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Two 25” roller bags.

Two European-airline-compliant carry-on bags.

One tech backpack.

One small (15”) duffel bag.

One shoulder bag/purse.

It’s WAY more than we actually “need” for our upcoming 138 day cruise.

That’s because we’re bringing EVERYTHING we own except our extreme cold weather clothing. We don’t have a physical home of our own, and when we return to Canada next May it will not be to the same place we’re currently renting. Anything not coming with us would have to be stored with son #2, who (unlike the last time we did this while everyone was still based in Ontario) has precious little space for extra stuff beyond what their family already owns, so we’re trying to limit “storage” to one large hard-sided suitcase of cold-weather clothing that stays on a shelf in his downstairs hall.

Much of what’s coming with us will likely never get unpacked, because the items are really just “in transit” for next year’s return to Canada. Of course, we’ll have the option to pull items from under the bed in our stateroom if we choose, or if I get bored with my wardrobe (Ted would happily wear the same thing every day – if I let him!).

Every trip we take involves lists, even when “everything” is coming with us, since I like to keep an inventory. Ted would say each trip also seems to involve me buying new clothes, along with the corollary action of donating an equivalent number of existing pieces, since when you live out of suitcases the way we do, accumulating “more” is not an option.

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Have you ever counted the entire contents of your closets and dressers? I’ll bet you’d be surprised. I know I was when I realized exactly how much we still owned after multiple bouts of downsizing. Most of our clothes don’t get unpacked between trips, just lying in freshly washed and folded wait until being transferred from the large suitcases into trip-specific carryons. A very limited number of items actually make it to the closet for day-to-day use when we’re spending our 5 required months per year in province.

It turns out that I own 17 dresses, 1 long skirt, a jumpsuit, a dirndl (because who doesn’t, right?), 6 pair of palazzo-style pants, 4 pair of slim pants, 1 pair of jeans, 2 pairs of cargo pants, 1 pair of capris, 1 pair of shorts, a whopping 26 tops in a variety of weights and sleeve lengths, 1 cardigan, 2 pair of pyjamas, 2 bathing suits, 3 weeks’ worth of underthings, 2 pair of running shoes, 1 pair of closed-toe flats, 1 pair of hiking boots, and 9 pair of flat sandals (including rubber flip-flops for the beach or spa). I discovered once I was no longer allowed to wear high heels that 3 pair of sandals take up the same amount of packing space as 1 pair of heels (sandals:runners are 2:1), which makes me miss all my pretty high heels a little bit less.

I have more costume jewelry items than any sensible person needs, but they take up fairly little storage space and, frankly, wearing them just makes me feel happy.

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In the realm of outerwear I have a long packable raincoat, one heavy “rubber” raincoat, a hooded windbreaker, 2 fleece jackets, and the 3-season jacket from our 21/22 Viking world cruise.

Ted has fewer clothes that he wears on a regular basis than I do, but when his travel/cruise wear comes into play his wardrobe stretches to a summer-weight suit, a pair of dress pants, 4 pair of jeans, 1 pair of khakis, 2 pair of hiking pants, 1 pair of workout shorts, 8 long-sleeved collared shirts, 14 short-sleeved collared shirts, 5 long-sleeved tees, 8 short-sleeved tees, 1 pair of sleep pants, 1 bathing suit, 3 pairs of runners, 1 pair of casual leather shoes, and 1 pair of dress shoes, plus two weeks’ worth of underwear and socks. He also has a raincoat, a spring/fall windbreaker, and his Viking jacket.

Two of Ted’s longsleeved shirts, and his cargo pants, are WindRiver “No Fly Zone” brand, available from Marks (formerly Marks Work Wearhouse) in Canada, and are made of fabric infused with insect repellent (permethrin, also used in military outerwear) which lasts through 70 washes. They have a thin inner lining so that the repellant does not actually contact the wearer’s skin. It makes them a bit warmer than Ted might like for African safari or Guatemalan rainforest temperatures, but since it means we can limit the amount of repellent he needs to spray on, it’s a good compromise. In the U.S. the equivalent clothing brand seems to be InsectShield.

We keep debating whether Ted really needs his suit. It’s not required under just about any cruise line’s dress code, but he looks so darned handsome wearing it, and we’ve had the chance more than once – and will again – to celebrate anniversaries and New Year’s Eves on ships.

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Yes, all of those clothes (except the dirndl and extra jackets, which I left with our winter things at our son’s place) fit into the luggage listed at the beginning of this post.

No, we definitely won’t be using everything on the cruise.

What we will use, though, are a couple of cruise-specific items bought especially for this trip: a folded up 24-compartment over-door style shoe bag and 4 heavy-duty magnetic wall hooks. My minimal make-up, our vitamins and medications will go in our carry-on bag; most of what we need in the way of day-to-day bathroom supplies is supplied on the ship, or easily available for purchase in early ports like Cozumel, Cabo San Lucas, and Los Angeles.

We always try to wear our bulkiest stuff in transit, which in this case is easy because we’re flying out of Vancouver in chilly December. We’ll both be wearing our 3-season Viking jackets from the 21/22 World Cruise, jeans, and our heaviest-to-pack footwear: Ted’s Vessi waterproof running shoes, and my leather hiking boots (which I may want again in Africa).

Luggage Forward is scheduled to pick up our 2 large suitcases on December 2nd. We’ll next see them on December 19th when we board the Viking Sky.

Honestly, I can hardly wait to unpack, because it means the adventure can start!