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P & O Baggage Allowance! Disgusted!!


Sunseeker1664
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My Mum travelled a lot of the world on her own and was proud to claim she did it with the equivelent of two shopping bags. She always looked amazing and stood out from a crowd but she achieved this effect with amazing costume jewellary.

 

In later years she became a Speaker for WI's etc. entitled "Travelling with Two Shopping Bags" and it was very popular and amusing :)

 

Unlike my Mum I'm a massive overpacker but even I can manage on 23 kilos thats a lot.

 

B&M and Home Bargains do a great see through travel bag for a pound with 3 small plastic bottles in to decante lotions etc. in to expanding on the tip above.

 

It will be hot and warm you will have a fabulous time....

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1. Weigh your suitcases. Some modern hard shell cases are up towards 5 kilo empty. Invest in lightweight one's if you travel or cruise a lot.

 

2. As some decent trsvel sites say; Lay all the the clothes you think you will need on the bed and take away 50%

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Hi, I'm not really sure why you are " having a go " at P&O for these restrictions, as the luggage weights are pretty much standard on any fly holiday. In fact on our last holiday we were only allowed 20kg each.

As previous posters have said if you pack sensibly then you should have no problems. Unless you are like a relative of mine who always takes 14 different outfits for day wear then another 14 outfits for evening wear !:rolleyes: You may have problems if you do that. There is always the free laundry or the laundry service if you don't want to do it yourself. And as you are going to the Caribbean you will only need light clothes. I'm sure you will manage.

On page 31 of the new 2013 P&O brochure it states that the luggage allowance for P&O fly cruises is 20kg. If you struggle at 23kg you will be in real trouble next year.

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Most luggage over 5-10 yrs old is quite heavy, we invested in a new lightweight one and that was a huge help. All the tips on here are very valid. If you're still having trouble and IF you are flying with BA you may be able to buy some extra luggage allowance. We did this on a six week hol to OZ in 2009. They did allow us to buy another 23kg for about £30 and if your P&O ship is coming back to UK soon you can arrange for them to bring back an extra suitcase and have it delivered to your door too!!!!

Hope this has been helpful

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23 kgs is standard now, even for scheduled flights. Having said that, I have done P&O fly cruises to the Caribbean and land tours to the USA with this allowance and have never had any problem staying within it. I follow the rule of "if you think you might not wear it, don't take it"

Is it not time, however, for P&O abandon formal/semi-formal in the Caribbean. That would free up a lot of space in suitcases for important items like shorts and tee shirts. ;-)

 

O yes IT IS about time, so stuffy and pompous! Wouldn't it be enough for the men to wear a jacket, shirt and tie instead of the old tuxedo thing. With regards to Sunseeker's post, I get the washing of daytime clothes as an obvious -its having to pack a tux, shoes etc in the first place as EXTRA. Makes you wonder if they're doing it on purpose so you spend more money with them by hiring the stuff in the first place. Us girls can wear same pair of trousers with different tops or even a lovely cocktail dress - the issue is if P&O are going to determine the 'out-of-date' so called POSH nights then they should allow the baggage allowance to reflect this. I too will never either cruise with P&O again or fly with whichever airline it is we end up with. Never had this problem with Princess or RCI or NCL had a 30kg no bother.

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O yes IT IS about time, so stuffy and pompous! Wouldn't it be enough for the men to wear a jacket, shirt and tie instead of the old tuxedo thing. With regards to Sunseeker's post, I get the washing of daytime clothes as an obvious -its having to pack a tux, shoes etc in the first place as EXTRA. Makes you wonder if they're doing it on purpose so you spend more money with them by hiring the stuff in the first place. Us girls can wear same pair of trousers with different tops or even a lovely cocktail dress - the issue is if P&O are going to determine the 'out-of-date' so called POSH nights then they should allow the baggage allowance to reflect this. I too will never either cruise with P&O again or fly with whichever airline it is we end up with. Never had this problem with Princess or RCI or NCL had a 30kg no bother.

 

 

Well you will be alright then

 

 

Dai

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O yes IT IS about time, so stuffy and pompous! Wouldn't it be enough for the men to wear a jacket, shirt and tie instead of the old tuxedo thing. With regards to Sunseeker's post, I get the washing of daytime clothes as an obvious -its having to pack a tux, shoes etc in the first place as EXTRA. Makes you wonder if they're doing it on purpose so you spend more money with them by hiring the stuff in the first place. Us girls can wear same pair of trousers with different tops or even a lovely cocktail dress - the issue is if P&O are going to determine the 'out-of-date' so called POSH nights then they should allow the baggage allowance to reflect this. I too will never either cruise with P&O again or fly with whichever airline it is we end up with. Never had this problem with Princess or RCI or NCL had a 30kg no bother.

 

I just knew Denarius's post was going to bring out, yet again, the "Get rid of formal nights" brigade.

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Personally, i find the formal nights, the easiest ones to cope with,

and generally most of my long dresses are the lightest of my packing.

Soory guys, i know your suits are heavier :rolleyes:

 

even i cope with 23kg, and i am a shoe addict, who always has to pack at least 5 pairs of shoes :eek:,...just before the kitchen sink:D

Thank goodness bath and beach towels are supplied.

 

not sure about 20kg though for next year ?? is that still with just 5kg hand luggage ??

even when we go to lanzarote for a week, i use all my allowance of 20kg + 10kg hand luggage, so i know i will struggle with just 20kg.

That'll be less shoes then :(

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O yes IT IS about time, so stuffy and pompous! Wouldn't it be enough for the men to wear a jacket, shirt and tie instead of the old tuxedo thing. With regards to Sunseeker's post, I get the washing of daytime clothes as an obvious -its having to pack a tux, shoes etc in the first place as EXTRA. Makes you wonder if they're doing it on purpose so you spend more money with them by hiring the stuff in the first place. Us girls can wear same pair of trousers with different tops or even a lovely cocktail dress - the issue is if P&O are going to determine the 'out-of-date' so called POSH nights then they should allow the baggage allowance to reflect this. I too will never either cruise with P&O again or fly with whichever airline it is we end up with. Never had this problem with Princess or RCI or NCL had a 30kg no bother.

 

Hi, It was never about getting rid of 'formal nights', it's about P&O chartering the flight and restricting cruisers luggage so they can use more of the aircraft for freight. On previous Caribbean cruises we've been on, there wasn't a problem as the luggage allowance was more reasonable, (30kgs), but I can assure you all, I don't intend to let it spoil our trip! Thanks to everyone for taking the time to comment, much appreciated. Happy cruising to you all!

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Personally, i find the formal nights, the easiest ones to cope with,

and generally most of my long dresses are the lightest of my packing.

Soory guys, i know your suits are heavier :rolleyes:

 

even i cope with 23kg, and i am a shoe addict, who always has to pack at least 5 pairs of shoes :eek:,...just before the kitchen sink:D

Thank goodness bath and beach towels are supplied.

 

not sure about 20kg though for next year ?? is that still with just 5kg hand luggage ??

even when we go to lanzarote for a week, i use all my allowance of 20kg + 10kg hand luggage, so i know i will struggle with just 20kg.

That'll be less shoes then :(

 

Only 5 pairs!! ;):eek:

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:eek: indeed! I usually take 13-15 pairs!

 

oh very tempting, but you havent seen the size (or weight) of my shoes.

platforms, wedges and heavy trainers.

when we went from southampton, we took a case, just for my (our:D)

shoes, (8pairs of which were mine), so bit of a culture shock having to cut down when flying :confused:. Crazy i know...but i loooooove my shoes.:cool:

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Well you have to have a pair to go with each outfit :cool: LOL

 

I shall be taking at least 13 dresses one for each night :D thankfully I'm not flying (I hate flying anyway).

 

PS totally unrelated but are there any more smilies anywhere? They seem to be a bit limited?

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I too will never either cruise with P&O again or fly with whichever airline it is we end up with. Never had this problem with Princess or RCI or NCL had a 30kg no bother.

 

 

I would have thought that packing restrictions were far less of a problem than having to fly via the USA and go through their customs. But each to their own.

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I also had issues at manchester last Christmas, as did most others on our flight, it cost my husband an extra £170

 

They also weighed our hand luggage and my handbag ! On our return we the same amount of clothes we had no issues

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We have taken a number of fly cruises, and I am definately not one for travelling lightly, I never wear the same outfit more than once, always pack a good selection of day clothing, some of our fly cruises have required us to pack for varies weather conditions, and I have never been short of anything to wear. Just make sure your case is lightweight, I always think that evening bags are a bit of a waste, as you can always ask your partner to put your lipstick in his pocket, limit your evening shoes to silver, gold and possibly one other colour, a hair dryer is always provided in the cabin, no need for beach towels, transfer toiletries etc into small plastic containers and make sure you have a large carry on bag for the flight, ask your partner if you can have some of his luggage allowance, if you are struggling, and plan your outfits before you go. That is the beauty of sailing from Southampton, you can take as much as you can carry.

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As Aussies all of our overseas trips are 2 to 3 months due to the distance to travel. Our next trip is 66 days with 2 cruises & 2 land-based coach tours.

We have to keep the luggage below 23 kg (50 lbs) for the flights & land tours with 1 suitcase each. Also the usual hand luggage wheel-on suitcases are not allowed on the land tours – only small carry bags.

We only pack clothes we like as everything we take gets worn many times:D.

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Sunseeker

I can't help but viewing your initial post as an over reaction. 100lbs of luggage between you for 14 days in the Caribbean! Surely enough when you wear light shorts/tops in the daytime. Most dinner suits are fairly light and the ladies certainly don't wear heavy dresses on formal nights.

You aren't taking beach towels and hair dryers etc so where is the weight problem?

My luggage for the Carib has never exceeded 18Kg and my wife's 20 Kg.

The H&S limit for cases is 23Kg so P&O are allowing you the max for 1 case. Many airlines limit you to 15 or 20Kg.

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I too struggle with 23kg but on weighing our samsonite suitcase these are 8 yes 8kgs.. Just pack clothing and shoes. Buy ALL your suncreams and hair bits from boots airside that way it will not be counted in the weighing same goes for anything else. Gatwick has good shops use them if you are going from there.

Thomsons charter from gatwick is also very strict.. £70 for 5kg over for 4adults, and as hard as I tried before our holiday you cannot buy extra weight allowance.

I now pack what I want, if I'm over well sod it I will pay, don't let it spoil your holiday. If you have to pay a bit more every now and then so what. It is a minimal amount to the amount your holiday cost. Annoying I know but airlines now will make money as and where they can.

 

This is the normal now on most airlines unless you are going proper business or first class. Charter premium which I fly for our cruises is none of these, just a better bigger seat but certainly not first or business, but for me with very bad spinal pain is the difference I need to go long haul, and even then the amount of painkillers which will be taken I do wonder if the extra £250 quid each is worth it!

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It can be done and most people can do it. I agree that they need to rethink the dress codes for fly cruises and dispense with the semi formal nights alltogether. Mix and match is the answer and allot of cloths can get more than one wear out of them for an evening when you are only in them from like 6pm onwards. Day clothes are the problem as well as extras you take like camera equipment, laptops etc.

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The answer to the problem is this. You forgo P&O 's charter flight (no refund is available). and you fly to the Caribbean with Virgin Atlantic, upgrading to Premium. Your allowance will then become 46kg pp. Expensive. Of course.

 

As others have said, a charter is a charter. The allowance is fixed. When you arrive in Barbados you get straight on the bus, and your luggage arrives in your cabin. No immigration to worry about. So that's an advantage isn't it?

 

I have done a 37night cruise boarding in Singapore with one bag weighing 20kg. When you fly East it is only 20kg pp. I can be done.

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2. As some decent trsvel sites say; Lay all the the clothes you think you will need on the bed and take away 50%

 

Also - put any money that you think you will spend onto the same bed -- AND DOUBLE IT!!! :)

 

Barry

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