World Cruise packing tips

[FoghornLeghorn]

For those of you who have done all, or part, of a World Cruise, what would be your special packing advice?

Things you've learn to do, or things you've learned NOT to do.

Any other advice for a newbie that's going to be away for more than a month?

The packing lists threads are great, but are geared more for shorter cruises.

[ybarber]

1). Bring clothing that washes well, does not need a lot of special care.
2). Since you will have access to a launderette or may have laundry service, don't overpack easily laundered items of a personal nature.
3). Bring "separates" that you can "mix and match".
4). Since the ship arranges for luggage pickup prior to the cruise and delivery at the end, you are not as limited for space as you would be normally. However, the storage you get in our stateroom is not infinite and could be very challenging, so preplanning is a must.
5). Bring clothing that will work for varying climates. Clothing that you can layer is one tip I have seen time and again.
6). Remember that if you find you need more clothing, you will be visiting a lot of ports that have amazing shopping opportunities.

I recently lost weight and because many items I brought on our recent 14 day were too big, I realized I could have packed much lighter.

Bill and Maryann are on a 123 day world cruise right now. When the get home, you might want to ask them how they manage it.

Have a great time on your many planned cruises! I envy you!

[SwissMyst]

42 day trip last year and I way overpacked and took home many items I never wore. Someone suggested packing for a two week cruise and expect to repeat those two weeks several times for the entire length of your cruise rather than packing for the entire time.

Ended up the cruise wear of the day on that trip were exotic travel logo t-shirts and shorts or picking up travel logo t-shirts along the way. And even getting them from some of the port travel offices for free that got worn by passengers over and over again.

The old black or cream pants and a few sparkle tops works as well as twin sets and fancier tops only, to wear with the serviceable and repeated neutral pants or skirts for dinner. This is the time I felt I really wanted to have some more variety in what I wore so I wish I had packed more "dress up" stuff for dinner than all the endless t-shirts and tops I had packed for the casual wear parts of the day.

I found a few linen blouses to be my standard day wear with capri length pants or skirt - because where we went was very hot and those would rinse out and dry in the shower overnight and were the best fabric for tropical wear. Smooth out the wrinkles when hanging their dripping wet on a hanger and the fabric dries amazingly fast.

Depending upon where you are departing you may want to purchase your basics soap, hand cream, shampoo, toothpaste etc that you like at your embarkation port rather than use their heavy weight as part of your baggage allowance. There is little out there today you are used to using that you cannot find in almost any port -brand name may be different but basic products and health aids are all out there for local purchase.

We had no self-serve laundry so we also stocked up on a great drying rack, an extra clothes hanging rack, and plenty of baskets and storage containers for our things that needed to be kept together which we purchased in our disembarkation port. Plus a small desk top fan just for our added comfort and aid for our in-cabin clothes drying rack.

Certainly a panel of electrical outlets is a must because there are so many things now to plug in and most ships only give you one or two outlets and many outlets won't accept some of the converter plugs. There is a great small travel cord outlet panel that Magellen's sells that also has a docking spot for your USB Ipod attachment. http://www.magellans.com/store/Adaptor_Plugs___Converters___Plug_AdaptorsEA104

But we also in a very small cabin (MV Discovery - 135 sq ft!) on that trip so depending upon your cabin size and comfort needs and back-up supplies you may want to also look for extra storage containers in your disembarkation port. Ours was easy - it was Hong Kong and a later early stop in Singapore so we were able easily find everything we wanted to make our 42 day cabin a far more serviceable home.

[FoghornLeghorn]

Yes, I follow Bill and Mary Ann and want to get their tips. They are great!

The ships I will be on have self service laundry, so I will do that a couple of times.

Thanks for the responses!!

[wowzo]

All the stuff you buy along the way will have to be dealt with and a place found to pack them. As we went to Hawaii & Guam (both American post offices in town) we mailed back things along the way.

I also brought mix & match - nothing only went with 1 thing - they all went with several.

A long skirt - silky pants and 3 'formal' tops with 1 dressy shoes was all for the formal nights. and 1 shawl.

Bring alot of 'gently' worn clothes - you can leave them on the ship for the crew and free up luggage space when you have to repack.

[FoghornLeghorn]

Thanks Wowzo!

The skirt with 3 dressy tops etc - great idea. I'll throw in different necklaces and bracelets.

Love the idea of mailing things back home.
I do that on my Hawaii trips and great idea to do it in Europe.

[rkacruiser]

As has been stated, plan to do laundry. Don't worry about bringing laundry detergent or coins for the laundry. The ship will supply detergent and coins can be obtained at the Front Office. Dryer sheets, however, are something you might want to pack.

Be very careful what is sent to the ship's laundry. The wash and dry temperature is hot/hot. No choice is available.

I am picky about what brand of personal toiletries I use and found making sure I had enough of everything for 114 days was the biggest challenge. (I came out about right.) Using up what I packed helped to free space for stuff purchased during the cruise.

I think packing like one would for a 10-14 day cruise is about right. If one wears something over and over again, who cares.

Having "free" luggage pick-up and delivery for a long cruise truly is most helpful.

[kazu]

the longest cruise we have done is 20 days due to dh's vacation time, but all we basically pack is 5 days of clothes with a bit of mix and match. We don't worry about wearing the same thing again. and neither should you.

We used to and then learned that we don't wear half the stuff so only pack what you are sure you will use (we're still learning)

shipping of your bags will help but you still need room for all those nice things you're going to find and probably wear :D

[basiaZ03]

We are going on a 60 day Jan 2012. Thank you for all your help about packing for a long cruise, especially the "gently"worn clothes. I certainly won't have a problem packing now. If I could only cut down on shoes.
Barbara

[SwissMyst]

One good thing about wearing the same things over and over again on those long cruises is you may never want to see it again and can toss them before you get home, leaving that blessed extra space in your suitcase.

The idea of bringing ebay, thrift shop or your own tired, but still serviceable items is a good one because then it does not hurt so much to leave some well-worn behind. Plus I think the left overs might cycle down to the crew and/or a local charity when you leave them behind.

Recent cruise saw so many ladies in all white - and it always looks so smart for cruise wear. That is probably how it got its cruising reputation - survives the ships laundry and the interchangeable pieces always match (sort of).

[SwissMyst]

We are going on a 60 day Jan 2012. Thank you for all your help about packing for a long cruise, especially the "gently"worn clothes. I certainly won't have a problem packing now. If I could only cut down on shoes.
Barbara

I hear you. Last cruise we drove to the port so luggage limits were no problem and I did finally bring as many shoes and I wanted. But still, I could see I easily could have brought a lot fewer. I still need to work on that one too.

Peeked in someone's cabin down the hall when the door was open and the whole side wall had a row of shoes - most of them slinky and black but all just a little different. She was worse than me.

I would like to learn more about other's shoe basics:

1. one pair ugly but comfortable walking shoes (water proof)
2. one pair black silk pumps
3. one pair metallic cream strappy sandals
4. one pair slip-in deck shoes
5. one pair dressy flats
6. one pair ugly walking sandals (gotta have my SAS tripads)

12 loose ends right there - though the heaviest get worn on the plane.

[erewhon]

If you plan to hand wash underwear etc, in your bathroom, ask your steward for an extra towel, to wring excess water out of the washed items.

[sansterre]

I was surprised how well our things were laundered on our recent cruise. Perhaps we were just lucky, but we didn't notice anything faded or shrank. I usually use cold/cold or warm/cold water. If it is true that the ship uses hot/hot, we couldn't tell with our slacks, tops, shirts and underwear - some even fairly delicate. They were returned in perfect shape - even DH hankerchief was pressed!

[kazu]

I was surprised how well our things were laundered on our recent cruise. Perhaps we were just lucky, but we didn't notice anything faded or shrank. I usually use cold/cold or warm/cold water. If it is true that the ship uses hot/hot, we couldn't tell with our slacks, tops, shirts and underwear - some even fairly delicate. They were returned in perfect shape - even DH hankerchief was pressed!

Same here, we've never had an issue with laundry - mind you if I am nervous about a couple of things then I send them out to be dry cleaned, not laundered. They do an excellent job:)

[janmcn]

We always splurge on the ship's laundry service too...nothing has ever had a problem. One would suspect that if ever pants were going to "shrink in the laundry" it would be on a cruise ;-) but it's never happened. We just consider the cost (minimal) to be part of our cruise and don't worry about it. I've heard the "hot hot" rumor but somewhere that was debunked by HAL in the past I recall. We pack for a week+ no matter how long the cruise. I won't remember what you wore, so you probably won't remember what I wore.

[FoghornLeghorn]

Thanks for the great responses!! :)

[oofroggie]

I do not see what ship and or how long you will be gone as this makes a difference on how the ladies dress on non formal nights

[Tampa Girl]

I would like to learn more about other's shoe basics:

1. one pair ugly but comfortable walking shoes (water proof)
2. one pair black silk pumps
3. one pair metallic cream strappy sandals
4. one pair slip-in deck shoes
5. one pair dressy flats
6. one pair ugly walking sandals (gotta have my SAS tripads)

12 loose ends right there - though the heaviest get worn on the plane.

My shoe wardrobe pretty much echoes yours, SwissMyst. Except I forego the comfortable walking shoes and just use the ugly walking sandals. I also substitute dressier slip-in sandals for the dressy flats. And maybe a second pair of dressy sandals for the black silk pumps. Rarely can I get by with less than 5 pairs of footwear.

[ricki]

The longest cruise we have done so far was 71 days and it required several different types of clothing:
city wear for the days pre-embarkation
warm weather wear for Central and South America
cooler weather wear for further south in South America
cold weather wear for Antarctica
and then the reverse on the second half of our cruise.

This was not on Holland, but all the luggage fit under the bed (I assume it does on Holland) and we just put the clothes we didn't have room for, depending on the climate, into the suitcases. We tried not to talk bulky cold weather clothing, rather we had Goretex jackets with fleece underneath, and with silk long underwear (takes up much less room), hats, mufflers and gloves, we were fine in Antarctica. We used the jacket alone or the fleece alone in cool weather ports.

One hint that a friend, who does a World Cruise every year, suggested was to buy one of those inexpensive collapsible hampers (Walgreens, etc. has them for about $4.00), they fit nicely in the closet and help keep the room neater. Plus they have handles so you can carry your clothes easily to the laundry room--if you have self-service.

I don't know if the walls in HAL ships accept magnets, but if they do, it's nice to bring along some to put up calendar pages, invitations, family photos, or a map of your course.

We're doing the 45 day trans-Atlantic in October (looking forward to meeting you on board, Swiss Myst), so I'll have another opportunity to try to pack more lightly. It's a vow I make and always break!

Ricki

[SwissMyst]

We're doing the 45 day trans-Atlantic in October (looking forward to meeting you on board, Swiss Myst), so I'll have another opportunity to try to pack more lightly. It's a vow I make and always break!

Ricki

Hey Ricki, what size do you wear .... maybe we can share a wardrobe! :p
(Teasing) See you then and I bet we will envy you getting to stay on for the 45 days, ours is only 21. Maasdam, right?

[Harry1954]

we just got off the World Cruise after 46 days this year. we have done about 25 cruises or so and thus are fairly experienced at packing for the ones that are less than 30 days. This was indeed our longest. But, we decided to pack just as we do for normal cruises and as everyone else mentioned, use laundry. It worked quite well. Others who were veterans of several WCs mentioned that they buy along the way as well and cast off old stuff that they have worn out from use on previous cruises.
harry

[FoghornLeghorn]

Thanks Ricki

For my month long trip I'll be on Princess, then QM2.

[NMLady]

We've never done a world cruise but this past Sept/Oct we did a 33 day b2b2b cruise that ranged from the cold of Iceland to the hot humidity of the Caribbean. We did mix 'n match outfits with layering. I had turtlenecks and cotton blouses as well as tank tops. I did mostly two weeks worth of clothes and used the weekly laundry special.

We had one checked bag and one carry-on apiece plus our fleece-lined denim jackets that we'd waterproofed.

At least on a world cruise you don't have to worry about the number of suitcases since they're shipped for you.