To think about, before you go.

[AllyGirl13]

It's so much easier for the men.....

[operabob]

Ally,

ROTFLMAO! but in dry underwear!

[AllyGirl13]

Originally Posted by operabob

Ally,

ROTFLMAO! but in dry underwear!

Just sayin'

[vivavegas]

Originally Posted by AllyGirl13

Travel sized Lysol spray is a must! I spray everything in our cabin before we do anything.. Not saying its dirty, I'm just that way!

Gotta have it! I just looked at my 21" suitcase and I don't know, it sure looks small.

[AllyGirl13]

Originally Posted by vivavegas

Gotta have it! I just looked at my 21" suitcase and I don't know, it sure looks small.

It's small but goes a long way! Travel sized.. Buy at walmar, target....

[calliopecruiser]

It's still the 3 pair of shoes that are going to get me - a pair of walking shoes (worn on the plane), a pair of summer sandals and a pair of evening heels....it isn't often I pack 2 pair. Those alone could take up at least a quarter of my carry-on.

Am I the only one who doesn't want to skimp and feel deprived on my vacation? I know I could do without a second dress (just wear the same thing to dinner and dancing each night) or without that extra sweater for cool nights and just stuff myself into layers, but I don't really want to. After all, I'm paying several thousand dollars for a vacation - is the angst of worrying about something spilled on my only "dressy" dress worth the 25 bucks the airline will charge me for a checked bag?

[Twibbs]

Originally Posted by calliopecruiser

After all, I'm paying several thousand dollars for a vacation - is the angst of worrying about something spilled on my only "dressy" dress worth the 25 bucks the airline will charge me for a checked bag?

I look at it the exact opposite way. I've had too many bags delayed, or know people whose bags never showed up at all, or got rained on owhile the airline had them sitting on the tarmac.

Knowing where my bag is and that nothing is going to disappear out of it or be broken is worth a TON to me. I get disturbed when my bag flies without me (well...maybe that was because all of the rum was in it. And I should have been worried in that case).

I'd rather know that when I get to the hotel Saturday night, everything will be in its place and if things go seriously wrong, I can walk to the ship if I have to!

[calliopecruiser]

I understand where you're coming from Twibbs, and that argument makes sense to me.......but I don't get people who complain about the extra airline charge for a checked bag on a trip like this (since this is a "money saving" folder, after all).

[erinmarie424]

Originally Posted by calliopecruiser

It's still the 3 pair of shoes that are going to get me - a pair of walking shoes (worn on the plane), a pair of summer sandals and a pair of evening heels....it isn't often I pack 2 pair. Those alone could take up at least a quarter of my carry-on.

Am I the only one who doesn't want to skimp and feel deprived on my vacation? I know I could do without a second dress (just wear the same thing to dinner and dancing each night) or without that extra sweater for cool nights and just stuff myself into layers, but I don't really want to. After all, I'm paying several thousand dollars for a vacation - is the angst of worrying about something spilled on my only "dressy" dress worth the 25 bucks the airline will charge me for a checked bag?

I agree with you....

Originally Posted by Twibbs

I look at it the exact opposite way. I've had too many bags delayed, or know people whose bags never showed up at all, or got rained on owhile the airline had them sitting on the tarmac.

Knowing where my bag is and that nothing is going to disappear out of it or be broken is worth a TON to me. I get disturbed when my bag flies without me (well...maybe that was because all of the rum was in it. And I should have been worried in that case).

I'd rather know that when I get to the hotel Saturday night, everything will be in its place and if things go seriously wrong, I can walk to the ship if I have to!

And I agree with you too!

We both use backpacks and carry-ons which are full. We also use one large checked bag. We make sure that the carry-ons contain enough clothes to get us through a few days of our trip and the bare essentials of toiletries for the entire trip. We can always do laundry if we need to. We use the checked bags for things that we could get by without if for some reason it goes missing. Clothes for formal night, second bathing suits, second light sweater, "extra" shoes, snorkel stuff, etc. Our trips are usually eight-nine days total (we spend time before and after in the departure port) so it would be difficult for us (ok, me) to get everything in a carry-on. I greatly admire people that can!

Also, we use the Delta credit card which means we each get one free bag when we fly with them. DBF usually checks his coming back so he doesn't have to deal with it on the plane.

[elainesj]

Returned from my cruise a short while ago. I actually managed to underpack.

I had my family of 4 (kids are 10 & 9 and so their stuff is bigger) in 1 rolling carry on plus 2 checked bags (both large). I thought I was doing pretty good. This was a 10 day trip with several days pre and post cruise.

I packed a ton of dinner clothes and didn't really need to do that. That said, I decided I wanted to and I was happy I did. But like others said, you can re-wear a dinner outfit at least twice with no problems. We didn't - we had a new outfit each night. My DD's dresses took up a ton of space because at least 2 of them were poufy.

I did NOT pack enough daytime clothes. I packed about 5 outfits for a 5 day cruise plus pre and post. We had to rewear some stuff up to 3 times. I ended up washing some stuff in the sink. We did OK, but sometimes felt a bit gross wearing dirty clothes so many times. It's warm and if you wear something long enough to sweat, etc - I like to have it washed before we wear it again. It wouldn't have taken much extra space to add a couple of outfits more and I regret not doing that.

I find everytime I pack extra extra light (i,e, JUST the amt I think we'll need), we run short. I did that on a weekend trip last year and after that always packed ONE extra outfit. I didn't for the cruise because I kept reading so much advice to not overpack.