If you’re heading out on a cruise, or even a long trip, these packing tips are for you!
I can range from being an over-packer to an under-packer depending on my mood when I’m packing or what suitcase I am filling up. With all of the short trips we have been taking, I really try to think about what we will be doing and what the weather is like so I can pack light and leave room for all the souvenir wine I want. For a 9-night cruise encompassing 6 different countries, it can be difficult to resist the urge to pack your whole closet out of fear of not knowing what your days will look like but with a little guess work and some organization on my part, I was able to pack two outfits per day and a little extra “just in case.”
Since cruises always have fun things at night, I wanted to pack two outfits for each day, one for touristing and one for dinner, shows, and having fun onboard. These are my pro packing tips for a 9-night cruise (or longer)!
Top 5 Packing Tips
1. Think about where you are going
Before you start packing, you need to get in the mindset of where you are going. If you know you are going to be walking for hours trying to see everything, don’t pack high-heels and tight skirts. Similarly, don’t pack things that are going to make you stand out like a tourist (ie American sports team clothes). Don’t pack a bunch of tank-tops if you are going to be trying to visit a ton of Cathedrals, etc. Try and imagine the photos you want to take in your head and how you want to feel if you are walking around all day. If you are going on any special excursions, like we saw a ballet in Russia, keep that in mind as you plan and pack.
2. Write it Out
The first thing I did (besides pour a glass of wine) was write out each day, city we would be in, and what the temperature was in that city. The weather in the Nordic and Baltic states has vast ranges, especially depending on the time of year you go so you don’t want to just assume “summer temps.” I also added a section for workout clothes and pajamas so I wouldn’t forget them! Then, as I went through the next few steps, I wrote each outfit next to the day/night I planned to wear it so I could visually see that I had packed enough, and so I would have a general guide while on the cruise to expedite getting ready.
3. Lay it Out
Once I had my 9 nights written down, I went into my closet and picked things I definitely wanted to wear, like my favorite button-down shirts and dresses. I laid those out on the bed (& I wrote them down on the day I felt they would be most appropriate) and then I slowly filled in the rest. Having the temperatures written down really helped me visualize what made the most sense and kept me from packing like I was going to the Bahamas. Laying all of the outfits out on the bed allowed me to make sure I was keeping in a similar color palate which helps when packing accessories in step 4 as well as when picking jeans and shorts that could go with multiple tops.
4. Look for Neutrals
In order to minimize weight of shoes and jackets, I tried to keep my clothes in similar color palates as well as packing neutrals for the added details like hats, shoes, and jackets. I packed 1 tan leather jacket, 1 ultra-light and compact blush windbreaker, 1 tan backpack, 1 black purse, and then nude/black/blush shoes so that they could be interchangeable with all of my daytime and nighttime outfits. None of my outfits needed special or unique accessory details. I kept my jewelry to a small 8×3″ bag and avoided packing too many large, heavy statement pieces. Luckily a lot of today’s trendy tassel earrings are super lightweight and compact so I could still bring some fun pieces too.
5. Minimize extras
I only allowed myself to pack 2 extra shirts and 1 extra dress. Writing the outfits down helped me feel like I didn’t need to pack more, but you never know when you get in a “I hate this” mood, or when the weather suddenly drops or increases by 5-10 degrees. In order to plan for this, I packed an additional long sleeve and short sleeve top for the days and another dress for nights. By laying out and writing out all of my outfits, I didn’t have that feeling of “what-if” that you often get when you haphazardly pack (what-if I didn’t bring enough shirts or pants or nothing dressy enough etc…)
If you follow these 5 tips, you are sure to have plenty of room for all the extras you pick up along the way. I was so glad we had enough room for souvenirs and didn’t have to overload our carry-ons just to make it work. We packed 1 suitcase per person and 1 rolling carry-on each. I like to keep my swimsuit, backup tops & dress in the carry-on in case your luggage doesn’t make it to your room for a while once you get on the ship.
Happy travels!
Xx
Kali