Reply To: A Newbie Guide to Cruising AND getting there & back again
This came up on Facebook and I thought I’d add a version of it here.
Luggage.
This is one of those personal things. Some folks are very minimalist. Some are like Thurston III and Lovie Howell and pack everything they own for a 3-hour tour. But the bottom line is: most of us are coming to Ft Lauderdale by air. And these days, that means BAGGAGE FEES [insert appropriate horror-movie “REET-REET-REET” violin sound cue here] and absolutely INSANE [repeat sound cue] overcharges for more than 2 checked bags per person.
So… how do you fit beachwear, non-beachwear, formal wear, underwear, board games, bags of D6-D20s, XBOXen, assorted and sundry other electronic jiggery-pokery, steampunk costume elements (including a top hat), your new fez, night-time-use cyborg explants (this is my problem), beverages-of-choice, and the like into 2 bags, a carry-on, and a “personal item”?
Carefully.
My typical 7-day cruise (including 2 formal nights, 1-2 “semi-formal” nights, and the rest “smart casual”) packing *can* all fit into:
– 1 large-ish rigid suitcase that still meets airline dimensions.
– 1 2-suiter (which also typically also has a dress or two belonging to my companion)
– 1 standard rolling carryon
– 1 sachel/laptop bag “personal item”
for air travel. Inside the large-ish suitcase is an empty medium-size LL Bean Adventure Duffel. Reason for this? Expansion. Since we’re coming in to FLL a day early, I can make my store runs for 1) full-size toiletries not permitted under TSA rules, 2) assorted beverages I seek to bring aboard (typically a couple 12 packs of soda/pop/coke and any Adult Beverages), and 3) bubble wrap and packing tape for items 2). These things get packed, with some of the spillover going into the duffel, since the cruise line doesn’t have a baggage fees or a bags-per-pax limit.
The tricky bit is getting under the per-bag weight limits. Hopefully, your airline has a 50 or 60 lb limit, but I seem to recall some have a 40 lb limit. Find out and plan accordingly.
I’m not going to tell you how to pack. I figure we’re all (physically, at least) adults here, and rather smart ones at that, so you should be able to figure that part out.
What I will share are a few general tips:
1) In the carry-ons, you need to have: at least one change of clothes, basic toiletries, any medications you might need, night-time cyborg devices (like my shiny new BiPAP machine that lets me sleep actual sleep instead of the illusion of restful sleep), any electronics you’d like to keep. This is your backup plan against luggage delays/mishaps, both with the airlines and the cruise line. (The “come in a day early” thing is also a luggage delay buffer.)
2) Don’t let the cruise line check your carry-ons, either. While I’ve *never* had a problem with a bag disappearing between the bag check at the pier and the cabin, there’s a first time for everything…
3) If you pack any beverages, PAD THEM WELL. That’s where the bubble wrap and tape come in. Then have a buffer of clothing around them. It also help disguise them. Once upon a cruise, a 6-pack of glass bottles of ginger ale did not survive the trip from dock to cabin, while the 12 pack of soda cans did, as did the (well-padded) bottles of Adult Beverage Products.
One of the amusing customs of cruising is the Last Night Luggage Ritual. Basically, you need to have all your checked luggage outside your cabin by X time on the last night of the cruise. While you (theoretically) sleep, the Luggage Elves will roam the hallways, picking up the luggage and transporting it to the bowels of the ship, never to be seen until it’s spread out in the Customs room of the pier the next morning.
Thus, you’ll want to make sure you leave out sufficient toiletries and clothes to get you through Disembarkation Day. There’s usually at least one person/couple who puts ALL their clothing in their checked bags (apparently wearing only the provided robe to deposit said bags in the hall), and they’re seriously SOL the next morning, much to the amusement of pretty much everyone else. You don’t want to be that person, so leave out something suitable for getting off the boat and either traipsing around Ft. Lauderdale or heading for home (or both).
More as I think of it.