Packing for transatlantic cruise/European tour

We did a TA from Civitavecchia to San Juan one December after spending several days in Rome. It was chilly and damp in Rome and hot and sunny in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. So I understand the packing dilemma.

We packed as usual for European trips by taking layers of clothing that could handle just about any kind of weather, comfortable shoes and something dressy for dining in better restaurants (sport jacket and tie for me). For the cruise formal nights at dinner, my wife took a couple extra dressier outfits, shoes, etc. I threw in a suit, dress shirts and ties. Note that it may be possible to rent a tux for formal nights however on our cruise very few of the men wore them. We got by with one large suitcase and one roll on bag each. It worked out well as the dress on the ship during the day was casual. Dinner dress was business casual for most people.

You don't mention your embarkation port, however in May you should expect cool even cold weather as you approach Europe and during your stay there. It may be warm though. That's where the layers work well.

I suggest you sign in to www.cruisecritic.com and find the board for your cruise. Chances are this topic is being discussed there. If not, post your question to find out what others are thinking.

A TA is a special trip. I know you'll have a wonderful time.

I think you are trying to pack for two separate vacations, if you really want to dress up for cruise dinners and such. We cruise with NCL whose dress code is "resort casual," pretty much what we'd wear in Europe. They always have an alternative to "formal nights" for those who didn't bring dressy clothes. I'd think other lines would have something similar.

I don't know what it would cost to ship a suitcase home from Barcelona, surely more than the airlines' charges for checking it, but you would save that much, plus the aggravation of hauling it to Provence and Amsterdam and home. Some folks on this board mail home the souvenirs and stuff they buy, I did that once and it was worthwhile to lighten my load. Google just found me this website for a shipping service (which I haven't used). There's also a page on SeatGuru about shipping. The cost depends partly on how long you can wait for your stuff. You can ship slower and cheaper because you won't be home for at least 11 days anyway, and maybe you can wait longer once you get home.

As for the issue of shorts, they wouldn't be "inappropriate" anywhere except ship formal dining and most European churches, but they're not worn much in Europe away from the beaches, even in hot weather. But you'll never fool anyone into thinking you're Spanish or French anyway, so go ahead if you want.

Sounds like a great trip, have a wonderful time!

Budget airline websites tend to be very plain and exact about their requirements. For instance, "carry-on" may be precisely measured. And "one carry-on" may mean ONE, such as a purse. Read the sites diligently.

FedEx is everywhere including Barcelona. Why not ask them what it'd cost to ship X pounds home and make that the starting point in your thinking instead of guessing?

What cruise line are you taking? Most cruises are quite casual now. There may be one or two formal nights and the sit down dinner restaurant won't want you to wear jeans. But at the buffets and at other times, you can wear whatever you would wear to Europe. If you decide to not ship, consider just packing one dressier dress that you can where again and ONE pair of nicer shoes. Other than that, bring slacks and skirts that can be dressed up or down. I also would bet your "at sea" days will be chilly and windy. But since you can't look up "middle of the atlantic" on weather.com, I would confirm that with the cruise line.

Thanks everyone for all the great comments and suggestions. I will definitely pursue them all. We are taking RCCL.

With careful planning, you can do this trip with just carry-on-size luggage and not have to worry about shipping anything home. We did a similar trip 5 years ago - a TA to Barcelona followed by 10 days in France -- with just carry-ons and were very glad we did once we left the ship. And nobody onboard noticed (or cared) that we wore just a few basic outfits, mixing & matching & accessorizing.

Barbara.. pack some warm clothes.. I mean a light lined rain/windbreaker and some long pants for hubby.. Holland can be cooler and rainy even in july and august( has been twice for us .. in summer!) Plus the transatlantic part of the cruise can be cool.
Remember don't over pack.. really.. even with cruise its simply not worth it.. the stress of dealing with "too much luggage" is such a hassle.. remember no one but your mate sees you everyday.. and I am assuming he doesn't demand you wear a new outfit every day! Mix and match. Throw in some costume jewels... a scarf maybe to change up looks.
Vueling is fussy about luggage too.. they all are... the costs are kept down by being fussy about restricting size and weight of luggage and throwing on hefty fees for over weights.

Barbara -w e did this last year - I was so glad I did not have more luggage!
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I am actually considering getting smaller bags! Here is what we had for 42 days of travel including an 11 nt TA & 30 days traveling in Europe:
This included 4 bottles of wine, 2 glass wine glasses, a small coffee maker with coffee, creamers the little liquid ones, sugar, a supply of paper plates, salt, pepper, real silverware, 2 netbooks, 2 kindles, 2 umbrellas, a twin size flat sheet, all of my own shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, etc..., a sport coat & zippered sweater for DH (think layers), 3 prs of shoes for me (white dressy sneakers, sandals, black strappy kitten heel) and 2 for DH, (1 black walking 1 sandal) plus all of our clothes. We did laundry 3 times in a laundromat and I washed some things by hand at night.
I don't skimp on comfort things when I travel and I take only the clothes I know I am going to wear.
I use packing cubes for most things except pants - they go in the bottom. I have 3 long jersey knit dresses and 2 short ones that travel really well. I can wear them with heels for dressy or sneakers (not gym type but cute white ones) and short dressy socks or sandals for casual. The long dresses are nice as they are pretty warm in cooler weather especially with leggings. I am not a fan of pants and generally choose a dress unless it is really cold. I had 1 pr pants, 2 prs shorts, 4 shirts, 5 dresses, 1 sweater & all the base garments. I carry a good supply of costume jewelry to dress things up.
DH had 4 prs of pants, 2 prs shorts & 8 shirts.
Plus swimwear - we spent 2 weeks in FL at the end of trip.
It just takes some practice - we haven't checked a bag in almost 15 years. I have everything in travel sizes - my poor 3-1-1 bags are stuffed to capacity!
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Just remember - no one but you is really going to care if you wear the same thing to dinner on your cruise - just mix it up with scarves, jewelry - you'll appreciate the smaller luggage in the long run.

Unfortunately there isn't really an easy way to pack with this in mind. Shipping heavy bags anywhere is expensive. If you can get away packing the most minimal of dress wear it would definitely make it easier. As mentioned you can always rent formal wear and they do have washer/dryers on the boat. You should be able to get away with a one bag each. Finally, formal nights are not required or mandatory. You don't have to do them and there will be lots of other options if you decide not to eat in the dinning room. Anyway, I hope this helps some.

Barbara, one has to know oneself. This might be the time to splurge on the shipping. On ships, they do sometimes rent formal wear, but that's not fun. I've not been on a cruise ship with a laundromat, but maybe Abe is right, now that there are so many families taking cruises. If you shipped from Barcelona to 90210, the longest trip possible, two 40-pound boxes would be over $1,500.00, according to FedEx's website. I looked it up because I was going to tell you that I had sent back a full suitcase many years ago. My cost was about 10% of what it costs now. It almost makes throwing away your cruise clothes an option.

If you happen to know people with access to Rota Naval Base, they may legally ship packages to you through the US post office there. You'd still need the customs forms.