Traveling with carry on only?

[poohs4me]

I like the idea of going super light on my next cruise but am trying to figure out how people do it? What is the packing list for a 7 night cruise? How many times do you personally plan to do laundry or do you send it out?

 

[MickeyEarrings]

I'm sure it's possible but I'm not sure I could do it...

Let's assume you're flying. You could have your wheeled 9x14x22" bag plus a backpack on your back as your one personal item.

I'm also assuming a Caribbean sailing. You need two swimsuits (because you're in one all day long). A sweater or shawl for chilling theaters, dining rooms, or walks outdoors after dinner.

Of course you want to dress in one color family so all your pieces are interchangeable - I suggest black or tan pants/skirt and perhaps three tops. You wear dinner clothes for only a few hours a day and they can be worn more than once.

Are you going to Palo? Can't wear flip flops, so you need dress shoes. I put my lanyard pouch with my KTTW card on a badge reel like I use at work, so I can carry the card without the lanyard ruining the look of the outfit, but without needing to carry a purse. If you have a big makeup case that eats up valuable room as well...

So can you do it? Sure. But it's tight. And you will need to do laundry: it's so hot in the Caribbean that your clothes will be damp with perspiration from only a short time outdoors.

 

[MickeyEarrings]

Oh - and you have to leave room for bringing home your souvenirs!!

 

[Pooh2]

We are doing our first cruise next year to Alaska and planning to do carry-on only.

We have done carry-on only for several long trips of 14+ days.
We do laundry about every 4-5 days. We estimate how much laundry we will need to do and take along the appropriate amount of tide pods in the 3-1-1 bag.
Check how long the washer and dryer will take and take a walk, allowing to get back a few minutes early so the washer/dryer are not idle with people waiting to use them.
We do use compression bags and zip locks to fit and organize the clothing to make the best use of our carry-on bag.

 

[deanimal]

We only ever travel with carry on luggage. Last Christmas we did a five night out of Miami with 7 days afterwards in Orlando without checked bags. I won't travel any other way!

Are you travelling with kids? If so get full sized carry on suitcases for them too. Their clothes are small so you can use some of their space.

Set aside a bit of time to do a quick load of laundry in the middle of the week. Bring all similar colours so you don't have to do multiple loads. You can buy detergent but I usually bring a few powder filled pods from home.

Cut way back on shoes. I brought one pair of comfy shoes for the parks, one pair of dressy sandals and one pair of flip flops.

It's a lot easier if you don't go too fancy. I wore a nice summery dress with sandals on formal night and my husband brought one button up shirt and a tie. We didn't feel out of place at all.

If you like to read, load books and magazines on a Kindle or tablet.

Bring several small tubes of toothpaste instead of one big one. Bring one small bottle of sunscreen for the first day and plan to buy more on the boat or onshore.

Once you go carry on you won't want to go back!

 

[DizMagic]

I have done a couple of 7 night cruises as carry-on only. though i will admit, not Alaska. I usually take 1 pair of jeans, a nice pair of shorts, and a pair of gym shorts. then a couple of t-shirts and maybe a long sleeve depending on weather. my jammies and one pair of shoes. if i need extra room for souvenirs, i buy a piece of DCL luggage!!

 

[KristiMc]

I'm sure it's possible but I'm not sure I could do it...

Let's assume you're flying. You could have your wheeled 9x14x22" bag plus a backpack on your back as your one personal item.

I'm also assuming a Caribbean sailing. You need two swimsuits (because you're in one all day long). A sweater or shawl for chilling theaters, dining rooms, or walks outdoors after dinner.

Of course you want to dress in one color family so all your pieces are interchangeable - I suggest black or tan pants/skirt and perhaps three tops. You wear dinner clothes for only a few hours a day and they can be worn more than once.

Are you going to Palo? Can't wear flip flops, so you need dress shoes. I put my lanyard pouch with my KTTW card on a badge reel like I use at work, so I can carry the card without the lanyard ruining the look of the outfit, but without needing to carry a purse. If you have a big makeup case that eats up valuable room as well...

So can you do it? Sure. But it's tight. And you will need to do laundry: it's so hot in the Caribbean that your clothes will be damp with perspiration from only a short time outdoors.

Not everyone lives in a swimsuit all day long. My family doesn't use the pools at all. We would rather spend time doing all the other stuff on the ship and then swim on port days.

 

[poohs4me]

7 Night Eastern. I can't use tide pods because of an allergy to Tide. Is anyone aware of another brand of detergent that offers pod like things. Wisk use to but that use to. No kids traveling with me and yes I am flying. Yes Palo Dinner and Brunch and maybe even Remy so thinking a basic black dress or a basic skirt I can mix up with different tops.

The trip is actually about 13 days. First part is at WDW and I planned to do laundry before the cruise. I am just not sure how many of everything to pack. I always end up overpacking for the cruise and want to go much lighter.

 

[Donna M]

Put some pre measured dry laundry detergent into smaller zip lock baggies.

 

[Tiffylv]

.

 

[ashleyhaugh]

I was going to say ALL has them... another one who can't do tide here

 

[pgroom48]

7 Night Eastern. I can't use tide pods because of an allergy to Tide. Is anyone aware of another brand of detergent that offers pod like things. Wisk use to but that use to. No kids traveling with me and yes I am flying. Yes Palo Dinner and Brunch and maybe even Remy so thinking a basic black dress or a basic skirt I can mix up with different tops.

The trip is actually about 13 days. First part is at WDW and I planned to do laundry before the cruise. I am just not sure how many of everything to pack. I always end up overpacking for the cruise and want to go much lighter.

Purex has 3 in 1 sheets that you can put in a ziplock bag and then you don't have to worry about dryer sheets either.

 

[mmouse37]

I think Purex has discontinued the 3 in 1 sheets unfortunately. I was looking on ebay and Amazon for them as I have not seen them in stores in awhile and they are ridiculously expensive. I bought a few single use tide boxes for our next cruise and I pack a few dryer sheets in with the clothes to keep them smelling fresh and then use them needed.

We did carry on only last week for a 5 day trip to Nashville but I could never do carry on only for a cruise!! Kudos to those that can!!

MJ

 

[DahliaRW]

For laundry detergent, I buy a bottle of All Small and Mighty (or whatever it's called, it's their super concentrated) because it's the only one I've found that doesn't have fragrance and dyes. Then I portion it into 3oz shampoo type containers that you buy in the travel section at Target or similar stores, and then double bag. About 1 oz does a load pretty well, IME. I do laundry on the ship. Usually if I'm up early or late (just depending). It's never been too much of a hassle.

As for clothes, google "capsule wardrobe". You can do a ton with interchangeable pieces.

My other advice is to pack a fold-able duffel bag in one of the suitcases. Just in case you buy souvenirs and don't have room to fit everything in your carryons on the way home. In that case, I put the laundry in the duffel and check just one bag on the airplane for the trip home.

 

[ludari]

I've completed numerous 7 day cruises and a month long trip (1-week before the cruise, 2-week cruise & 1-week after the cruise) with just a carry-on. It took some practice after multiple cruises/trips and the help of a packing app also came in handy. The app allows me to check of the items I pack but it also help realize what I did use or needed in order to fine tune it for me. In addition I am a firm believer in compression packing cubes. They are regular packing cubes but I prefer the compression type because believe me it helps especially when you are packing for a month long trip. I also like to take clothing that is moisture wicking and can do double-duty such as pants with zip off legs for instant shorts. On a seven day cruise I will not do laundry at all but on my month long trips I do laundry at least twice.

 

[ilovevacation]

I have traveled once with carry on only, it was for a long weekend to the beach. I took pjs, 2 bikini that I can interchange, a few sun dresses and a couple of tees to go with the shorts I wore on the plane. I wore sandals that I could wear with everything and one pair of flip flops for the hotel/beach.

Here is the problem, sun screen. I can use travel size toiletries but I need way more than 3oz of sun screen. I was with my bestie so she brought it. I always check a bag no matter how long I am going for if it's to somewhere there is intense sun. The cost of buying it is so high, I would rather pay to check a bag and bring what I want.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Purex has 3 in 1 sheets that you can put in a ziplock bag and then you don't have to worry about dryer sheets either.

I think Purex has discontinued the 3 in 1 sheets unfortunately. I was looking on ebay and Amazon for them as I have not seen them in stores in awhile and they are ridiculously expensive.

MJ

Not the most convenient because there's effort on the front end but I think you can make your own laundry detergent sheets to pack flat. I'm not entirely sure if a disposable handi-wipe cloth would hold enough. Maybe considering the washers are tiny on the ships. Anywhoo, take the handi-wipe or other inexpensive pieces of cloth (like terry cloth, maybe cheap wash cloths or jersey knit, something absorbent), lay it flat on a piece of foil, and drizzle/pour liquid detergent over it. Set the cloths in the sun or just out on a flat surface & let them dry. Should take a while depending on how much detergent you used. When dry, carefully fold & place in a ziplock bag. Voila! Detergent cloths! Just toss 1 in with each load. You can also do this with your liquid boosters but I don't think I'd try it with bleach.

That said, we're Tide pod peeps. Hey, the teenagers can't use the excuse "I didn't know how much detergent to use" for not doing laundry.

 

[mmouse37]

Not the most convenient because there's effort on the front end but I think you can make your own laundry detergent sheets to pack flat. I'm not entirely sure if a disposable handi-wipe cloth would hold enough. Maybe considering the washers are tiny on the ships. Anywhoo, take the handi-wipe or other inexpensive pieces of cloth (like terry cloth, maybe cheap wash cloths or jersey knit, something absorbent), lay it flat on a piece of foil, and drizzle/pour liquid detergent over it. Set the cloths in the sun or just out on a flat surface & let them dry. Should take a while depending on how much detergent you used. When dry, carefully fold & place in a ziplock bag. Voila! Detergent cloths! Just toss 1 in with each load. You can also do this with your liquid boosters but I don't think I'd try it with bleach.

That said, we're Tide pod peeps. Hey, the teenagers can't use the excuse "I didn't know how much detergent to use" for not doing laundry.

I have done that with cut up sponges for cleaning out my tervis cups onboard. Cut a sponge into 4 pieces and drizzle dish soap on them and let them dry. Works great. Never tried the Tide pods. Will have to give them a try!!

MJ

 

[sweetpee_1993]

To the OP, we made some friends on our NCL cruise last month who packed for a week in 1 backpack each. :0 They flew Spirit so 1 backpack each was it. I was seriously impressed by this! The best I ever did was 2 carry-on size cases for a 2 week trip. I used Flight 001 SpacePak cubes, bought small sizes of my toiletries, and built a wardrobe of interchangeable pieces that all worked well with a couple pairs of sandals. I couldn't buy much on the trip but that's fine. Truly, it was a fun challenge to take on. Try searching YouTube for packing tutorials. Google using keywords like "packing light" and read various blogs to find tips & tricks. It can be done!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I have done that with cut up sponges for cleaning out my tervis cups onboard. Cut a sponge into 4 pieces and drizzle dish soap on them and let them dry. Works great. Never tried the Tide pods. Will have to give them a try!!

MJ

Oh I did Dawn drizzled on handi-wipe cloths cut into fourths. Why didn't I think of sponges?!?! SMH! Now they have the Dawn infused paper towels. Those are fabulous. I tear off 1 per day, fold 'em, and put in a quart size ziplock.

I try to watch for the Tide pods to be on sale then buy in quantity. The teens can keep up their laundry when I'm away. Even the hubby can't mess up the wash on the extremely rare occasion he starts a load. Hahaha!