Carry-on Only?

[Chelly]

I asked this question on another thread and thought it might work here:

 

I would love to cruise with carry-on luggage only. Has anyone ever done it?

 

Can it be done?

 

Thanks,

C.

[Chelly]

Just found answer in another thread.

[Keith1010]

People do it all the time.

 

We wouldn't.

 

Keith

[penguinscott]

On my HAL North Sea cruise, we got to know this guy (had really nice gold Rolex) fairly well. As we left the ship back in Rotterdam, we ran into him. He had one carryon sized rollaboard and a back pack. We were in awe. I'd might try it on a 7 day, but not anything longer.

[hrhdhd]

I asked this question on another thread and thought it might work here:

 

I would love to cruise with carry-on luggage only. Has anyone ever done it?

 

Can it be done?

 

Thanks,

C.

 

I suppose it can be done, but I am not interested in traveling for a week with the few things that can fit inside a 22" bag. Generally we drive to the port, so it's not a matter of paying for luggage (although I'd do that if I had to); I just want to have more of my stuff. That's why it's my stuff. ;)

[cruisemom42]

There's lots of info on this topic. People who mainly cruise seem to like taking lots of stuff with them.

 

As I get older, and because I'm often traveling independently before/after a cruise, I like to keep my luggage on the lighter side. I keep trying to take a little less on each trip and haven't yet gotten to the point where I feel my options have been too limited, even when traveling for 2+ weeks. Instead, I find it a lot less burdensome to pack, unpack, decide what to wear, etc.

 

The main things needed are discipline (the ability to say "no" to things that you don't really NEED) and practice.

[Gunner22aa]

We typically cruise for three or more weeks at a time so it will never happen. If I did a 7 day on NCL and didn't have formal wear not to mention mothers extended wardrobe maybe but we never go for just 7 days and not on NCL so it's a bit of a moot point. I have however spoken to others who do it all the time on shorter trips

[frangran]

My DD (40) & I (65) cruise & go on land tours with only a carry-on each. We used to take 2 suitcases each -- plus an extra one for shoes & purses!

 

But now we prefer the freedom of less.

[Photojunkie_I_am]

Yes, after a two week land trip to Europe with lots of train, I had only a 22' carryon. Since then I don't even consider anything more than a carry on. Going on our first cruise with formal attire, hoping to streamline my packing with this new challenge. Just ordered some packing cubes to help the cause ;)

[sweetpea222]

I hope so. I'll be in Europe for a month, including a 12 night Med cruise, amend all I'm taking is a carry on.

 

Check out capsule wardrobes on pinterest. It can be done. At home during the summer I tend to wear the same clothes all the time, usually just the ones that I like the best and feel good in. Why can't it be the same on a trip?

[BratDet]

I just do not want to!

 

A co-worker went on a 12 days cruise last year, but added a few weeks of travel in Europe.

 

She did it! check out one bag dot com also Rick Steves dot com

 

I enjoy wearing what I wear on a cruise.

 

The casual stuff is pretty much what I would take on a land vacation.

 

The main difference is I enjoy wearing dresses for a nice relaxing dinner in the ship's dining room.....so

I take them.....

 

Bernadette

[seabrite]

We do it all the time!

 

I was once on a plane that was "too heavy" so they left a slew of suitcases behind. We saw a group of people break down and cry because they were heading to a cruise and would never get their bags in time to make the ship. I swore I'd only pack carryon from then on to make sure we had our essentials. A few months later I was on a cruise that left port early due to a hurricane that was barrelling towards us. It left 400 people behind and a mass of suitcases at port! Fortunately we had our carryons. Our friends checked their bags. For 4 days they had no luggage because it was being flown to the first port we would reach. THANK GOD we did carry on only. I'd rather send my clothes to be washed than have to worry about my suitcase.

[critterchick]

We've done it both ways. If we are going someplace where we'll be travelling around a lot before a cruise then we'll pack as lightly as we can. We did 19 nights in Europe with carry on only, on Azamara, which has no formal nights and a small but serviceable laundry onboard. But we wouldn't have been able to take our 22" bags on a foreign carrier, since most of them limit carryons to 20 pounds or less.

 

If we're just going to the port city and then on to a cruise, we'll check a bag and carry on enough for 2-3 days in case our bags don't make it (especially on a US carrier). The further from home we go, the more likely we are to have a couple of days that we could use to replace anything in a lost bag.:)

 

And if we're driving to the port, it's everything but the kitchen sink.:D I still prefer to be able to disembark with my luggage, so I don't take more than one checked suitcase.

[Happy ks]

On Sunday, April 6th my husband and I were in line behind a couple doing "carry on only". What a disaster, they did not have a rollaboard and a backpack each, they had large rollaboards, stuffed duffels, a couple tote bags and her very large purse.

 

It may have been nice for them to have all their things ready to unpack once onboard, but for the rest of us we had to tolerate their mess. Bags everywhere, running into other people, I even saw a person trip over one of their bags that was left on the ground while they pushed all their other bags forward.

 

Long story longer, only do carry on (or carry off ;)) if you can easily manage your own bags...all of them at the same time. For us, wouldn't work, we don't overpack but we don't care to be pack mules. We did self-disembarkation this last Sunday, not a pleasant experience for me. We managed, but it's so much nicer just to walk off unencumbered.

 

Upon self-disembarkation, an elderly gentleman fell over trying to manage his own luggage, a roll aboard, backpack and a briefcase. I felt sorry for the guy, but not only could he not self-disembark, the crew had to help him off. I hope he doesn't try to be so self sufficient again, it was pretty sad, we all need to know our limitations.

[sweetpea222]

The airline staff should have made that couple check the extra luggage. We flew to Florida once with just carry on luggage (and by that I mean a 21" rolling bag each, plus I carried my purse and my DH carried a laptop bag.) When we were changing planes in Salt Lake City, we were amazed at a group of girls who were obviously all part of a sports team (same hoodies/sweats). They each had a rolling bag, a HUGE duffel bag perched on top, and then often a purse/backback as well. It was ridiculous, and it was obvious they were waaaay beyond the size and limit that the airline specified for carry on baggage (Delta).

 

I kept expecting the gate crew to make them check some of their luggage, but it never happened. Instead, they asked for volunteers who would like to check their bags and the airline would waive the checked baggage fee.

 

Seriously?

 

If they enforced their own rules, it wouldn't be an issue.

 

We ran into the same thing on the way back and ended up volunteering our bags to be checked.

 

We plan to limit our bags to Europe this summer to carry on size, however we have decided to check them for the Vancouver-London and Paris-Vancouver portions of the trip. We are flying EasyJet while in Europe, and will carry them on for those flights. We figured it would be easier while in the airport waiting to board our international flight if we don't have to worry about our bags. But I am still packing for a month in Europe in a 22" bag. :)

[Happy ks]

The airline staff should have made that couple check the extra luggage. We flew to Florida once with just carry on luggage (and by that I mean a 21" rolling bag each, plus I carried my purse and my DH carried a laptop bag.) When we were changing planes in Salt Lake City, we were amazed at a group of girls who were obviously all part of a sports team (same hoodies/sweats). They each had a rolling bag, a HUGE duffel bag perched on top, and then often a purse/backback as well. It was ridiculous, and it was obvious they were waaaay beyond the size and limit that the airline specified for carry on baggage (Delta).

 

I kept expecting the gate crew to make them check some of their luggage, but it never happened. Instead, they asked for volunteers who would like to check their bags and the airline would waive the checked baggage fee.

 

Seriously?

 

If they enforced their own rules, it wouldn't be an issue.

 

We ran into the same thing on the way back and ended up volunteering our bags to be checked.

 

We plan to limit our bags to Europe this summer to carry on size, however we have decided to check them for the Vancouver-London and Paris-Vancouver portions of the trip. We are flying EasyJet while in Europe, and will carry them on for those flights. We figured it would be easier while in the airport waiting to board our international flight if we don't have to worry about our bags. But I am still packing for a month in Europe in a 22" bag. :)

 

 

 

 

 

Our experience was boarding a ship, not a plane. I hardly think they could have boarded an airplane with what they carried onto this ship.

[slidergirl]

I'll pack in either a 22" or a 24", depending on what I'm doing. Yes, I know the 24" isn't carryon. I'll check it on a flight, but it's still small and nifty enough that I can easily handle it on a train, bus, or on foot. I'll look to see how full a flight is to decide whether or not to check the 22". I do not like to fight for overhead space. Yes, I DO put my "personal item" under the seat in front of me - I never put both items up top unless everyone is onboard and there is space. I do not like bin hogs - those who put everything up in the overhead before all have boarded.

I've done 3 weeks in my 22". I have never felt I was missing something I needed. I'm another person who seems to always wear the same things at home and tend to take those same things on vacation. But, I always travel with this motto: "If I need something, I can always buy it." Hasn't let me down yet :D

[sweetpea222]

Speaking of the overhead bins. What really bugs me is when they do the pre-boarding call for people with mobility issues or small children....and suddenly half the plane is lined up to board, including businessmen and women, teenagers, etc.

 

Guess what we find when we finally board? Yup, you guessed it, all the overhead bins around our seat are already full. It's maddening.

 

I know check in attendants have a tough job (I witnessed one being verbally berated by a family who had booked 4 seats together and then had been separated into two groups of two without their consent) but honestly, how hard is it to assess each person who lines up to pre-board and if they are not with small children or don't have mobility issues (which should be pretty apparent), then ask them to step aside and wait for the general boarding announcement?

 

I am feeling confident about going to Europe with just a 22" case, but will be planning to buy something while in Paris to check for the ride home ... all that shopping to do :D

[Shak]

One of these days those of us younger will age and hopefully there will be enough caring people that will assist us.

 

Shak

[islandgirlejfan]

I won't go any other way these days. You are allowed one personal item (that will fit under the seat) and a carry on. I think the only thing that I am going to do different next cruise is I am going to take a collapsible case in case I decide to buy a few additional things. I wasn't on a shopping spree this cruise, so it didn't really matter. The nicest thing is, if you are in the groups on the airplane past 3, you can get the option of checking your luggage through for nothing at all. I'm posting pictures of what I took and what it looked like packed. It works wonderful if you are cruising. BTW, I was packed a week in advance due to having a busy week. I used the bundling method and I had no wrinkles and that includes my formal wear. Never even opened the expander! The Celebrity S-Class ships only have so much storage and hubby and I used every hanger. I pack a few camping clothing pins to handwash some underwear, but it was only because I needed white ones and only had so many pairs.

 

 

[Kamloops50]

Last two cruises we did this, and dh and I love it. It seems to be a love it or hate it thing, but I'm a fan.

 

I use either laundromats on board or have the steward do laundry at least once per cruise, sometimes twice--mostly my husband's things and a couple of pairs of my pants or shorts or tops that won't be wrecked by heat.

 

I rinse out my lingerie and socks and the occasional top in the sink every other day or so. I pack 2 thin light clip style pant hangers and a single thin plastic shirt hanger so I can hang things up to dry easily. The shampoo the ship supplies is ideal for most light hand washing.

 

That way I can pack less. I work from the shoes up so to speak, because once the the shoes and purse are picked out, everything else will either go with them or be left behind.

 

I figure on 3 to 4 days out of a pair of pants before washing, and 2 days out of tops. Dark solids on pants, cardigans, pullovers etc, and prints for tops, scarves and dresses. Prints hide any acquired splats and spots till you have time to deal with them which is nice. Dresses and skirts usually go the whole trip just fine.

 

About the cost of laundry, the savings in checked baggage alone more than paid for 2 rounds of laundry by our room steward on both of our last trips. Dh tells me they are phasing out laundromats on some ships so I plan to use the steward service more in future. But I also don't give delicate clothes or lingerie to them as I'm afraid of what the heat would do. So that is a factor on what to pack.

 

Liquid allowances scare people. This is what I do.

 

Use GO tubes so you can pack your own shampoo or sunscreen, or facial products although in a similar thread another poster kindly gave me a heads up NOT to use GO tubes with Argan oil. Squeeze out the air before repacking on the way home to reduce size or if it's almost finished just rinse it out, let it dry and put it in the carry on.

 

I use a facial moisturizer/sunscreen by Clinique that doubles as a tinted moisturizer (Cityblock spf 25) which comes in a squeeze tube. I also use a half empty squeeze tube of conditioner that comes in my box of L'Oreal hair dye each time. Less than 100 ml for those last 2 products. I get a small tube of hand cream.

 

Deoderants and lipsticks are now considered solids, so they don't have to go in the liquid allowance. Nor does my box of Neutrogena facial wipes. Nail polish remover comes in individually wrapped foil pouch wipes. Not considered a liquid.

 

It isn't that expensive to buy sunscreen on board and leave it behind.

 

If you put a thin light ripstop nylon folding bag into the carryon, you can always use it as a carryon and check the real carryon on the return trip if your luggage expanded as it sometimes does. I've done this as long as we've travelled, and continued throwing it in even though we seldom need it, and haven't needed it on the last 2 cruises when we did it all with carry ons. It's insurance in case I can't resist a bulky purchase. Stuffed toys for grandchildren etc. A new jacket from Alaska.

 

Hope that helps