Packing help needed!

We usually take way too much luggage and have never been able to use self-assist. Since we do not need to bring any formal clothes on NCL, self-assist is our goal. This will not be easy for me, and I need advice!

I plan to bring shorts, t's, nice tops, capris and dresses. (Besides swimsuits, coverups, and a few pairs of shoes) What packing secrets can you share to cram a lot of stuff in a suitcase without it getting wrinkled. We bring the Downy Wrinkle Release, but it can only do so much. Do you fold or roll? What material should I look for for dresses (mostly maxi) that pack well. I've always carried my dresses in a garment bag so this will be a first.

I roll all my clothes and soon as we get the luggage to the cabin we unpack immediately

Cut back on shoes! One pair of sandals (or fancy flip flops) and if you are doing rough excursions then a pair of gym shoes.

Maxi dresses take up a lot of space! Go for shorter length dresses.

How many tops and stuff are you planning to wear? You're only gone 7 days, so that means 7 tops and what you wear for embarkation. Shorts and tops should coordinate more than one outfit. So.... rough shore ex = t-shirt and shorts. Clean up back on board and plan the top you want to wear the next day and wear that in the evening and next day. Repeat.

If you are changing into dresses for dinner you really only need two, just switch them out -- no body really sees what you're wearing and since NCL is freestyle you won't be eating with the same people over and over.

Take what will be comfortable, 50/50 cotton poly won't wrinkle as bad, but I have travelled with linen tops and pants on cruises and don't iron on board. If you're in a humid climate the wrinkles won't be too bad anyways.

I always fold, I don't like rolling, but I pack in a small case and the clothes can't move around. Its easy to really pack lightly if you can wear clothes more than once, and you won't have a ton of laundry when you get home either!:D

I don't ever wear dresses. 2 pairs of black stretch pants, 3-4 different colored camis, black poly/cotton jacket, black,silver,gold flips, steamer, downy. Easy. I did it once. The rest of the time 2 weeks looks like this so I can't help you 😱

We usually take way too much luggage and have never been able to use self-assist. Since we do not need to bring any formal clothes on NCL, self-assist is our goal. This will not be easy for me, and I need advice!

 

I plan to bring shorts, t's, nice tops, capris and dresses. (Besides swimsuits, coverups, and a few pairs of shoes) What packing secrets can you share to cram a lot of stuff in a suitcase without it getting wrinkled. We bring the Downy Wrinkle Release, but it can only do so much. Do you fold or roll? What material should I look for for dresses (mostly maxi) that pack well. I've always carried my dresses in a garment bag so this will be a first.

I fold with the overlap style, you can find you tube videos to show you and once you master it you can fit a lot more luggage in and unpack as soon as you can. I pack 5 capris with interchanging tops. I also like to have a variety of clothes. so depending on if you are flying or just going to port will matter. Our next sailing I will fit all my clothes for 10 days in one suitcase and one carry on is my goal. During the say its beachwear with coverups and in evening i wear capris with dressy top and bring a few sweaters. Shorts and tanks are a must, I like shoes so i bring 5 pair, and fit them in the bottom of the luggage to fill spaces. I don't wear repeat clothes its just lay out everything then take away 50 % of it. If you are doing only 7 days plan each day outfit with an extra to spare. Its a lot easier to overpack, so guilty myself but I am getting much better. Also I don't like paying for luggage with airlines so that helps also lol. good luck and have fun

I fold with the overlap style, you can find you tube videos to show you and once you master it you can fit a lot more luggage in and unpack as soon as you can. I pack 5 capris with interchanging tops. I also like to have a variety of clothes. so depending on if you are flying or just going to port will matter. Our next sailing I will fit all my clothes for 10 days in one suitcase and one carry on is my goal. During the say its beachwear with coverups and in evening i wear capris with dressy top and bring a few sweaters. Shorts and tanks are a must, I like shoes so i bring 5 pair, and fit them in the bottom of the luggage to fill spaces. I don't wear repeat clothes its just lay out everything then take away 50 % of it. If you are doing only 7 days plan each day outfit with an extra to spare. Its a lot easier to overpack, so guilty myself but I am getting much better. Also I don't like paying for luggage with airlines so that helps also lol. good luck and have fun

We are driving to the port so my only limitation is being able to do self-assist for debarkation. Last cruise it was just me and my husband for 8 nights and we had 2 large suitcases, 2 garment bags, a suitcase full of shoes, a bag with cosmetics, toiletries, meds, hair products, etc, and a carry on bag, so 7 total. He wants to do less than that on our next one and our son will be coming too. I don't like to wear the same thing twice and don't wear the same type of clothes during the day I would at night in a dining room.

Here's what I'm bringing to Hawaii & cruise to Vancouver (16 nights) 1 suitcase, 1 carryon. 4 pairs sandals/shoes (feet swell), 3 bathing suits & rashguards & board shorts (mix & match). 5 dry release tshirts, 3 tank tops, 2 3/4 sleeve tops, 1 1/4 zip long sleeved top, 1 zip hoodie, 2 black capris (dry release fabric), 1 white capri, 1 white slacks, 1 maxi dress (for hula). 1 black jumpsuit, 1 black sequin top, 1 pashmina, 1 pr black silk pants, 5 dressy tops, 1 ball cap, 1 SPF50 hat, 1 hooded waterproof jacket. Lingerie & a pair of cuddle duds (for pjs & extra layer if it gets cold in Vancouver). Sunglasses, Hair iron, makeup, sunscreen, 4 books (leave books on ship, more room for souvenirs), iPad, camera, deck of cards, black evening purse (tiny), snacks for plane (7 HR flight) & zip up duffel bag (folds flat), & snorkel gear. All told, suitcase weighs 35 lbs, carryon weighs 20. I try to coordinate colors, this trip is black, white, highlighter yellow & turquoise -- that way you have many different combos. Dry release stuff doesn't wrinkle, I use packing cubes, sometimes roll, sometimes fold. My traveling outfit is black dry release pants, highlighter yellow tank top, highlighter yellow hoodie sweater & turquoise pashmina scarf with multicolor shoes, turquoise Bagalilini cross body purse. Enjoy your trip!

We are driving to the port so my only limitation is being able to do self-assist for debarkation. Last cruise it was just me and my husband for 8 nights and we had 2 large suitcases, 2 garment bags, a suitcase full of shoes, a bag with cosmetics, toiletries, meds, hair products, etc, and a carry on bag, so 7 total. He wants to do less than that on our next one and our son will be coming too. I don't like to wear the same thing twice and don't wear the same type of clothes during the day I would at night in a dining room.

Omg, I thought that I was bad, lol. Where do you store the suitcases. You must be in a large suite.

I'm going to Iceland, Norway, Scotland and England for 20 days and although it's a year away, I'm stressed out

Here's what I'm bringing to Hawaii & cruise to Vancouver (16 nights) 1 suitcase, 1 carryon. 4 pairs sandals/shoes (feet swell), 3 bathing suits & rashguards & board shorts (mix & match). 5 dry release tshirts, 3 tank tops, 2 3/4 sleeve tops, 1 1/4 zip long sleeved top, 1 zip hoodie, 2 black capris (dry release fabric), 1 white capri, 1 white slacks, 1 maxi dress (for hula). 1 black jumpsuit, 1 black sequin top, 1 pashmina, 1 pr black silk pants, 5 dressy tops, 1 ball cap, 1 SPF50 hat, 1 hooded waterproof jacket. Lingerie & a pair of cuddle duds (for pjs & extra layer if it gets cold in Vancouver). Sunglasses, Hair iron, makeup, sunscreen, 4 books (leave books on ship, more room for souvenirs), iPad, camera, deck of cards, black evening purse (tiny), snacks for plane (7 HR flight) & zip up duffel bag (folds flat), & snorkel gear. All told, suitcase weighs 35 lbs, carryon weighs 20. I try to coordinate colors, this trip is black, white, highlighter yellow & turquoise -- that way you have many different combos. Dry release stuff doesn't wrinkle, I use packing cubes, sometimes roll, sometimes fold. My traveling outfit is black dry release pants, highlighter yellow tank top, highlighter yellow hoodie sweater & turquoise pashmina scarf with multicolor shoes, turquoise Bagalilini cross body purse. Enjoy your trip!

You're good, my 2017 trip is 20 days and I'm really stressing over this

We do carry on and off with Princess. I have two 21 inch, one 20 inch and one 19 inch carry-ons. We are able to pack a lot in them and still have room left over. My DH brings his tux too. I bring clothing that is made from light fabric and folds well. We could get by with three small cases, but we don't want to make them too heavy.

Last cruise I brought for me: 4 pairs of pants and tops, two skirts and tops. Two formal night outfits. A purse for each outfit. Bathing suit and cover up. Three pairs of shoes. Undies, PJ's and all my toilet articles. There was room to spare. I did use two packing folders, one for each of us. DH stuff fit in the other suit cases.

For our pants I would lay it in the case and put another piece of clothing (undershirt) by the knees and fold the pants over that.

It worked great, we were off the ship real early.

If you want to carry your own bags off the ship, figure out what you can carry and then pack that. You will have to cut back. If you cram everything you want into your suitcase, it will be heavy and that will be its own problem. The way I see it, you either mix & match and repeat clothing, do laundry, or you carry more than you can get off the ship on your own.

Personally, as for packing, my husband rolls and I fold and neither of us have much of a problem with wrinkles. We pick a color palette, figure out the clothing mix & match in advance (I do a powerpoint)

NB Steamers are not allowed on all ships, so check the website if that's a route you're interested in. I don't think NCL allows steamers, and to me that's unnecessary weight anyway - I will hang something in the bathroom while I take a hot shower if I think it needs to be steamed. But mostly I'm packing stuff that doesn't wrinkle or I don't care ;-)

Omg, I thought that I was bad, lol. Where do you store the suitcases. You must be in a large suite.

 

I'm going to Iceland, Norway, Scotland and England for 20 days and although it's a year away, I'm stressed out

No, just a regular balcony. Smaller suitcases inside bigger ones and most of them fit under the bed...one was peeking out a bit. We did have to keep one on the couch.

That's more than I pack for a 2 week cruise with a one week land vacation on one end. Since you are driving, wear your heaviest items like boat shoes, a pair of dark jeans or black capris (embarking/debarking is always a dirty day), a T-shirt or nice shirt for dinner that night and any cardigan or jacket. Maxis made of most cotton and spandex tend not to wrinkle if you fold in haf vertically and then roll. Take a small refillable plastic squit bottle of woolite for washing undies and rinsing swim suits. You might need one pair of flip flops or, better, sandals that can handle wearing under a maxi as well as with capris. Then if you do hiking type excursions (as someone already said) pack a pair of running shoes. If you don't then just use boat shoes and gift yourself a real pair of sandals and buy a pair of toss them flip flops at a Dollar Store. Stuff panties in tissue or a plastic bag and stuff into shoe toes or into hubbies if he hasn't put his socks in there. Two pairs of capris should work fine especially if you wear jeans or long pants for embark/debark. Roll up 2 T-shirts or polos and add a scarf plus one nice blouse besides one you wore to embark. Add 2 pairs of shorts. Your son, depending on age, needs 2 pairs of shorts, 2 pairs of khakis/chinos and 2 swim trunks and Dollar Store flip flops plus the boat shoes he wears onto and off the boat. If anything wrinkles pay to have it pressed as soon as you get there. And go through your make up and decide what you actually need. And one cover up is plenty if you have the right one. Think about your previous cruises. What came back unused?

That's more than I pack for a 2 week cruise with a one week land vacation on one end. Since you are driving, wear your heaviest items like boat shoes, a pair of dark jeans or black capris (embarking/debarking is always a dirty day), a T-shirt or nice shirt for dinner that night and any cardigan or jacket. Maxis made of most cotton and spandex tend not to wrinkle if you fold in haf vertically and then roll. Take a small refillable plastic squit bottle of woolite for washing undies and rinsing swim suits. You might need one pair of flip flops or, better, sandals that can handle wearing under a maxi as well as with capris. Then if you do hiking type excursions (as someone already said) pack a pair of running shoes. If you don't then just use boat shoes and gift yourself a real pair of sandals and buy a pair of toss them flip flops at a Dollar Store. Stuff panties in tissue or a plastic bag and stuff into shoe toes or into hubbies if he hasn't put his socks in there. Two pairs of capris should work fine especially if you wear jeans or long pants for embark/debark. Roll up 2 T-shirts or polos and add a scarf plus one nice blouse besides one you wore to embark. Add 2 pairs of shorts. Your son, depending on age, needs 2 pairs of shorts, 2 pairs of khakis/chinos and 2 swim trunks and Dollar Store flip flops plus the boat shoes he wears onto and off the boat. If anything wrinkles pay to have it pressed as soon as you get there. And go through your make up and decide what you actually need. And one cover up is plenty if you have the right one. Think about your previous cruises. What came back unused?[/QUOTE]

 

The answer to this question is very helpful!

No, just a regular balcony. Smaller suitcases inside bigger ones and most of them fit under the bed...one was peeking out a bit. We did have to keep one on the couch.

Great, we are also in regular balcony , thanks for tip. Have a great day

Last cruise it was just me and my husband for 8 nights and we had 2 large suitcases, 2 garment bags, a suitcase full of shoes, a bag with cosmetics, toiletries, meds, hair products, etc, and a carry on bag, so 7 total......I don't like to wear the same thing twice and don't wear the same type of clothes during the day I would at night in a dining room.

So.... you normally take 7 bags for 1 week, but want to be able to do self assist debarkation. You need to eliminate 3 bags so you and hubby only have to carry 2 apiece. But, since your son is coming this time, figure another bag for him, so you really need to be able to eliminate 4 of the 7 bags above. You'll have 3 left plus 1 for your son and you and hubby can carry 2 each. I don't recall where you said you're cruising from, but if you have to use an escalator in the terminal, they will require that you have 1 hand free to hold the handrail, so 2 of your 4 bags will need to be shoulder bags or you'll have to wait in line for the elevator. Sometimes it's long, sometimes not. (just something else to consider)

How do you get from 7 bags to 3? That is such a drastic decrease that I don't see any way other than to change your philosophy on what you pack. You can't take 3 or 4 separate outfits for each day and an entire suitcase just for shoes and another entire suitcase just for cosmetics and such. No one is paying attention to what you wear besides you, so give up on the idea of never wearing anything twice. If you spend most days by the pool or at the beach, you really don't need more than 2 (or 3, at most) pair of shorts and maybe 3 tops you can wear to breakfast or lunch; the rest of the time you'll be in bathing suits, and you don't need a different one each day. Pack 2 and be done with it. Pack ONE pair of sandals or flip flops to wear with all your shorts/bathing suits.

If you're going off the ship every day and doing excursions, you'll go through your shorts and tops more quickly, but don't take a lot more; just take shorts and tops in quick-dry fabric. You can rinse and hang to dry in your room. Otherwise, just bite the bullet and plan to send laundry out a time or two.

For evenings, limit yourself to a couple of basic bottoms and take different tops to go with them. You'd be surprised how different the same pair of dressy black pants can look when paired with completely different tops. Add a couple of maxi dresses in jersey knit or other wrinkle-resistant material, and coordinate colors of your evening outfits so that you only need 2 different pairs of shoes.

Finally, skinny down your beauty routine so you don't need so much make-up and hair stuff that you need a whole separate bag for it.

We have an 11 day trip to Europe this summer.... 3 days/nights in Barcelona then a 7 day cruise. We will be doing all-day excursions at least 4 of the days, but will get off the ship and walk around other days. We'll still have pool/hot tub time in the late afternoon, and I like to dress for dinner. Based on my past travel experience, I will take 1 large suitcase but it will still be under the airline size limits, and a large purse. That's it. But by being willing to wear things twice, have laundry done, and mixing and matching etc., I will have plenty to wear without looking like a minimalist backpacker, LOL.

If you are really serious about reducing your luggage, the shoe and the make-up bags need to be eliminated. These items fit in your large suitcase. Nobody should need 14 different outfits and shoes for a 7 day cruise. :eek:

If you are really serious about reducing your luggage, the shoe and the make-up bags need to be eliminated. These items fit in your large suitcase. Nobody should need 14 different outfits and shoes for a 7 day cruise. :eek:

LOL, over the years I've read/heard people say things like "well it's a 7 day cruise so I'm taking 7 bathing suits, and each one has its own matching cover up and flip flops so 7 of each of those as well" and I just have to laugh.

LOL, over the years I've read/heard people say things like "well it's a 7 day cruise so I'm taking 7 bathing suits, and each one has its own matching cover up and flip flops so 7 of each of those as well" and I just have to laugh.

It's one thing if you're driving or don't mind paying airline luggage fees (or don't have to) etc etc.

But if you want to pack less so you can manage your bags on your own, the most important thing to change isn't what you pack but your MINDSET about what is a necessity and what is superfluous.

It's not a judgement thing. You're not a better person when you can pack everything you need for a month-long trip in a 15" duffel (though people will brag about it - I would if I could do it ;)) Different people have different needs, so if you're coming here to ask how to get off the ship carrying your own bags, it's a simple answer - you need to bring less stuff. Figuring out what you need instead of what you would like to have with you is going to be your individual challenge because our priorities are all different.

It is definitely not a judgemental thing. You asked how to do this and escape at the end caring your own luggage. You also might want to look down the road to any overseas cruises in your future. Cruise ships are great about how much luggage you can bring aboard every where in the world. Even airlines are fairly reasonable if you don't mind paying for the extra bags. But in many countries, especially in eastern Europe and some in western Europe, taxis have down sized. Twenty years ago a full size Mercedes, Audi or even a large Skoda was easy to get. Now, well, we run into taxis that barely hold us, 2 small carry ons on our laps, a large duffel and a garment bag. The rest of the world is fairly minimalist compared to most Ameicans.

Deciding on an overall color palette is one of the easiest ways to pack light and no, you don't have to stick to black, navy or gray. Another is to go with the lighter weight clothing options. Polos in pima cotton from Lands End are beautifully made, great choice of colors and wash without wrinkling in the sink if hung up on a hanger to dry. For evening I find the woven polyester blouses from Chico's to be perfect. Talk abut weighing nothing. They also dry fast. My essential evening pieces are normally 2 pairs of black or navy Eileen Fisher crepe pants. I'm tall so prefer dry cleaning mine but they can be washed just send them to the ship's laundry if needed but for one week and two pairs I wouldn't need them cleaned unless I spilled something.

And yes, I brought back a lot of never wores on our last cruise because we used Azamara's buffets a lot more than we normally would. Actually I think we ate dinner in the dining room once and the specialty restaurants a total of 4 times. Australia and New Zealand were new to both of us and we did a lot of excursions involving wildlife so I wish I had left all but two pairs of the crepe pants at home and that was 16 days plus over a week between Sydney and Auckland on land. Several tops will never see another cruise because they just were not versatile enough. I did get by very well with 3 pairs of shoes and a pair of flip flops. My Bluefish Sperry boat shoes, a pair of soft white leather loafers and a lightweight pair of black fabric smoking slipper style flats with a muted but jewel toned abstract floral pattern. Most of my evening tops are in jewel tones and the flats looked great with my basic black crepe pants. My very dark rinse denim trousers and a pair of white flare jeans got serious work outs and trips to the laundry as did a yellow half zip pullover.

Ulta has many hair products in small travel sizes and I only take my leave in spray conditioner if the line has reasonable shampoo. For the Caribbean I normally cut make up to tinted moisturizer with sunscreen, compact powder, waterproof mascare, an eyebrown pencil and brow shaper in one, spf lip gloss, one lipstick, one pack of 3 eye shadows and one of those I also use as a liner and 3 brushes: eye shadow, compact and liner. And a 7 day pack of Neutragena make up remover clothes. Add in 2 sunscreens in travel size because I only need a 15 while DH needs a 50. For other cruises the tinted moisturizer stays home and I bring a SPF moisturizer and foundation. Extras like skin corrector, etc I can live without for several weeks and do I really want the DH to know what it takes to have great skin? No. :)

Maybe if you type up your list of everything you think you need you just might see that "Oh! I never use that or wear those."

Seven bags for 7 days! Wow..I agree with writer who says it is a mindset. My approach, and not one that came easily is if you want to look "different" each evening stay away from dresses and go for separates. Long skirts, while nice looking are usually made of a rayon fabric and tend to be heavy.

For the Celebrity Honolulu to Vancouver cruise last April, plus 7 days pre cruise on Oahu, I had one suitcase, and a small carry-on. About 3 shorts, and a linen short skirt plus tops for day wear. For dinner on the ship...white, navy and beige slacks. Because it was Hawaii I had more colourful tops (some of which were of a fabric I could easily wash). On other cruises I stick with solid coloured tops...black, yellow, red and go for colourful scarves. Like Vera Bradley. This way it is fun to make multiple outfits out of a few basic pieces.

On a 14 day Caribbean cruise this winter.....same principle applied. Took a few very thin shrugs (don't do shawls well) because I find the ship very cool in the evening. Also always have a neutral colour cardigan, once again because of the ship's ac.

As tempted as we are to empty our entire closet into our suitcases we just need to think outside the box ( I mean closet) and not be a slave to what we are wearing and focus on having a wonderful time on the cruse. All this philosophical advice was learned the hard way.

Happy cruising to all.

That's more than I pack for a 2 week cruise with a one week land vacation on one end. Since you are driving, wear your heaviest items like boat shoes, a pair of dark jeans or black capris (embarking/debarking is always a dirty day), a T-shirt or nice shirt for dinner that night and any cardigan or jacket. Maxis made of most cotton and spandex tend not to wrinkle if you fold in haf vertically and then roll. Take a small refillable plastic squit bottle of woolite for washing undies and rinsing swim suits. You might need one pair of flip flops or, better, sandals that can handle wearing under a maxi as well as with capris. Then if you do hiking type excursions (as someone already said) pack a pair of running shoes. If you don't then just use boat shoes and gift yourself a real pair of sandals and buy a pair of toss them flip flops at a Dollar Store. Stuff panties in tissue or a plastic bag and stuff into shoe toes or into hubbies if he hasn't put his socks in there. Two pairs of capris should work fine especially if you wear jeans or long pants for embark/debark. Roll up 2 T-shirts or polos and add a scarf plus one nice blouse besides one you wore to embark. Add 2 pairs of shorts. Your son, depending on age, needs 2 pairs of shorts, 2 pairs of khakis/chinos and 2 swim trunks and Dollar Store flip flops plus the boat shoes he wears onto and off the boat. If anything wrinkles pay to have it pressed as soon as you get there. And go through your make up and decide what you actually need. And one cover up is plenty if you have the right one. Think about your previous cruises. What came back unused?

I don't do laundry on vacation, underwear doesn't take up much room. Sometimes I even bring old ones and toss them after wearing. I won't need boat shoes, but I do need running shoes for one of our excursions and if I go to the gym. I can't wear cheap flip flops because I have bad feet. I usually bring rubber flip flops for the pool, and sandals (2 or 3 colors, I guess I could get by with black and either blue or neutral) for dresses, shorts and capris. (I will skip the wedges and heels this time) I won't need any dress shoes this time. I usually wear a blouse or dress every night for dinner, but I don't know if I will this time since I'm not bringing a garment bag. I do t know how to keep them from wrinkling. We have sent stuff to be pressed before. I usually bring 4 or 5 swimsuits, but I guess I can bring 3 or 4. The reason I bring two coverups is because I don't like to wear them if they are wet. I usually wear everything I bring, but I don't wear things twice, except shorts and swimsuits. If there's one thing I bring I usually don't wear it's jeans.

So.... you normally take 7 bags for 1 week, but want to be able to do self assist debarkation. You need to eliminate 3 bags so you and hubby only have to carry 2 apiece. But, since your son is coming this time, figure another bag for him, so you really need to be able to eliminate 4 of the 7 bags above. You'll have 3 left plus 1 for your son and you and hubby can carry 2 each. I don't recall where you said you're cruising from, but if you have to use an escalator in the terminal, they will require that you have 1 hand free to hold the handrail, so 2 of your 4 bags will need to be shoulder bags or you'll have to wait in line for the elevator. Sometimes it's long, sometimes not. (just something else to consider)

 

How do you get from 7 bags to 3? That is such a drastic decrease that I don't see any way other than to change your philosophy on what you pack. You can't take 3 or 4 separate outfits for each day and an entire suitcase just for shoes and another entire suitcase just for cosmetics and such. No one is paying attention to what you wear besides you, so give up on the idea of never wearing anything twice. If you spend most days by the pool or at the beach, you really don't need more than 2 (or 3, at most) pair of shorts and maybe 3 tops you can wear to breakfast or lunch; the rest of the time you'll be in bathing suits, and you don't need a different one each day. Pack 2 and be done with it. Pack ONE pair of sandals or flip flops to wear with all your shorts/bathing suits.

If you're going off the ship every day and doing excursions, you'll go through your shorts and tops more quickly, but don't take a lot more; just take shorts and tops in quick-dry fabric. You can rinse and hang to dry in your room. Otherwise, just bite the bullet and plan to send laundry out a time or two.

For evenings, limit yourself to a couple of basic bottoms and take different tops to go with them. You'd be surprised how different the same pair of dressy black pants can look when paired with completely different tops. Add a couple of maxi dresses in jersey knit or other wrinkle-resistant material, and coordinate colors of your evening outfits so that you only need 2 different pairs of shoes.

Finally, skinny down your beauty routine so you don't need so much make-up and hair stuff that you need a whole separate bag for it.

 

We have an 11 day trip to Europe this summer.... 3 days/nights in Barcelona then a 7 day cruise. We will be doing all-day excursions at least 4 of the days, but will get off the ship and walk around other days. We'll still have pool/hot tub time in the late afternoon, and I like to dress for dinner. Based on my past travel experience, I will take 1 large suitcase but it will still be under the airline size limits, and a large purse. That's it. But by being willing to wear things twice, have laundry done, and mixing and matching etc., I will have plenty to wear without looking like a minimalist backpacker, LOL.

Well, my husband wants to trim it down to one large suitcase per person and the cosmetic/toiletry bag. It contains a lot more than make-up. It has my hairdryer, flat iron, curling iron, hair spray, styling spray (to hold my curl), thermal protectant (for flat iron), round brush, paddle brush for me, my husband's brush, son's brush, toothbrushes/paste, shampoo, conditioner, deep treatment, hair oil, shine spray, body lotion, face lotion, shaving cream, razors, meds, contacts, saline, glasses. Basically all this type of stuff for all three of us. Last time we also put our wine in there because we carry it on the ship with us since I couldn't live without that stuff so we don't risk losing it. We take this same bag even if we just go away for a weekend. Maybe you wouldn't consider is that big. It's on wheels. My husband wants to eliminate a separate bag for shoes and the garment bags.

One pair of sanders couldn't possibly match everything I wear. I can't imagine on taking two swimsuits. [emoji16] I never see women wearing the same ones over and over. I notice what others wear so I assume they would notice the if I keep wearing the same thing, although this cruise is port intensive so I probably won't see the same people very often. 3 of our 4 port days are beach excursions, but I like to wear different shorts/t's at each port over them because we always buy those pics they take as you leave the ship.

I could easily follow your advice for dinners, I'm just worried about everything wrinkling without a garment bag.

Maybe I'll never be able to pull this off. [emoji15]

If you are really serious about reducing your luggage, the shoe and the make-up bags need to be eliminated. These items fit in your large suitcase. Nobody should need 14 different outfits and shoes for a 7 day cruise. :eek:

I can't eliminate that bag. I refuse to check it in as there are way too many things I couldn't go without and I don't want shampoos, hairsprays, and such in the same bag as my clothes. I am going to try to eliminate the shoe bag, although I think having shoes in my suitcase will wrinkle my clothes. I will cut back on how many outfits I take.

It's one thing if you're driving or don't mind paying airline luggage fees (or don't have to) etc etc.

 

 

 

But if you want to pack less so you can manage your bags on your own, the most important thing to change isn't what you pack but your MINDSET about what is a necessity and what is superfluous.

 

 

 

It's not a judgement thing. You're not a better person when you can pack everything you need for a month-long trip in a 15" duffel (though people will brag about it - I would if I could do it ;)) Different people have different needs, so if you're coming here to ask how to get off the ship carrying your own bags, it's a simple answer - you need to bring less stuff. Figuring out what you need instead of what you would like to have with you is going to be your individual challenge because our priorities are all different.

I think my biggest question is not what I can do without as much as how do I cram what I need in a suitcase without everything looking awful when we get there.