One of the most pervasive pieces of travel advice is “Don’t Overpack.” Backpacking? Traveling between multiple airplanes? Don’t overpack is great advice! But it is terrible advice when cruising. Let me give a few examples to demonstrate why the worst advice you can get about packing for a cruise is to not overpack!
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Why you SHOULD overpack for a cruise: Example
It’s a port day.
You get up in the morning ready to head to shore. You put on your shorts and shirt. You’re planning on doing a lot of walking so grab those socks and tennis shoes too!
You walk around town for a while. It’s July so you’re hot and sweaty by the time you get back on board.
There is only one logical thing to do at this point. You put on a bathing suit and head for the pool. Ah…so relaxing.
Look at the time! Time to shower and get ready for dinner! Is it a formal night? No. So a pair of pants (or shorts depending on your cruise line) and a regular shirt will do.
Let’s reflect on this day. How many outfits have you worn? Three. How many are you willing to re-wear? The bathing suit? What you wore to dinner?
Plan for two outfits a day. Maybe you want to wear the same slacks to dinner every night. No problem! But don’t forget formal night and don’t forget that many cruise destinations are hot year round. Make sure you pack for those situations too. (On the other hand, some are cold and require coats and hats year round.)
How much luggage is too much on a cruise?
Obviously when you go on a cruise you have to plan to get there and get home. If you are flying, you have to take airline size requirements and pricing into account. But if you’re driving…you can bring as much as you want!
A cruise is not the time for you to wear dirty, sweaty clothes over again. Remember you’re going out to a nice dinner every night. You don’t want to wear the same bathing suit for 5 days of going to the pool in a row. That’s just gross.
Doing laundry on a cruise ship? That doesn’t sound like fun!
I know people say you can just wash your clothes. But who wants to spend their vacation time doing laundry? As far as I know, only Carnival, Disney and Viking have self-service laundromats. Because who enjoys being up to your elbows in a sink full of hot sudsy water on vacation while doing your laundry in the bathroom sink?
(For those must-wash items like bathing suits, this Scrubba bag is great. It makes your clothes feel clean and keeps your hands from feeling like you worked too hard on this relaxing day. Check it out on Amazon using the link below.)
On other cruise lines you have to pay per item of clothing to have it washed. Would you rather spend $50 for an extra piece of luggage on the plane or on getting your laundry washed by the cruise line? As a person who has always done her own laundry and ignores every dry clean only tag I’ve ever met…I would rather bring the luggage.
There are limits to everything, but in general the worst piece of cruise advice is “Don’t Overpack.”
What to read next:
Best Snorkel To Take On A Cruise – oh yea! You might need to pack one of those too! They take up a lot of room!
Best Shirts For Your Next Cruise – just to make you pack some more
Best Cruise Cabin For... I promise it’s not the list you are expecting!
Hidden Costs of Cruising – Should this list include the price of laundry?
