I decided to start a new series on the blog - Off Topic Thursdays. 99% of what I post on the blog will be book reviews, book talk, book wear...you get the idea. But! On the occasional Thursday, I want to share information that I think is of use to everyone- travel blogs, recipe ideas, product reviews etc. I definitely do not want it to take over the blog, or become the focus - Girl About Library will always be about books. But my husband and I went on a cruise and I really want to share the experience with the Internets!
Packing was *the* biggest part of the cruise prep experience for me. As a SAHM I am CPO ( chief packing officer) for my husband and I. This is by no means a complete list of what we brought but here are ten things that I did and packed that made our cruise a success!
1. Zipper pouch - number one for a reason, this pouch saved my sanity on the cruise. My husband and I drove several hours to get from where we live to our cruise port- I had a silent, and sometimes not so silent, mental panic that a document we needed to board would be left behind. And if that happened, well goodbye cruise:/ there was no way we could get on the ship. Many people fly to their port so this envelope would be even more essential in that case! Inside the envelope I put EVERY essential document we needed. We traveled with Carnival on the Liberty to Cozumel, Mexico - so inside the pouch were : birth certificates, marriage license, boarding passes, and the health questionnaire they required. Once we got in the car I checked to make sure all of those documents were still in the envelope- as someone who tends to be scatter brained, *especially* under stress - this was crucial and really helped me relax- which is the whole point of a cruise, right? : )
2. Waterproof pouch - god bless this pouch. I had this pich around my neck pretty much at all times on the cruise and I was definitely not alone. Women's bathing suits don't typically have pockets, and dragging a purse around would be super impracticle and for safety/security reasons I liked having my few valuables or essentials literally strapped to me. Inside the waterproof pouch I kept - epipen, camera, a small amount of cash, and my room card. This bad boy went everywhere and I don't think I'll ever travel without it!
3. Water vessel - This is actually something we didn't bring, but I SO wish we had, so I'm including it. Staying hydrated when you are constantly going is so important, especially when there is alcohol involved! There were many times on our relatively short cruise where I had stop and think - when was the last time I drank water. It just isn't as readily available as I wish it had been and the water bottles in your room aren't free. On top of that there are teeny tiny little cups by the water/ ice machines. While we were in Mexico we drank bottled water, but it wasn't widely available. So, next time we will definitely be taking a reusable water bottle that is well insulated.
4. Lysol Wipes & Hand Sanitizer - holy germs. One of the main reasons I was hesitant about going on a cruise were the horror stories I had heard about people getting sick on cruises. I am such a germ averse, sickness averse person - especially when that sickness involves vomit. While the ships are big they are also full of people and people means germs. Floating in a petri dish on the Gulf of Mexico is kind of a recipe for disaster. So, I brought a lot of hand sanitizer and cleaning wipes. I wiped down our room as soon as we entered - door knobs, toilets, sinks, etc. Hand sanitizer was available outside of all of the eating areas ( god bless) but I carried some with me as well. Thankfully neither my husband nor I got sick while we were on the cruise. yay!
5. Wrinkle Release - your clothes go through a lot before they end up in your cabin - and if like me you try to sneak alcohol onto the ship they go through even more ; ) so once we got our bags all of our clothes were a little wrinkly. I had never used this gloriousness before but this stuff really works and I definitely recommend it. Not only are you not allowed to have an iron in your room, but tracking one down that is communal sounds like no fun on vacation.
And those are my recommended items! What things can you not live without on a cruise or just vacation in general? I 'd love to hear your suggestions! Thanks for reading!
These are great tips. I think no one thinks of bringing a water bottle on vacation but it is really is a pain to pay for the water in your room when there are free drinks outside but it's not always what you need or want.
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Thanks! Yes, paying for water is the worst!
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