Exactly one month from today, we will be embarking on the Oceania Nautica on a 10-night Mediterranean voyage sailing Rome to Barcelona. This cruise is more than a year in the making. We have partnered with two of Virginia's finest wineries -- Pearmund Cellars and Winery at LaGrange, to offer a one-of-a-kind exclusive. On this cruise, the approximately 90 people in our group (and myself of course) will enjoy onboard wine tastings, a food and wine pairing dinner, two cocktail receptions, and themed evening parties. Shoreside, the activities continue with all day private excursions to some of the finest wineries in Italy and France. We are all more than just a little excited.
So, how does one pack for a 10-night Europe cruise keeping in mind all of the many activities that accompany cruise travel? If you are like me, you typically take way too much on any trip, afraid that you'll need something or want something only to find you don't have it. Chances are, though, you will not use at least a third of the stuff you bring, and could get by with less than half of what you bring. Because this has always been my situation, I have committed to try to fit all of my "must haves": clothes, shoes, and toiletries, into a single carry on bag. I'll take another bag to carry the many things we'll need as group leaders: give-aways, paper, etc.
To accomplish this feat that I have never before accomplished, I first purchased a great book I highly recommend for any traveler. It's called The Packing Book, Secrets of the Carry-On Traveler, by Judith Gilford. A basic premise of the book is to pick a single color scheme for clothing and stick to it. This way, you cut down on the number of shoes you'll need to bring, can pair different shirts and accessories with the same pants/skirts for different outfits, and save substantial space in your luggage. The book is choke full of other useful tips: how to pack, what to buy, what fabrics work best for travel and considering climate, reminder lists, importance of a security wallet, and many other helpful suggestions and ideas that I will leave to you to read about in the book.
Taking Gilford's advice, I have considered a few other factors as I have devised my own packing list. First, the Mediterranean in mid-June is likely to be warm, so light-weight breathable clothing is appropriate. The Nautica has accessible laundry facilities on board the ship, and I will plan to do my laundry twice during my trip. Oceania's onboard environment is non-formal, country-club casual, so I will not need to take a suit but neither will jeans be appropriate. In addition, I prefer to wear dark pants, so my general color scheme will consist predominately of navy and black pants, allowing me to take just one pair of black shoes and a pair of workout shoes that will double as walking shoes.
Okay, so here is my preliminary packing list. I will have a month to delete, add, change, and try to fit all into my carry-on bag:
- 1 khaki-colored sport jacket (lighter color appropriate for the warm weather and because my pants will be dark)
- 2 pairs of dark pants (most likely navy and black)
- 1 pair of casual, comfortable Khaki pants
- 2 pairs of shorts in breathable fabric
- 3 polo-style knit shirts
- 2 pairs of workout shorts
- 2 workout T-Shirts
- 1 bathing suit
- 1 tie (unnecessary for our cruise but just in case)
- 1 black belt
- 1 pair of black shoes
- 1 pair of running shoes
- 1 button-down long sleeve shirt (white)
- 1 button-down long sleeve shirt (blue)
- 3 pairs of dress socks
- 3 pairs of athletic socks
- 4 pairs of underwear (Patagonia's Capilene fabric)
In addition to the clothes I will take, I also will be traveling with the following personal items:
- Digital camera with charge and 2 memory cards
- 3 disposable razors
- small can (under 3 ounces) of shaving cream
- face moisturizer and sun screen
- toothbrush
- small tube of tooth paste
- small bottle of cologne
- sunglasses and sunglass case
- comb
- nail clippers
- over-the-counter drugs for just in case (Advil, Immodium, eye drops)
- Cell phone with charger
- iPhone with charger
So that's my list for my 10-day cruise. Taking Gilford's suggestion, I left off jeans from the list. They are bulky, hard-to-pack items that will be too hot to wear in the Med at the beginning of summer, are slow to dry if they get wet, and are not appropriate to wear on the ship for dinner or afterwards. I may pare back on the number of clothes I end up taking, depending on room. Plus, one final word of advice from Gilford, always remember that particularly on a cruise, you will always have access to buy any item you end up needing but forgetting to take.
Have any sage packing advice? Please share it here.
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