Excessive packing??

[FigmentSpark]

As long as you can fit all your bags in your stateroom without them being in your way, take whatever you feel you need. You're not paying for the bag on the plane or the ship, but you do have to walk around it every day. So if you think they will all fit under a queen sized bed, particularly the ones you're saving for the World, then take them all. You need to be comfortable with what you have.

Oh yes, leave room for purchases, too. Although, your diapers are probably perfect for that. As you go through them, there will be room for that new favourite stuffy or really cute outfit.

Have fun.

 

[ceecee]

Too much luggage in my opinion, but then we don't like handling even a few bags! Pack less clothes and do some laundry once you get back to the resort. We do an afternoon at the pool and do laundry then.

 

[Hundredacre]

Very excessive. But if you want to bring it all, there is nothing wrong with that. We would pack half of what you've packed.

 

[JAM113]

A three night cruise goes by very fast. Don't waste time doing laundry. Plus, your luggage needs to be outside your door by 10 p.m. on the last night. Better to plan to do it while at WDW if you need to do wash.

 

[HollyMD]

I managed to get down to five total bags plus a diaper bag for the four of us! Hopefully we can manage those and store them. Thanks to everyone for all of the helpful suggestions!

 

[FigmentSpark]

Awesome. Have a wonderful time and let us know how it went.

 

[IWannaBeAMousketeer]

I found on warm weather cruises we don't need a lot of clothes. We spend a large percentage of our day in swimsuits so the casual clothes are usually only worn an hour or two at a time and can be worn again. Since DCL has gone a bit more casual for dinner (shorts ok now), we are more likely not to pack an extra set of evening clothes (at least not for every evening). An great example is CC day. We went to breakfast in our swimwear/coverup so we could get off the ship immediately, spent the whole day on the island and then came back & put on our dinner clothes. We didn't even need a casual outfit for that day. I find most days on the ship follow this pattern (at least for us, my peeps love the water).

 

[crabbygal902]

My friend and I stay at WDW for a couple of days beforehand and then do a 3 night cruise. We are minimalist packers! Both of us bring a small (European size) carry-on suitcase and a purse and that is all. You've gotten some great suggestions, so forgive me if I am repeating: 3 pairs of shoes (dress, casual, flip flops), mix and match clothing that is in the same color palette, one large purse that matches everything and acts as a beach bag/airplane personal item, one set of simple jewelry that matches everything, one bathing suit, a cover up that can also be worn as a dress that...you guessed it...matches everything, minimal make up and hair care, an iPad loaded with books and magazines to save space, no beach towels, no hair dryer. Except for essentials like underwear and pjs, that's all we bring.

One word of caution: on our last cruise, I brought one less top than I really needed thinking that I could wash some things out in the sink. They never dried by just hanging! I had to use the hair dryer to have a top to wear home on the last day. I will bring an extra next time!

Packing for a baby always seems like you are loading up your home and taking it with you. That is an especially challenging when on a cruise with limited space. I like the others' suggestions to pack a bag just for the baby. The diapers and wipes alone take up a ton of space! I wish I had some baby packing ideas to help.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[cedricandsophie]

I always overpack, at least according to my husband. On a 7 to 10 day cruise, for three of us we would have a bag plus small carryon for each person. One bag would have all the sundries, shoes, fitness clothes, snorkeling equipment, underwear, pjs. One bag would be for my husband and daughter and one bag just for me. I have to have day clothes and evening clothes. Maybe one or two really nice dinner outfits and then more cocktail type clothes for all other dinners. But I'm also one of those two or sometimes three shower a day people, one in the morning, one after a heavy workout and then another before I get dressed for dinner.

I don't mind wearing the same thing occasionally but I do like different clothes at night. And I have to have a couple small purses for evening and of course the right shoes. I generally wear everything. I have friends who can go for three weeks in various foreign countries and take no more than a carryon each. It would kill me to do that!

 

[WanderLit]

I embraced overpacking for this vacation. Usually I pack exceptionally light. I spent almost a month in Southeast Asia with 22 lbs of luggage. I took ONE pair of shoes which were not packed, they were on my feet. My motto is, "don't pack more than you can pick up and run with because you just might have to!"

Not this trip! I have almost 30 lbs of pixie dust alone! (a suitcase packed with presents, decorations, wine, costumes and other magical items to bring out during the cruise.) I have a different Disney Bound outfit for myself (many with specific shoes) and a different full-on princess gown for my 5 year old granddaughter for each night's dinner. I packed 3 swimsuits and 2 different cover-ups. Oh yes... I overpacked. I REALLY overpacked and am loving it!

 

[HollyMD]

So, I went ahead and ended up with 5 checked bags and one carry on. All fit exceptionally well under the bed of the cabin! I DID end up with a bit too much for baby(food, etc), but, as those are things I really didn't want to run out of, I didn't mind that I had some leftover. Ended up working out well, but I now know what I can eliminate the next trip. Thanks to all of you for your suggestions!

 

[MinnieMouse64]

So, I went ahead and ended up with 5 checked bags and one carry on. All fit exceptionally well under the bed of the cabin! I DID end up with a bit too much for baby(food, etc), but, as those are things I really didn't want to run out of, I didn't mind that I had some leftover. Ended up working out well, but I now know what I can eliminate the next trip. Thanks to all of you for your suggestions!

I see you traveled with a 9 month old. We will be traveling in November with a 9 month old. Did you have the staff pureed the food for you? I am like you, worried if we will have enough food for the baby. I just don't want to take to much stuff. Did you pack your baby food in the checked luggage or carry on. We will be flying Southwest as well, just wondering how you did it. Thanks

 

[HollyMD]

We did what food we took in the checked baggage for the flight but transferred a couple to our carry on for the cruise portion, to make sure he had something if we needed it before we got our baggage. Our 9 month old will no longer eat regular baby food, but likes the cut up carrots, apples, etc that Gerber has. He also eats soft table foods pretty well, so a lot of the time, at least when we would eat in Cabanas, I would make sure to try and get some things he could eat as well(though I will say there wasn't a ton; most was either too spicy for him or not soft enough). Sometimes in the dining rooms, I would order mac and cheese for him, and although he didn't eat much of it, my dd 12 would finish off for him lol. As far as formula, he is on Enfamil, and we took the prepackaged sleeves(the ones that are 4 ounces- we just always used 2 and made him 8 oz bottles) and took them all out of the boxes and packed in a big ziplock to help save room, too.

 

[piccolopat]

I would suggest packing a carry on not only with stuff for your first night but also your first full day, including swimwear. This way if there is a problem with your luggage and it doesn't make the ship, you have enough to get by with.

 

[lucas]

Did you pack a lot of "just in case" items/medicine? I overdid it the first WDW trip and have since learned that I can buy anything I need there IF my son gets a fever, etc I will deal with it then rather than over pack. Perhaps not as much of a selection on the ship, but it's the shorter part of your trip and they are likely to have the first aid type items on board if you needed them.

THIS is probably a lot of the problem!

This is MY problem! All of my "emergency" supplies. Not as much as an issue at WDW, but different on the ship and in the islands. I always want to be prepared, but somehow I have to cut back on some of these items.

 

[FigmentSpark]

You can't overdo it for children's meds. They aren't available everywhere, while adult meds might be. If you're paring down, talk to your pediatrician on what can be substituted in a pinch (like half an adult dose of Benadryl, for example - don't know if that's a real dose, but a doctor will tell you) for your children's weight and age.

 

[RedSox68]

You can't overdo it for children's meds. They aren't available everywhere, while adult meds might be. If you're paring down, talk to your pediatrician on what can be substituted in a pinch (like half an adult dose of Benadryl, for example - don't know if that's a real dose, but a doctor will tell you) for your children's weight and age.

100% agree. My daughter got sick on our 2004 cruise and luck have it, because of the hurricane we were avoiding, the ship stopped in Galveston to get supplies -- so we got off and walked to the CVS. The meds sold in the ship's stores are very expensive. Now we always take antibiotics for precaution. Out of 16 cruises, we've needed them 4 times!

 

[2DisPrincesses]

Yup, seems excessive to me. We did a 4-night cruise with 3 nights before and 3 nights after, also a family of 4. We took 3 checked bags and 4 carry-on bags and I will pack less next time. We had a lot we didn't need

 

[HollyMD]

But your 3 checked and 4 carry-ons equal out to our 5 checked, 1 carryon(more, if you consider 2 of our checked were the sizes of a normal carry on, we just didn't want to have to fool with carrying them on) ;-)

 

[HollyMD]

But I agree, I also found I could have carried a bit less. With a 9 month old, though, it was really hard to limit some things when I didn't know what I would need or not need at any given moment.