Packing for long cruises.

[mearsfansinboise]

Forgive me for another ding-dong question....and thanks in advance to those who indulge me....

 

How much do people pack for long cruises? 16 days is a long time for us...and 2 kids. And we'll have a hotel stay the night before. So 17 days is what we need to pack for. I have read that we can send the clothes off to be laundered on the Oosterdam, but I have also read that they use really hot water which I am not OK with on our clothes...the kids' it might be OK. And then I was thinking I could do some laundry in the sink and hang it on the shower - sorry, is that ghetto? We aren't milionaires ;) I just can't seem to wrap my head around the volume of luggage...do people re-wear clothes and Febreeze it all to freshen it up or what?

[kazu]

Forgive me for another ding-dong question....and thanks in advance to those who indulge me....

 

How much do people pack for long cruises? 16 days is a long time for us...and 2 kids. And we'll have a hotel stay the night before. So 17 days is what we need to pack for. I have read that we can send the clothes off to be laundered on the Oosterdam, but I have also read that they use really hot water which I am not OK with on our clothes...the kids' it might be OK. And then I was thinking I could do some laundry in the sink and hang it on the shower - sorry, is that ghetto? We aren't milionaires ;) I just can't seem to wrap my head around the volume of luggage...do people re-wear clothes and Febreeze it all to freshen it up or what?

 

We do long cruises and provided there is no variance in the weather, we only pack enough for 5 days. I have no problem repeating clothes (or mixing and matching) and ship's laundry is a wonderful thing. don't worry about the hot water - they don't wash everything in hot water - if they did my clothes would have been ruined long ago.

 

Buy the unlimited laundry package - if you are all in the room the charge is per room not per person, so a bargain. Plus you can send out laundry right away from your trip and hotel stay:D

 

There are a couple of unmentionables that I do not send to laundry. Nothing wrong with washing them in the sink. CAA/AA have little packs of laundry soap - easy to pack and very hand. There is a laundry line you can use in the shower:)

[Valley Girl of VA]

We buy underwear and undershirts that can be washed and dry in no time from travel stores like Magellan's and Travel Smith Some of the light wicking pants, shirts, etc will dry very quickly as well. We do wash in the sink as well.

[cruz chic]

I also do some of my laundry in the sink because I do think HAL washes and dries everything in hot. Maybe it's different in the suites than the cheap seats:D. I don't bother bringing laundry detergent. I either use the shampoo or shower gel they have in the cabin because I do not like using it on my hair.

[sapper1]

Forgive me for another ding-dong question....and thanks in advance to those who indulge me....

 

How much do people pack for long cruises? 16 days is a long time for us...and 2 kids. And we'll have a hotel stay the night before. So 17 days is what we need to pack for. I have read that we can send the clothes off to be laundered on the Oosterdam, but I have also read that they use really hot water which I am not OK with on our clothes...the kids' it might be OK. And then I was thinking I could do some laundry in the sink and hang it on the shower - sorry, is that ghetto? We aren't milionaires ;) I just can't seem to wrap my head around the volume of luggage...do people re-wear clothes and Febreeze it all to freshen it up or what?

I only send out clothes that I don't care about. If it doesn't go in the dryer at home it doesn't go to the ship's laundry. The sink is quite small and hard to do laundry in but the "shower stomp" which I learned from a friend works quite well. I have also heard some people say they use the whirlpool tub like a washer. There is a retractable clothesline over the tub so just take some pins.

Whites will come back from the laundry off colour and dingey. Coloureds will have the life taken out of them. Because of this we pay extra airline charges to take more luggage. The luggage will store nicely under the bed.

 

Some people will swear by the laundry services on board but I am not one of them. The pressing service is excellent.

[paganwoman]

My husband and I went on a 21 day trip to Europe last year which included a 12 day cruise in the middle. We brought only carryon luggage. People thought we were crazy. But we managed it. Believe me there was not a spare spot anywhere. We brought about 6 days of underware etc and about 4 changes of clothes plus the formal wear stuff. I love Travel Smith. I have a black dress I can literally roll up to pack. As well as all my tops were wash and wear and the underware we have dry overnight. We did laundry in the sink in either our hotel rooms or the ship about every 4-5 days. We sent my husband's two dress shirts and both our jeans to the ship's laundry mid way and they came back perfect. Would not hesitate to use the laundry again. We even kidded our cabin steward how he had to duck under our clothes to clean the bathroom every day.

[KirkNC]

We limit ourselves to one medium suitcase and one day pack carry on for each person. We have been gone as long as 24 days this way. We send some stuff out, some we do in the sink. Generally I found many people seem to pack way too much. We wear the same outfits every so many days, who notices or cares?

[fleckle]

We pack clothing for one week, regardless of the length of the trip.

 

We only bring clothes that we are willing to send out to be laundered or dry cleaned.

 

We don't waste any of our valuable vacation time on household chores like making beds, vacuuming or doing laundry when others are there to do it for us.

 

HAL does a great job with the laundry and the price is a bargain, either for unlimited laundry or by the bag.

[kazu]

I also do some of my laundry in the sink because I do think HAL washes and dries everything in hot. Maybe it's different in the suites than the cheap seats:D. I don't bother bringing laundry detergent. I either use the shampoo or shower gel they have in the cabin because I do not like using it on my hair.

 

I don't think they do the laundry any differently - the only advantage that the suites have is that they have free drycleaning - so if you are worried about anything it just goes out for drycleaning.:D

 

by the way - op, this is not a ding dong question - but as you can see, everything is subjective!

[fann1sh]

I'm one of those people who has had generally good (even excellent) luck with ship's laundry.

 

The items I've been unhappy with have been not natural fabrics, or else mixed fabrics: bamboo+cotton for example.

 

My pure cottons (even the bright colours, lime and turquoise) always come back looking great. Jeans - ditto, but they haven't been blends (spandex) just pure cotton denim.

 

Maybe it depends on the fabric?

 

(P.S. - just left the "cheap seats" on Eurodam 10 days ago. Trust me, you don't have to be in a suite to have great luck with laundry. And, there were *four* women sending stuff!)

[Padraic]

As with most of the folks who packs for less than the total cruise, my wife and I generally pack for 10 days and that was worked out for cruises as long as 67 days. The problem we generally have is what to pack for a seven day cruise! Ergo, we don't do a lot of seven day ones.

[lcand1923]

We haven't done a long cruise, but did do a couple of 20 day land trips. Always packed for roughly 5 days. Thought of it this way, one to wear, two to be drying, two for "just in case". I would buy the unlimited laundry since it is per room and it should work for you.

[andeesue]

It's one thing taking care of laundry for two adults, but adding 2 kids on top of that for a longer cruise, is a different story. There's only so much room on the line in the bathroom, and 4 people using the shower/bath. That could be crazy! For me, I'd want to have laundry done, or if there is a laundrette on the Oosterdam, use it. Friends used the laundry by the bag deal and the stewards said to stuff that bag as much as possible. I'm sure you'll work out what is best in your situation. Happy Cruising!

[crusinbanjo]

Mrs Banjo & I pack for 7 days, no matter the length of the trip. We routinely send even our good cloths to the laundry and have never experienced any difficulties. We do overpack on the underwear, and will wash these in our cabin as well.

 

Our motto, when it comes to packing is "less is best"

[sppunk]

Regardless of how long our travel is planned for, we pack for 4 days. This allows us to have one carry-on each and no checked luggage.

 

We were in Germany for three weeks last month and did this, we'll be in a 7- day cruise in a month and will do the same. It takes the fuss out of packing, too.

[JYGresham]

I have frequently used ship shampoo to wash out unmentionables and hang in bathroom.

A few clothespins brought with you come in very handy for this purpose, Most ships have a retractable clothesline over the tub if you have a tub.

[iancal]

We pack for 7 days maximum-sometimes less.....does not matter if we are travelling for 7 days or 5 weeks, land or sea. Works for us. No way we would want to hump enough luggage to last longer without cleaning.

[Seago2]

It has a little bit of a ghetto feel to it but there is no way around it: when traveling with a family you will be hanging clothes around and washing them in the sink;). I have five sons. When I travel with some portion of them I bring about 10-12 t shirts for a 7 day cruise- each. They only need two bathing suits max, a couple of golf-type shirts and a couple of pairs of khakis (one is fine). Then the jeans they arrive in and some shorts. At dinner time they put on the khaki and shirt combo and as 15 minutes after they put their forks down they are back in t shirts. That way they don't get the nice clothes (which they hate, anyway) filthy.

 

For me- it never fails. I rely on one garment, wish I had brought ten of whatever it is, and then wash and hang and watch the thing stretch out of proportion. Last cruise it was a grey Gap t shirt. By the time I got home it was down to my knees. I also bring all kinds of capris and things that are too tight after the first buffet glance. Without fail I buy a pair of ship logo sweatpants the last sea day- and not because I wanted to add to my collection:o. I wear the same couple of outfits to the dining room (I have to wear stockings and a suit every day at work and I HATE having put stockings on on a cruise ship) and then change.

 

I know it seems like a lot to have to do, as one poster said below, but truly, you are in your cabin an awful lot, and it's obviously very small, and sometimes I like to get things in order, do a load of ghetto-wash (thank you for that:D), throw my weight around a bit- basically straighten up for the two minutes it takes to wash critical items. Of course, a self serve coin laundry is a godsend and I have been very fortunate to have them on my last bunch of cruises.

[V'sGirl]

We have had excellent experiences with the laundry service. The only things I don't send are my undies. Sometimes I have to buy a few new pairs to bring along if we will be gone for an extended length of time, but I just can't bring myself to send them out, and anway, they don't take up much space in the suitcase.

[zorrosuncle]

Hi --

 

I find I can pack 5 to 6 days worth of men's clothes in that laundry sack they have. Add two days for processing (usually it is back the next day) and I plan for about seven to eight days.

 

However, if I plan to do some shopping, I also figure my baggage weight requirements. On my last cruise (30 days) I took and extra piece of luggage -- $120 extra rt for the airlines. I started out with 72 pounds total, and arrived home with about 93 pounds. Still uynder my 100 pound weight allowance.

 

ZU

[SwissMyst]

Forgive me for another ding-dong question....and thanks in advance to those who indulge me....

 

How much do people pack for long cruises? 16 days is a long time for us...and 2 kids. And we'll have a hotel stay the night before. So 17 days is what we need to pack for. I have read that we can send the clothes off to be laundered on the Oosterdam, but I have also read that they use really hot water which I am not OK with on our clothes...the kids' it might be OK. And then I was thinking I could do some laundry in the sink and hang it on the shower - sorry, is that ghetto? We aren't milionaires ;) I just can't seem to wrap my head around the volume of luggage...do people re-wear clothes and Febreeze it all to freshen it up or what?

 

17 days is a long time and with 2 kids, you really have a challenge so you asked a perfect question. We have sent some things out to the ship laundry come back perfectly fine, but you know the limits on this for your own items. Since this is an extra expense you might not want to make, you can very reasonably think about doing in-room laundry. However in the big picture, that bag you get to stuff for $20 or so is a great deal. Think about budgeting ahead accordingly.

 

Yes, laundry gets done in the sink and if you have a balcony, yes you can discretely hang (fasten tightly so it does not even think about blowing away) things outdoors, but things dry relatively fast in the cabin bathroom or room itself with their good ventilation systems. I think your cabin crew will be so happy to see young people on board and they will be very sympathetic to the in-room laundry chores that come along with the package.

 

Sleepwear and underwear seems to be the real bulk of routine laundry needs and those can do just fine either in your cabin or to the ship laundry bag - plan on not getting them back for a day or so which means you need to plan carefully and have back-ups.

 

Always the advice is take less than you think you need and every time I ignore this very good advice. All I can say is I am getting (slightly) better. But this is part of travel seasoning and since this will be your first time, prepare to make all the same mistakes the rest of us keep making. Take too much, but you never know and no one wants the chore of daily laundry anyway, even if it is the "best answer" to over-packing.

 

I honestly cannot remember "what other people wear" so having a new outfit for every day or activity is the first packing rule to break. Plan on a favorite practical and versatile outfit (with pockets) for day-wear and port excursions and wear it like your travel uniform, over and over and over again.

 

Bring two daytime travel "uniforms", so one can dry out in the shower or cabin, and while you wear the other one. There is a clothes line in the shower so there is an expectation you will do some in-room laundry. I also bring some fat foam travel hangers (not inflatable ones) that help separate the fabric so they can dry better hanging up.

 

I finally converted 99% of my everyday travel wardrobe to linen (of all fabrics) because it rinses and dries so quickly, wicks moisture during the heat, acts like natural air conditioning when wearing it in hot climates smooths out wet with the hand in a dripping shower and is all fresh and ready for the next day. Ahem, it looks "rumpled", not wrinkled, right? Right.:p

 

So while synthetics are great for wash and wear, they are way too hot for me in hot weather. But these work fine in the dining rooms which are kept on the cooler side. Easy wash and wear.

 

Night time you get to cheat a little bit taking dark/light pants/skirt and a changeable number of sparkly tops to make the evening dinners more fun if this appeals to you. Those don't get the wear and tear like the day time clothes get so you most likely do not need to worry about washing those.

 

Now that I have done several long cruises and am in the middle of packing right now for another one - 37 days away traveling from from the humid equator and ending for a few days chilly early April England, I still am flummoxed and even more so now that the airline baggage rates get more and more punishing.

 

One thing to think about is buying logo teeshirts in the ports you visit - this is the place to wear them and even toss them at the end of the trip if you don't want to wash them if you got them for bargain prices. Or wear a logo teeshirt from your own state, school, favorite team or home town etc as the travel uniform because they can be great ice-breakers. Kids will do fine in shorts and teeshirts during the day. So will mom and dad. Night time just make sure they tuck their napkin in to keep their dressier clothes in good shape for the duration.

 

Just remember it is your vacation too. Maybe each person has to take care of their own clothes during this time and mom gets a rest. Have a wonderful time and think about the smaller ships for your next cruise because they have self-service laundromats which solves all these problems.

 

Let us know how it all comes out.

[Seago2]

... And yes on the Febreeze. The main thing with the kids clothes (for me) is ketchup and hot cocoa. Every day they eat a million French fries and they love to get the self serve hot cocoa. Disaster. I bring Tide and also those laundry sticks.

 

I haven't flown to a cruise in 7 years so I have not had to worry about weight requirements.

[Sister5]

Ex officio underclothes (dry in about two hours and comfortable) and quick dry pants and shirts. We pack one carry on each for 15 days with no problems. Bring clothespins!

[Wayfairers]

We pack for 9 days no matter how long the trip lasts... And ours last from 4 weeks to 6 months and rarely include the same type of weather, activities or even type of transportation for the entire trip. (I tend to string trips together). Anyway, we tried 7 days and that didn't work because we didn't have an opportunity to do laundry every 7 days on our land trip in Australia. That was 11 years ago and the 9 day thing has worked since then, usually within 9 days we have time and opportunity to do laundry.

 

That also helps on a cruise because it seems that a lot of those using the self serve laundry only bring 7 days of clothes and are doing laundry on a different schedule than us. If you choose to do self laundry you should know that soap is provided in the laundry room (at least on HAL).

 

Oh yeah, I bring Febreze, but for use in smelly hotel or cruise rooms, not on our clothes.

[sandvinsd]

We have always used the unlimited laundry and have never had a problem with it. We just bring things that won't matter how they are washed. Packing lighter is easier on the travel if you are flying and the cost between extra bag fees and laundry package is a "wash" (pun intended).