Advice making the most of a 20kg luggage allowance please

[Pip and Alan]

Hi,

 

Any hints or help gratefully received as we have discovered that for our 3 weeks cruising round Aus and NZ in November + 3 nights in Hong Kong we get a 20kg luggage allowance with Cathay Pacific :(

 

I am not bad at travelling light but given that they are publishing a £35 a kilo excess charge, we are not keen to take any risks and also leave some room for souvenirs - guess I won't be taking a didgeridoo home !!

 

Thanks Pip

[IWORK2CRUISE]

Make sure you luggage is light weight to begin with.

 

Pack items that can easily be mixed and matched.

One nice pair of black slacks for a woman or khakis for a man can be stretched with different tops.

Sacrifice the number of coordinating shoes that you might want to bring.

 

Would you be staying in a hotel pre-cruise? Consider purchasing toiletries in various ports. You may want to investigate some prices in advance, though.

 

Take advantage of laundry promotions that may be offered on your ship. Usually on the longer cruises there are 2 or 3.

 

I have seen other posters suggest to pack older socks and tee shirts that you wouldn't mind parting with. Leaving some behind allows more space for new purchases.

[nellydean]

Yes, be VERY careful. On our return home from a month in Australia (and Dubai few nights) after Christmas, we had bought another case due to all the souvenirs we had bought on our travels, and were stung to the tune of $900 AUS dollars by Emirates (just over £450 at the time) - making our already expensive two bottles of wine from the Leeuwin Estate in Margaret River, among other things, extortionately expensive! My husband visibly paled, but we paid up as the souvenirs, though mainly not very pricey, each held fond memories of different places. The alternative was to send them home separately, which was far less expensive, but have to wait more than a week or two - and another trek back to the airport - and risk not getting them. In the end, everything arrived home safe and sound with us, apart from a lovely Aboriginal mug which got smashed - goodness knows we would have cried if the wine had broken! We still have not opened it yet, as we are afraid it won't match the price we paid for it!

 

Anyway, as a tip, you are going in November, so it will be warm in Australia, not so much in NZ, so take something warm, we took FAR too many clothes even though we were staying nearly 4 weeks, and that was another reason our excess was so excessive on our return, because they were packed full to begin with.

 

So, not really the one to advise you how to pack, but when you do, take at least a third out, and repack. And leave the holiday guides behind, they weigh a lot - read up on them before go, anyway

 

I suppose it depends how old you are, young people can get away with packing very little, we always take the kitchen sink and regret it, but we have a Med cruise this summer and I am determined not to take too much, even though we can take as much as we want on the ship. It's a bit more difficult on a ship, as you have dinner to dress for and three weeks will involve a fair few formal nights (unless you decide not to eat in the dining room those nights, which will save you some space), so you'll need to think carefully - for other evenings, take things you can mix and match, and not too many shoes

 

We brought home several boomerangs, but definitely no didgeridoo!

Have fun, I'm dead jealous :)