I just started to look into packing so thanks for the formal night info.
I'm really struggling with the idea of lugging all the formal gear just for two nights (I do get that I can mix up one main outfit so we can wear essentially the same stuff both nights)...We definitely would not pack high heels/formal type shoes unless travelling to a wedding so taking them for just two nights is not sitting well with me.
We have already decided on a minimum look for pirate night - just Pirate Mickey tshirts with jean shorts/runners/eye patches and the Disney bandana so that's sorted.
We are travelling for a month from Australia. We have a generous luggage allowance all the way except for a Vueling flight from Paris to Barcelona (where we have paid for one extra suitcase taking our total to five cases for four people). So after the cruise we can take it easy about weight limits.
I would be grateful for any packing tips for those who have packed lightly for a family for an extended vacation including packing the extra formal gear.
Thanks in advance...
We are going to be gone for 5 weeks in Europe, and in order to keep our packing to a minimum, we are packing just 7 days worth of clothes for each of us, and will be doing laundry and just wearing the same things over again.
Also, when I say I'm bringing 7 days worth of clothes (for all of us... 4 in our family), this does not mean "7 pants, 7 shorts, 7 short sleeve tops, 7 tank tops, etc". I will pack where we can mix & match, so for example, will probably just bring 2 pairs of shorts, and 2 - 3 skirts (or skorts) for me, and 1 pair of pants, and a couple sun dresses. This way, I can mix and match each day depending on the weather, and unless I spill something on my clothes, or they just plain get dirty, or sweaty, I will likely wear some tops or bottoms more than once without needing to wash it... This way I can keep our clothes really down to a minimum per person.
Also, this was talked about quite a while ago on this thread, but we use Packing Cubes for our luggage to organize our clothes in our suitcases, and with the packing cubes, I have found it's hard (for me, at least) to NOT overpack, because one cube contains just tops/tank tops and another cube contains just shorts/skorts, etc., and when I pack this way, I can SEE how many articles of clothing are in each cube, and I can't tell you how many times I've packed my cubes at home, and then I see how many tops I've put in one cube, and I realize by looking at it that I just plain do not need that many tops for the trip we are going on, so I just take out a few. Where as our "pre cube" days, I'd just throw stuff in a suitcase, and then I wouldn't necessarily be able to see HOW many of each article of clothing I have packed for each person, until we get to our destination, and unpack, and realize I brought more tops than the days we'll be gone, etc.
So, I recommend the cubes, if you are wanting to pack lighter, and stay organized.
Also, my other rule of thumb (more for me, not so much the guys) is ALL of my tops (shirts/tank tops, etc) & bottoms (pants, shorts, skorts, skirts) HAVE to ALL be able to be able to go together (color/pattern-wise) so I can just completely mix & match with any top or bottom I bring. I do not bring a top that can ONLY be worn with one particular pair of pants, or sorts/skirt, because that means it'll make it hard to wear that top more than once by mix & matching with a different skirt or shorts or pants. So, all of my clothes I bring tend to be the same color scheme, for the most part. For the guys, this is less of an issue since 1) my boys are still young enough to wear they really don't care if their tops and bottoms match
and 2) for the dining rooms, they will have khaki pants, and any top goes with khaki.
As for formal night.... we struggled with this one, too, because we LOVE to dress up really nice on formal night (DH, suit and tie, boys, suits and ties, me nice evening type dress or nice cocktail dress), BUT we just cant justify bringing all the formal night clothes for just one night on our 5 week trip. So, we decided my DH will just wear khaki pants, a nice button up shirt, and he is bringing his nice sports coat to wear (because he will wear that again on our trip), and the boys, just bringing khaki pants and button up shirts... might throw in a tie, but not sure. As for shoes for the boys/men... DH has nice black shoes he will bring because he will wear these quite a bit in the evenings on our trip, but for the boys, I'm going to buy really nice brown leather type sandals that are nicer looking and they will wear these for formal night, but can also wear them during the day with shorts, so I'm not bringing my boys black dress shoes.
For me, I'm bringing a small black cocktail dress that hardly takes up any space, and for shoes, I don't wear heels, so that solves that issue, but I will bring a cute pair of flat shoes (probably with some blingy/sparkly thing on them to make them more formal), and those take up hardly any space.
For pirate night, we aren't bringing our pirate gear... we will either wear pirate t-shirts, or just not dress up at all on pirate night and wear regular clothes... or I may just bring 4 bandanas and have us all wear bandanas... it'll be at a minimum for sure.
Oh, and DH and I workout, so we'll be bringing probably 5 days worth of workout gear (workout 5 days of the week each week), and our running shoes. And, probably 2 swim suits per person, too.
And, I'm brining 2 pairs of really good walking sandals....
We also have ultra light weight luggage, which helps keep the weight down for the airlines....
I think the key for an extended trip is to just plan on doing laundry and mix and match, and not bring more than 1-week's worth of clothes... if you can make it work to bring just 5 days worth of clothes, that is even better!
That actually is my goal, but I just am not sure I can make that work... I don't want to be doing laundry ALL the time. This is our vacation, too.
LOL!!
I really hope you can book a Med cruise again maybe next year and fulfill your dream trip. 
I have no idea what he means!
BUT was thinking maybe Disney plans additional/new onboard activities for long days at sea?
