Cruising with ONLY Carry On Luggage

[need2cruisesoon]

Check at your local grocery store(or BBY - the stock symbol) for Ziploc Vacuum bags. They come in a variety of sizes to fit your suitcase. You place your clothes inside the bags, then roll them to remove the air. It is amazing how much space you will save.

My husband and I are airline employees and never check bags. We have easily done a ten day cruise with carry-ons and would not hesitate to do a 14 day the same way - and we never miss a formal night!!

 

Please tell me how your husband would pack for a 12 night British Isles cruise.

Really don't wan to check bags this July.

[midwestchick]

We did a 15 night Panama Canal with a carry on each and a small back pack each. My husband had a blazer in his for formal nights and I had a couple of easy care dressy outfits. I came home with a few tops I hadn't even worn. There are a few youtube videos with some great hints. Now I always roll my clothes. It is amazing the differnence in space requirements. As well, things don't wrinkle.

 

 

I would love to know how you roll your clothes so things don't wrinkle. I've yet to try that method but am always open to ways to pack without getting things wrinkled. I do know there are some lovely materials that don't wrinkle but I don't own things like that.

[denby]

Rolling really works. You have to try it to believe it. I rolled cotton tee shirts and they looked better than when I used to fold them. Another thing we do is lay all our clothes out and make sure that we can mix and match items. Also we never pack anything that will only be worn once. We wear our walking shoes on the plane and carry a light weight waterproof jacket.

I agree with others that cosmetics and medications require a lot of space. We carry these in our backpacks. We use the toiletries provided by the ship and hotels. So no shampoo and conditioner bottles.

[artlovr]

We used only carry ons for a 12 night Med cruise with a follow up week in Paris. We washed clothes once at the end of the cruise. This was on Oceania. It was wonderful, much more freedom. We only do carry ons now if we fly.

It takes some thought when packing. For women: use double duty shoes ( I use Naot sandals which are comfortable for walking but also look great with dresses), cocktail dresses, tops that interchange with different bottoms (skirts for me), some convertible clothes e.g., Skirts that double as strapless dresses. For men: black pants and one black jacket that you "wear" (my guy just kind of dragged it around on planes, etc), one dress shirt with multiple ties, multi Ts and collard shirts that match fewer pants. It's very doable and that's the only way we fly now.

One thing: sometimes the carry ons can get heavy. We take one with wheels and stack the nonwheeled bag on top for running through airports :)

Have a wonderful trip!

[Caribbean Chris]

The truth is - no one else notices that you are repeating the same outfits often.

 

Black pants plus lightweight casual and dressy tops are my mainstay.

 

Eliminate the excess shoes, as others said. One pair of comfortable Merrill black sandals with a slight heel does double duty for me with those pants.

 

European car trunks are small, so one bag each is our maximum for transatlantics + touring around on our own.

 

It's actually very liberating to have much less unpacking and packing to deal with on board. When I don't travel that way, I keep asking myself why I brought all that stuff.

 

Ship's laundry is well worth the cost.

[texasgirl29]

No one has mentioned packing cubes. They are the greatest! Roll your clothes, then stuff them in packing cubes (available at places like ebags.com, llbean.com, etc.) When you unpack your suitcase at the hotel or onboard, just lift out the packing cube and place in the bureau drawer. Use one cube for underwear, one for t-shirts, one for shorts, etc. Everything stays organized. Each member of our family has their own color-coordinated cubes so no one's stuff get's mixed up with anyone else's.

 

Another packing strategy that works like magic is to layer and alternate. Take a look at this video:

 

As far as tolietries, I don't take much in the way of make up -- just basic first aid and stomach ache, headache, over the counter stuff. I don't pack any hair products -- we buy them when we get to our destination so they don't take up space and we don't have to worry about the airline security rules. My daughters have long hair, so they use a lot of shampoo and conditioner and we need full sized bottles.

 

JoAnn

[midwestchick]

No one has mentioned packing cubes. They are the greatest! Roll your clothes, then stuff them in packing cubes (available at places like ebags.com, llbean.com, etc.) When you unpack your suitcase at the hotel or onboard, just lift out the packing cube and place in the bureau drawer. Use one cube for underwear, one for t-shirts, one for shorts, etc. Everything stays organized. Each member of our family has their own color-coordinated cubes so no one's stuff get's mixed up with anyone else's.

 

Another packing strategy that works like magic is to layer and alternate. Take a look at this video:

 

As far as tolietries, I don't take much in the way of make up -- just basic first aid and stomach ache, headache, over the counter stuff. I don't pack any hair products -- we buy them when we get to our destination so they don't take up space and we don't have to worry about the airline security rules. My daughters have long hair, so they use a lot of shampoo and conditioner and we need full sized bottles.

 

JoAnn[/quote

 

The clothes in the video are probably going to be a full of wrinkles. Foreign airlines we've flown have weight restrictions for carry on bags...so many kg which equals about 18 lbs.

[waterbug123]

Can you give advice--if you get it all into a carryon-- do some things do double duty? With 80 cruise I imagine you send a lot to the laundry/cleaners gratis...yes?

 

Any advice on packing lists--what to leave out?

 

It is not that hard to pack with carry on only, but you have to change your frame of mind from thinking you NEED many of the things you might normally pack. I have not done a 14 day cruise, but did take a 10 day land-based trip to Italy with only a carry on size suitcase (I checked it, but it was carry on size) and a tote bag. Granted, a Baltic cruise will likely be a little chillier than Tuscany so you might need another layer, but should still be very doable.

 

My tips:

 

• Yes, things need to do double duty. Wear a shirt by itself on a warmer day, that can be layered underneath something else on a chillier day, take a jacket that is water resistant so it can serve as both a warmer layer AND a raincoat if you need one, etc.
  
• Unless you sweat heavily, whatever clothing you wear can likely be worn at least another day. Pants can usually be worn several days before needing to be laundered, especially jeans. Obviously, darker colors will be better at hiding dirt, so skip the white t-shirts.
  
• Plan everything around 1 or 2 neutral colors and make sure everything mixes and matches. I took a pair of black capris and a pair of khaki capris and 4 or 5 tops that worked with either, for example. I wore one pair of comfy, cushioned sandals the entire week. I had taken another pair of flats and they never came out of the suitcase. The sandals went with both pants, as well as the one dress and one pair of shorts that I took. Granted, we were staying in a private villa most of the time and eating dinner in, but had I been on a ship, the 2nd pair of shoes would have gone with everything and could easily have been used for dressing a little nicer in the evenings.
  
• Skip formal night. Just go to a specialty restaurant or the buffet on those nights so that you can get by with normal casual or smart casual clothing.
  
• Shoes- As with clothes that mix and match, take shoes that go with everything. I'd take one pair of comfortable walking shoes (whatever style that might be for you) and one pair of comfortable but dressier sandals (with or without a heel, or dressy flats, or whatever) to wear in the evenings.
  
• Wrinkle-free jersey knit fabrics are great. A black jersey knit skirt or pants can be worn with a couple of different tops night after night and no one will know or care that you're wearing the same bottoms.
  
• Use the ship's laundry service.
  
• Toiletries- this is the one many ladies can't swing, but you need to just decide what your priorities are. If your priority is taking a carry on only, then be ruthless in deciding what toiletries you think you "need." Maybe at home you have one moisturizer for daytime, a different one for nighttime, a separate eye cream etc. For a 14 day cruise, there's no reason you can't just pack one moisturizer and make do for 2 weeks without separate night creams, eye creams etc. Pick ONE shade of each make up item instead of thinking you need multiple lipsticks, eyeshadows etc. Skip the perfume. Don't worry about your hair being all fancy; wear a simply style and forget the curlers and whatnot, and so forth.
  
• Forget about packing a bunch of "just in case" items. You are going to be in a civilized part of the world where you can likely buy anything you might suddenly need. I have bought allergy medicine in Mexico, medi-tape (for blisters) in Nassau, a car charger plug (for a cellphone) in Florence, Italy, etc.
  

[cruise kitty]

No one has mentioned packing cubes. They are the greatest! Roll your clothes, then stuff them in packing cubes (available at places like ebags.com, llbean.com, etc.) When you unpack your suitcase at the hotel or onboard, just lift out the packing cube and place in the bureau drawer. Use one cube for underwear, one for t-shirts, one for shorts, etc. Everything stays organized. Each member of our family has their own color-coordinated cubes so no one's stuff get's mixed up with anyone else's.

 

Another packing strategy that works like magic is to layer and alternate. Take a look at this video:

 

As far as tolietries, I don't take much in the way of make up -- just basic first aid and stomach ache, headache, over the counter stuff. I don't pack any hair products -- we buy them when we get to our destination so they don't take up space and we don't have to worry about the airline security rules. My daughters have long hair, so they use a lot of shampoo and conditioner and we need full sized bottles.

 

JoAnn[/quote

 

The clothes in the video are probably going to be a full of wrinkles. Foreign airlines we've flown have weight restrictions for carry on bags...so many kg which equals about 18 lbs.

 

The thing is that packing light is not for everyone :) For some people part of their enjoyment is lots of clothing & shoe choices, jewelry, etc.

 

For myself, we do pre & post travel, & use the train & bus systems, it's fantastic not having to worry how I'll get up & down those stairs (& then up & down two or three more times when I realize they've changed tracks:) ) I send out laundry at least every other day, so my things are always clean.

 

I went solo to France & the UK last year, it was great being able to get around so easily.

 

Here's a link to what I packed:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2159973#

[Queen of Oakville]

In a pinch, I could make it work - but the liquid restrictions are where the plan falls apart for me.

 

I'd be hard pressed to pack a week's worth of toiletries within the restriction limits :(

[cruise kitty]

In a pinch, I could make it work - but the liquid restrictions are where the plan falls apart for me.

 

I'd be hard pressed to pack a week's worth of toiletries within the restriction limits :(

 

We each bring a travel sized toothpaste, deodorant, etc. When we run out, we buy more in whatever country we happen to be in. They carry listerene in France & Secret deodorant in Italy :)

[Cruise Arizona]

We each bring a travel sized toothpaste, deodorant, etc. When we run out, we buy more in whatever country we happen to be in. They carry listerene in France & Secret deodorant in Italy :)

 

 

I have done it but only on a 7 day cruise to the Caribbean. I packed travel sizes of everything, and planned my outfits with minimal shoe options. I put everything in my suit case and then I took some if it out if it seemed too repetitious. If you plan on doing laundry (sending in out on Celebrity) and repeating outfits I think you could definitely do it on a 14 day cruise.

 

From the quote above, defintely bring travel sizes of everything rather than full size. It cuts down do much on excess baggage.

[Queen of Oakville]

We each bring a travel sized toothpaste, deodorant, etc. When we run out, we buy more in whatever country we happen to be in. They carry listerene in France & Secret deodorant in Italy :)

 

Yes, but then there is face moisturizer, hair spray, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, sunscreen, body lotion, hair styling products ......

 

I'm sure I could buy some (but not all) products/brands that I prefer on board; or I can just take what I need and check my luggage.:D

[iancal]

We only do carry on now. We find it very liberating and very useful especially if there are flight delays, interuptions, etc. It started when we decided to only take luggage that we could each easily physically handle on trains, ferrys, in rentals, etc.

 

We essentially pack the same for one week or three months. We layer our clothing and restrict ourselves to two pair of shoes..including the ones on our feet. We typically combine land trips and cruises. But, we no longer find formal nights in the MDR very special so we do alternate venues on those evening. Nor do we want to carry around clothing that we will only use for a few hours on two or three nights.

 

It is not for everyone. DW finds that she gets tired of the same clothes after a few months. But the payoff for us in limiting ourselves to carry on far outweighs the other inconveniences.

 

It was a challenge at first but now it is old hat. When we shop, we find the we ask ourselves if the article of clothing will travel well, dry quickly, and will complement our other layered clothes. Every time we return from a trip we note what we only wore once or twice plus anything that we wished we had brought. Then we include or exclude on the next trip.

Edited May 28, 2015 by iancal

[jason3695]

I just listened to an episode of Cruise Radio where some folks did this for a long cruise in the Med. It is possible.

[Lady Chew]

No one has mentioned underwear ...

 

how much underwear do you take for longer than 10-12 days? how do you wash them, especially men's?

 

I don't really believe that handwashing undies is as thorough as machine washing.

[artlovr]

I'm very picky about my toiletries. I have fair skin that reacts to fragrances, and I have to use a specific kind of sunscreen, so I can't just buy or use any product. I manage to pack my liquid makeup, shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, hairspray, eye drops, and sunscreen in the liquid bag. All of my other products are not liquids or jells so they're not included in that small bag. These products last about 4-5 weeks. If I need extra space I ditch the liquid soap and pack a bar soap.

And of course my husband is very accommodating from time to time with his extra carry on space :)

[waterbug123]

I'm sure I could buy some (but not all) products/brands that I prefer on board; or I can just take what I need and check my luggage.:D

 

If you will need to buy toiletries upon arrival, buy them in a land-based store, not on the ship. You'll have a much bigger selection to choose from, including many of same brands you'd find in the US.

 

No one has mentioned underwear ...

 

how much underwear do you take for longer than 10-12 days? how do you wash them, especially men's?

 

I don't really believe that handwashing undies is as thorough as machine washing.

 

Use the ship's laundry service.

[neverbeenhere]

No one has mentioned underwear ...

 

how much underwear do you take for longer than 10-12 days? how do you wash them, especially men's?

 

I don't really believe that handwashing undies is as thorough as machine washing.

 

Looks like it's time for a "Commando Cruise".:eek:

[Sea-debris]

No one has mentioned underwear ...

 

how much underwear do you take for longer than 10-12 days? how do you wash them, especially men's?

 

I don't really believe that handwashing undies is as thorough as machine washing.

 

Okay ladies my travel tips on men's briefs.

 

First if I am on vacation and if expected to hand wash briefs I make sure he wears those high tec sports material ones not cotton.

 

Two Since I am doing the rinsing in a sink I bring a small bottle of detergent.

 

Three I am doing this on holiday time I insist he wear a panty liner.

I know what you are thinking and it was a fight at first but now if he is really hot and sweaty he changes it out during the day. He actually says it is comfortable and appreciates it when as he says the "boys and his butt" are extra humid.

 

Four No skid marks to deal with and if not a strenuous or hot and muggy day he tosses the liner and may wear them a 2nd day with a fresh liner.

 

Five After rinsing wring them then lay them on a fresh towel roll it tight and have your hubby give the towel a twist. Let them rest a few minutes unroll and they are almost dry just damp.

Air dry and they will be ready in the morning.

 

For this to work you must swear to never tell anyone he is wearing panty liners.

[Lady Chew]

Yeah, I think we'll stick to what we've been doing on the long cruises ... all undies (except for a few of my lacier items!) go to the ship laundry ... all of Mr Chew's stuff goes to the ship laundry - if he wants to wash anything in the sink he is welcome to do so!! I wash my more delicate tops & such in the sink, but that's it.

 

If the ship has a self-serve laundry, I will wash some of our things there, but don't use the laundry for any of my clothes.

 

We do not try to take our long trips with only carry-ons. Under 10 days, maybe ... but for now, we each have a large checked bag and a carry-on.

 

I did have a male relative who wore panty liners ... he thought they were very comfortable, especially when it was hot & humid.

[camarodrivenrs]

My last Alaska cruise was a 55 liter backpack each as it was the start of an across the U.S. road trip. We weren't planning on doing the formal nights, but we had good tablemates so I rented a tux onboard and my girlfriend had one dress rolled up so it worked for us. We are planning on going this route again and using Celebrity's pacific crossing to Japan to do an across Asia/Europe backpacking trip assuming this cruise is offered during the fall of 2017.

 

For the underware, I start with 14 pairs and either do laundry or discard them and purchase more when needed.

Edited May 29, 2015 by camarodrivenrs
spelling

[cruise kitty]

No one has mentioned underwear ...

 

how much underwear do you take for longer than 10-12 days? how do you wash them, especially men's?

 

I don't really believe that handwashing undies is as thorough as machine washing.

 

5 to 6 good pair, out to the laundry service, also, we take 6 or 7 old faded undies & throw them away as we go at the beginning of the trip. I spend everything to the laundry, & I've never had a problem.

[cruise kitty]

Yes, but then there is face moisturizer, hair spray, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, sunscreen, body lotion, hair styling products ......

 

I'm sure I could buy some (but not all) products/brands that I prefer on board; or I can just take what I need and check my luggage.:D

 

Other than shampoo & conditioner, I don't bring any of those products. The lotion on the ship & hotels is fine with me :)

[minz56]

I must admit that I was wondering whether I could get away with hand luggage for a 16 night Azamara cruise next year, plus up to a month in Europe, much of the time with family.

 

On AZ it is easier as there are no formal nights and they have self service laundry rooms.

 

Even though, I doubt that I will try it .... but I am still thinking about it