Most people who know me have heard me remark, “I was born in the South for a reason. I can’t handle temps below 70°F!”. Although I must admit that I, too, am weary of the weeks of 100°F+ heat that we’ve had in Texas this summer. And now, we are going to ICE-land! Really? From my research Iceland is somewhat temperate and temps should be like a mild January in Houston. It turns out that it’s GREEN-land that I need to worry about – I don’t think the average high at the ports where we expect to go is ever over 48°F. What was I thinking when we booked this cruise? I also discovered we needed to plan for rain and wind, especially the wind. Umbrellas are useless. I DO NOT have the wardrobe for this! Luckily, I had months to research and shop (online of course) for the proper clothing.
I do appreciate the adage: there’s no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.
When traveling I try to select mix and match clothing and stick to a couple of basic color palettes. Since retiring, that palette has been lots of green and gold due to all the Baylor events we attend, and I do plan to represent on the trip! But, with expectations for extreme weather (by my standards!) for shore excursions and needing to pack “elegant casual” for the restaurants (other than the buffet) per Viking’s FAQ, I found myself making a spreadsheet to see how many combinations I could come up with to optimize my clothing for both day and evening. For this type of travel, layers are definitely my best option. It was a good exercise as I ended up taking a couple of items off the list before I ever tried to start packing.
Then, a couple of days ago, I tried to get it all in my suitcase and my backpack. My backpack contains all my tech items, plus meds and a few pieces of clothing in case my checked bag ends up on a separate adventure.
Spatial configurations and packing are usually one of my superpowers. Normally, I roll everything and use packing cubes. However, this was a challenge even with today’s lighter weight winter garments; they are still bulky. I ended up culling a few things. Fortunately, the stateroom we are in has laundry service included and we will definitely take advantage of that, probably more than I originally planned.
Usually I can keep my main suitcase weight to 35 pounds or less. I’m sitting just below 37 and 40 is my personal limit. If I can’t manage the weight for myself, then something heavy has to come out but it won’t be my waterproof Gore-Tex boots!
I’ll let you know at the end of the trip if I packed too much or too little!
Notes By Nancy 
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