My wife and I prefer traveling light. In 2021 we spent 6 weeks happily traveling throughout Italy with a carryon each and it was perfect. However, next spring we will be traveling in Spain for 12ish weeks and we’re not sure if a carryon will be enough room. We start our trip with a 2 week repositioning cruise - Ft Lauderdale to Barcelona. Then we will be spending a week in Bilbao, one week in St Sebastian and one a week in Barcelona. After that we will board another cruise ship leaving Barcelona for a 10 days Mediterranean cruise and ending up in Barcelona again. From there we will be spending a month or so traveling in southern Spain, ending in Madrid and flying home. While we feel that a carry-on will be preferable, the added burden of the cruise ship clothing would be too much for the carry-on. Has anyone dealt with or has any good suggestions for this issue?
Posted by
Minnesota
671 posts
Just take a slightly bigger bag and check it. I hate dragging a suitcase around airports, so even though I use a carry-on size, I check my bag anyway. I haven’t had a bag delayed or lost since I was about 23 years old - 50 years go!
Posted by
Bellingham, WA
1381 posts
You could opt out of the formal dinners on the cruise and just pack "normal" clothes. Or you could store your cruise stuff in Barcelona between cruises and after the second cruise. This would only really work if you can fly home from Barcelona instead of Madrid. I haven't been on a cruise in a few years, but they used to rent formal wear, which could be another option.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks for the replies and suggestions.
I realized that the only way we never going to know if a carryon could manage all the needs for our 50 days traveling around Spain and 24 days at sea was to pull out the wardrobe we thought we needed, and try to fit it in the carryons. So yesterday my wife and I laid out all the clothing and stuff for our Spanish adventure. This included clothing that we wanted to bring on the ships for the cruising parts, along with what we wanted to bring for the land based parts. We were careful to pack clothing that was lightweight and only what we needed. We packed clothing suitable for the more “formal nights” as well as clothing for daytime activities. The end result was that, although the bag was full, it actually worked. We’ll make Rick Steeves proud and save ourselves the hassle of lugging extra luggage all over Spain.
Posted by
9258 posts
Most cruise lines have relaxed their formal wear for dining rules.
Having laundry done by hotels is way too expensive, so we do a little hand washing for underwear and socks.
If you absolutely need to do laundry, there are places that you can find on the internet.
We did four weeks in Britain a few years ago and did laundry twice. Laundromats are called Launderettes in the UK and there is a website that shows them all over the UK with maps. Not sure about Spain.
We have NEVER just used a carryon. We try not to wear shirts more than three days and pants more than four.
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
3437 posts
If I understand correctly, this is your route:
Florida - Barcelona (cruise)
Barcelona - Bilbao - St. Sebastian - Barcelona (land)
Barcelona - Barcelona (cruise)
Barcelona - S. Spain - Madrid (land)
Though you can get everything in a carryon, you won't have any wiggle room I'm guessing. One possible solution is to pack a "cruise clothes" bag (it doesn't have to be enormous) and store it at a luggage storage facility in Barcelona. That would allow you to wear cruise clothes on the way, ditch them for your first land excursion, then pick them up in Barcelona to use for your next cruise. That at least frees you up for a portion of your trip and you'd only have to deal with a bit of extra luggage for the last bit. Just a thought!