How do they do it?

[OceanCruise]

Everytime we cruise we see couples waltzing in with one small rolling suitcase each. Meanwhile, my family of 3 is struggling with about 8 pieces of luggage and still feel we brought the bare minimum. After reading the thread on how many shoes people bring, how do some people travel for a week with only one suitcase? That would just be out toiletries LOL.

[mikefast]

I wish my wife knew how to do that. We, for the two of us, bring two huge suitcases, one was even oversize for the airlines untill I took out a couple of things, and a couple of carry-ons. Then, when we get home, we take out about half the clothes that haven't been worn. Her excuse, I'd rather have too much than not enough.

[CruisinDawn]

We learned one lesson about over packing in Ft. Lauderdale. The taxi drivers after the cruise would not pick us up. We had no clue as to why until one yelled out "To much luggage" and picked up a guy carrying a backpack. Live & Learn :D

 

BTW: I was one with an entire suitcase of shoes on that thread. It was the only suitcase delivered before dinner the first night. Make an outfit out of that.

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[FinelyCruising]

I saw it once myself on a cruise to Bermuda quite a few years ago. I don't know how they do it either....

[stargate fan]

My in-laws, both in their 70's, cruise like that...one small rolling carry-on for each. I don't know how they do it! There are four in my family, my husband, two teenage sons, and me. We take two huge suitcases, one garment bags for suits and dresses for formal nights, and two carry-on suitcases.

 

Everytime we cruise we see couples waltzing in with one small rolling suitcase each. Meanwhile, my family of 3 is struggling with about 8 pieces of luggage and still feel we brought the bare minimum. After reading the thread on how many shoes people bring, how do some people travel for a week with only one suitcase? That would just be out toiletries LOL.

[kenandlaura06]

I am a notorious over packer....We are planning on two suitcases, two carryons and a garment bag for the two of us...I hope a taxi will pick us up!

[cruisin from florida]

I am a very light packer. I did three weeks in Europe with a rolling carry-on. Can't do it on a cruise. Formal night is the killer. Plus the daytime vs. evening thing. DH and I do one big shared suitcase, one large garment bag, and one large bag for toiletries.

 

However, that said, I have discovered that the laundry services really aren't that expensive, and they are pretty efficient, so next time I will probably pack lighter, especially for a longer cruise, and use the laundry services more.

[redheadx3]

There's no way we, family of 4, could pack so compact. We need a suit case just for shoes and we don't bring but a pair of sandals, tennis shoes, and a pair of dress shoes for each of us. We need a whole suit case because dh wears a size 13 shoe and ds wears a size 6. That alone takes up almost the whole suit case.

[Say Goodnight Gracie]

I've seen many people post on the threads that during the whole cruise, they never ate in the dining room. I once met some one on a cruise that said "we have eaten all our meals in the Windjammer or the cabin." If that is the case, shorts, t-shirts and bathing suits are all you need. To each his own!

[Dreamfinders]

I agree with "to each their own". What works for some won't work for others. My family of four can be defined of "overpacking", but we wouldn't do it any other way. We love to dress up at night, every night and I love to have different things to pick from every day. We long ago stopped trying to pack light and just go with the flow. Yes, some taxis wont't pick us up, but we've learned to ask for a van. We LOVE our vacations and enjoy bringing what we want. Every time we see people with one small rollaway we are amazed, but heck, more power to them. That's what they like! As for me, you will spot me with multiple bags, dragging some, carring some, but always with more than most people!!

[elleluv]

We learned one lesson about over packing in Ft. Lauderdale. The taxi drivers after the cruise would not pick us up. We had no clue as to why until one yelled out "To much luggage" and picked up a guy carrying a backpack. Live & Learn :D

 

 

That seems odd to me.... we always tip our cab drivers substantially more when we have a lot of luggage. You'd think they'd pick you up for the prospect of a bigger tip... maybe not everyone tips more. :confused:

[madelinerose]

1. They're low maintenance.

 

2. They forgo formal nights.

 

3. They mix and match.

 

After reading the thread on how many shoes people bring, how do some people travel for a week with only one suitcase? That would just be out toiletries LOL.

[dizkid]

4. they wear their underwear ONLY to dinner! :)

 

5. they live in their swimsuits (w/flip flops).

 

6. they buy clothes onboard/at port as needed.

 

Now, guess which of these options I usually do!?!?!

 

Paul

[Pradagal]

We are a family of 4 that has 4 little rolling suitcases. I can tell you right away we always dress for formal nights and wear everthing we bring.My DD and I also each bring a large tote instead of our purses to carry all the tolietries and makeup,ect.My DH and DS both are 6'4 and all there clothes fit in their suitcases as well as their shoes. One secret they have is renting formal wear and shoes for formal nights.They each bring a different dress shirt if there is a second night(have it pressed on the ship).My DD and I have formal dresses that have material you can roll up and wear the next day and look great (no wrinkles).We also use ziploc bags to put everything in before packing and stuff a pair of shoes with items(in a bag) as well. It is really quite simple. We started this when the kids were younger and we took everything but the kitchen sink on vacation. It became comical to see us coming.We just streamlined and now use everything we bring and no more sore shoulders from lugging too much luggage around.;)

[Sheffie]

These people OBVIOUSLY do not realize that the NEED to have duct tape and an over the door shoe holder! :eek: Can you believe it? :eek: How CAN they enjoy their cruise?:D ;) ;)

[Pradagal]

Sweetie have all that in our totes;) . On the Vision we had a Aft balcony so of course a small bottle of merlot(wrapped in bubble of course) even made it into my suitcase.DD even brings a small pop up hamper so don't be mistaken we do know what we are doing.:)

[Folgy]

We look like we are moving lock /stock and barrel to the moon for a year when we pack. Each cruise we try and taper down. We are down to two carry ons and two checked in luggage.They are Samsonite hard bodies and quite large.

 

 

Just 1 formal night can fill half a suitcase.

[MrsPete]

Everytime we cruise we see couples waltzing in with one small rolling suitcase each.

That'd be my family! It's just not hard for us. Here are a couple things we do:

 

-- I'm small enough to wear little girls' 16s. That does help.

-- Shoes are the biggest space killers. Bring just a few pairs that'll match all your outfits; other people don't pay nearly as much attention to your clothes as you think they do. Use the space inside your shoes to pack socks.

-- Bring 2 shirts for every pair of shorts.

-- How many days will you be traveling? Bring that many outfits -- no more. Don't bring the "oh, I might want to wear this" things; chances are, you won't. If you really do run short, you can send things to the laundry.

-- Don't skimp on swimsuits and cover-ups; they take very little space anyway, and you'll be living in them.

-- Consider dinner items that'll work for day wear too. For example, you wear a casual skirt with a dressy tee top for dinner (not formal night, of course); the next day you wear that same tee with jean shorts for day wear (it only had a few hours' use for dinner the night before).

-- Don't bother with things that are provided for you on the ship (i.e, beach towels).

-- Bring small versions of your toiletries, then leave the bottles on the ship.

 

There's a saying . . . There are two types of travelers: those who pack light, and those who wish they had.

[megessey]

Well, perhaps if they're on their honeymoon, they won't be getting dressed that often :D

[Sheffie]

Sweetie have all that in our totes;) . On the Vision we had a Aft balcony so of course a small bottle of merlot(wrapped in bubble of course) even made it into my suitcase.DD even brings a small pop up hamper so don't be mistaken we do know what we are doing.:)

 

Whew!!!:D

[chaswelf]

When we first started cruising when we'd get home and start unpacking we would keep track of what we used and what we didn't. Over time have worked our packing down to what we really need to take. And I can tell you it's about half of what we took the first time.

[lszu]

OceanCruise - Not only do I have no idea, I've never even tried.

[atlcple2]

We each have 1 carry on with rollers and yes, we dress on formal nights and smart casual the other nights. We started doing this because we took way too many clothes and ended up not even wearing 1/2 of what we took. You just have to plan a little. I bring 2 pair of pants and 2 skirts and 7 shirts to mix and match, formal dress, semi-formal dress, 2 pair of shoes, 3 swim suits, 3 t-shirts and a pair of shorts and of course undergarments. DH brings his suit for formal nights and 2 pair of casual pants, 3 pair of shorts, 3 swim suits and 5 button up shirts for dinner, some t-shirts, 2 pair of shoes, underwear and sox. We do carry our toiletries, medicines & hair dryer in another carry on, but not a large one. The kids will carry their own roll on suitcases as well that are carry on size. Already packed and ready to go! It makes getting on and off the ship a lot easier and if we are flying, we don't have to wait for our bags. Chances are, we will STILL have a couple of items that we won't wear so next time we will cut it back again! lol

[atlcple2]

sorry double post

[OliverTheCat]

My co-worker never checks any luggage and carries a DUFFLE BAG as his luggage!!! Thats it!!!!! I dont know he does THAT either!!!!