Our month back in BC has come to an end, and we’re headed to England!

After an overnight in Fort Lauderdale, we’ll have sixteen days aboard the Regal Princess, with stops in the Azores, Bilbao Spain, Lisbon Portugal, and Cherbourg France before docking in Southampton to spend just 2 days in London (more on the why of such a short stay when we get there). That’s a lot of sea days in a climate-controlled atmosphere, and probably too many high calorie drinks and fancy dinners.

Nonetheless, we’re determined to make the trip with a carry-on sized suitcase each, plus a small duffel bag and – of course – Ted’s camera/tech bag. We managed it for 3 months in Europe in 2022 (although without any dress-up clothes) so 3 weeks should be easy! Episode 278 – Packing for Europe

Plus, there’s a coin operated laundry on board for passenger use, which will help avoid valet laundry prices and further allows us to minimize our packing.

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So, here we go.

In my carryon:

• 2 pair of slim pants (no jeans this trip),
• 5 casual daytime tops,
• 1 pair of dressy palazzo pants,
• 5 dressy sleeveless tops,
• 1 sheer jacket with camisole,
• 1 semi-sheer printed tunic with camisole,
• 1 long-sleeved dressy tunic,
• 1 short dress,
• 1 sleeveless maxi dress for poolside lounging,
• 1 pair of flats,
• 1 pair of dressy sandals,
• 1 pair of flip-flops,
• 3 belts,
• and a pouch with lots of costume jewellery.
• Undergarments, of course, and a kitbag with makeup and medications. I’ll also have the pants, tee shirt, jacket, and running shoes that I wore on the plane.

In Ted’s carryon:

• 1 pair of lightweight khakis,
• 1 pair of new back jeans (suitable for the dining room on Princess),
• 2 long-sleeved merino tees (blue & black)
• 6 shortsleeved tees (black, grey, khaki)
• 1 pair of athletic shorts
• 4 long-sleeved collared shirts,
• 3 shortsleeved collared shirts,
• a pair of black dress shoes (replace runners with dress shoes and those black jeans are suddenly “fancy”!),
• electric shaver, kit bag, and socks/underwear. Like me, he’ll also have the jeans, tee, jacket, and runners worn in transit.

Our small duffel bag will hold our rain-resistant windbreakers (each one packs into its own compact pouch) and 2 collapsible umbrellas for England, plus 2 lightweight tee shirts for our pre-cruise day in Florida (when we’re expecting the only really hot weather of our trip), and a second pair of running shoes for Ted to use in the ship’s gym.

We’re ready… now let’s go!