Now for my least favorite part of traveling - PACKING! It is so difficult to not over pack. Especially when I'm so indecisive about what to wear. I was the kid who loved wearing uniforms to school because it meant I didn't have to think about it. Just throw on whatever uniform pieces were clean and get moving. Easy peasy. For vacation (as well as day to day) it isn't so easy for me! So here's what I packed for my 7 day vacation.
- 7 bras and 20 pairs of underwear. Obviously this will depend completely on what you do during each day. We showered at least 2x a day. Once in the AM and again before dinner. If we worked out after our morning shower, that would be a 3rd shower and change.
- 3 swimsuits. You will have a clothesline in your bathroom to hang your suits, and workout clothes to dry.
- 1 nice dress. Most cruises have a dress up (or not - its optional) night where you can have dinner with and meet the captain and get all dolled up if you want. Or you might want to take nice photos. And there are plenty of opportunities to do that. The photographers on the ships are great. My father in law surprised us by purchasing some photos for us.
- 4 pair of pants. All capri and one pair was specifically for the flights. Light blue, white, black and dark blue. All light material and rolled up in the suitcase.
- 1 pair of jean shorts.
- 2 skirts - 100% cotton and they rolled really nicely in the suitcase.
- 9 tops. 1 long sleeved, 2 tank tops, and the rest had capped sleeves. Most were cotton which is great because walking around in the sun you want breathable materials.
- 4 pair of shoes. Two pair of flip flops, one black, and one brown. 1 pair of sneakers and my wedges. Wedges look great with dresses, shorts and capris. In a neutral color they work for just about every event and outfit! And since certain parts of the ship can be a bit slippery I don't recommend wearing stilettos. And keep in mind on the ship you will walk everywhere and when you leave the ship you will do a lot of walking. So when you pack shoes think comfort.
- 1 bathrobe. I am someone who likes to lounge after my shower when I have time. So a bathrobe is a must. And while there was one in the room for us to use, I prefer my own. I have a very lightweight cotton robe. Very easy to pack.
- 5 pair of socks. For workouts and a pair of thick socks for walking in my hotel room. I am just a bit paranoid about how clean hotel rooms actually are. Cruise ships are generally super clean because they don't want anyone catching anything while on board. But for whatever reason, hotels seem to seriously slack off.
- Liquids - This was tough! My suggestion is to arrive at your port city with enough time to stop by walgreens and buy this stuff if you absolutely need more for the week than you can fit in 3oz bottles in a single 1qt bag. But that isn't always possible, so I suggest using two quart sized ziploc bags and placing them in two separate containers as you go through security and hope they aren't paying attention which is what we did. If the airline you're flying on doesn't give you a free checked bag, calculate the cost of buying the items at walgreens vs paying the checked bag fee. Or just plan to check a bag from the beginning and then when packing your stuff up make sure that you place those liquid items in a gallon sized ziploc and then wrap that up in a plastic grocery bag. Just to make sure that if anything spills, it doesn't ruin all the beautifully packed clothes.
- Final thing - Drinks - Most ships will allow you to bring on board a bottle or two of wine and simply charge you a corking fee. Some will allow you to bring a case or two of beer. They obviously would prefer you buy it from them. We also saw some people who clearly stopped by a store on the way to the port and picked up cases of soda and bottled water. One family had a small cart on wheels filled with their drinks. Most ships do NOT allow you bring your own liquor. If you purchase it at a duty free shop in port or on board, they will hold it until the final night of the cruise and it will be delivered to you. So how do you bring your own liquor on? My first cruise, we purchased a large bottle of Vodka and 3 $1 hairspray bottles. We emptied and cleaned the hairspray bottles and poured the Vodka into them. And we'd just take them with us when we wanted a drink. Had we been thinking, we'd have used water bottles. And we still bought drinks from them. After all, we can't make daiquiris in our rooms!
- surge protector - we only had one outlet
- nail polish and remover (the round sponge type is not considered a liquid!)
- allergy meds
- birth control if you're on it and any other daily meds or vitamins you take
- If you and your SO are planning to have some adult fun, bring whatever you use at home and have fun!
- If you are going as a single person and you even THINK you might have a one night stand (I do NOT recommend this) bring contraceptives. You alone are responsible for your body.
- if you are prone to gas or indigestion bring whatever you use for that - hopefully it comes in pill form.
- waterproof camera - the cheap ones take pretty good pictures.
- a beach bag
- Small purse - enough to hold passport, room key chapstick and travel size sunblock - you do not want or need to carry around a large purse. Cargo shorts are good for this for guys.
- HAT and sunblock! Skin cancer is real and it does not discriminate. A big hat to keep the sun off your face is necessary!
- Should you forget something - chances are you can find it in the duty free shop on board. They sell everything in there. It may be a bit overpriced and probably not your brand but its there.
Happy travels!
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