Hey guys, admit it. You just returned from a Disney Cruise and have come to the conclusion that you over-packed. You know it. I know it. How do I know? Because I just did it myself. I’m not saying I’m the quintessential guy, I just might know a thing or two about me – and men like me. So, I wanted to share what I learned.
Women can talk all day about coordinating and matching outfits, black slacks, and versatile tops. We just talk in terms of pants, shirts, and underwear. Generally speaking, guys don’t care as much about coordinating outfits like women. It’s just not that interesting or important to us. Some of us truly don’t care, and others rely on our significant other to tell us what matches. Then we decide if we want to take their advice or run the risk of shaming them in public.
On my last trip for a two-week cruise, my luggage weighed in at airline check-in at a whopping 49.5 lbs. Another .6 pounds and I would’ve had to call my wife over to transfer some of my stuff into her 39-lb. bag. I’m still dealing with the fact that she packed lighter than me.
Photo courtesy of Unsplash+
I brought far more clothes than I needed. I just kept thinking, “Heck yeah, I can fit another shirt in there…”
So here is my Guy’s Guide to packing for a cruise:
First of all, some points to be made:
- This is for a trip without doing laundry. If you plan to do laundry on the trip, move along. This isn’t meant for you. And gosh-darn it, GOOD FOR YOU! I find even the thought of doing laundry on a cruise exhausting. This is about getting by on the barest of essentials.
- This is assuming a one-week cruise. Adjust these suggestions accordingly for shorter or longer cruises.
- Most of these rules are predicated on just how much of a sweat beast you are. For the sake of this article, I’m going to assume light to moderate. Again, adjust accordingly.
The first rule, and the rule to rule all other rules: never bring anything you plan to wear only once. You will not return from the cruise saying, “I’m glad I wore that item just one time, and the rest of the time, it hung on a hanger in the closet.”
Underwear: I suggest planning on bringing one pair for every two days. Seriously, if you’re not sweating through them, they really can be worn more than once. After two days, our tighty-whities can get a little funky. If you are going on an excursion-heavy cruise to hot, tropical destinations, all bets are off. You should plan on one pair per excursion. Those things suffer the funk fast in hot weather. The same goes for undershirts. Anything fitting snugly against the skin can funk out on the best of us.
Socks: Two solid-color pairs for dinners. Really, you’ll only be in them for two or three hours a day (including the nightly show), and there should be very little sweating going on. If you’re going to places where you’ll likely be wearing long pants during the day, maybe go with one pair for every two days, white (with tennis shoes only…please…you make the rest of us look bad) or solid color.
Only one per week of these: bathing suit and pajamas. Whatever you throw on or keep on when you go to bed can last a whole week. But again, if there’s a chance they, too, can get funky, then double it. If you need to triple it, then you may need to see a dermatologist.
Shoes: Pack what is squashable. Tennis shoes or fabric casual shoes. One nice pair for dinner. One for lounging. Maybe flip-flops for the pool. You don’t need fancy shoes unless you’ve got a formal night. No one ever looks at shoes anyway. Face it: those that do are going to judge you harshly anyway, so pay them no mind.
Pants: One pair of nice slacks for dinner. You also have the pants (presumably) you wear on the way to the cruise. You should wear nice pants to board the cruise if for no other reason than to save space. This now gives you two pairs in case you spill something on one of them. And also, you can LITERALLY wear any shirt with a pair of khakis. You could even go all out and wear khaki on khaki if you wanted to look like Marlin Perkins. For colder cruises to, say, Alaska, you may need to throw in an extra pair or two of jeans as well.
Shorts: Two pairs. In warm climates, you’ll spend most of the day in these.
Shirts: Two T-shirts, preferably ones of the non-graphic variety. This is so other people don’t recognize the same shirt more than one day. Two nice collared button-down (long or short sleeves are up to you). You’ll want at least one for optional dress-up night. And in the unlikely event that another guest or cast member does happen to say, “Hey, didn’t you wear that same shirt the other day?” You can hold your head up high and say, “Why, yes. Yes, I did, and I’m darn proud I didn’t spill anything on it!” Again, there is not much sweating going on in the evening, depending on what you ate for dinner.
All the bulky items, like optional-dress-up-night sport coats, winter jackets, and heavy shoes that take up too much room in the luggage, etc., should be worn when transiting to the cruise, such as taking an airplane. You just need to get on board and then you can stuff that heavy coat in the overhead bin.
Bonus tip: Take a stroll through the travel-size items at your local stores. You can nab a travel-size deodorant, toothpaste, disposable razor, shaving cream, etc., so you don’t have to bring your full-size version from home.
If you like to work out on the cruise, bring the least of whatever won’t get swampy.
If you have to roll clothes or cube or vacuum-bag items, do so. Just don’t use them as enablers to pack more than you need.
Speaking of vacuum bags, they make a lot of sense for things that you don’t need to worry about ironing. That includes socks, underwear, pajamas, workout clothes, and bathing suits. They are even great on the return trip for those items that got funky. You don’t need a vacuum to compress them, just fill the bags and then sit or lie on them to squeeze out the air, then seal them.
So there you go. The definitive guide for us guys to pack for a cruise. Maybe I just wanted to encourage you all that it’s ok to pack light. The cruise staff will not ask you to leave early due to your wardrobe limitations.
Now you can stroll to the airport confident that you packed efficiently this time. And now maybe you can be the one called by your travel mate at airport check-in when they pack too much.
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