Packing issues

I just hate paying airline baggage fees, especially fees for the second bag. I'm trying to plan for a long cruise and Alaskan Cruisetour in which I will have to fly home to Florida from Canada (no Southwest bags fly free in Canada :( )

We board in Fort Lauderdale and sail through the Panama Canal, then north along the US Pacific Coast to Vancouver and on to Whittier where we do 14 days of a B2B land tour before boarding another ship that will return us to Vancouver. From Vancouver we'll take the Rocky Mountaineer train to Calgary to visit family and then fly home from there.

The first portion of the cruise will have tropical weather.

The second portion and the land tour will be cold weather.

Princess still has formal nights.

For the land tour, we're supposed to put our "cruise-only" things into a separate bag.

We have free laundry onboard but that's still a lot of stuff.

Any idea how I can pack in one bag?

And what about that separate bag that Princess wants our "cruise-only" stuff in - Does there exist a 2 in 1 check-on bag or some such thing?

I already priced FedEx and UPS. They're more expensive than the airlines, so that isn't a solution.

Unfortunately I have nothing to offer for a solution. I just wanted to say that sounds like a great cruise/vacation. Enjoy!

Thank you.

Any ideas would be appreciated - even if they don't qualify as a solution.

Maybe a combination of ideas from different people would amount to a solution :cool:

I used to travel constantly for business. What I quickly learned is that you really don't need a whole lot of stuff when you travel. Pack one bag plus a carryon. Bring only this list of items:

5 tops (make sure one top is satiny and appropriate for evening)

2-3 pairs of pants

1 skirt

1 sundress that can be dressed up or down

1 sparkly top

1 Sweater or jacket

1 sleepshirt

1 waterproof coat with hood (which you will wear onto the plane and put into the overhead compartment regardless of the weather.

1 swimsuit plus cover up

3 pairs of shoes (you'll be wearing one pair)

7 underwear

2 bras (you'll be wearing one bra)

5 pair Knee socks (for Alaska)

What I have listed is actually MORE than you need!

IMO, most of the clothes should be a basic color such as black and then some of the tops would be colors. EVERYTHING should mix and match. Focus on layering. The bottom layer should be short sleeved or sleeveless. The next layer would add long sleeves but be appropriate for indoors. Then there is the waterproof coat for Alaska. So the skirts and pants would be black and the sweater would be black as well. While Princess still has formal night, you CAN get away with a sparkly top or satiny top with the black skirt or black pants. No need to bust out the ball gown or cocktail dress. It's a cruise, not a fashion show.

Put your cosmetics, jewelry and medicine into your carryon.

Have your husband bring a carryon for any electronics the two of you might have plus his toiletries and medicine.

Try packing four days worth of warm weather clothing and four days of cool weather stuff. One nice top and pants for formal night. There's a quick turnaround for laundry most of the time, try to send some out every day. Add a sweater, an all-weather jacket, a pair of sandals, sneakers, 7 days of undies, night wear, and you should be set. I pack one bag to check and carry a small carryon that fits under the airplane seat. It holds documents, medicine, camera, iPad, and purse. The small carryon is actually my beach bag.

This is a cruise that you need to just bite the bullet and pack more. Sorry but you have to deal with clothes for the heat and clothes for the cold. While you can minimize some items don't be foolish and not bring the right clothing (and for Alaska you really need a water proof jacket, fleece or sweater or sweatshirt, water proof pants, even a hat and scarf and gloves) and spoil your enjoyment of your travel plans.

Just pay the extra and bring what you need.

Keith

Same as Keith -- just pay extra to take what you want & need. :)

LuLu

Besides the warm clothing for Alaska, the major problem items are:

hiking boots for both DH and me (lots of walking/hiking in Alaska),

a suit and dress shoes for DH,

extra walking shoes for me because I get blisters,

and the extra bag that Princess wants us to pack separately.

If I wear my hiking boots and warm jacket, I can probably get everything else I really need into one checked-bag.

But what does DH do about his suit and dress shoes?

How do I deal with Princess' extra bag requirement?

I just hate paying airline baggage fees, especially fees for the second bag. I'm trying to plan for a long cruise and Alaskan Cruisetour in which I will have to fly home to Florida from Canada (no Southwest bags fly free in Canada :( )

 

We board in Fort Lauderdale and sail through the Panama Canal, then north along the US Pacific Coast to Vancouver and on to Whittier where we do 14 days of a B2B land tour before boarding another ship that will return us to Vancouver. From Vancouver we'll take the Rocky Mountaineer train to Calgary to visit family and then fly home from there.

 

The first portion of the cruise will have tropical weather.

The second portion and the land tour will be cold weather.

Princess still has formal nights.

For the land tour, we're supposed to put our "cruise-only" things into a separate bag.

 

We have free laundry onboard but that's still a lot of stuff.

 

Any idea how I can pack in one bag?

And what about that separate bag that Princess wants our "cruise-only" stuff in - Does there exist a 2 in 1 check-on bag or some such thing?

 

I already priced FedEx and UPS. They're more expensive than the airlines, so that isn't a solution.

This one is actually pretty easy.

Let's tackle formal night, first. Rent a tux for him. For her take a long black knit skirt and two blingy/lacey type tops. No one will notice that you wear the same outfit twice. Pack flat blinged out sandals, your skirt is long, no one will notice your feet--unless you wear Birkenstocks or something equally strange with formal attire. Added benefit--the skirt won't wrinkle.

Next, the rest of the list.

Think mix and match and layers.

Two pair of shorts and four blouses. Notice I said blouses. Short sleeved or sleeveless, but with buttons and a collar.

Two pair of jeans.

One pair of black pants to wear to dinners that aren't formal. Wear the tops from formal night or the blouses with them in the warm climates.

Three sets of under garments.

Three pair of socks.

One long sleeved silk or tech t-shirt/long underwear.

One bathing suit, two if you must. Bring a pair of board shorts and zip up surf jacket to use as a cover up. They also become your lightweight jacket and another pair of shorts.

One polar fleece jacket

One pashmina

Two merino wool sweaters that match the blouses--you'll wear the sweaters over the blouses so you can wear them several times without washing. Remove the blouse, add a scarf, pair with the black pants for dinner in the cooler climates.

One pair of black flats dressy enough to pair with the dinner pants, casual enough to wear with the jeans. (something like this might work well: http://www.zappos.com/trotters-liz-black-calf)

Something to sleep in.

One pair of sneakers.

All of that will fit into a carry on sized rolling bag. Wear the sneakers on the plane. If you have extra room I'd add a pair of chinos that matched all the shirts.

Each person gets 1 bag, right? If so, cross pack...use one bag for land tour....

I would rather pay the fee, and have what I need, rather than trying to mix and match, do laundry all the time, etc!!!

I would ship a box of cold weather clothes to your first hotel in Vancouver. You can then ship that same box back home or to a neighbor with all your cruise and warm weather gear. If you ship it early enough the FedEx ground rates should be less than checked bag fees and you won't have to schlep all that additional stuff with you.

My frst suggestion is bite the bullet and pay the extra whats $50 on a few thousand $ vacation.

However my fallback is take clothes that can be layered. E a light T-shirt type top in the warm locations can then be warn under a blouse and jacket in the cold areas, while just the blouse can work in mid areas.

This looks to be a wonderful trip. Probably you are spending a lot and then there are the tours.

I would pack what you need and if that means another bag just bite the bullet.

Just my two cents and I have sailed itineraries such as South America where you have to pack for warm and cold weather and thankfully we packed what we needed. And I've sailed Alaska many times and know the importance of taking what you need to enjoy all that you will see.

Keith

Do you really need hiking boots? Are you actually going to be hiking?

Roz

Do you really need hiking boots? Are you actually going to be hiking?Roz

Yes.

I agree, if you cannot pack in 2 checked bags, 2 carry ons and 2 personal items then you need to take a 3rd checked bag that can be used for your cruise only clothing. While you hate giving the airline more than necessary it sounds like you only have one flight, Canada back to Florida. With the price of the vacation the additional bag fee is probably well less than 1% of the total cost.

You don't say what airline you are going to fly on but United allows 1 free checked bag per person on flights to and from Canada. You would still pay the higher fee for the 3rd checked bag but you would get 2 free.

Mary Lou

For your husband, how about a blazer rather than a suit? This is what my husband does now--he has suits and a tux, but is more comfortable in his navy or gray blazer. He wears it onto the plane and if he gets hot lays it on top of the carry-on luggage. (Often the flight attendants will offer to hang it for him).

In your case, layer for the plane; shirt, blazer, waterproof jacket for the Alaska portion, peeling layers as needed. They can go in the overhead bins.

He cannot wear most dress shoes anymore; he has 'nicer' looking walking shoes in black that he also wears on the plane. Not ideal for formal night, but it works.

For me, it would have to be some really tough, long and steep/rough hiking before I'd bring my hiking boots, since they are so big; only you know if you truly need them. I'd probably bring, and wear on the train, some really good walking shoes.

There are plenty of options for foldable luggage than can fit into a suitcase, such as duffle bags and even suitcases. Look online or in local stores for ideas. We often bring an extra bag along like this for 'just in case'. Some can be used as beach bags as well.

I do hate paying the airlines for something they took away and now want to sell back to me :mad:

But supposing we bite the bullet and take an additional checked bag. Then we have the challenge of transporting all of that luggage from place to place (in spots where the cruise line and rail road don't provide transfers). I've dragged bags over bumpy streets, up and down escalators; tried to stuff them into cars and taxis. I've come to realize: I have only two hands and one back. It's really difficult to travel with so much luggage. if I have two check-on bags, one roll-a-board, and a "personal item" aka backpack, I have to strap my roll-a-board to one of my check-on bags, making it heavy and unwieldy, and then try to move all that cargo through airports, on and off shuttles, through train stations, etc. That would not be any fun for two 70 year-olds.

Does anyone have a solution for this challenge?

I like the idea of shipping a bag/box, but from Canada to Florida it's costly and you have to deal with customs.

There are plenty of options for foldable luggage than can fit into a suitcase, such as duffle bags and even suitcases. Look online or in local stores for ideas. We often bring an extra bag along like this for 'just in case'. Some can be used as beach bags as well.

I didn't find anything in my search online today. Can you give me some names or search terms that might lead me to some possibilities?

Gosh, you are already spending a sizable amount of money for a nice trip.

Whatever the extra cost is for an extra bag to make your trip more enjoyable is so worth it. :)

LuLu

I didn't find anything in my search online today. Can you give me some names or search terms that might lead me to some possibilities?

I just entered 'collapsable luggage' into google and got tons of hits. Try Amazon, that was the first one I clicked on--search foldable luggage or foldable duffle bags, etc. A whole bunch of options came up. We have a couple of duffle bags like this; some we found in discount stores like Walmart--just look for a duffle that doesn't have internal bracing. We've even bought them when on cruises/tours in various tourist shopping areas.

Some just lay flat to go in a suitcase, some fold up into a small square, some are actual suitcases; I'd probably go with the duffle-type as they fold much smaller and yet hold a lot.

I don't know how to add links! Sorry.

I have always been able to cut down on what I pack by mixing and matching my outfits. But you will be in 2 different climates. I would really hate for you to be in Alaska and say "gee I wish I had taken the time to pack that scarf and pair of gloves, but I didn't make room." Then you have to go buy them and spend the money etc...

This sounds like a wonderful trip of a lifetime. I wouldn't ruin it by skimping on luggage. I know it kinda sucks to have to pay for it. Maybe you can get away with 3 rollers and not 2 each? Maybe you and you husband can just do 1 each and share the 3rd? But if you pack so tightly what happens if you want to bring souvenirs home? You won't have the space.

I would just bite the bullet and bring 2 rollers each.

Let me see if I can summarize

• Going on a lengthy vacation
  
• Vacation covers both hot and cold climates
  
• Does not want to sacrifice any items (hiking boots, formal wear, etc)
  
• Does not want to carry more than one piece of checked bag per person due to age/ability to handle
  
• Does not want to pay shipping charges for luggage to mid point hotel
  

Let me see if I can summarize

 

• Going on a lengthy vacation
  
• Vacation covers both hot and cold climates
  
• Does not want to sacrifice any items (hiking boots, formal wear, etc)
  
• Does not want to carry more than one piece of checked bag per person due to age/ability to handle
  
• Does not want to pay shipping charges for luggage to mid point hotel
  

That about sums it up. There are only so many ways you can pack. Seems like a no win to me.

Mary LOU

Does not want to pay shipping charges for luggage to mid point hotel

I don't understand what you mean by this.