to find it would cost $40 rt to check one bag :eek:

 

It's a weeklong western itenerary and there are 4 of us - 2 ad, 1 sm and 1 med kid. We get 1 carryon each. Can we do it? Any tips? Or do I give in now and pay the $40?

 

Summer time possible or very easy depending on your travel style. As mix of shorts, shirts, one swim suit, and one set of formal wear + essentials really doesn't take too much space at all.

 

We actually almost did it for a 14 day European: We had one max sized carryon roller for each person 2 adults 3 kids, each of us had a second "personal" item for all of us they were pretty big "personal" big backpack item. Then we had one fullsize checkin that carried our formal wear and shoes. The carryon suitecase was all clothes/toiletries. You can save further space by skipping the toiletries and just buying that at destination, but watch out as they charge an arm and leg at the sundries on the ship. So pick those up at some convenience store prior to embarkation is another space saving trick.

 

Shoes can be the killer, for us we all had just the pair on our feet and other simple basic low volume formal wear shoes. Of course we mixed and matched and did some laundry on the ship. My daughter 7 and my middle son 12 also are petite so their luggage had some extra space.

 

Clearly we could see that many on the ship lived for dressing up. As most cabins had 2x the luggage we had stacked at their door. If one must wear 2 different outfits every day and never the same thing twice, then forget it. We tend to enjoy the other things on vacation and dress and packed for convenience and comfort :D It comes in handy at the airport and when getting on / off the ship and securing transportation too ;)

 

Happy packing!

[nothriver]

I think it is possible. We are going to Alaska, myself and two kids and I'm planning on taking two carry on size bags and one full size suitcase. We'll each have a backpack as our personal item as well.

 

If you can't get it all in, check one bag.

 

I try to have my bags fully packed at least a week in advance, so I can be certain I haven't forgotten anything, and mostly so I'm not packing in a panic and tossing in junk that I won't need at all. I also make lists as I unpack, so I know what exactly it was that we DIDN'T use. I keep my lists in my suitcase as a reminder for the next trip. (confessions of a former overpacker...)

[scubagirrl]

I think it is possible. We are going to Alaska, myself and two kids and I'm planning on taking two carry on size bags and one full size suitcase. We'll each have a backpack as our personal item as well.

 

If you can't get it all in, check one bag.

 

I try to have my bags fully packed at least a week in advance, so I can be certain I haven't forgotten anything, and mostly so I'm not packing in a panic and tossing in junk that I won't need at all. I also make lists as I unpack, so I know what exactly it was that we DIDN'T use. I keep my lists in my suitcase as a reminder for the next trip. (confessions of a former overpacker...)

 

What do you do with your souveniers coming back?? Toss your clothes and shoes? I'd recommend paying for 1 bag.. Buying additional suntan lotions, moisterizers, aloe etc can be more expensive than the $40 baggage fees and you'll have room for packing all those fun souveniers you're likely to bring back home.

Buy the time you buy and make up all those 3-1-1- cases.. you're value has disappeared.

[chipmaster]

What do you do with your souveniers coming back?? Toss your clothes and shoes? I'd recommend paying for 1 bag.. Buying additional suntan lotions, moisterizers, aloe etc can be more expensive than the $40 baggage fees and you'll have room for packing all those fun souveniers you're likely to bring back home.

Buy the time you buy and make up all those 3-1-1- cases.. you're value has disappeared.

 

Best money saving and space saving strategy here, bring back memories and digital pictures. Don't cost anything and don't take any space either :D

 

For those that do like to bring souveniors, in the past we used to rollup a canvas duffle bag and throw all our dirty laundry in one big pile and put it in in the duffle bag and checked that in. That freed up the carryon for any fragile or other stuff we might buy on vacation.

[kathi316]

Buying additional suntan lotions, moisterizers, aloe etc can be more expensive than the $40 baggage fees .

 

Good point!! All it takes is a little rationale to convince me to spend a little extra $ :rolleyes:

 

We flew this time last year and paid 5$ each way per piece. The jump to 20$ is what surprised me -- and on the same airline.

[cantw8togo]

We did it when we went to Florida this past winter (2 adults and 2DS, 5 & 8), however we didn't take any formal wear. We had a washer and dryer in the place that we were staying but I hadn't anticipated that it would be an apartment size W & D. What would be 3 loads of laundry at home ended up taking 5 loads at the villa. It gave me an excuse to relax one night with a glass of wine and the tv between loads, so I didn't mind too much.;)

 

We did online check-in, so we didn't have to wait to check our bags and we just walked straight to the security line up. Getting off was easier as well, as we didn't have to wait at the baggage carousel.

 

Check to see what kind of laundry facilities your ship has onboard. HAL even supplies the laundry detergent free of charge on the boats that have self serve laundry. There is also a fill a laundry bag for $12 for those that don't want to do it themselves. The bag isn't big enough to clean everything that you brought, but it is probably enough to get you through the rest of the week.

 

There has been a couple of threads about laundry options onboard that you can check out as well.

 

If you normally put certain items in your checked bags such as nail files, scissors, etc., then you may need to think about what you really need, what can you pick up near the port, and what you are willing to leave behind onboard.

 

If you are ever flying into a Canadian seaport, consider flying a Canadian carrier, as I don't think that they charge extra for luggage.

 

It worked well for us, and we didn't even use all of the items that we brought!

 

N.

[Kimjergen]

It can be done, but obviously easier if your itinerary is a Caribbean or Bermuda type one with lighter summery clothes and bathing suit excursions etc But if you are good at your planning and insight it could be done on different intinerary too. ie - my 13 year old and I can wear the same size unisex looking sweaters, jeans, shorts, flip-flops and t's and share them on the trip to mix up our wardrobe for casual looks. My kids are two years apart so when they were younger they could sometimes share the way my 13 year old and I can now.

 

Another suggestion would be to consider renting formal wear for your husband online for cruise that is delivered to your room. This way the most bulky jacket/tux/or suit doesn't have to be packed and no worries over it getting wrinkled etc or taking it to/from the cleaners prior to sailing. The cruise line will have it all clean, pressed, and delivered to your cabin and returned again onboard prior to disembarking. Most cruise lines offer this service ie- men's tuxedo with two shirts runs about $80 and some offer more casual suit rental option as well. This option is actually a good value on longer cruises(We rented my husband a tux last year on HAL for $75 and he used it on our 17 day cruise 4 times and only brought along alternate bowties & vest to give it different looks) but helpful on shorter ones too.

 

Another suggestion is sign up for unlimited laundry service onboard and only pack for 5 instead of 7 days and you should be just fine and come home with mostly clean laundry from a trip for a nice change. Or many ships have self serve laundry as well;)

 

Anyhow, hope this helps

Kim

[lumpkin8]

Our family of 4 has done this for summer weather itineraries. For evening, the adults take 2 prs thin black pants (or 1 pants, and 1 skirt). For the formal nights, the same pants /skirt is worn, but with a sparkly top. I buy materials that can rinse and air dry easily (even inside an inside room-no balcony drying). The kids take 2 skirts for evenings, and rotate wearing them. Then 2 bathings suits each, plus shirts and shorts and undies for all. neutral color or black comfortable sandles are worn for both day and night, and pack the flipflops. If needed for the trip, sneakers can be worn on the plane, with the sandles packed. Roll everything, so it fits snugly, and make sure you are using the maximum sized allowable carry-on. If you have to take a sweatshirt or sweater, wear it/wrap around your waist. If it does not fit, my husband wears his evening sports jacket on the plane.

I pride myself on traveling only with carryons. (Not sure why this is actually something to be proud of! :rolleyes: