How do you "pack light" with these formal and semi formal nights?

[starvenger]

A dress doesn’t take up that much room. Are asking about a suit or tux?

It's a bit of an open-ended question, open to a lot of interpretations. Makes for a good thread, imo.

 

[southerngirl528]

open to a lot of interpretations. Makes for a good thread, imo.

It's been fun to see all the interpretations mentioned here and some good suggestions!

 

[martinm]

Title says it all. Advice and suggestions?

I only worry about this if I have reservations at Palo or Remy.
My regular server could care less about my attire.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Title says it all. Advice and suggestions?

Depending on how many formal/semi-formal nights there are I pack differently. For a "regular" cruise of 1 of each I pack one fancy dress. By changing the accessories, you get a different "look" each time. For cruises with at least 3 formal/semi-formal nights, I will also pack a pair of black dress slacks and a sparkly top. More than that, I'll add a black mid-length skirt and an additional fancy top to mix in.

So that's one formal dress, one pair of pants, one skirt, and 2 blouses for our really long cruises. Not a lot to pack and gives me lots of choices.

 

[cedricandsophie]

Packing light doesn’t work for me. For a 10 night cruise My husband brings his tux and a sport coat so he has three pairs of shoes black, brown and gym shoes. I bring two really nice dresses and a pair of heels. But I like getting dressed for dinner every night so I bring a pair of black pants, white pants, jeans, a couple casual pants, couple shorts, sweater, sweat shirt and hoodie, rain jacket and lots of nice tops and t shirts plus gym shoes, casual shoes and sandals. If we are doing hiking I bring my hiking shoes. We each have our bags so I don’t see any reason to skimp.

 

[southerngirl528]

Packing light doesn’t work for me. For a 10 night cruise My husband brings his tux and a sport coat so he has three pairs of shoes black, brown and gym shoes. I bring two really nice dresses and a pair of heels. But I like getting dressed for dinner every night so I bring a pair of black pants, white pants, jeans, a couple casual pants, couple shorts, sweater, sweat shirt and hoodie, rain jacket and lots of nice tops and t shirts plus gym shoes, casual shoes and sandals. If we are doing hiking I bring my hiking shoes. We each have our bags so I don’t see any reason to skimp.

Laughed out loud when I read this! That sounds like MY packing list for a longer cruise! I love it!!!

 

[TiggerBouncy]

I bring one pair of slacks and a jacket, one pair of shoes and 2 shirts. That covers semi-formal, formal and palo / remy if need be.

What I haven't been able to figure out yet is how these people who have rather complicated costumes for SWDAS or other events manage.

 

[ludari]

After numerous cruises and trips abroad I've taken notes on what I use and what I don't use and now I'm proud to say I'm a light packer. I've taken month long land/sea trips with only a carry-on bag. Yes, I have to do laundry several times during my trip but it's worth it for me. Anyway my travel clothing is made up of wrinkle resistant shirts and trousers that I roll to save space. I also use compression packing cubes to save space as well but for those formal/semi formal nights my favorite purchase was a blazer from London Fog that is wrinkle resistant and actually folds and packs in it's own little bag.

 

[fredandkell]

Easy. Just don't participate in them.

 

[Chirple]

I also think that packing "light" depends on whether air travel is required. When we cruise DCL out of NYC, I can overpack and not care about how much a suitcase weighs. If we are flying, I have to be cognizant of the weight of my suitcase and how many bags we can check for free or for the minimum checked bag fee. We do not fly SWA so two free checked bags are not an option for us.

 

[CarolynU]

We always fly and use our full checked bag allowance or pay for a bag each.
The person who has the largest cruise wardrobe is my two year old granddaughter who has day clothes, swimming attire, princess costumes and formalwear with matching ‘stuff’ to put in her hair ! We also take a crib mattress and her duvet from home. Mind you everyone always comments about how beautiful she always looks.
The adults take long gowns for formal night, and smart dresses for semi formal. Then we have a variety of smart casual for the MDR and swim clothes etc for casual time around the pool, and shorts and tops for sightseeing excursions.
My son in law doesn’t like cruising so we don’t have suits etc to worry about.
We really enjoy the whole dressing up part of the cruise experience but although are baggage is full we never go over the designated weight and don’t have any problem fitting it all in.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We pack light for all cruises, roll-on only, even for the EBPC cruise. I have one LBD (little black dress) and change the jewelry (pearls, colored gem stones, etc). My DH has one dress shirt, dress slacks, and big bolo ties. Everyone is fascinated by the bolos no one notices what he is wearing. Pack one of whatever and accessorize. Jewelry, scarf, or belts, take up very little room.

 

[southerngirl528]

and big bolo ties.

Bolo ties! Man! I sure don't get to see those here in FL hardly ever! Unless I go to a rodeo....

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Bolo ties! Man! I sure don't get to see those here in FL hardly ever! Unless I go to a rodeo....

In New Mexico it's pretty much the standard when you get dressed up. In fact the State Tie is officially the bolo: http://www.sos.state.nm.us/kids_corner/state_symbols.aspx#bolo
My DH has quite a collection.

 

[southerngirl528]

In New Mexico it's pretty much the standard when you get dressed up. In fact the State Tie is officially the bolo: http://www.sos.state.nm.us/kids_corner/state_symbols.aspx#bolo
My DH has quite a collection.

That's awesome! My grandfather used to wear them if he was REALLY dressing up! He was a rancher.

I lived in Albuquerque for a couple of years when I was very young. Loved the Manzano Mtns and how they looked at sunset!

 

[cadien]

That's awesome! My grandfather used to wear them if he was REALLY dressing up! He was a rancher.

They're actually not uncommon for dressing up in Alaska either.

 

[koala1966]

We never had to pack light until this year when we had to fly in for our Mediterranean cruise. We managed two rolling suitcases, medium size, and two backpacks. I went with a color scheme (navy, yellow, and purple, with black and white). That way I could minimize shoes, sweaters, and accessories. I love dressing up for dinner every night, but compromised and wore a few dresses twice. I braved the dreaded "no spare outfits" strategy. Also, I chose clothes that packed well, nothing bulky. I actually packed lighter than DH, I've warned him of the cuts I'll make to his wardrobe next time based on what came home unworn.

 

[Rob1872]

My wife made me bring a tux and a suit last time, in addition to normal clothing. It actually wasn't too much more to squeeze in and the formal night photos with Mickey and Minnie came out great!