How much luggage do you take?

[Kazzykins]

Not long to go now until our 1st ever cruise!:D:D There's me, my hubby, 16 yr old son and 'Princess of Shoeland' (my 19 yr old daughter). We have no flights to catch so my daughter can go shoe-mad no doubt with what she packs and no doubt will pack her entire wardrobe. Just wondering how much luggage do you all take or would you take on a 14 night cruise?

[rummenroman]

Not long to go now until our 1st ever cruise!:D:D There's me, my hubby, 16 yr old son and 'Princess of Shoeland' (my 19 yr old daughter). We have no flights to catch so my daughter can go shoe-mad no doubt with what she packs and no doubt will pack her entire wardrobe. Just wondering how much luggage do you all take or would you take on a 14 night cruise?

 

I take one large suitcase per person, and one carry-on size per person. They have laundry services. About half way through (7 day cruise) they will run a "special" stuff anything in a wal-mart size bag for 20. Great for undies tshirts and socks.

[teddie]

I would bring only 5-7 days' supply of your washable items (undies, shorts, slacks, tops, etc), and use the ship's laundry service once or twice during the cruise. It is well worth it. Your clothes will be returned beautifully pressed/folded.

 

Then you'll have more luggage space for dress-up stuff and shoes :)

 

teddie

[cb at sea]

Shoot--as long as you don't have to deal with airline restrictions, take what you want...there's no real "limit"! (Well, they say 200lbs per person, but....)

[teddie]

I take one large suitcase per person, and one carry-on size per person. They have laundry services. About half way through (7 day cruise) they will run a "special" stuff anything in a wal-mart size bag for 20. Great for undies tshirts and socks.

 

We posted just a few minutes' apart. Great minds think alike, because becuase I would do exactly as you suggest. Have fun!

 

teddie

[tomko2]

We leave tomorrow for a 12 night cruise from Barcelona; two nights pre-cruise in Barcelona and two nights post cruise in Germany. We each have a suitcase and no carry-ons. Laundry service onboard is handy plus I will wash out some socks and undies as needed.

Kathy:)

[teddie]

We leave tomorrow for a 12 night cruise from Barcelona; two nights pre-cruise in Barcelona and two nights post cruise in Germany. We each have a suitcase and no carry-ons. Laundry service onboard is handy plus I will wash out some socks and undies as needed.

Kathy:)

 

How do you manage jewelry/valuables, meds, cosmetics etc without a carry-on? How about the delay in getting your luggage delivered to your room? Granted, I've never waited past 7 PM for the luggage to arrive, but I find I usually change and need some sort of item prior to the arrival of luggage to my cabin. Just curious....

 

teddie

[tomko2]

How do you manage jewelry/valuables, meds, cosmetics etc without a carry-on? How about the delay in getting your luggage delivered to your room? Granted, I've never waited past 7 PM for the luggage to arrive, but I find I usually change and need some sort of item prior to the arrival of luggage to my cabin. Just curious....

 

teddie

 

 

On our last Med. cruise we each took a carry-on and it was a pain to wheel two suitcases each. This time I have a shoulder bag which has our passports, my jewellry, our meds. and some toilettries. Since we are going straight to the hotel from the airport when will be able to take a shower and change before we start touring Barcelona. Fingers are crossed that our luggage makes the connecting flight in Frankfurt!

If we were going directly to the ship, I would definitely take a carry-on with a change of clothes for us.

Kathy:)

[MrsPete]

Not long to go now until our 1st ever cruise!:D:D There's me, my hubby, 16 yr old son and 'Princess of Shoeland' (my 19 yr old daughter). We have no flights to catch so my daughter can go shoe-mad no doubt with what she packs and no doubt will pack her entire wardrobe. Just wondering how much luggage do you all take or would you take on a 14 night cruise?

One rolling carry-on each. Really, it's plenty. In a suitcase that size, you can pack 2-3 dinner dreses and one wrap in a basic color, 4-5 shorts outfits (put an outfit together and roll it up like a bath towel -- each outfit will take up very little space), 2-3 swimsuits and cover ups, and two pairs of pajamas. Make sure the everyday outfits match one pair of tennis shoes or comfortable walking shoes in a neutral color (wear these onboard so your least space-efficient shoes won't have to be packed), then add one pair of flip-flops or sandals in a nice color that'll match several outfits. Make sure that all your dinner dresses match the same pair of strappy sandals. With laundry service onboard, it's plenty.

 

Men are a little more difficult; though my dinner dress folds into essentially nothing, my husband's jacket is bulky no matter what I do. Plan to take one dark suit and bring a couple shirts/ties in a variety of colors to make it a little different. Also, their shoes are going to take up a great deal of space. Still, one medium suitcase is enough for a man.

 

Benefits of light packing:

You won't have to leave your luggage with the porters, so you'll have it right away in your room.

The cabins are small and storage isn't massive. By packing a minimal amount of clothing, your closet and your room.

You can self-disembark at the end, which saves you waiting in ridiculously long lines.

Finally, limiting what you bring means you don't spend your last evening onboard in your room packing and scurrying to get your suitcases out the door by 11:00.

[MrsPete]

How do you manage jewelry/valuables, meds, cosmetics etc without a carry-on? How about the delay in getting your luggage delivered to your room? Granted, I've never waited past 7 PM for the luggage to arrive, but I find I usually change and need some sort of item prior to the arrival of luggage to my cabin. Just curious....

 

teddie

All the jewelry I carry can fit into my purse. The only valuable I'll bring is my camera, and it'll also fit into my purse. I don't have any medicines (except maybe a bottle of asprin, and I'm not too worried about that). As for cosmetics, when I'm in the sun most of the day, I find that I end up only wearing eye make-up and lipstick anyway; they can go into the suitcase with the clothes.

[cruisingthevillages]

After the first cruise, I have gotten down to one medium-large suitcase on wheels and one carry-on (slips over the handle of the suitcase). Doesn't matter if I would be flying or not. Recommend, you can take no more than you can handle to move yourself. Carry-on has a quick change of clothes & bathing suit for use before large suitcase gets delivered to room along with any meds and essentials.

 

One caution: Storage of the suitcases usually goes under the bed, but some supersized bags might not fit. Pack a small extra bag that fold flat for any extra items you may buy.

[KeywestK]

It's taken me 20 years of traveling to finally figure it out, but here's my packing policy, and we stick to it! For most trips that are less than one week, we each get a carry-on size bag. I have some that are pretty large, so we can squeeze a lot into those. For trips that are one week or longer, regardless if it's a cruise or a land trip, we each get one suitcase and one carry-on bag. If we can't fit everything we need in to those bags, then we really don't need it. Long gone are the days of packing a complete outfit for each evening, and shoes to match. I've never used the laundry on a ship, although I have had things pressed for a nominal fee. I don't mind washing out the undies, and I'm not beneath wearing something twice.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Karen

[newbiecruiser09]

Are you all staying in one room? That would definitely factor into how much I would bring (or how much I would allow my kids to bring). Even a shoe maven can coordinate outfits with a few pairs of shoes. On our first (and only so far) cruise I took 2 pairs heels, sneakers & flip flops. I never even wore on pair of the heels.

 

P.S. Hi Karen!!! :)

[HB Cruiser]

Men are a little more difficult; though my dinner dress folds into essentially nothing, my husband's jacket is bulky no matter what I do. Plan to take one dark suit and bring a couple shirts/ties in a variety of colors to make it a little different. Also, their shoes are going to take up a great deal of space. Still, one medium suitcase is enough for a man.

 

And don't forget, you can pack his/your socks and undies inside his shoes however I would put them in a plastic bag first. You know, because of the smell. ;)

 

Tim

[uppitycats]

My husband and I take one large suitcase on wheels that gets checked, and each of us has a carry-on. If I didn't have so many meds, we'd only need the one, but the other one carries my meds and extra wheelchair parts.

[rjm1cc]

It depends on how much lugguage you want to move from your car to the ship and back.

I would go for 2 bags each. One large and one carryon. I would also look to pack as little as possible. The one thing I would do is put some of everyones clothes in each other bags in case one gets lost. In Phila they take the bag out of your car and move them directly to the ship. One couple had both their bags lost. You just never know. At least with the carryons you have the basics for the trip. If you tend to buy a lot I would pack a fold up bag just in case. Have any old clothes you do not want? Take them along and through them out at the end of the trip.

[SEASONEDCRUZER]

Not long to go now until our 1st ever cruise!:D:D There's me, my hubby, 16 yr old son and 'Princess of Shoeland' (my 19 yr old daughter). We have no flights to catch so my daughter can go shoe-mad no doubt with what she packs and no doubt will pack her entire wardrobe. Just wondering how much luggage do you all take or would you take on a 14 night cruise?

 

Definitely take advantage of the fact that you will not have to fly and take whatever you want! We had that luxury on our last cruise to Alaska and it was heaven, I could pack everything I wanted (1 large check-in size suitcase and one smaller carry on size) I don't like to get laundry done onboard (something about handing over my undies to the ship's laundry just doesn't work for me :o) I would like to be the kind of person that can pack for a 2 week vacation in a carry-on but that will never happen!;) Have a great cruise! :D

[LBumb]

pack everything you need then put back half. that is all you will need. everyone overpacks. you dont need a different pair of shoes every night.

[pcur]

We are going on a b2b, 16 +17. We have weight restrictions with our airline, so it's one large (28") checked suitcase each, plus a carry-on. Mine will be a rolling backpack, and DH's is a regular backpack. We've done this before for long cruises, and it's worked. It's the weight for us, not the number of suitcases that's a problem.

[cujosmom]

I would bring only 5-7 days' supply of your washable items (undies, shorts, slacks, tops, etc), and use the ship's laundry service once or twice during the cruise. It is well worth it. Your clothes will be returned beautifully pressed/folded.

 

Then you'll have more luggage space for dress-up stuff and shoes :)

 

teddie

 

My experience with the "laundry bag specials" is they will wash and fold but do NOT press. Also, if you send in nicer t-shirts that you do not normally put in a dryer, they will come back a little smaller due to the heat in the dryer...at least my husband's t-shirts were shrunk.

 

I'd tell your daughter as long as she can tote her bags herself, she could bring whatever she wanted. :)

[BroncosFan2010]

For a 7 day cruise, DH and I take one large suitcase each, and one garment bag. We usually have a TON of leftover clothes, so on our next cruise, a 15 day B2B, we will take the same thing, and do the $20 laundry bag. I am sure it will be plenty.

[toxicfairy]

:D "Princess of shoe land" I love that !!

I've only gone on two 7 day cruises. HOWEVER my packing looks like I'm moving! Last one I took 6 pairs of heels and a few pair of flip flops! I had a garment bag full to the brim and a 26 inch suite case that closed when sat on. (I packed light ...LOL). I'm always cold! So I had to have sweat shirts and shawls then there was dress clothes and shorts and T's. I know I over pack but I'd rather take too much then not enough. I've never had to pay extra for over weight luggage. Besides the cruises we've gone on several trips to Mexico and I always pack the same.

My husband takes a garment bag and a medium sized duffle. (how does he do it??)

[dwdwnurse]

We always check in one piece of luggage per person, hubby has a garment bag that he also checks in, daughters each have a backpack that includes a swimsuit/coverup & change of clothes and I carry a large tote bag that has all of the important documents, cameras, medicines, change of clothes for hubby and myself, jewelry, sunglasses, etc. Even though we don't really overpack, we are still sweating it on that last night trying to get everything crammed into the suitcases (stuff that we have purchased throughout the week). Thank goodness for those backpacks & tote!

 

Yes - how do men get by with so little?!

[Robb]

I take everything......we have one each carry on(maximum size), one each checked luggage (maximum size and weight) plus another checked piece with formal wear and shoes. Personall, I want a clean shirt for day time everyday and a clean shirt for dinner every night. I will wear my trousers more than once, but I do want to look nice every day. Rarely do we get home with unworn clothes, maybe a pair or two of socks that were not touched. Then there are all those miscellaneous things that may be needed during a cruise. I would rather have it and not need it than spend half a day in some unknown port trying to find something that I forgot to pack.

 

Be prepared, take it all....................................:) :D :rolleyes: ;)

[Jsme]

OMG way too much but I am done with that madness. I took a large suitcase. DD took a large suitcase and we took a small one for water.

 

Only reason mine bag was so large is I was the elected one to take all the products us ladies us. Plus the hairdryer and the flatiron. I am pretty sure my daughter's bag had her entire summer wardrobe stuffed in there. It was crazy. I refused to let her take all of it out.