Packing advice needed!

[Chrislovesdisney]

i can't believe our cruise is just a few weeks away!! Quarters will be tight, as we are a family of 4, and will need a pack and play for our youngest. Plus we will have a collapsible stroller and a car seat to stow.... we have a deluxe family verandah room. Ok so here's my question:

I got a bunch of those packing pouches. Given the tight quarters and possible difficulty accessing things constantly, what's the best way to group things to pack? I usually put all my shirts in one, all my pants in another, all pjs/undergarments in one, and then similar for each member of the family. But would it be easier to have a "day 2" pouch with all the clothes for the whole family in one pouch, and then a "day 3" pouch and so on?

Any other packing and storage/access tips? Tia!

 

[over50visits]

The storage under the bed is huge, that's where you will probably put your suitcases. So, you might choose one to be an active clothes location, pulling it out for access. It's not hard at all to get to you, and can significantly increase your apparent storage room. We use one for dirty clothes throughout the cruise.

I don't think you'll feel it is tight, even with a family of four. Walking past the end of the bed is a narrow aisle, but other than that I bet it will be pretty comfortable to move around and get to the drawers. To us it feels like there's plenty of room.

 

[My_Pooh]

You are going to have so much fun! I use packing cubes and have a color for each family member ( DH, DS17, DD8, DD4). On longer cruises ... I also go to the Dollar Tree (cruisers BFF) and I get the clear heavy duty storage bags with handles and keep extra items under the bed (one bag for pirate night, one for beach day, etc), I also buy their storage cubes ($1) and keep shoes and items and placed them on the veranda or next to the curtains ... I leave them in the trash when thecruise is done. I also buy a great bag by Samsonite at amazon https://www.amazon.com/Samsonite-To...97708326&sr=8-1&keywords=Samsonite+purple+bag
It holds a lot of stuff and then i can stuff it inside a regular suitcase... make sure to use a lock (Tsa approved if flying). I've used this bag 5 times with no issues. It weighs next to nothing so you can really get about 45 pounds worth of items in there if you're flying. I also buy an over the door shoes organizer (cut in off at bottom to make it shorter and less heavy) but instead of using the hooks, I use heavy duty magnets with no issues ( i've also seen where somebody tied it to a hanger and hanged it on a hook )... no scratches on door. With 5 people it's somewhat difficult to stay organized but I try Have fun!

 

[Off to Neverland 7]

I absolutely love LOVE Love packing cubes. I usually pack as you do: shirts in one, pants in the other, etc.

Know that while it will be a tight squeeze with 4 people in the room, there is still ample space under the bed like said above to store multiple suitcases/bags.

Would recommend the system of day 1 and day 2 pouches for the family. It would help with organization and save time (also will keep the family from digging in each packing cube to find the perfect piece to match.) If you plan on bringing costumes for pirate night or M&G's, maybe consider packing those in their own separate cubes. Color coordination with the cubes also helps! Either way, know that you will have so much fun with the family! Happy cruising!

 

[FigmentSpark]

I used packing cubes for the first time this trip. I loved them. But, I packed all my shirts in one and underwear in another, etc. It meant I was opening them all each day. If you can be organized to put your outfits together, that might be the way to go, even if it's all in one cube, but sorted so you can just pull out what's on top. What did work for me, since I had all the shirts together, was putting my casual stuff in one and my dressy stuff in another. Then, at least, I was able to find what I wanted at the right time.

Why not do a trial run? Put out all your clothes and think through your changes. If you can group them for convenience, you'll see what works best for you. If there's no easy way (maybe due to mixing and matching?), then just do what you've alway done and group by item.

Post what you decide and let us know if it worked. I'm always looking for tips one efficiency and convenience.

 

[Chrislovesdisney]

Thank you all for the ideas! I'm so excited! I want to start packing now! I'm glad I did get four different colored sets of packing cubes after reading all of the feedback.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Actually, start packing now. Do a trial run and see what works for you. Not everything, but a chunk of the clothes you'll want to take. You could even see if you can live out of the cubes for a few days at home and see how things work. You'll get some great experience to help with packing and you'll get more excited about the trip too.

 

[skinnyv]

When my boys were little and for my girls now I pack each days outfit in a zip log bag, squeez out the air and then pack them. It is so easy just to take out a bag and everything from underwear to the bow is in one place. You could do the same maybe with your cube with your older child. We had a family of 5 in the family verandah last time and it wasn't to bad. HAve fun.

 

[kkayluvsdis]

We took our first cruise in February on the Dream. We are a family of five and were the same type room as you. I honestly felt like we had MORE space in our stateroom than we do a typical hotel room. They thought of everything when designing the space and really making every inch usable. Like previously mentioned, there is tons of space under the bed so that is where all the suitcases were stored. We emptied one suitcase out to use for dirty laundry...I would just pull it out from under the bed and stick the dirty stuff in there daily. I used gallon size baggies to pack daily outfits for my kids and that worked great. I've never used the packing cubes but I assume those would work similar. There is also plenty of space to hang up clothing, etc in the closets.. You'll be pleasantly surprised. Have a wonderful trip!!

-Kelly

 

[cmph]

Definitely do the day 2, day 3 kind of thing. That will also help you to pack more efficiently... meaning, if you're packing day 3 which you know has semi-formal night, and hey! actually that skirt will be fine for day and evening if you just change shirts - then you might find you need to pack fewer articles of clothing. And you won't forget anything if you pack this way. Like DH, who rolled his eyes at me putting my stuff and the kids stuff in pouches this way, but then inevitably left home without quite enough shirts.

I fill in the space around the pouches in my suitcase with the "extras" (spare socks and underwear for everyone, swimsuits), and the things that need to be hung up (nice dress, dress shirt). We then like to use our suitcase for dirty laundry.

Oh, and you will get confused about which pod is for which day at some point (vacation brain!) so stick a little post-it or other note in the pouch to say "Nassau day" or the like.

We had plenty of space for 4 of us even with the extras for semi-formal, formal, and so on (2A, DD who is the size of an adult, DS who is getting there), so I wouldn't really worry about that. And even if you start to run out of drawer space, which I doubt, then you can toss the pouches on the floor of the closet, which isn't something you'd do with loose articles.

 

[lklgoodman]

I have also packed our clothes by days in those large storage zip lock bags. I just bought the cubes for our next cruise and plan on packing by days using them. My dh does all his own packing. I pack for my dd and I, we use 2 large suite cases and 1 carry on size suite case. One other tip I have is this. I put 1/2 of the clothes for both of us in 1 suite case and the other 1/2 of the clothes in the other. So clothes for days 1-4 go in one and days 5-8 in the other, I label them so I can remember which bag is for which day. This way if one of the suite cases gets lost by the airline, we each have at least 1/2 of our clothes. I started doing this when one of my bags got lost by the airlines.

 

[diznymom]

How many cubes or sets of cubes will fit in a large suitcase? We have the large Samsonite Spinners.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Well, that will depend on your cubes. I used these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N7M71VW/ref=twister_B01MZCFLNM?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I loved them because they are just the size of my t-shirts when folded. The sizing say 13.78" x 10.24" x 3.54". So, if my suitcase is 28" long and 12" wide, I'd get 4 in for each row of about 4". I could get 2 rows, for sure. I also found, with my bag (check your depth) that I could stand them up width-wise and quite a bit in that way.

 

[MSPeeler]

I do not pack per outfit simply because I wear a pair of bottoms with 3 different tops, especially on longer cruises, try to make more outfits out of fewer pieces if possible. I've never used the packing cubes, but those look interesting. I've used the mesh bags from Dollar Tree (used for washing underwear I think) but they come in 3 packs for only $1. So I put all my underwear or tops rolled small or socks in those. Also my kids clothing is easier to separate as I pack them in 1 suitcase altogether with vacuum seal bags. Not sure I will be able to use those this trip though, since there wont be a vacuum available to re-pack... so then I may be bringing 2 suitcases for them.
Am I rambling now?

 

[TandLMommy28]

I've started using gallon bags to pack each person's whole day in. Hubby's bottoms don't fit but I can put his shirt, socks, and underwear in a bag at least. Then you can just line the bags up in the drawers and pull one out each day and toss it to the family member who needs it. It's worked so well for us and if you squeeze all the air out of the bags, they pack up nice and tight and small.

 

[SteveMP]

We usually have a "day bag" for the first day. When you get onboard the ship, you won't have your room for a while, end even after you get your room, you may not get your luggage for a few hours. So we have a day bag that has swimsuits and any other pool supplies we need.

Once in the room, I usually move hte life preservers up together and smush them together, otherwise they take up valuable real estate in the defualt locations. For the bathroom, go to walmart or wherever and get one of those door hanging shoe holders or other organizer with the little pockets. Just having all of your toiletries up and out of the way and easily seen/accislbe its a HUGE help. Have fun!

 

[Dug720]

We usually have a "day bag" for the first day. When you get onboard the ship, you won't have your room for a while, end even after you get your room, you may not get your luggage for a few hours. So we have a day bag that has swimsuits and any other pool supplies we need.

Once in the room, I usually move hte life preservers up together and smush them together, otherwise they take up valuable real estate in the defualt locations. For the bathroom, go to walmart or wherever and get one of those door hanging shoe holders or other organizer with the little pockets. Just having all of your toiletries up and out of the way and easily seen/accislbe its a HUGE help. Have fun!

Just to note, you are not allowed to hang things over the door. You could use ribbon or something and use that to loop it over the hooks or something, but then you lose the ability to have a towel or something on there.

 

[bumbershoot]

We use one for dirty clothes throughout the cruise.

Yep. And saves some of the packing-up stress and arguments.

There is also plenty of space to hang up clothing, etc in the closets..

Yep. I'm a big clothes-hanger-upper on cruises.

 

[oakleycat]

I pack in packing cubes by person, so my boys and DH each get one each of shorts, swimsuits and shirts. That's pretty much all they need for most of the cruise; dress clothes go all together for the whole family in a separate cube. On the ship DH and I each get a closet and the boys each get one side of the dresser (drawers). The packing by outfits in bags doesn't work anymore now that the boys are older as they are not happy with the outfits I pick, so now everything just goes into drawers separated by item and they wear what they want, except for dress up nights!