How best to pack for a 2-week cruise with extended stay after debark?

[JLMoran]

So I'm on a 2-week Iceland & Greenland cruise on Celebrity that sets sail in August, going from NJ to Dublin; my family and I will be staying there for a few extra days to explore the area and hopefully see the Cliffs of Moher while we're at it. We're lucky in that this flight leaves from our home port, so we won't have to deal with a flight there, but we do have to fly home and keep airline luggage weight / quantity limits in mind. Last thing I want after what will already be an expensive vacation is to get raked over the coals with excess baggage / over the weight limit baggage charges.

How do you all pack for trips like this? I'm thinking we pack 10 days of clothes so that at the end of a week, maybe 8 days, we just use the ship's laundry service and have enough to get us through the rest of the trip. But, we have the complication that we need to pack a decent amount of layers for the variety of ports we'll be visiting.

We'll be starting off with shorts and t-shirt weather for the first couple of days, then two or three days with weather in the low- to mid-70s at day and 60s at night; then quickly into the far north where the average high is in the mid-50s and lows are down in the 40s; then finally ending in Dublin where we'll be back into that 60-70 range.

We'll also need MDR-appropriate clothing, and we'll have two, maybe three formal nights; so now I've got my suit plus a couple of dress shirts and ties to pack, and my wife and daughters will be packing at least one dress if not two or even three (because heaven forbid they be seen in the same outfit ?)

I feel pretty on top of the rest of the planning with this cruise, but this is the one area that I'm kind of worried about. We barely managed to fit 10 days of stuff for a Caribbean cruise into two suitcases each (one checked, one carry-on), and I would say we genuinely didn't overpack since we leveraged the laundry bags on that cruise to get a few days' of stuff washed and barely had enough to make it home. Now we have to factor in things like sweatshirts / sweaters, a couple jackets (figuring one windbreaker-type and one for colder weather), a larger supply of toiletries, etc. and I don't see how we'll manage. We'll be using packing cubes to optimize space, but that doesn't help with the weight factor.

What do you all do for trips like this? Any strategies we should follow beyond maximizing re-use of outer layers / dress clothes? Should I just budget for extra / overweight luggage fees on the flight home? Any and all advice is appreciated!

[JLMoran]

Will note that my return flight on IcelandAir allows me to pre-purchase an extra bag for $76, vs the at-the-gate charge of $95 for an extra bag (up to 50 lbs), or $80 for a bag that's over the weight limit (up to 70 lbs).

[KathyC]

@JLMoran This is a tough trip to pack for, I will admit.  The longest cruise I've had to pack for was 13 nights, and I did it in one checkable suitcase and one underseat on per person.  We did a repo from Boston to Ft. Lauderdale late October, so we needed cold weather clothes for the first couple days and for the flight home, and warm weather for the rest of the trip.  

I have a a really cool suitcase that goes under the seat of airplane.  In that bag, goes everything I want to carry-on plus my overnight clothes, and the outfit for the next day.  It can hold a surprising amount of stuff.  In the front, there are pockets for electronics, documents, etc.  Then in my checked suitcase my clothes are inside. 

I am an excellent packer, and do NOT overpack at all.  I have cruise packing down to a science, in fact I normally do a 7 night in an overhead carry-on & the underseat only.  But I know most people can't pack as light as I do.  So my suggestion is this: get an under the seat suitcase, that counts as the personal item as it sits at your feet.  Then pack your overhead carry-on, and lastly your checked luggage size. My underseat bag has a handle and wheels, and a loop on the back where you can slide it over the handle of a larger suitcase. 

Here's someplace to start:  https://www.ebags.com/category/luggage/underseat-luggage

I have the quilted Delsey for $69.99 that comes up in the search.  

Also...invest in a luggage scale to bring with you.  It's worth every penny as you can adjust weight between suitcases before you fly home. 

[JLMoran]

11 hours ago, KathyC said:

my suggestion is this: get an under the seat suitcase, that counts as the personal item as it sits at your feet.  Then pack your overhead carry-on, and lastly your checked luggage size. My underseat bag has a handle and wheels, and a loop on the back where you can slide it over the handle of a larger suitcase.

 

Unfortunately, we won't be able to do this for our flight. ? I checked the Icelandair luggage requirements, and the under-seat personal item cannot be more than 5.9 inches deep! Here's the specifics:

Quote

 

Additionally, you may bring on board 1 small personal item such as a handbag, backpack, or laptop bag that must fit under the seat in front of you.

Maximum dimensions: 15.7 x 11.8 x 5.9 inches (40 x 30 x 15 cm).

 

All of the under-seat bags on the eBags site and Amazon are at least 8" deep, even ones that don't have rollers and are just a regular mini-duffel or small backpack.

Further complicating the issue will be the fact that my younger daughter and I will both be carrying our cameras / camcorders with us in their travel cases. I plan to put my camcorder inside my carry-on bag so that I can still use my ultra lightweight fold-up backpack as the personal item; it will hold things like the still camera and filters / accessories, headphones, iPad, etc. I'll probably advise my daughter to also pack her camera bag in the carry-on so she do the same with a satchel purse or the like. My wife and daughter will probably have their purses as their personal items; there is no way they are traveling without those!

I'm starting to think it might just make sense for each of us to pack a second carry-on size suitcase (we have a few extras), or maybe we pack two extra checked-size suitcases (one for me and the wife, one for the kids; again we have some extras now), and I'll pre-pay the charge for the extra bags. Will see what others recommend before I bite that bullet. The cost for extra checked bags will still be less than buying actual new luggage for all of us.

 

11 hours ago, KathyC said:

Also...invest in a luggage scale to bring with you.  It's worth every penny as you can adjust weight between suitcases before you fly home.

 

Yup, we bought one of those before our first cruise to make sure we didn't go over the limit on our United flights. Have brought it on any trip requiring flights since then.

[KathyC]

Wow, that is tiny space under the seat in front of you.  Does that mean the seats are skinny? LOL  

When I don't need the rolling bag, I use a large purse that I bought specifically for travel.  It fits everything I need for the plane, including snacks, file folders, a book, electronics...but I don't think a camcorder would fit.  ? 

[Jedi Jason]

I did a 14 night Mediterranean cruise in the early 2000s so the luggage was included on international flights at that time.  I did repeat a lot of my clothes for the dining room.  You may want to consider another option which is using the laundry service option on the ship.   It's as many clothes as you can fit in the bag for a set price and you get your clothes washed and folded for a price of around $20-30.  They also typically run a special on this especially on longer cruises like yours. You may also be able to wear some of your clothes from the daytime to dinner as well since you will be dressing for not the warmest weather.

[JLMoran]

31 minutes ago, Jedi Jason said:

You may want to consider another option which is using the laundry service option on the ship.   It's as many clothes as you can fit in the bag for a set price and you get your clothes washed and folded for a price of around $20-30. 

I’ve used that on Royal before; the bag is very small as I recall, not good for more than a few days of clothing. If I find that Celebrity will offer it a couple times on this sailing then I might go that route.

Honestly, I was just planning to budget for full laundry service for all four of us to get a full week of clothes done after day 7. I know that will cost a pretty penny, but when none of us has more than 10-12 days of “basics”, it’s not like I’ll have much choice.

[KathyC]

I always plan on wearing some items a couple of times.  Unless I've sweated in it, spilled on it, or been stuck near a smoker and it stinks...as long as I've only worn it a few hours I can re-wear it when on vacation.  Caribbean cruising is different that European cruising, though, I get that.  

[karl_nj]

It's too bad you aren't sailing on a line that has self service laundry, that would make things easier.  Most of the Carnival brands have laundry rooms.  Disney has them too.