How to pack when arriving by transatlantic cruise

There are horror stories of luggage shipping companies either side of the Atlantic. Also, hotels tend to not accept shipments. DHL is the common carrier for Europe, so you may see what you can manage via their office to office shipping, but who knows where their offices are in either city. If a local isn't on this forum, you may try tripadvisor in the destination specific forum to see if they have something like MailBoxes Etc where you can send a parcel to them.

However, often the cost could buy a fair amount of replacement clothing. This type of travel is the reason 'formal' nights on board are less so. Is there enough incentive to relook at wardrobe choices, or consider donating garments once in Amsterdam?
I am not saying this as a push to 'travel lite' but as an alternative to the hassle of trying to ship luggage and items and the expense involved. Just as a 'think out of the box' exercise.
I do strive to do carry on only, but that is a 21 inch bag and a tote that fits on the top. For cruises, I may take a 25 inch suitcase, with a smaller than tote carry on. I tend to use a basic black crepe trouser with some blingy tops and I don't care if it is seen more than once. I tend to dress better than some when traveling, as my 'work' clothing can be dressed up or down and is comfortable all around, so other than 2 fancy tops and blingy jewelry, there isn't much that I wouldn't wear in the 3 week land trip - assuming I had access to a swimming pool.
Alternatively, Cruise Critic is the cruise specific travel forum. You can post on your cruise line forum of whether they offer that service, and also the 'Ports' forum for Amsterdam and see if any seasoned cruisers can offer some help.

Thank you. I will check that out.

Are you on Cunard? We plan to go to Goodwill and get some formal-ish stuff, then donate it once off the ship, as like you, we have other destinations when we disembark. Also I may pack outfits that I currently have but aren’t in love with and will donate at end of cruise as well.

No, we are not on Cunnard. I have thought of that. It sounds like a good idea. Whatever we took the stuff in that we would donate would have to be donatable or expendable also. I guess we could even get away with a big plastic bag for embarkation and disembarkation.

When I go to South America lots of folks have cheap, large plasticized tarp carriers with zip tops. Sturdy but lightweight. Dollar store for Chinatown would have them. Or, A thrift store suitcase. Donate it all.

My husband and I have twice done a transatlantic cruise followed by 3+ weeks in Europe afterward. And we’ve done it all with 21” carryons plus a small day bag each.

Both times, my husband rented a tux from the cruise line, which included shoes & two shirts. This saved a lot of room in his suitcase. He also packed a pair of dark pants & two long sleeved shirts for more casual ship dinners.

I packed a pair of black Chico’s pants, which I wore to dinner every night on the ship, and an assortment of lightweight tops & scarves of varying formality.

We also both had casual clothing and our normal travel gear.

Our table mates on board were also traveling for three weeks after the cruise. On the last day, she asked what we were going to do with our luggage during our travels and was shocked when she learned we just had carryons. They had not even noticed our limited wardrobes. Truly, nobody cares. They each had a large suitcase & a regular suitcase (whatever that means) plus they shared a large garment bag. She was facing your same dilemma, what to do with all that luggage.

It’s a bit of a challenge but so liberating to pack light.

Unless you are on a very expensive line, you don’t have to get so dressed up on gala nights. I’ve never seen formalwear required. In fact, very few people wear gowns and tuxes nowadays. We counted two tuxes last cruise. However, some people really enjoy an opportunity to get dressy, and choose to carry it all on board.
But, if you want to limit luggage, you can, even with a transatlantic. I just wear black pants and some sort of slinky top, shawl, ballet flats—the sort of thing you’d wear to a nice restaurant or theater in Europe. Men are ok with collared shirts and trousers. My husband did have a sports jacket, too. Staying warm can be a factor on a transatlantic if you want pop outside for a stroll after dinner.

Another contributor, Andrea, has done several transatlantics and spent time in Europe afterwards while packing lightly. Maybe, she’ll come by.

On the “formal” nights on the QM2, there are always a few ladies who have unearthed their prom dresses with which to grace the dining room. The rest of us try to look “dressed up” as best we can, in our black pants and glittery or filmy tops. It works a treat.

I think I might be the Andrea Bets mentioned...

You really don't need that much attire. Depending on cruise line, expect 3 dressy nights on a 15 day cruise. I generally take two dresses and wear one twice, though on the last Transatlantic I skipped the final formal night and went to the buffet instead. I was just too tired to bother.

After our Transatlantic in 2016 (Celebrity) we did Granada, Cordoba, Toledo and Madrid by planes, trains and buses, and fit everything into one RS convertible carry on each plus one (shared) RS rolling carryon. We both agreed we overpacked.

This April we stayed put in Rome for a week after the Transatlantic (Royal Caribbean) so packed a bit heavier. By that I mean one modest sized checked suitcase each. Our suitcases were amongst the smallest we saw.

I think it really doesn't require much more luggage than a Europe only trip.

Hope this helps.

OK....if you're not on Cunard, then you should be fine. Cunard is, to my knowledge, the only cruise line that actually REQUIRES formal attire. The rest have optional formal nights, but you don't have to participate. Or as another poster said, you can skip the main dining room on the formal nights and do the buffet instead.

Try www.luggagefree.com. We often combine transatlantic cruises with time in Europe. They have never let us down, shipping from the US to the port we’re boarding in or vice versa. Totally worth a couple hundred dollars not to have to schlep unnecessary stuff around on either leg of the trip.

We have done three transatlantic cruises and one transpacific cruise.
Two of our transatlantic cruises were from Europe to the US. We prefer that, since we can have the cruise after our main vacation.

Not sure what cruise line you are on. We have done TAs with Celebrity and NCL. Neither require formal wear. Yes, you can bring a tux for the male, but you don't have to do so. On our first Celebrity cruise in 2011, when more men wore a tux, I rented a tux that was provided on the ship for me. It cost me $100 for a 15 day cruise.

We always pack with one large airplane sized checked bag and my wife has a small carryon. I only bring my small cloth briefcase.
Not sure why you would need to bring more than that.

Transatlantic cruises are great, cheaper than other cruises and much better than flying.

Because of its dress requirements and formal nights, Cunard is a cruise line I have never really considered--with the notable exception of a transatlantic crossing on the QM2, which does sound intriguing and frankly is the only cruise with formal nights I would take. But there is the challenge of bringing more clothes than one ordinarily would bring, especially for the ladies and especially for those who will make the westbound crossing at the end of their trip. Good discussion.

It wasn't a transatlantic, but I did cruise Cunard QElizabeth from Southampton to Canary Islands over Christmas and for 12 days. As I mentioned above, I used black fancy trousers for formal nights. Because I sew, I made 2 theme night appropriate chiffon capes of differing cuts and lengths to wear over a basic black shell. Added glitzy jewelry and passed muster. Little luggage space required and multi use clothing items. Others wore knee length dresses or dress suits and none of us were turned away. Yes, the formality continued up to large ballgowns, but I assume they were just popping them into their car and driving home from port. Most men had tuxedos, but footwear depended on age and infirmity. Black was the common shoe colour, but there was everything from formal footwear to wing tips, to canvas boat shoes to Crocs. Yes, Crocs.
If you watch any YouTube videos of your cruise ship's formal nights, you will see what the spread of formality there is. You have to be comfortable with your choice and it helped me determine where on the scale I wanted to be and that what I had in my closet would work with a little tweaking. If you can't find it for your cruise line, there are numerous from Cunard. Remember that their own videos are models and unlimoted budgets. No need to aim that high.

I agree that it is not the same as a “constructed” formal dress, but my wife was very happy with the Size 12 full, floor length printed knit-fabric dress I bought by myself for her. It cost $39 at a rock-bottom (no tryons permitted) showroom in NYC’s garment district. This was for Windstar, not Cunard.

I change my pack list only slightly when the itinerary includes a cruise. One of my button up shirts becomes a white shirt (but blue would work). One of my pairs of pants becomes black slacks. The only additions are a tie and a black blazer. I usually look better than most of the men on the ship - and much better than those with ill-fitting rentals. The need for true formal wear on a cruise is long gone. For multiple formal nights, I've taken two ties and two pocket squares to give myself different looks.

For women, it's not more difficult. Formal length dresses are no longer required, you can pack a polyester little black dress and make it look different with scarves and/or costume jewelry. Often formal footwear is very basic so some tiny flip-flops with a shiny black or metallic finish or some ballet shoes (either black or metallic) would work and could be worn with casual clothes also.

I realize I'm not average but I don't pack more than a carry-on for a cruise or a four week vacation. Part of that is wearing my jacket and sweater on the plane rather than packing it and bringing only one pair of shoes (with one pair of flip-flops as back up). In fact I'm down to a shoulder bag and no more than 12 lbs. now - and regularly get compliments on my clothing. By carefully picking mix/match-able items, you can go a long way without packing a lot.