Shipping cruise luggage home?

There is no cheap way to do that, so I highly recommend packing light from the start. Rick's Mediterranean Cruise Ports book has a few pages of packing advice for cruisers, but the basics can also apply. I assume the cruise won't require you to wear a different dress every evening.

I sent a 15 pound box of clothes from Paris to Chicago using the postal service's collisimo box through the mail -- it was about 40 Euro to do -- you could do something like that and send some of the extra clothes home using whatever box system the Spanish postal service offers but I would not try sending a suitcase -- it will cost a fortune. We always carry an expansion bag in our luggage -- we pack light but have this expandable duffle in case we acquire stuff so we can carry it on -- or put our dirty laundry in it and pack the new stuff in the suitcase. You could do this in reverse. Pack extras in the expansion bag and then send the extra clothes home after the cruise. By packing with care you can manage the extras for the cruise without a lot of weight.

The local post office will be the cheapest. And for just clothing you won't have to worry about damage. But I agree with Janet above, don't try and ship a suitcase home; you'll pay far more than the bag is probably worth. Use some sort of collapsible duffle and either fold it up and ship it home too or lug it around with you. And the advice to pack light and reuse most of what you bring (you will need to do laundry about every 5 days) is very wise.

Thanks
We already pack light and wear the same clothes more than once. But still would like to carry even less after the cruise while traveling by train around Spain. I will look into the Postal service. Great idea.
Michele

You really do want to be light for train travel in Spain so you can fit things into the overhead rack -- we witnessed a hilarious episode of luggage tossing and screaming on the train from Granada to Madrid a couple of years ago when there wasn't room in the end racks and people were removing other people's stuff.

Shipping is not cheap anywhere. We just shipped a 15lb box from Florida to Denver and it was over $30. You can go to any the shipping companies web sites and plug in your information and get a price quote. I think a 30lb suitcase packaged and shipped could approach a 100E.

Michele, where are you flying home from? If it's anywhere near Spain or Portugal, then you have a world of other possibilities. Or...take it with you to your next destination, perhaps, and then arrange to pick it up before your departure. The are ways to store your luggage, if it makes sense destination-wise.

Check with your hotel. Our hotel in Alaska kept a supply of priority mail boxes on hand, and would hold them for post office pick up the next day.

We're in the same position, cruise/travel wise. After consideration, have decided to just pack light. If you take 7 days' worth of clothing, which isn't difficult to pack, you'll have worn each item only 3 times in almost 3 weeks. Decrease it to 5 days' worth, and it's only wearing each piece 4 times.

To answer your question directly, the best way to send a 30 lb suitcase to San Francisco is to check it on your plane ticket!

Good luck, have a great trip.