SQUEEZING IT ALL IN

If you read my last post, you will know that I recently returned from a Star Clipper cruise in the Baltic Sea. For this entry I wanted to share how I packed for that trip.

It was a 17 day adventure where the temperatures could range from 50-75 degrees in a single day. On the boat it was windy up on deck and air conditioned inside. We wanted to take comfortable clothing, but also needed to dress up in the evening (although there was not a formal night). Our cabins were small, so in order to maintain space during the 11 day cruise storage of our bags was limited to under our bed.  We ended up bringing thin layers that could easily be taken on or off  (plus these items took up very little space in our day bag). A thin raincoat or fleece shell was essential.

My husband and I decided to take a 31″ Victorinox rolling duffel that had some “smooshability” to shove under the bed and was light for its size (9 lbs). I carried-on my matching Victorinox 22″ wheeled upright and a tote that I shoved under the seat in front of me. My husband carried a Pacsafe Venturesafe backpack as his personal item (this was used as our day bag once we were at our destination) and he took a soft, fully collapsible duffel. We only checked one piece.

We used Eagle Creek packing cubes and compression sacs throughout the bags to help keep us organized. This was key and really helped us utilize every last inch out of the luggage. We lived out of our bags in a hotel before we settled in on the boat and it was easy to lift out the packing cubes and place into the drawers.

We could have pared down further, but I didn’t want to sacrifice style for space and I also wanted to do as little hand-washing as possible. Packing to go home was easy. I squeezed all of the dirty laundry into one of our large compression bags and off we went.

This is what we took:

My husband

• 17 socks (actually add in 12 more he purchased abroad. Sock obsessed- see image above)
• 14 men’s boxer briefs  (2 Tube cubes)
• 9 tees and pj pants (1 Cube)
• 3 collared shirts
• 2 shoes
• 3 pairs of pants (1 MD Compression Sac)
• 2 sweaters, 1 sweatshirt (1 LG Compression Sac)
• 5 L/S shirts

Myself

• 17 pairs of underwear
• 15 socks
• 12 tanks & 2 scarfs (1 Half Cube)
• 9 shirts & 1 skirt (1 Half Cube)
• 9 L/S shirts (1 Cube)
• 2 gym pants, 1 legging & 5 thin sweats (1 Cube)
• 4 shoes-Lindsay, August 15, 2013