Ladies..Shoe Question

[BUDDY]

Hi:

I've been on a lot of cruises and you would think I would have this problem solved by now, but I don't. No matter how hard I try (when I'm packing) I seem to pack too many shoes. Now I know this isn't a "MAJOR PROBLEM", but I'm just looking for a little advice from the ladies. The men will be just like my husband...he says wear one pair on day of travel, take one pr. tennis shoes and one pr. of dress shoes. I wish I could get it down to 3 pairs. Especially on cruises longer than a week, I find it's a problem. I'm getting ready to go on a two week cruise in two months and when I'm looking at my shoes, it's like...these won't go with this dress and what do I wear with this? I end up with about five or six pair of shoes and sandals and tennis shoes. With the way they weigh your luggage now days, and I've been charged more for heavy suitcases, so I'm trying to pack better this time.

Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Anita aka "Buddy"

Happy Cruising

Hi Buddy,we have been on 27 cruises and I just told my wife what your question is,her answer is 5 pairs that is the least she can get down to.But she still has the same problem everytime we go.She brings two day shoes,two night shoe and a pair of water shoes.Boy am I glad us men dont have that problem,just give me a pair of loafers.

[Luanne Russo]

Hi Anita,

What area of the world are you going to? Will it be cold, hot? What cruise line? Upscale, everything goes?

Luanne

5 pair is the least for me. I try to wear the sneakers, because they are usually the heaviest. My DH also brings 4- 5 pairs, he said you need to have black and brown shoes and of course dress shoes for formal nights, also boat shoes and sneakers for walking. I wear alot of strappy sandals and so they are light weight.

my first cruise i took 11 pairs of shoes. I laugh now. That was a long time ago. I am now down to4 maybe 5 the most. My husband always tells people that i need a suitcase for jsut my shoes. hehehehe Cant help it... Happy cruising...

[td]

I can usually do it in 4:

1 pair sneakers / walking shoes that I usualy fly / travel in

1 pair day sandals that can be worn with casual outfits at night or to the pool Mine have a bit of a wedge heel so they dress up shorts & still look OK with a skirt or sun dress.

1 pair water shoes

1 pair dressy evening sandals. My "cruise shoes" are high heeled strappy silver sandals because they go with everything: black, white, sequins, etc. It helps if you keep your eveing wear in the same color family.

Hope that helps.

[steph_texas]

on both of our last vacations, 1 cruise 1 to Vegas.... I packed 3 pairs of shoes... tennis shoe with open back, great walking sandals and i pair of dressy flats. I wore the tennies to travel in, the sandals 99% of the time and the flats for dinner, etc. I find we always pack WAY more than we need ! On our cruise, the 3 of us each had hanging bag, full size suitcase and a 24' carry on... PACKED TO THE HILT !!! We came back with several outfits that never saw the light of day... but we were prepared for anything !!

Have a blast....
Steph

I've got it down to 3 pairs.......I wear tennies or heavy duty sandles on the plane.......a pair of black dressy sandles for dinners & a pair of berkies for the pool & on deck......I'd just wear my berkies for everything if I could.......<S>


Sharon

[beenie weenie]

3 pairs, I wear sneakers, put sandals and dress shoes in suitcase. My dress shoes are kind of like Cinderella's glass slippers so they match everything, with only a small rhinestone buckle on top. Just clear with no color.

[Shelby]

1 pair New Balance running shoes, that I usually wear on the plane since traveling involves covering a lot of ground in airports.

1 pair black pumps for dress up nights.

1 pair black casual sandals.

I keep most of my clothes in the black/white/red color range, so the black pumps and sandals are interchangeable.

I'm not counting my slippers or flip flops as shoes.

Shelby

P.S. No matter how many shoes you pack, don't put them all in one suitcase. If it gets lost, you may have to go barefoot!

[Trip]

I take at least 15 pair..The have their own shoe condo Since my feet swell, I NEED to be prepared..On some cruises I have only been able to fit my Michelin tires into only ONE pr;( NOW that's sad!

[Gatormama]

I bring 1 pair of dress for formal night, have a black canvas pair that i wear to dinner and sneakers and flip flops.
Anne

I wear New Balance running shoes on the plane. I pack a dress sandal which goes also for semi formal, a pair of Clarks sandals for casual. I have problem feet, so comfort, meaning shoes that cause NO pain, have top priority for travel.

Judy

I think its worth going out and finding a pair that goes with all your evening wear. I found two pairs that will go with all outfits. Hey, we have to have some fun with dress-up. Just a word of warning, the high spikey shoes are hard to walk in if the ship is doing more than slight movement.
K

[showcat]

Im an over packer, but better safe then sorry. I also wear a small size 5 hard to find if I don't bring my own. I packed 7 pairs for my 8 day cruise. A pair of white keds, a pair of day hikers for shore excursions, 2 pairs of casual sandals, one black one tan, 2 pairs of dress shoes, black and white, a pair of flip flops. I always wear the most comfortable on the plane. If I had dresses in the same color family I could have just packed one pair of dress sandals. If you limit your color family to one or two neutral colors for pants or shirts it makes it easier to pack less shoes. I hate not matching, but hope to pack less next time.

I've got it down to 4 pairs, maybe 5 for my upcoming 21 day cruise. I refuse to drag all these shoes along anymore.

1 black dress, 1 stack heel sandal (brown), 1 pair of flats and my gym shoes, which I wear to the port because they are hard to pack. Because of possible weather issues,
I may pack my gym shes in my rolling garment bag and wear my shoe boots only because if its pouring rain and gym shoes get soaked I may need an alnerate pair for sightseeing.

Susie

[UConn1]

I can only get it down to four.

Flip flops for pool
Neutral color sandals that go with everything.
Tennis shoes
Black strappy dress sandals

I think on my first cruise I took 10 pair. After 13 cruises, I have the whole packing thing down to a science. I also am a strict follower of the "when in doubt, leave it out" rule.

I am taking only one suitcase and my rolling backpack (as carry on) for my 12 night Hawaii with precruise 3 nights in Vancouver.

Jodi

You don't even what to know! I've been up there in Trip's category. Mark totally FLIPS! I just always have this feeling that I might want a pair that I left @ home. The last 2 trips I took however I did pretty good. I color coordinated all my clothes so I had 2 pairs of shoes that would match everything & then wore some flip flops in the car & I found a way to sneak in 2 pairs of tennis shoes. But I still had this feeling the whole trip that I wish I had more shoes. Mark could survive with 1 pair of good tennis shoes & 1 "bumming" pair of tennis shoes & be perfectly happy along with 1 pair of dress shoes.

PS - I always take more underwear than him too! I do NOT want to every run out but I don't really need enough for 3 weeks either!

[Darcy]

4 pairs of packed shoes. - I wear my sneakers on the way down, 1 pr. teva sandals, 1 pr. black dress shoes, 1 pr water shoes and 1 pr of flip flops.

[LisaK]

4 seems to be the magic number: - 1 - leather walking sneakers- wear them
1 - pair dressy black heels - goes with everything
1- pair flat white sandals for all casual outfits
1 - pair water sandals for decks & excursions

Fly and walk in sneakers. Coordinate your clothes to use the same color shoes. I usually choose black or navy. I bring a pair of slides, closed toe flats and a pair of heels all in the same color. Never ever bring new shoes. Always bring well broken-in shoes that are extremely comfortable. I insist on comfort. Just in case, bring moleskin for those blisters if you get them. If you plan on using the pool a lot, the slides are great for the pool and also go well with casual clothes in warm places. If you are not a pool person or are going to a cool climate, leave the slides home. And if you forget something and need it, it's a great excuse to shop. On a Baltic cruise a few years ago, I thought it would be cold so I left home my slides. It was a great excuse to buy a pair of ECCO sandals in Denmark. Got them real cheap and have enjoyed using them. It was not only fun to buy, it also is a very useful souvenir. Also, I put the black flats in my carryon. If your suitcase is lost (mine was lost last year for a week) I still was able to function very well with just sneakers and flats.