I’ve been prepping for this cruise for over a year. This is the third cruise for my husband and I and the second for our big kids. It was a first for our youngest. It was the longest cruise we have ever been on and the task of packing our family of six for a seven day cruise was daunting. I will never, ever complain about packing for a vacation though. I love traveling too much!!
I had done my research and was happy with several of the items that we brought along. These over the door shoe holders were great space savers. The power strips were invaluable as each cabin only had ONE outlet. These collapsible laundry hampers kept our rooms neat and tidy and took up very little space in our luggage.
Every time we travel, along with souvenirs and fun memories, I pick up a few tidbits for making the next trip better than the last. And on that note, here’s a list of what I wish I had packed:
1) LESS. Holy smokes, the clothes. I packed enough for each kid to have a fresh casual outfit each day as well as a nice outfit for dinner. Great in theory, horrible to lug around. Next time, I’ll pack half as much and take advantage of the onboard laundry services. Initially I balked at the idea of $6/load to wash and dry, but after packing all those suitcases through customs I’d have gladly paid more.
2) LIQUID HAND SOAP. The cabin bathrooms come stocked with the small hotel sized bar soap, but it got gross and goopy and dried my hands out. A $1 bottle of liquid soap would have been nice to have on hand. Pun intended.
3) MICROFIBER BEACH TOWELS. We had nice, big fluffy beach towels provided by the cruise line. They were terrific for drying off after a dip in the hot tub. We took them off the boat for our beach time in Cozumel. We were grateful to have them but 6 big, fluffy beach towels get pretty heavy. I had debated buying some small microfiber ones prior to our trip and talked myself out of it. Next time, they will be a must buy.
4) THROW BLANKETS. A couple of the kids packed small blankets. They cabins were sometimes cool and it would have been nice to have a few more blankets. The comforters that come in the rooms are bulky and not very snuggly.
All in all, this was a fantastic getaway. The kids were never bored. The adults never had to think about what to make for dinner. The worst part? Going back to reality.
Read more of Abbie Mabary’s contributions to AllMomDoes here.
