How much luggage (what sizes) family of 4?

[suz72]

We are DH, myself, and 2 DDs.

I have been thinking about:

How many rolling suitcases, how many carryon types.

I am trying to purchase them ahead of time during sales.

Did you get luggage that could be nested and put under beds? Or maybe collapsable luggage.

What size luggage do you recommend?

Thanks for any advice

 

[CM_Mom]

Less is better and I liked the nested type. I would plan ONE rolling bag and one carry on per family member with maybe a spare for a "little" overflow. Depends a little on the season and size of the kids.

I like the "flight bag" type carry on that is on rollers but fits under the seat since you can pack a full outfit, swim suit, medicines & makeup in it "just in case".

The recurring tip on the boards is to plan what you're going to take and then leave half of it behind.

I would also suggest that you "co-mingle" folks clothes half in one bag and half in another so if one bag is lost, you don't have one person with nothing.

 

[mommykeg]

Our family of 4 (myself, DH, DD8, DD4) had 2 bags each. We had 2 sets of nesting luggage on wheels for a total of 8 bags in varying sizes. DH and I each had a rolling carry-on, and the kids each had a backpack carryon. We didn't have to fly because we went on the West Coast cruise. Once we unpacked in the cabin, we nested the suitcases inside each other and they slid nicely under the bed with just a little lift.

But we had WAY too many clothes and we took home half of what we brought untouched (though my daughter and I DID wear all of the shoes we brought! )! What a waste of space!!! Next time we'll be flying to Florida for the Eastern cruise and I plan on cutting WAY back on the amount of clothes and shoes and the number of bags we take!!! I think the idea of packing and then taking out half is a good one...I wish I'd have taken that piece of advice on the first cruise! I'm thinking maybe 4 medium-large sized suitcases that can be rolled (like the largest one in each of our sets) for each person would be enough. And ONE rolling carryon plus the kids' backpacks filled with stuff for the plane. That would be a bit more manageable!

Good luck!

 

[GhostlyHitchhiker]

Wow, I must really underpack for my family of 4. DD8 and DD4 will be sharing on of the Disney Princess rolling luggage pieces total for the two of them. DH and I will share one of the larger rolling duffle bags for clothing, etc. We will have one backpack (my purse fits in my backpack), my camera bag and DH's laptop as carryons and that's it. Typically we've had each DD have their own backpack carryons in the past, but that becomes unwieldy when trying to switch planes and shoving things into whatever backpack has room when we start to land. This time we want to be a bit more steamlined. We'll see how it goes.

I am, however, going to ship myself a box of stuff so it's there waiting for us. Mostly miscellaneous things like extra crayons for the kids we're travelling with, beverage containers for us and the other families we're going with (to avoid 6 runs up to deck 9 per night), etc. Nothing I would cry if we didn't have, but still want nonetheless.

I do also do laundry halfway through our cruise though. Figure we're wearing one set of clothing when we board and I pack 4 other outfits for everyone for daily wear and 4 outfits for dinner wear. Then do laundry halfway.

 

[aprilgail2]

I packed a medium suitcase for me, one of the small princess rolling ones for my daughter and one small carry on for her medicine and nebulizer. Grams packed one to take and she had a small carry on for her meds...they all fit under the bed.

 

[KatHuss]

There are three of us and we pack one large rolling suitcase and one a bit smaller so it nests inside. These hold DH's snorkeling gear, sand shoes for everyone and other clothes, etc. He has the rolling bag for his laptop which also holds books and his mp3 player and the digital camera. I have a rolling carryon that fits inside the bigger suitcases. That contains a nice outfit each for dinner, dress shoes for each, change of undies, pjs, swimsuits for DH and DD. Then I have a soft carryon with meds, papers, my book, snacks, bottle of water, etc for the plane. DD has a backpack with books, toys, etc. I always do laundry so I pack for half the days we are travelling on a 7 day.

 

[suz72]

Thanks so much for all of the advice so far. I also failed to mention that we will be spending 7 days in Orlando in a condo/timeshare with washer/dryer.

I'm not so worried about what to pack for Orlando (this will be in Oct.) b/c I know I could wash every night if needed.

I have been trying to decide whether or not to wash on the cruise (maybe that is a different thread topic). I'm sure there are lots of opinions about whether or not to spend cruise time doing laundry, and how crowded the laundry rooms are, and the best times of day to wash. I can worry about that closer to our trip.

Right now I am just trying to decide what luggage to buy. I'm looking for good sales. I saw some at Target. I like the idea of nesting suitcases that can slide under the bed. I guess another consideration will be trying to fit it all in our rental car (midsize).

Thanks for all the ideas...I'd love more

 

[cristit14]

For our family of 4 we had a total of 11 bags (including carryons). We had 3 large rolling suitcases, a garment bag, 2 smaller carryon size with shoes, and a small duffel bag. Then for carryon the kids each had a backpack, I had a backpack and we had a camera bag. We had way too much stuff and I really tried to take a lot out before we left. The duffel bag had our heavy coats though (we went in Decemeber and it was -13 when we left our house). I think having two pair of dockers for the guys for dinner would have been enough(we had a tux rental waiting onboard for formal night). Also, I should have known that DH would be fine with 2 pairs of shorts for the whole trip. If we ever get to go on another cruise, I will pack lighter definately.

 

[cristit14]

Thanks so much for all of the advice so far. I also failed to mention that we will be spending 7 days in Orlando in a condo/timeshare with washer/dryer.

I'm not so worried about what to pack for Orlando (this will be in Oct.) b/c I know I could wash every night if needed.

I have been trying to decide whether or not to wash on the cruise (maybe that is a different thread topic). I'm sure there are lots of opinions about whether or not to spend cruise time doing laundry, and how crowded the laundry rooms are, and the best times of day to wash. I can worry about that closer to our trip.

Right now I am just trying to decide what luggage to buy. I'm looking for good sales. I saw some at Target. I like the idea of nesting suitcases that can slide under the bed. I guess another consideration will be trying to fit it all in our rental car (midsize).

Thanks for all the ideas...I'd love more

A big consideration will be the rental car. We had a full size and it took us 20 minutes to figure out how to get it all in there. And the kids ended up with the carryons under their feet.

 

[UGAFan0829]

It's only the DH and me, but we usually take 2 suitcases each and a carry-on. We have the ones that nest inside each other, which works great for storing.

 

[suz72]

(though my daughter and I DID wear all of the shoes we brought! )!

How many pairs of shoes?? This is the hardest part. For dinners, I will need at least two pairs of shoes (one for formal night). I still can't imagine wearing the same pair of shoes for 6 night of dinner. I can probably get away with a couple of pairs of flip flops and some tennis shoes (oh and water shoes) for the day time. I predict that I will end up with at least 6-7 pairs for me.

DHs shoes are so giant, I think he'll have to stick to one pair of tennies, one pair of dress shoes and maybe some water shoes (or tevas).

I'm not to worried about DDs their shoes are smallish...they can each have tennies, nice sandals, and water shoes (maybe flip flops too).

I guess shoe advice would be another thread.

 

[tecdavidt]

We take one large (26") rolling suitcase per person, 1 suitcase for formal wear, 2 roller boards for on the plane and we each have our own back pack. What I did one cruise was make a list of the dirty clothes when we returned home and that is what I pack now. I make sure not to overpack the 26" sizes because I want room for any sovenirs we might buy plus to distrubute the airline weight restrictions. The roller boards carry toilitries, items that we need if the luggage gets lost and valuables such as jewelry, electronics.

As far as shoes, my husband brings sandals, tennis shoes, casual (for wearing with Dockers), and one pair for dress. I take 3 pairs of sandals (one is for casual dress), water sandals, one pair for formal night. Our daughter takes water sandals, regular sandals, tennis shoes, and one pair for formal night.

Don't forget to pack travel clothes if you travel from the frigid cold north down to the warm sunny south. I did one year! I won't do that again.

As far as luck on buying luggage, I always find the good prices on EBags. I compare several different brands and check the weight of the actual bag plus I read reviews from people who have bought the bags.Even if you don't purchase through them it is a great source for comparison of different bags. We own a nice large 30" rolling bag that we no longer use because when it is loaded it is over the weight restrictions of 50 lbs. The lighter the empty bag the better. Don't go too cheap on luggage--it will get beat and I do mean beat. Also mark your bags with something so that when you see them on the carousal you can easily spot which bags belong to you.

My tip for packing: I use Eagle Creek Packing folders, cubes, shoe bags. When we travel home all dirty clothes are rolled tight and all clean clothes get packed in the packing aids. That was a tip that was learned on the DIS! (There are several different brands of similar products)

I will also repeat the standard DIS tip: If you have never cruised before, lay out the clothes you think you will need and then remove half of them. Casual slacks at night can be worn more than once. You will wear swimsuits and coverups during the day on sea days. We do pack a lot of are tops and underwear and at least 2 swimsuits. One thing to remember, the ship does have a reliable laundry service and machines if you want to do laundry. One cruise I took one formal dress for two formal nights. No one will know that the dress was worn twice. Men could bring one suit with 2 or 3 shirts and ties and skip bringing 1 suit and 1 tux. We always have 1 suit and 1 tux.

Another item I always use when I pack is Bubble wrap. It comes in handy to protect any breakables you might purchase on the cruise.

Have a wonderful cruise. Kathy

 

[crzy4magic]

How much you need to take partially depends on the cruise length. We have never done the 3 or 4 day Wonder cruises, so I would expect to pack a lot less for them.

The other factor is how are you planning to dress for formal and semiformal night - this takes a lot of space.

For our family of 5 - me, DW and 3 DS, for the 14 day cruise we packed:

1 large rolling suitcase
4 smaller rolling suicase
2 garment bags (2 formal nights, 2 semi formal nites over 14 days)
3 backpack carry-ons (Boys - included fresh t-shirt, socks and bathing suit)
2 duffel bag carry-ons (included above for me and DW plus the assundry camera attachments, cell phone chargers, medicines)

The other rule we followed was that all of the suitcases had expandable zippers. When we left home - no expandable zipper section was opened. This left us room for stuff we picked up along the way. Trust me - after 3 days in California and 14 days on the Magic every suitcase had it's expansion section opened.

If possible, during the winter when coming from the north leave as much of the heavy coats, fleese, etc in your car at the airport or with whoever you can get to take you and pick you up. This saves LOTS of space on the plane and the ship.

We found that the ships laundry service was much less expensive that what I have encountered at hotels. We decided things like t-shirts and underwear got washed in the laundry, but sent out casual pants, golf shirts and blouses to be done by the ship's service. This worked out great when we had a spill at dinner that wiped out 2 boys and Dad's only pair of casual dress pants.

 

[anita967]

Just a tip!! We bought suitcases at Target today!! They have most of them on clearance we got a nice set of the nesting rollers (1 big, 1 medium, 1 carryon, a garment bag and a shaving bag) for $36. They are nice quality. We plan on 1 bag per person(4) 2 large and 2 med. Also the rolling carry on with an outfit and toothbrushes etc. (just in case). Then each kid gets 1 carry-on. I am taking my C-Pap and don't want to argue with security so that will be my carry-on!!

 

[Mom24Princesses]

There are 6 of us and we are driving down.
(Did I mention that this include 5 females?)

I am working on my "outfits".

PLEASE ADVISE ME if you've done the 7-night - (April or similar weather month)

I have several (2 or 3) capri pants suits I wanted to take for evening wear.

I have two pair of capris that each have 2 different shirts (4 different outfits). These would not be ok for casual nights I don't think - -too casual.?? I can wear these tops with other shorts. (mix and match)
I may drop one casual capri.

Shorts 3 pair?

Depending on temps on arrival/depart days I'd be wearing something listed above onto and off of the ship.

Swim suits and cover ups, casual shoes.

Do I really need "tennis shoes"? I only wear them in the summer (warm weather) to exersise and I don't exercise really.

Then we get to dressy clothes. I have the black dress and black sandals I plan to wear for one or two nights. I am going to get one more. I figure formal , simi, and Palo.

DH
2 pair Dockers? Different shirt for each night??? I'm asking
Suit and Tux? He owns one, do most men (say more than 1/2) wear them formal night? Palo?
I can handle his shorts/trunks/Tees/shoes (yeah big feet!!yuck)

My girls change clothes a lot. I am going to have to work on that.
What about all that extra stuff the lists tell you to bring??
Thanks for everything!!
Melanie
12 weeks from tomorrow.

 

[tvguy]

We took 2 huge hardsided Delsey suitcases and 4 carry-ons for 2 adults and 2 adult sized children.
And we overpacked.
The suitcases fit nicely under the bed.

 

[Johnna_Story]

There are 6 of us and we are driving down.
(Did I mention that this include 5 females?)

I have several (2 or 3) capri pants suits I wanted to take for evening wear.

I have two pair of capris that each have 2 different shirts (4 different outfits). These would not be ok for casual nights I don't think - -too casual.?? I can wear these tops with other shorts. (mix and match)
I may drop one casual capri.

Shorts 3 pair?

Depending on temps on arrival/depart days I'd be wearing something listed above onto and off of the ship.

Swim suits and cover ups, casual shoes.

Do I really need "tennis shoes"? I only wear them in the summer (warm weather) to exersise and I don't exercise really.

Then we get to dressy clothes. I have the black dress and black sandals I plan to wear for one or two nights. I am going to get one more. I figure formal , simi, and Palo.

DH
2 pair Dockers? Different shirt for each night??? I'm asking
Suit and Tux? He owns one, do most men (say more than 1/2) wear them formal night? Palo?
I can handle his shorts/trunks/Tees/shoes (yeah big feet!!yuck)

We did the 7 night Eastern early March 05.

You sound a lot like me and your "outfits" plan sounds good. The capris are totally fine for all the non-formal nights. I wore capris for dinner most of the time. I'm not a shorts person, so I had just two pair, and some very casual skirts or skorts instead of shorts. And if you're not exercising or taking a hiking excursion, then don't bother with the tennies. They are bulky and take up space you don't need. I live in my Reef flip flops - walk around, shop, sightsee - so those worked for me (going to order a new pair on line now for Feb 4!).

I heard a packing tip on queer eye the other night: use DH's shoes for storage - pack rolled up socks, underwear, etc. (in baggies if you need to) in the shoes - saves lots of space.

We saw mostly suits on Formal night - some folks went all out for a tux, including the kids. I figure it's up to you both to decide how far you want to go in the formal dept. Esp. since he owns a tux, packing that vs. packing a suit is the same thing. Although, he could do the suit for both formal and "semiformal" night. Again - your choice.

I always overpack - and woudn't dream of "leaving half of it at home." I get into moods and can't decide over a week ahead of time what I'll want to wear when I'm there. I'm sure I'll regret NOT bringing something I wanted to wear.

Hope this helps!!

 

[CM_Mom]

I would DEFINITELY include at least ONE rolling carry on. On our trip, I could stack DH's laptop bag (no laptop but his favorite carryon) on the top of my rolling carry on and let HIM manage BOTH of them.

On the stuff the various lists suggest you bring, the things that I wouldn't be without are the over the door shoe holder and the suction cup hooks, especially if you're in a cat 11 or 12 and the power strip. It was so convenient to plug the powerstrip into the outlet by the vanity and have power for my curling iron, and all the chargers for the camera, the phones, the CD player, etc. The plug there didn't have much clearance so the powerstrip made it much easier.

 

[suz72]

As far as luck on buying luggage, I always find the good prices on EBags. I compare several different brands and check the weight of the actual bag plus I read reviews from people who have bought the bags.Even if you don't purchase through them it is a great source for comparison of different bags.

Kathy, thanks for this tip. I will check Ebags for some recommendations. We own some soft sided Jansport luggage that we've had for 10 years that has held up well through many plane trip. Not of it has wheels, so we're looking into some good quality rolling luggage.

You will wear swimsuits and coverups during the day on sea days. We do pack a lot of are tops and underwear and at least 2 swimsuits.

This is good to remember. I wasn't thinking about the fact that I'll be wearing swimsuits constantly. I guess I don't need too many outfits.


Thanks for the great advice

 

[Priorityonecb]

Ack! I am having luggage stress as well! We are doing 8 nights at WDW...followed by a 4 night cruise...flying in. I do plan to do laundry at the end of our WDW stay so we will have all fresh clothes for the cruise. But, do I pack a separate suitcase for the dress clothes/shoes/tropical/pirate for the four of us for the cruise alone? I also want to bring along a few breakfast items for the resort part...which we can then use that smaller suitcase for souveniers on the way home. We are usually very minimal packers...but this trip is long and in two segments. Eeeek! Quick....someone smack me!