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Let's Talk Luggage...How Many Bags Do You Bring?


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Just curious how many suitcases you typically pack per person for a 7 night cruise. I have packing cubes for both me and my husband, but not my kids (I might break down and get each kid a set). But when I think about day time clothing, evening clothing, work out clothing...I start thinking more than one suitcase is going to be needed for me! ?

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For just my soulmate and I:

1 - Roller-ed Suit Bag:  Good for all formal wear and all dresses.

1 - Roller-ed Large (25") Bag:  Good for virtually everything else.

1 - Roller-ed Carry0n (22") Bag:  Good for all the first day essentials (Something for dinner, pool, medications ... just in case luggage is late) + Wine.

We used to pack a lot more, but we have optimized our packing list over the years.  Each cruise we try to take a little less and see if that works.  Our next challenge is a 14 day Antarctic Cruise.  We did Alaska once (and ended up having to buy some clothes en route).  If anyone has Antarctic experience, we would love to get any hints.

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For my family of four on our 8-night cruise last year, we brought:

  • Two 25" checked suitcases (one for wife and me, one for the girls)
  • Four 22" carry-on suitcases (one for each of us)
  • Our respective small backpacks / purses / cross-body bags for things like headphones to use while watching downloaded movies on our devices and assorted items we didn't want to dig out of the carry-ons once they were stowed, all stuffed under the seat when not in use
30 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

1- large 29" that we check

Did you get charged an oversize baggage fee for that? I've found most suitcases go over the max 61 linear inches when they're that huge 29" length, and that a 25" is the largest that stays within the limits. I remember you mostly fly American-based airlines out of DTW, so I'm curious if you just dealt with oversize fees or you have a unique bag that doesn't go over those limits.

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1 minute ago, JLMoran said:

Did you get charged an oversize baggage fee for that? I've found most suitcases go over the max 61 linear inches when they're that huge 29" length, and that a 25" is the largest that stays within the limits. I remember you mostly fly American-based airlines out of DTW, so I'm curious if you just dealt with oversize fees or you have a unique bag that doesn't go over those limits.

We fly Delta so so far, no.  No additional charge.

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My husband and I both pack a big suitcase - not sure of the size, they would have to be checked though. The kids suitcases are both carry on size. Then DH and I also carry on a bag each. One is a backpack that we repack to use on excursions, the other will be a small rolling carry on size bag.

Remember that if you are changing clothes 4 times a day, they aren't going to be very dirty. If you wear shorts and a shirt to breakfast, then change into a bathing suit to sit by the pool most of the day, then wear a dress for dinner and a show, your shorts and shirt were only worn for a couple of hours and can be worn another day. Same for that dress you wore to dinner. I think for the next 7 day cruise, I am packing 3 pair of nice shorts and 4 tops that all mix and match together, 3 pair of workout shorts and t-shirts, 2 or 3 sundresses and 2 cocktail dresses for dinners, 2 bathing suits, and 1 cover up. For shoes, I'm taking flip flops, water shoes, 1 pair of heels that go with all the dresses, and tennis shoes which I'll wear on embarkation day. I can get all that plus toiletries in my carry on, but I'm going to use the bigger suitcase because I have really thick hair and bring my own hairdryer. The one in the room just doesn't cut it for me. I'll than have extra room, so we'll use my bag as overflow as needed too.

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2 hours ago, GatorGal said:

Just curious how many suitcases you typically pack per person for a 7 night cruise. I have packing cubes for both me and my husband, but not my kids (I might break down and get each kid a set). But when I think about day time clothing, evening clothing, work out clothing...I start thinking more than one suitcase is going to be needed for me! ?

We generally drive to the port, and we just take the 1 checked bag per person that an airline will allow (50 lb) maximum plus one carry-on each, which is a back pack or large woman's bag.  We used to take an extra duffel bag with our snorkel equipment, but now we pack it in our regular suitcase, or use a carabiner to attach my snorkel bag to my backpack.

We expect to wear most tops and bottoms twice, so 4 slacks or khakis for dinner (slacks are lighter/skinnier), 4 dress shirts/Hawaiian shirts, etc.  We drive down a day early so it's 8 nights total.  Then t-shirts and shorts for day wear.  I pack a suit for formal night but wear the sport coat if I fly.  We have no problem fitting everything in our suitcase, and carry on is usually just spare underwear, meds, key documents, etc.  I pack two pairs of men's shoes in my checked bag - one casual and one formal - assuming I wear my tennies if I drive.

I have a pet peeve about folks who carry-on large suitcases, if they block aisles, such as in Windjammer or on the Promenade.  You can't get into rooms until after lunch, so I am puzzled about dragging all the extra luggage.  That said, I am sensitive to the fact that it prevents "losing" luggage getting onto the ship.  My wife once lost hers getting off the ship.  So if you carry a lot of stuff on the ship Day 1, please be sensitive to the other guests as you find your way around the ship's spaces.

You can take two checked suitcases per person on the ship, if you like.  The RCI rule is that the volume of luggage be "reasonable" for the length of your cruise.  When we flew to NZ the transpacific route actually allowed two free checked bags for international air, although we didn't max out.

Remember that each stateroom has a different capacity to store empty suitcases (typically under the beds), so room comfort my drive some of your decision-making.

Tip: Someone else has suggested cross-packing a set of clothes with your spouse in case one suitcase is delayed getting to your room.  We've had trips where one suitcase didn't arrive until after dinner.

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We'll be limited to what our airline allows.for our next cruise out or Stockholm. So we'll manage with two large suitcases and two backpacks. To be honest, we're both fine with wearing things more than once and aren't too worried about getting very dressed up on formal nights so it will be plenty for us. 

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19 minutes ago, Matt said:

Is that because it's an international fare? Or are you high rolling it in first class?

She flies out of my old home town of Detroit!  Definitely not international!  I think she saves the high rolling for the suites usual... Right @Lovetocruise2002?  

 

2 hours ago, JLMoran said:

For my family of four on our 8-night cruise last year, we brought:

  • Two 25" checked suitcases (one for wife and me, one for the girls)
  • Four 22" carry-on suitcases (one for each of us

 

My family has sharing issues...no way Jeff world get any room if we shared a suitcase!  I guess the biggest difference I do is we usually don't bring on carry on carry-on suitcases.  Though my plan is to bring at least one mostly empty one to Europe.  Jane

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6 minutes ago, mom2mybugs said:

Though my plan is to bring at least one mostly empty one to Europe.

We carry a duffle with us that folds flat in my suite case, then it transitions to the dirty clothes bag, so by the time we head home 1 of the hard side suite cases is largely empty for whatever we might buy.

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32 minutes ago, Matt said:

Is that because it's an international fare? Or are you high rolling it in first class?

 

9 minutes ago, mom2mybugs said:

She flies out of my old home town of Detroit!  Definitely not international!  I think she saves the high rolling for the suites usual... Right @Lovetocruise2002?  

Correct!  We fly economy every time!  And yes, like Jane said, out of DTW.

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4 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

We carry a duffle with us that folds flat in my suite case, then it transitions to the dirty clothes bag, so by the time we head home 1 of the hard side suite cases is largely empty for whatever we might buy.

So do you carry on the duffel then?  I figured I would bring a carry on suitcase empty because then I can roll it later.  Jane

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19 minutes ago, mom2mybugs said:

So do you carry on the duffel then?  I figured I would bring a carry on suitcase empty because then I can roll it later.  Jane

No, it's a heavy duty Eddie Bauer duffle that zips shut and has a clasp that we can clip together, we use an old carabineer that holds our name tag, we check it with all our other luggage.

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This is all great info, thank you! I probably should have added that I live 20 minutes away from Port Everglades, so I do not have the issue of suitcases on planes too, LOL! 

3 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

For our family of 4 (2 adults; 2 kids) we bring:

1- large 29" that we check

4 - 21" carry on

4 - backpacks 

This is impressive - we are a family of four too and I can't imagine making this work, especially with a teenage girl, LOL...kudos to you!

2 hours ago, melmar02 said:

I have really thick hair and bring my own hairdryer. The one in the room just doesn't cut it for me. I'll than have extra room, so we'll use my bag as overflow as needed too.

Heck yes, me too! 

So for your carry on bags, it sounds like most of you use the roller bags. I had been thinking more of a duffel bag style, but now you are giving me pause. We have the Key, so I don't have to worry about dragging the carry on bags around with us. 

You guys are the best, keep it coming! 

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11 minutes ago, GatorGal said:

This is all great info, thank you! I probably should have added that I live 20 minutes away from Port Everglades, so I do not have the issue of suitcases on planes too, LOL! 

This is impressive - we are a family of four too and I can't imagine making this work, especially with a teenage girl, LOL...kudos to you!

The trick is the packing cubes.  Each kid gets a set amount of packing cubes.  It is whatever you can fit into it or it doesn't come.

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24 minutes ago, GatorGal said:

This is all great info, thank you! I probably should have added that I live 20 minutes away from Port Everglades, so I do not have the issue of suitcases on planes too, LOL! 

This is impressive - we are a family of four too and I can't imagine making this work, especially with a teenage girl, LOL...kudos to you!

Heck yes, me too! 

So for your carry on bags, it sounds like most of you use the roller bags. I had been thinking more of a duffel bag style, but now you are giving me pause. We have the Key, so I don't have to worry about dragging the carry on bags around with us. 

You guys are the best, keep it coming! 

When I'm carrying on the ship, I usually just carry a big tote bag... It's only 3 hours... And I check everything else... Even rolling duffles.  I think alot of us were talking planes... And I take a tote bag for under my seat, but I will also take an extra carry on for this upcoming trip.  I've never been able to go less than one big suitcase per person when we travel (look for my previous overpacking thread lol) 

28 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

No, it's a heavy duty Eddie Bauer duffle that zips shut and has a clasp that we can clip together, we use an old carabineer that holds our name tag, we check it with all our other luggage.

Curious... Do you then take your hard suitcase and carry it on, or do you just check an extra suitcase.  When I fly Southwest I do that, but tricky to do when paying the extra.  

Totally side note... When I flew economy on American I was the last group to board.  They had been offering to hate check peoples carry one and when I got on, there was actually room overhead...I was surprised.  Jane

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2 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

No, as @Matt says I'm high rolling in First class, so we just check them all.

Ahhhh... There ya go!  Didn't think of that!!   We are lowly steerage.... Except that one magical trip where American had first class cheaper than coach!  That was fun!!!   Jane

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My wife and I each bring one average sized roller bag, plus a backpack. We do usually split our clothes between each others suitcases, so if one goes lost, we each have some clothes (instead of one person having all of theirs, and the other having none).

We don't overpack, but we certainly don't feel the need to underpack. We don't usually pay baggage fees, and the bags slip under the bed once empty, so the incentive just isn't there to cram everything in to as little baggage as possible.

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Just now, Zacharius said:

My wife and I each bring one average sized roller bag, plus a backpack. We do usually split our clothes between each others suitcases, so if one goes lost, we each have some clothes (instead of one person having all of theirs, and the other having none).

I totally keep meaning to do this.  I will now make this a point on our trip in 3 weeks!!!!   Jane

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Just now, mom2mybugs said:

I totally keep meaning to do this.  I will now make this a point on our trip in 3 weeks!!!!   Jane

We had one trip to North Africa a few years back where my bag stopped its journey in Madrid for two days, and hers for four days, before continuing on to our destination...so it was then that we decided all future trips would be split between each others bags. Luckily, nothing has gone missing since, but we're ready just in case.

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Just now, Zacharius said:

We had one trip to North Africa a few years back where my bag stopped its journey in Madrid for two days, and hers for four days, before continuing on to our destination...so it was then that we decided all future trips would be split between each others bags. Luckily, nothing has gone missing since, but we're ready just in case.

I know I have had issues on the return, but should plan for the unexpected!  We are headed to Europe and at least have 4 days before the cruise but it would be a pain for 1 person to have no clothes!!  Jane

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2*29  or 1*29 + 1*26 (for some reason can not find anymore 28 and 26).

one backpack for my laptop , one small backpack for shore excursions which also being used for my spouse fight bag. Beside that one folded duffel  bag if we want to buy extra things after the cruise. When I am going to vacation I will try not to take a big carry on bag as I get stressed  to board early so I can find space for it , I have enough of this stress for my short business trips  ? so if I already have checked bags I will try to avoid it.

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Each of has our own 21" suitcase plus a backpack.  We don't do formal night so that allows us to get by with less.  Personally I find it easy to cut down on clothes & shoes, but there's all of the "extras" that I find myself packing for cruises ?

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I packed perfectly for my last cruise. Only one shirt wasn’t worn. Just a carry-on sized roller (or at least it used to be carry-on sizes, did the airlines shrink that) and a backpack. Now this was only for 5 days but I could do 7 easy. I used the same setup for 18 day in Europe though we did do laundry once. 

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For our family of 6 - we take:

2 - 29in roller suitcases

1 - carry on tote bag with swimsuits and diapers for the day (and whatever else we think we'll need before the bags get there)

1 mesh duffel with beach toys, snorkel gear, and an extra pack of diapers

I'm a very efficient packer (plus my kids are still pretty small and their clothes fit easier!) 

Minus the duffel, this is how I pack for every vacation. However, in the winter, I plan to do laundry somewhere because the winter clothes take more room! 

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5 hours ago, Zacharius said:

We do usually split our clothes between each others suitcases, so if one goes lost, we each have some clothes (instead of one person having all of theirs, and the other having none).

I cannot stress enough how important this is!! As someone who has worn her husband's flannel pajama pants as daytime wear for 7 DAYS STRAIGHT on a trip to Peru, I can attest to the wisdom here!!

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We take 2 23" rollers that we check, and my husband takes a backpack for his laptop and camera. This is for a 7+ day cruise -- anything over 7 and we just do some laundry.

Also, every trip I lay out what I think we might want to bring, and then put 1/3 of it back. We never need as much as we think we do!

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2 hours ago, markinct said:

Anybody have wisdom to share on packing for an Alaska cruise? We're just under a year away, and I'm already dreading packing for 2 climates...

Layers.  It's not really that difficult as the outer layers you can wear on multiple days.  

Bottom layer - pants and tshirt.

Middle layer - fleece

Outer layer - waterproof jacket.

The coldest day for me was the glacier day and it was easy to retreat to the warmth of the ship and get hot drinks to help with that.  That was the only day I even wore gloves and a hat.  The rest of the time it was pretty mild and having the layers made it easy to cool down when the sun came out and we had upper 60/lower 70 temps.  

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We take the two largest suit cases in the set. Largest for my wife of course, next size for me. We also take one carry-on, back pack type purse for my wife. Might consider taking a second carry-on for our first two day's worth of  clothes. That way we will not have to open our luggage until we get onboard.

We're flying into Venice overnight, a day early. This might complicate things as my wife probably will not want to wear again, what she wore overnight on the flight for our day in Venice. We'll see.

Had to purchase a bag from Southwest, our last cruise because we forgot to check the weight of the bags. Hers' was over 50#. I think it was the 8 pairs of shoes and boots she brought. I could be wrong. ?

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On 7/1/2019 at 8:00 PM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

The trick is the packing cubes.  Each kid gets a set amount of packing cubes.  It is whatever you can fit into it or it doesn't come.

What is a "packing cube"?? Sounds interesting… My skills in the English language do not extend to all this specific "luggage vocabulary". 

As for me, I pack a big suitcase plus a rolling bag plus a beach bag for 4 people. I wish I could do more, but my husband hates carrying luggage. Anyway, the bag is for the shoes! We need formal shoes and beach flip flops, DH and DS are size 11 1/2, I like high heels for dining: all of this takes a lot of room.

I normally like dressing differently each night, and I also buy cute dresses for my DD9, so that we can take pictures in different attires. But maybe I shouldn't after all.

Of course, this luggage is for summer destinations. I've sailed once to Alaska in May as a couple, we had 1 suitcase each: jumpers and walking shoes take more room than shorts and T shirts...

We also pack a little bit of everybody's stuff in each suitcase whenever we fly, "just in case".

 

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9 hours ago, markinct said:

Anybody have wisdom to share on packing for an Alaska cruise? We're just under a year away, and I'm already dreading packing for 2 climates...

Alaska is .... impossible to plan for.

We packed providing for typical Seattle/Alaska weather.  We ended up needing to buy t-shirts along the way because it was so warm in Seattle, Juneau and Skagway - my husband didn't have enough t-shirts or shorts to get through the week. I've decided that no matter what you pack for Alaska, you're going to lose the game in some area, lol. Not that that will stop us from going again.

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On 7/8/2019 at 4:29 PM, SpeedNoodles said:

 

Alaska is .... impossible to plan for.

We packed providing for typical Seattle/Alaska weather.  We ended up needing to buy t-shirts along the way because it was so warm in Seattle, Juneau and Skagway - my husband didn't have enough t-shirts or shorts to get through the week. I've decided that no matter what you pack for Alaska, you're going to lose the game in some area, lol. Not that that will stop us from going again.

That's awesome! I think we'll be over packing, that's for sure. I'd rather have too many suitcases than not enough options....

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Just got enough rewards points to finally get the second piece of luggage I've been saving up for. This is what I'll be using to pack for all cruises and other travel going forward, and if it doesn't fit in one of these then it ain't going with me.

Travelpro Luggage Platinum Elite 25" Expandable Spinner Suitcase with Suiter, Espresso Brown: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DL838L3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Travelpro Luggage Platinum Elite 22" Carry-On Expandable Rollaboard w/USB Port, Espresso Brown: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DL64LFJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yes, I actually have matching luggage for the first time in my life! ?

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