Your airline will likely ding you big time for excess weight w/ a full 28 inch bag.

I travel everywhere w/ just a 21 in rollaboard - yep, even when cruising. But that isn't necessary. You can manage w/ a 24 inch bag (the difference between 24 and 28 is about 15 - 20 lbs)

But if you just <i>must</i> take it all -- then pre-book a car service. Even for a solo passenger, a car service will cost less than the HEX plus a taxi to St Pancras. And trust me - if you have too much luggage to take the tube from LHR to St Pancras, the transfer from train to tube at Paddington will be worse.

justairports.com is a good car service

Believe me, too much luggage is a curse if you're the one who has to carry it around. Looking stylish in front of people you don't know and will never see again? Well...

Agreed, Heimdall, and nothing looks more gauche than those people you see struggling along with vast heavy bags.

janis Thanks I will definitely look them up
And I def dont want to look too gauche o-; so I'll be sending back the 28 for at least a 26 and perhaps the 24
I do understand that its for my own good so I will find a way to bow to you all's sage advice

Note to Self: Look up meaning of gauche ... perhaps it's not SO badd (-;

As a left-handed person, I resent the term "gauche". Better than being called cack handed, though, I suppose. ;-)

Or better yet, get a 22" that is expandable to 24". And pack in the 22". You really "can" do it.

That's a good idea, Gretchen! It leaves extra room for those purchases made on the trip.

BTW, I was only kidding about resenting the term gauche. Left handers and Fodorites both need to have a sense of humour. lol!

Always makes me smile that Americans know the size of their suitcases to the nearest inch! I just have a "small" suitcase, a "medium-sized" one and a "large" case. No idea what the dimensions are.

>.As a left-handed person, I resent the term "gauche". Better than being called cack handed, though, I suppose. ;-)<<

And better than "sinister"....

Why does going on a cruise mean more luggage? I take two or three 5-shirts, two or three knit shirts, one pair of blue jeans, one pair of shorts, one pair of semi dress pants, one button down oxford shirt and one tie and that's it. Can hand ash the t-shirts and knit shirts, only wear the dress shirt for the one formal night if the cruise line continues that silly tradition. I hear all the time people claiming they need so much luggage for a cruise; a cruise is a holiday no different than any other. I can make do with what I described for any two week holiday and hand washing the shirts every night (they're drip dry) where necessary.

One idea for "backup" is to have accounts in two different banks/credit unions from which you can draw funds at ATM's. And perhaps 2 different credit cards. We do this and on our last trip (the UK and France) it did come in handy as once or twice a particular ATM didn't accept one of the debit cards and at one hotel there was a mix-up about our reservation and had to use a different credit card. (We find that credit unions have less fees and thus better "prices" even overseas when using the debit card at ATM's, and you may want to make sure your credit card/s doesn't/don't tack on automatic percentages for use overseas. Our Captitol One and our VisaTravel do not. There are others. Neither of these have an annual fee, either.)

And I vote for the car service (justairports worked well for us twice) and the Oyster Card for the Tube.

When is your trip? It makes some difference when you are planning.

And this is a terrific site when planning independent travel; you just have to do some work, too--either by tailoring your questions specifically (get better answers sometimes) or doing a good bit of reading and research before posting (which you seem to be doing, so continue) and sometimes wading through the responses that aren't helpful to get the info you need. But I find that the more I "know" about a subject before I post, the more helpful the responses are--usually.

and can't emphasize enough the mantra--pack light, pack light!

...oh yes...I left out undergarments and a couple of pairs of socks. But the point is a cruise is no different than any other holiday. And most people at the end of as trip usually lament they brought too much!

<i>And better than "sinister"....</i>

Haha, forgot about that one, Patrick! What's even worse, the opposite of sinister is dexter, hence the word dexterity. What we lefties put up with! :-D

Some "informative" websites for you,as by your own admission you have some naivety::-)
http://www.effingpot.com/index.shtml
http://septicscompanion.com/index.php
http://www.sirc.org/publik/pub.html

LOL xyz Stop. Yo. SelF! We get it. Okay. I get it. I thought bludgeoning was considered gauche over there.

Anyway, the reason for the extra luggage was because I'll be vacationing in London and Paris before the cruise and I was worried about differences in climate.

Heimdall - You are showing your left-handedness. (-;

texasbookworm - Some very good insight and suggestions. Thank you. As this is my first foray across the pond it is also my first adventure onto Fodor's. I did quite a bit of research then decided to just "dive in". And your advice is dead-on, since the initial flurry I have definitely learned to just weed out the beneficial and ignore the rest.

Hooameye - Oh Boy! Some more sights. By the time I travel brain matter will be spewing forth from my ears and nose. And then what will people call me for heaven's sakes?!? Gasp!
I will definitely give them a looksey because I have picked up valuable nuggets each place I've been directed.

Gretchen - I'm sorry the 24 is about as good as it gets with this particular travel paradigm shift. "I'm giving it all I got Capn'n!"

Thank you all for not giving up on me.

The countdown is Nigh! I did use that right ... no?
I'll be touching down in London Monday morning! I AM STOKED!!!
No, seriously, even tho my puny dollars be no match for the quid I will go forth fearlessly ... in search of bargains everywhere Bwahahahaaa!

And then it's on to Gay Paree!
I can finally turn something other than 29. 0____o

Then Sunday the 8th I fly into Barcelona to begin the cruising leg of my journey. As much as possible I will try to report my Mis-Adventures. I'm sure All will be waiting on the edges of their ______.

Until then Cheers! Adieu! Hasta luego! annnnd Arrivederci!

<i>I will go forth fearlessly ... in search of bargains everywhere Bwahahahaaa!</i>

Some tips to help your money go father while in London (because London is going to hurt the most):

If it takes 15-20 min to walk somewhere, walk.

Bring an umbrella so you don't have to buy one should it decide to rain down on you.

Pubs tend to be cheaper than "regular" restaurants. Doner shacks and fish & chip shacks are even less expensive.

Restaurants in the immediate vicinity of a major attraction tend to be a bit more expensive than ones a few minutes walk away.


Have fun dude.

P.S. Hooameye - I had no idea! I loved loved loved the slang dictionary and of course a traveler better know proper pub etiquette. Thank you soooo much. I laughed out loud at the language barriers and am actually still smiling. First Round's on ME! (:

>>the reason for the extra luggage was because I'll be vacationing in London and Paris before the cruise and I was worried about differences in climate.<<

Tip: layers rather than completely different outfits.

don't obsess about the wardrobe at this late date - but as Patrick says - you need to think layers and not tons of extra 'what if' clothing.

I only ever travel w/ carry on - even did an Alaska cruise plus a week in Anchorage out of my 21 inch rollie bag.

It doesn't matter to me if i'm going for 4 days or 4 weeks -- a small roller bag has plenty of room. But even if you can't downsize that much, a 24 inch checked bag is all you should need.