7-Day Cruise with nothing but the clothes on our back?

[perditax]

I'm so far from being a fashionista, but I have a slight tic about clothes being clean/rewearing them. If I've worn something to a restaurant, I can smell the food/cooking smells on it afterwards and I'm done, it has to be washed. I don't give a hoot about someone seeing me wearing the same thing twice, I just want it to be clean. My SO is the same way, so we tend to do laundry on vacation a lot. This was fine when we cruised Princess.

 

On NCL though (which I only cruise solo), I do 7 day cruises and feel like I'm always washing stuff in the sink, which isn't much fun. Laundry prices are insane. I'm still kind of new to travel in general and still refining the art of packing, so this thread has been interesting. I could probably pack a few more individual articles of clothing if I found more lightweight fabrics (traveling solo and with an occasionally sketchy back, I'm always careful not to pack more than I can personally lift up a few stairs if I have to).

 

Also thanks to this thread, I bought one of those "dry sack" style bags for washing clothes by hand, seems like it might work better than the sink.

[leekel619]

I'm so far from being a fashionista, but I have a slight tic about clothes being clean/rewearing them. If I've worn something to a restaurant, I can smell the food/cooking smells on it afterwards and I'm done, it has to be washed. I don't give a hoot about someone seeing me wearing the same thing twice, I just want it to be clean. My SO is the same way, so we tend to do laundry on vacation a lot. This was fine when we cruised Princess.

 

On NCL though (which I only cruise solo), I do 7 day cruises and feel like I'm always washing stuff in the sink, which isn't much fun. Laundry prices are insane. I'm still kind of new to travel in general and still refining the art of packing, so this thread has been interesting. I could probably pack a few more individual articles of clothing if I found more lightweight fabrics (traveling solo and with an occasionally sketchy back, I'm always careful not to pack more than I can personally lift up a few stairs if I have to).

 

Also thanks to this thread, I bought one of those "dry sack" style bags for washing clothes by hand, seems like it might work better than the sink.

 

 

 

What is a "dry sack" bag for washing clothes?

[perditax]

What is a "dry sack" bag for washing clothes?

 

 

Earlier in the thread, someone mentioned a kickstarter product called "Scrubba", basically a water-tight packable bag you can fill with water and use as sort of a portable washing machine.

 

The Scrubba was $50 and had mixed reviews. A cheaper product called Laundreez looked interesting too, but when I looked into it, I realized the main component looked just like a travel "dry sack" you can get for ten or fifteen bucks on Amazon. If you search for these things on Amazon you'll see what I mean.

 

(So I bought a $12 dry sack and a microfiber towel... my plan is to fill it with water from the shower head and a little detergent, put some clothes in and seal it and agitate it (more or less), just like they tell you to do with the more expensive products, rinse with clean water, wring out with microfiber towel. This will either be awesome or tremendously stupid, but I'm only out $20.)

Edited March 18, 2017 by perditax

[Mommy1971]

We were on a cruise with a guy who wore a yellow bathing suit and a captain's hat the entire time, even while out sight seeing. I tend to over pack and plan on reducing the amount we take this year. I do recommend more than 1 hat and 1 bathing suit.

 

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[leekel619]

Earlier in the thread, someone mentioned a kickstarter product called "Scrubba", basically a water-tight packable bag you can fill with water and use as sort of a portable washing machine.

 

The Scrubba was $50 and had mixed reviews. A cheaper product called Laundreez looked interesting too, but when I looked into it, I realized the main component looked just like a travel "dry sack" you can get for ten or fifteen bucks on Amazon. If you search for these things on Amazon you'll see what I mean.

 

(So I bought a $12 dry sack and a microfiber towel... my plan is to fill it with water from the shower head and a little detergent, and seal it and agitate it (more or less), just like they tell you to do with the more expensive products, rinse with clean water, wring out with microfiber towel. This will either be awesome or tremendously stupid, but I'm only out $20.)

 

 

 

Thank you. I'll look around. [emoji1303]

[mamasylvia]

> we tend to do laundry on vacation a lot.

 

I refuse to do laundry by hand on a cruise. It's my vacation too, dagnabit! Someone on the Alaska thread mentioned a wash-and-fold service in Skagway, about midpoint through our cruise. I plan to send a kid to drop off our laundry in the morning and then pick it up when we get back from our excursion. Of course, I am not fussy about wrinkles, this might not work for someone who wears clothes that wrinkles will show on.

[4774Papa]

You could be like Jack Reacher in the Lee Child series. He wears the same clothes for a few days, throws them away and buys new. Most cruise ships have shirts that you could purchase, not sure about trousers, underwear and socks. Geeze, would you want to wear the same underwear for a week?!

[hbgroadends]

I've heard of packing light, but then you could have a "what if" moment?

 

It's the "what ifs" that kill you. You can "what if" yourself into taking the whole house if you aren't careful.

 

A good way to counteract the "what ifs" is take what you know you will need, but be prepared to purchase if something comes up. Nine times out of ten, you will not end up purchasing anything to cover something unexpected. The times you do have to? Well, I use that as a souvenir shopping opportunity. Since I don't purchase many souvenirs to begin with, I make it count.

 

The good part about doing this is you don't end up taking clothing for every perceivable season and/or occasion, and you will be amazed at what you discover you don't need. It's very freeing. :D

[hbgroadends]

You could be like Jack Reacher in the Lee Child series. He wears the same clothes for a few days, throws them away and buys new.

 

Funny you should say this. My dad knew a guy who had this peculiar quirk where he refused to wear the same clothing more than once (including underwear and socks). He would purchase a new outfit every day and leave the old outfit behind for the hotel maids to get rid of (he stayed primarily in hotels). This was back in the late 50s or early 60s.

 

Whatever floats your boat, I guess.;p

[CasinoCruzGirl]

I'm very bad over packer. Last cruise I said ok I'm unpacking and taking stuff out....I took out one dress and of course replaced it with a shirt so needless to say this would never work for me.

 

As for the OP....what if you "sharted". You would be in big trouble lol

[wordsjustfly]

I did it for four days through no fault of my own and not on purpose. We flew from Seattle to Fort Lauderdale for a cruise on NCL, and Alaska Airlines sent my damn luggage to Alaska. I'm not kidding. I was the only one in my party that didn't have her luggage. Yes I cried. I did a lot of planning when I had packed clothes because it was the first time in the Caribbean. Anyhow, I made the best of it and I did buy clothes on the ship. And then on day four or five of the cruise at one of the ports and CL went to an airport and brought back my luggage.

 

Alaska airlines and it up giving me two round-trip domestic tickets, they reimbursed all of my charges on the ship of buying clothes, and they ended up giving me a pretty nice credit and a bunch of miles.

 

I will say that the ship stores had some pretty cute clothes, and shoes. It was an adventure for sure.

 

So if you are really into an adventure, just make sure you pack enough underwear, sundries, A pair of flip-flops and your regular shoes. And go for it :)

 

 

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[momofmab]

My female friend had to do this on a Carnival cruise that we went on. She booked her own air and her flight was delayed. Her choice was either to leave her luggage and race to make the ship, or wait for her luggage and miss the ship. She opted to go without her luggage. She did have a small carry on with her bathing suit and a couple of other items. Here's how she managed:

 

-Carnival did have underwear in its onboard shop (it had "Carnival" emblazoned across the back)

-She bought an oversized t-shirt to sleep in

-There were 10 of us girls sailing together, so she borrowed dresses, shoes, make-up, toiletries, etc.

-At a port stop she found a mall and bought some other clothing items

 

This was 10 years ago and we still marvel over her decision to go without her luggage! I don't know if I could have done it!

[infoprof56]

Had the experience of having the airline delay my luggage so went on a ten day cruise with pretty much only the clothes on my back and a few things in a carry on. I now carry more in my carry on. The cruise was one that still had formal nights so I rented formal wear from the ship. Wore the tux pants almost every night to dinner as they were my only long pants besides the pair I wore on the plane. Had to wait until the first port to get underwear. I still own a lot of souvenir clothing and cruise line logo emblazoned items that the airline paid for when I got back. I was very upset at first, but quickly decided to relax and go with the flow. I feel lucky to be able to cruise at all and now know that I really don;t need all the stuff I bring along.

[SuiteTraveler]

Has anyone ever done a 7-day cruise with nothing but what you're wearing and the necessary paperwork? We're a few weeks out from our Breakaway cruise and the thought of dragging winter and summer stuff from home, through multiple airports, NYC and then onto the cruise does not excite me. Can I buy a couple pairs of shorts, shirts, and bathroom supplies on the ship??

 

Any chance I can talk my wife into this strategy?? :) Advice welcome.

 

If you are an average size and not particular about the products you use and if you don't care what you wear, you should be able to do this fairly easily, although there is probably no underwear you can buy onboard. I would advise you to wear a t-shirt with a collared shirt over it and zip off pants with a pair of athletic shoes. This gives you 2 shirts, 1 pair long pants that can become shorts. For your wife, if she is a small size (under size 10) there are a few things she can buy onboard in the way of clothes, but no underwear or bras - for a woman, a swimsuit would be the biggest challenge - she may need to buy this in port but Breakaway has 2 days at sea BEFORE Bermuda, so that is probably something she should bring from home. She should be fine as far as makeup and toiletries goes as there is a huge cosmetic/perfume store onboard, as long as she doesn't care what brand they are albeit, anything you buy on a ship you pay a premium for. Once you reach Bermuda, you could buy anything you could not get on the ship as they have lots of shopping. http://www.bermuda.com/shopping/ For your wife, I would suggest she wear a sleeveless sundress or skirt and top with a lightweight knit jacket and sparkly flip flops. She might put a spaghetti strap tank under the top for 2 different looks for the first 2 days of the cruise.

[MURPHY27]

Had the experience of having the airline delay my luggage so went on a ten day cruise with pretty much only the clothes on my back and a few things in a carry on. I now carry more in my carry on. The cruise was one that still had formal nights so I rented formal wear from the ship. Wore the tux pants almost every night to dinner as they were my only long pants besides the pair I wore on the plane. Had to wait until the first port to get underwear. I still own a lot of souvenir clothing and cruise line logo emblazoned items that the airline paid for when I got back. I was very upset at first, but quickly decided to relax and go with the flow. I feel lucky to be able to cruise at all and now know that I really don;t need all the stuff I bring along.

 

My worst nightmare! You’re cruising the Waltz in 2018?

Want to post on the 2018 Danube Waltz Roll Call?

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/show....php?t=2540491

[Casino Comp Chick]

They do it on the Amazing race

[PTC DAWG]

I can do a week with a carry on sized bag easy...

[MURPHY27]

They do it on the Amazing race

 

 

I can do a week with a carry on sized bag easy...

 

My fellow traveler had a 22” carry-on and small “day bag” for 3 weeks in Italy. Other than having some laundry to do, they did quite. I travel all the time, and still working hard to be a lighter traveler. I was proud to have one suitcase

 

I know from watching YouTube, Rick Steve’s tours only allow one carry-on as well.

[jtdlmc]

Has anyone ever done a 7-day cruise with nothing but what you're wearing and the necessary paperwork? We're a few weeks out from our Breakaway cruise and the thought of dragging winter and summer stuff from home, through multiple airports, NYC and then onto the cruise does not excite me. Can I buy a couple pairs of shorts, shirts, and bathroom supplies on the ship??

 

Any chance I can talk my wife into this strategy?? :) Advice welcome.

 

 

 

 

We leave our winter coats in the car at the airport. We wear a pair of jeans - which are usually worn at some point during the cruise and our light jacket/sweater. Once we get into the first airport we aren't out in the cold - we usually head out from Florida but even in New York, will you be outside to really need winter gear? Taxis/shuttles are warm when you get in. I don't know your wife but I highly doubt you could talk her into your strategy [emoji6]

 

 

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[xriva]

They do not carry my size in the ship’s shop, so unless I want to wrapper myself in a lot of small t-shirts (or sew them together), I need to bring clothes. On the other hand, my wife could overpack for a nude cruise, so it is an ongoing struggle in the house.

 

We have a small carry-on each with medications, a change of clothes to board the ship (we go a day early and stay near the port) and a suitcase each. The carry-ons become our walk-off bags.

 

We do still overpack but we’re getting better.

 

When I was in college, we hosted high school students for a “Welcome to College” weekend. I was picking up students at the airport, and one girl arrived with a steamer trunk. It took up my entire back seat. This was Thursday afternoon. She was leaving Sunday.

 

My wife is not that bad, but it’s because I’ve been hounding her over 16 cruises.

 

When traveling on business, I would take five days of clothes no matter how long the trip, and send stuff out to be cleaned.

 

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[RVACruiser43]

Has anyone ever done a 7-day cruise with nothing but what you're wearing and the necessary paperwork? We're a few weeks out from our Breakaway cruise and the thought of dragging winter and summer stuff from home, through multiple airports, NYC and then onto the cruise does not excite me. Can I buy a couple pairs of shorts, shirts, and bathroom supplies on the ship??

 

Any chance I can talk my wife into this strategy?? :) Advice welcome.

 

Depends on your clothing size. I forgot a swimsuit one cruise and was able to purchase one. I have purchased shirts, slacks and shorts, not sure about under garments so you may want to pack a small bag for those. I use the fill the laundry bag service which is usually on special every several days, but experience has been the cloths may not be returned until the next day or 2nd day so you definitely need a couple days clothing. The supplies will be very expensive, but if that is better than packing them go for it.

[AKR2011]

This post is over a year old. I wonder if the OP ever did that cruise with only the clothes on his back???

[surfone]

Don't tempt me! I'm seriously considering going in my b2b in June with just a carry-on.

 

 

We only take our 21 inch carry on on wheels. Taking our 3rd b2b in a few weeks. I still never wear all I packed. We even have room to pack a beach bag or pack pack in our carry on for shore excursions. Roll your clothes & pack as they don't wrinkle as bad.

[gambit57]

This post is over a year old. I wonder if the OP ever did that cruise with only the clothes on his back???

 

I'm curious too.

 

That said, I did find it an interesting post.

 

My parents cruise with just 1 carryon between them all the time. They'll do one carry on each if it's longer, but for your typical 7 day or less, then can get by with 1 carryon between them.

 

The key is underwear and socks. That's harder to buy on ship. You bring along a couple pair of each (easily fit in a purse or even your pockets), and the rest you can buy on ship if you really dislike lugging luggage around. You can then just do laundry often or mix match and as long as you stay cool and aren't that active (like most people on a cruise), you might be able to get away with not doing laundry even.

[Vyhanek]

The ships have very little shopping for necessities like that. A pair of khaki pants, sandals or even flip flops, casual clothing for evenings.......there's hardly anything like that on NCL ships. You will be lucky to find a bathing suit and cover up! Personally I found all the swimsuits to be ridiculously ugly and suitable only for the 60 year old and older crowd. There is no way you could shop in the ship's stores and be happy with your purchases for a whole week.

 

Why not take 10 minutes, dig out some summer attire? That may sound like a hassle but it will be a lot easier, than spending hours in Miami trying to find necessities or making due with the over priced and inadequate stuff you're going to find on the ship. Think this thru.