Prepare, prepare, prepare! After every cruise, we are able to come closer to developing the finely tuned cruise list. For an extended cruise, it is even more important for us to pack smartly. There are already so many extras that are needed on a cruise (formal wear, cruise wear, casual wear, swim wear, travel wear and underwear, to name a few!) that we need to choose carefully.
Some essentials include pre-measured baggies of laundry detergent, fabric softener sheets and a bag of essential oils. You bet! Essential oils have moved high on my priority list for travel essentials. My vacation won't be ruined by anything from upset tummy and sunburn to sore and aching muscles and sleeplessness. Other Young Living products that are finding their way into our luggage are Ningxia Red singles to aid in recovering from jet lag and Thieves toothpaste.
Choosing the right clothes leaves me feeling like it takes more time than the cruise itself! It's definitely time to go through the cruise wear to make sure everything fits (and hopefully provides enough room for an added pound or two). Mixing and matching also requires every outfit to match with one of the three pairs of shoes packed - talk about mission impossible! This is when I am ridden with jealousy over Bill's travel and packing skills: lightweight travel wear (Columbia and REI) create easy mix-and-match outfits. The only difficult decision for him is "Which pocket should I put my cruise card in?" On the upside, I can put an extra one or two pair of shoes in his bag, since it doesn't come near meeting the 50 lb weight restriction.
A decision we had made as part of our original plans was to book the same cabin for both of the cruises and ensure there was a laundry room nearby on the same floor. This option will
help us to limit the amount of casual clothing we pack and it really isn't much of an effort to throw a load in on a sea day. In addition, I am packing my travel sized steam iron (I know, I already hear it...). One can never ignore lessons learned from past experiences.
Our most recent realization in this adventure was noticing that Bill has worn the same shirt and tie for the formal pictures on the past two cruises. This only means one thing...time to do more shopping! Well, let's just say we won't have wardrobe repeats for a while!
We are nearly packed and there is still room for more shoes!