One woman's travel light story while cruising

Here’s how one Vancouver journalist took a cruise with only carry-on sized luggage. Good info for women who want to pack light and cruise.

Once you travel light, you’ll never go back

Note, in most newspapers, an editor writes the headline and any photo captions needed. In this case, I don’t think the person writing the photo caption read the article.

(Frank II)

Comments

[Steph]

I wouldn't call her roll-aboard suitcase 'small.' That bag looked pretty big! And holy cow, travelling "light" means bringing 4 pairs of shoes with you? With 10 kg (22 lb) in her roll-aboard and 10 kg (22 lb) in her carry-on, she brought 44 lb of stuff with her for that cruise.

On the other hand, maybe the writer had scaled down from bringing 2 massive suitcases, so this is a step in the right direction!

[Monte]

Right, and I could live for a year out of those bags. I've seen women cruise with a lot less than that!

[K-eM]

She's a little over packed for me, but then I'm not the type to take a cruise that requires formal wear. If I did, I would certainly have no problem wearing the the same one or two outfits over and over for that part.

And I would have stuck with 2 pairs of shoes. Sandals and walking shoes. The sandals could double as formal shoes.

When done, my packing would have fit in her carry on bag and my personal item would have been a purse. One purse, not two.

I agree with her comments about jewelry 100% though. I think a lot of women take too much jewelry and too expensive jewelry when they travel.

[Paula S]

Well......admittedly I'm not going on a cruise with five formal nights but (and I say this with humility), for my three week trip this year, my bag is about the size of the one she has on her shoulder.

Your personal opinion of how light you travel next time is directly proportional to the bag size & weight of your previous trip.

[Frank II]

Remember, you have to learn how to drive before you race in the Indianapolis 500.

Let's be kind....most of us could do a better job of light packing. But for a newcomer taking a three week cruise, she did fairly well considering the circumstances.

She did technically take only carry-on luggage and stayed within the rules.

I agree the rolling bag does look big, but according to the article, it was carry-on sized.

I still get lots of weird looks from people I know when they see me with only my non-wheeled convertible carry-on for a trip of 3-4 weeks. They are just amazed that I'm willing to do without so much. And when they list those items, I guarantee that I won't miss them.

[Paula S]

I knew I had passed the travel light test at Toronto last September, when exiting from air-side arrivals, a baggage checker was looking at bag tags to match with those tags they stick on your boarding pass or passport. She looked at me, looked around me and said "where are your bags?" I pointed at the two small things slung over my shoulder and grinned. I actually got a "holy cow!" from her.

[Maria]

Paula S - I really liked this comment:
"Your personal opinion of how light you travel next time is directly proportional to the bag size & weight of your previous trip."

Years ago, (before the 9/11 added restrictions came in) I travelled with three long formal dresses for a ten day trip to Europe for an extended family function, carry-on only. Yes, I had a 22" rollie at the time and I thought I was carrying way too much. I thought two pair of formal shoes (one pair had to match a certain dress) and a pair of heeled loafers were too many pair of shoes. Yet I was forced to pack like this, and determined not to check bags. It was a pain actually. I was complaining the whole time! :)

Yet after each trip I realize I could have culled even more from my bag, and still feel I missed certain things. For me, I continue to change my packing list to try to get it just right...as long as I don't have any formal events to attend!

So perhaps this woman really did travel light compared to others and for her previous trips.

[Paula S]

Thank you Maria and well done you, that trip pack would have driven me bonkers.
Congratulations on three formals and a carry-on (ooo, that sounds like a movie title)!

For some time I've been thinking about what one style of dress I could invest in that could be dressed up or down, layered or worn solo, that would pass muster for anything........I think I found it yesterday. Ought to add that I haven't worn a dress for years (or skirt), so it would have to be an adaptable style I really like............
http://www.travelsmith.com/jump.jsp?itemID=9949&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1%2C2%2C250%2C282&iProductID=9949&sortBy=0
Apparently I'm not the only one, this dress is so popular, it is on back order.

I could make quite a few outfits out of this,
worn with tee or tank underneath
with tank or tee over looking like two piece
worn with shirt, tunic or knit top over - with or without belt
Shrug or cascade cardigan or jacket
Alone dressed up with heels, stockings, jewellery, shawl
Alone dressed down casual.

[Maria]

Paula! What a great dress! Thank you for tracking it down - that shall be on my list too. Granted it's not black tie ...but hopefully we won't have to pack for such in the future éh? :)

[Laurie]

I've noticed that people pack pretty heavy for cruises, particularly if there are formal dress nights. I guess relative to most cruisers, she is packing light.

[Carrie]

I've been on cruises before, and I'd agree that she's packing very light compared to most cruisers. I always looked at cruising and particularly formal nights as a time to dress up and enjoy it -- time to drag those cocktail dresses out of the back of the closet! And since your luggage stays in your stateroom for the duration of the cruise, it's not the same as a trip where you might be moving around every few days or taking a lot of public transit, where traveling light is critical.

In the dress/skirt department, another good versatile option is Patagonia's Kamala: http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/patagonia-womens-kamala-skirt?p=58665-0-707

I just got one and I think it's going to be great for travel -- comfy fabric and it can serve as both a dress and a skirt.