How to Pack (and Not to Pack) for an Arctic Cruise if There’s a Chance Your Bag Will Be Lost

If you travel a lot, you’ve invariably come across the unlucky tourist whose baggage is nowhere to be found. When you do, the usual response is a mix of pity for them and gratitude that it’s not you.

This trip, that unlucky tourist is me – and my 78-year-old mother. On our voyage from Newark Airport to Tromso, Norway (via Oslo) our bags got left behind in Olso after a major snowstorm interrupted our connecting flight. SAS made a critical error when it consequently canceled our luggage tags, preventing them from getting loaded onto our re-booked flight. With one day left of my six-day cruise, my bag was just delivered and my mom’s is still at one of our port stops – delivered the day after the ship we’re on departed.

The desire to never be in this predicament is what’s helped me trim my luggage down to carry-on most of the time, especially when I’m not flying direct. But carry-on isn’t always possible, such as when heading someplace where specialized clothing is necessary – like the Arctic, where cold weather gear can be bulky.

Lacking one’s baggage is a bother no matter where you are, but lacking thermals or your parka when you’re someplace the temperatures regularly hover below freezing is a real problem.

If you’re sending clients to the Arctic – or Antarctica – where a specialized packing list is required, there are some things you can suggest ahead of time to mitigate any potential issues should their baggage get lost along the way. (This is especialy important for Antarctica where the only store clients will have access to for most of the trip will be the shop onboard their ship.)

Here’s what I did right and what I did wrong this trip.

Right
I have one standard rule when flying: Always have all my underwear in my carry-ons. The last thing I want to be doing is washing out my undies every or every other evening. I also have no desire to waste my time in location (whether on a cruise or a land vacation) chasing down a store that might have underwear I’m willing to wear. Underwear can be rolled up, placed in a Ziplock, which is then squeezed to get out the extra air to minimize the space it takes up. You can fit a full week’s underwear into two Ziplock bags that can be spread across your carry-ons.

Wrong
In order to save a little space in my carry-ons, I chose to put my heavy ski gloves in my checked luggage. I kept a pair of glover liners in the winter coat that I wore onto my flight, but liners don’t stand up well against temperatures well below freezing. During our dog mushing excursion in Alta (where the temperature was about -4 Fahrenheit), it didn’t take long for my fingers to start tingling. Thankfully, we never spent more than 20 to 30 minutes outside at a time. Any longer and I might have been at risk for frostbite.

Right
I am forever grateful for the foresight to pack my thermal leggings and waterproof shell pants into my carry-on luggage. The thermal leggings, in particular, have been vital to my ability to stay warm during this trip (thought I did have to add my pajama bottoms – another thing I always put in carry-on – for an extra layer of warmth on the above-mentioned dog sledding excursion.)

At the very least, encourage your clients to pack the most essential elements of warm-weather dressing in their carry-on. I did put my thermal top in checked luggage and I have definitely been missing it, but I’ve been able to layer several tops (some of which I had to purchase in destination) to make up for the missing thermal. In some cases, your clients might be able to purchase thermals on site (or on their ship if they’re cruising), but they’re likely to be more expensive than when bought at home.

Wrong
Even “professional” travelers occasionally make rookie mistakes. On this voyage, I packed one of my medications into my checked baggage – thankfully, not the most important. It’s a good reminder, to never, ever, packed medication in checked baggage. The effort to replace medicines can be costly and timely.

Another rookie mistake I made was to put my toothbrush in my packed luggage, something I almost never do. I was able to get one-time toothbrush and mini toothpaste at our hotel the first morning in Tromso, but I did eventually have to buy a real one.

Right
When I first started to layout my packing list for this cruise up the Norwegian coast with Hurtigruten, I considered which items would be the most critical to have if, in a worst-case scenario, I had nothing else. Along with the thermal bottom and waterproof shell, I decided my warmest fleece sweater was most important. (I also wore one of the three fleece sweaters I was bringing with me on the plane.) The fleece is bulky and takes up a significant portion of my overhead bin carry-on item, but it’s been my saving grace. I honestly don’t know what I would have been able to buy along my journey that would duplicate the level of warmth this sweater brings.

Wrong
Another item I put in my suitcase that clients should probably keep with them was the exterior, weatherproof half of my winter jacket. I did keep the interior shell with me on the flight. In some of our ports, the interior shell has been enough. But not always. I am lucky that as (hosted) suite guests of Hurtigruten, we each received a sweater, a hat, and a weatherproof jacket. I would 100% have had to buy a jacket had I not been given one.

Right
Other items I kept with me in my carry-on that have proven to be invaluable are two pairs of Smartwool socks (I did buy two additional pairs of socks), my warm wool hat (Hurtigruten also gave us one), and my thermal gaiter. We’ve seen gaiters in several stores along our journey, but not having to buy one has been nice.

One additional piece of advice to offer your clients: buy insurance that covers lost luggage. While SAS should pay both me and my mom back for items we’ve had to purchase to get buy this week, our insurance will also kick in for what SAS doesn’t pay for. We’ve both spent several hundreds of dollars to get some of the essentials we each needed (two t-shirts, socks, a sweatshirt, and toiletries for me, and several merino wool sweaters, a turtleneck, underwear, and a t-shirt for her).