5 Pieces of Luggage and Counting...Should I Purge?

[Dinkachu]

 

A friend spends 14 days on a cruise with only one suitcase the size of a shoebox. She wears sneakers aboard and packs one pair of shoes that are a perfect match for her magical interchanging pieces of clothing.

 

I, on the other hand, have one suitcase just full of Christmas decorations. One with shoes, tiaras, and the like and one full of medical machines such as the bi-pap and nebulizer and other medical supplies. I had packed suitcase #3 before I put in the first piece of clothing.

 

Part of what I enjoy about cruising at Christmas is the opportunity to dress up! Most of the year sweats and bunny slippers are the dress of the day, but on the ship I have an excuse to polish the tiaras and bring out the glitter shoes!

 

Family members are encouraging me to purge my suitcases and I am wondering if any of you seasoned travelers can think of any reasons to do so.

Has anyone ever had an issue with Royal Caribbean over the amount of luggage carried aboard?

 

We drive to the port. We tip the porters well for checking the luggage. I do have to use some of my husband's luggage tags and it takes us an hour to unpack, but once we've shoved the suitcases under the bed, let the fun begin!

[yogimax]

How many nights is your cruise?

[reallyitsmema]

As long as you are under the 200lb per limit per person, then take what you want. We typically have 4 suitcases between the 3 of us and we fly to port.

[Dinkachu]

How many nights is your cruise?

We'e sailing 7 nights on the Allure over Christmas. So, I have some gifts for the room stewards, MDR staff and family too.

[griffy116]

Everyone has different priorities and RCI will not have a problem with the number of pieces of luggage. I, on the other hand, would have a major meltdown if I had that many pieces of luggage. I'm somewhere between your friend who has a suitcase the size of a shoebox and you. You would, however, probably not be impressed with my interchanging outfits either.

[cb at sea]

As long as you aren't flying, the ship has no real restrictions....200 lbs per person...surely you're under that weight limit!!!

 

As you probably know, the staff and crew work for money...and that's what they appreciate the most, so no need to bring actual trinkets that they have no space for...they share a space that's smaller than the smallest passenger cabin! Money can even be wrapped, if you want it to look like a gift!!!

[Starry Eyes]

Be glad you are driving to port. The luggage fees and luggage handling would be painful. Since you are driving, go ahead and pack that kitchen sink; the sinks in cabins can be so small;)

 

FWIW, I pack more like your friend, though my suitcase is bigger than a shoebox. I would pack more if I needed medical equipment. I might pack more if I drove to port.

[pcur]

I say pack away!!! If you are driving to the port and tipping the baggage handlers, then knock yourself out!! Have a great cruise.

[Sequim88]

We drive to the port.

Thats the key. ;)

 

As long as you are under the 200lb per limit per person,

Never heard of that one before. Where it that documented for the ship?

 

On our TA in 2008 we had become friends online (Roll Call group) with a lady and her elderly mother. They had sold their condo in Miami and were moving back to London. They had a ton of luggage. Probably six large suitcases each. :eek: Easily over 200lb/pp.

[pcur]

Thats the key. ;)

 

 

Never heard of that one before. Where it that documented for the ship?

 

On our TA in 2008 we had become friends online (Roll Call group) with a lady and her elderly mother. They had sold their condo in Miami and were moving back to London. They had a ton of luggage. Probably six large suitcases each. :eek: Easily over 200lb/pp.

 

I think it's in the cruise contract. Your friends probably made arrangements with RCCL for the excess luggage. I think they do charge for excess weight over their limit.

[andrea lynn]

 

A friend spends 14 days on a cruise with only one suitcase the size of a shoebox. She wears sneakers aboard and packs one pair of shoes that are a perfect match for her magical interchanging pieces of clothing.

 

I, on the other hand, have one suitcase just full of Christmas decorations. One with shoes, tiaras, and the like and one full of medical machines such as the bi-pap and nebulizer and other medical supplies. I had packed suitcase #3 before I put in the first piece of clothing.

 

Part of what I enjoy about cruising at Christmas is the opportunity to dress up! Most of the year sweats and bunny slippers are the dress of the day, but on the ship I have an excuse to polish the tiaras and bring out the glitter shoes!

 

Family members are encouraging me to purge my suitcases and I am wondering if any of you seasoned travelers can think of any reasons to do so.

Has anyone ever had an issue with Royal Caribbean over the amount of luggage carried aboard?

 

We drive to the port. We tip the porters well for checking the luggage. I do have to use some of my husband's luggage tags and it takes us an hour to unpack, but once we've shoved the suitcases under the bed, let the fun begin!

That is the beauty of being able to drive to the port RCCL could care less how many pieces you bring. I pack the same way. Happy Holidays. I leave on Sunday for 12-nights.

[ZoeyVictoria]

I feel the same way, OP. Part of the fun of cruising is fun clothing, and I want to wear those cute shoes that match only one outfit, not all-purpose footwear. Forget interchangeable clothing, I won't wear the same piece twice without laundering. There are perks to living in Florida, and packing what makes us happy is one of them. One of these days I will want a different itinerary badly enough to fly to a port outside Florida, but restricted packing will be a big part of that decision.

[bjboothman]

I'd be more concerned about where I was going to put it all in that tiny closet in the cabin.

[ssb]

Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.

However,

life is too short to wake up with regrets.

Go for it girl!:D

[booksbythepool]

That sounds like a lot of clutter to me in the cabin. An entire suitcase full of decorations? I wouldn't bring more luggage than can fit under the bed or it's just going to get in the way and be annoying.

 

There is also a middle ground between your friend who only brings 2 pairs of shoes and the collection it sounds like you're bringing. You don't need to wear every fun thing you have to enjoy getting dressed up.

[kleo30]

OK, so we went on our first cruise last month...10 nights...just the 2 of us.

 

Here's our luggage. People were teasing us. My husband told one guy in the elevator, after he asked if this was our first cruise, "Yes it is! And everybody told me to only bring half of what I planned to bring....aren't you glad I listened?" LOL

 

[Starry Eyes]

OK, so we went on our first cruise last month...10 nights...just the 2 of us.

 

Here's our luggage. People were teasing us. My husband told one guy in the elevator, after he asked if this was our first cruise, "Yes it is! And everybody told me to only bring half of what I planned to bring....aren't you glad I listened?" LOL

 

 

that's a lot to bring from Ohio to the port and back.

Sounds like you had fun.

[Dinkachu]

OK, so we went on our first cruise last month...10 nights...just the 2 of us.

 

Here's our luggage. People were teasing us. My husband told one guy in the elevator, after he asked if this was our first cruise, "Yes it is! And everybody told me to only bring half of what I planned to bring....aren't you glad I listened?" LOL

 

 

Thanks for sharing this picture - I can't wait to show it to my husband who is having a melt-down about my luggage!

[aqusis]

I think it's in the cruise contract. Your friends probably made arrangements with RCCL for the excess luggage. I think they do charge for excess weight over their limit.

 

I seriously doubt they charge if one person has over 200 lbs of luggage. That would require you checking in with all of your bags at once and having them weighed. When the porters take your bags they often get thrown into different luggage cages and we've never had all of our bags delivered to our stateroom all together at once. There is no way for them to know the combined weight of all bags once person brings onboard.

[Dinkachu]

That sounds like a lot of clutter to me in the cabin. An entire suitcase full of decorations? I wouldn't bring more luggage than can fit under the bed or it's just going to get in the way and be annoying.

 

There is also a middle ground between your friend who only brings 2 pairs of shoes and the collection it sounds like you're bringing. You don't need to wear every fun thing you have to enjoy getting dressed up.

 

We are traveling with a group of 12 - 8 staterooms, 6 with balconies. We are in a meet and mingle door decorating contest. So, I'll decorate 4 boardwalk and 1 2 ocean view balconies. Plus the 8 doors and the rooms. And, I bring decorations for the scooter too.

[Dinkachu]

As long as you aren't flying, the ship has no real restrictions....200 lbs per person...surely you're under that weight limit!!!

 

As you probably know, the staff and crew work for money...and that's what they appreciate the most, so no need to bring actual trinkets that they have no space for...they share a space that's smaller than the smallest passenger cabin! Money can even be wrapped, if you want it to look like a gift!!!

 

We try to be careful with the gift bags - A solid chocolate alligator (we're from Florida), lotions, fancy soaps, International phone cards, cash wrapped up, and other candy are some things we include. We try not to put in junk they have to store. One room steward cried when we gave her the bag. She was missing home and family and told us it was so nice to have someone think of her on Christmas. I think it was more the thought than the tiny gifts! I even take a gold glitter pen and put their names on the bags. We truly don't want to crowd those who serve us, just let them know we appreciate them!

[ropomo]

We are just off the Vision transatlantic (Lisbon to Sao Paulo) last Saturday. The majority of the passengers were Brazilians and were taking advantage of the lower cost of everything in Europe. One group showed up at the pier in a small tractor trailer truck! Our cabin steward told us that he had one cabin that had nearly 30 pieces of luggage/crates/boxes etc. Departure from Lisbon was delayed by nearly an hour due to the luggage loading. Our balcony overlooked the pier and we watched dozens of flat screen tvs, etc. being tossed (I mean loaded) onto the conveyor belt from the pier to the ship. We were also told that a group of the passengers had booked an inside cabin just to hold their luggage and purchases. The insides were going early this year for only $499 per person for a 14 day cruise! You can't ship all that to Brazil for that! While this is not a review of that cruise, you could tell where they made up for the low fares, the food budget was obviously slashed to the bone!

 

All that said, TAKE EVERYTHING YOU WANT! Royal obviously won't flinch. Happy sailing!

Richard

[kleo30]

Thanks for sharing this picture - I can't wait to show it to my husband who is having a melt-down about my luggage!

So I wore all but 2 dresses and a pair of shoes....and well I did not wear as many workout clothes as I brought LOL.

 

But my husband....oh my gosh did he over pack! Next time I'm packing his bags. He just kept tossing things on the bed saying, "I think I may need that." :eek:

[Denese96]

So I wore all but 2 dresses and a pair of shoes....and well I did not wear as many workout clothes as I brought LOL.

 

But my husband....oh my gosh did he over pack! Next time I'm packing his bags. He just kept tossing things on the bed saying, "I think I may need that." :eek:

 

 

Thank you for th picture...you and the luggage look good. As an over packer in recovery your post is a breath of fresh air. I packed "light" for my New England cruise a couple of months ago and truthfully I was not happy. I did not bring enough enough daytime tops for the magical changing and I was not happy with my limited footwear. For my next cruise I will not take as much as my very first cruise:eek:, but I will pay to bring exactly what I want to bring. I did know to only bring ONE workout outfit...lol...

 

I agree with ssb:

 

Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.

 

However,

life is too short to wake up with regrets.

 

Go for it girl!:D

[peteukmcr]

Sorry but I don't get this amount of luggage. We just did a 14 night transatlantic crossing with 1 bag each, neither weighing more than 40 lbs. That also included gifts for meet & mingle.

 

And I didn't wear all the stuff I packed either. And before anyone goes 'yuk' or implies things were worn too much, we did use the laundry service on board, which to be honest was better value than having to carry so much baggage. JMHO.

 

So, sorry I apologise, to answer the OP's question, IMHO yes, a purge is needed. Less baggage, means less weight on board, which means less fuel required, which means lower cost for us cruisers as it results in higher profit for RCI.