Packing for our Cruise Adventure

 

Chuck and I had an amazing time on our 28-day cruise! I have a lot to share, but since I have a few friends who will be cruising soon, I thought I would start here - with packing.

Some may say I go a bit overboard when planning what to pack – but it’s how I roll. The basic sources of information I used in planning for a 28-day Mediterranean & Trans-Atlantic cruise (followed by a couple of days in Key West) included:

·      Old packing lists

·      YouTube videos about what to pack – and what NOT to pack – for a cruise

·      Historical weather information for the countries we were visiting

·      Descriptions of our planned cruise excursions and Key West activities

 

The packing list of items we packed and used:

Jeans	Bandannas	Lanyards
2 pairs khakis	Swimsuits	Passports
Capris/shorts	Cover skirt	Highlighters
Hawaii dress	Sun Hats	Tissue packs
Black skirt	Beanie hats	Magnetic Clips
Casual shirts	Bath kits	Magnet hooks
Dressy shirts	Reef-safe sunscreen	Cruise extension cord
Orange shirts	Anti-bacterial wipes	Waterproof phone pouches
Work out shorts	First aid kit	Post it notes
T-shirt	Prescription meds	Thank you notes
Sweater	OTC meds	Charger cords
Rain jackets	Bar soap	Kindles
Hoodies/fleece jackets	Fish oil	Knee brace
Under things	Emergencee	Camera
Slips	Vitamin D drops	Zipper bags of varying sizes
Tie	Eyeglass cleaner	Books
Wrap	Small bar of soap in zipper bag	Plastic file with all paperwork
Black shoes	Travel credit card	IDs
Walking shoes	Euros	Water bottles
Casual shoes (Sue)	Thieves Oil spray	Potty pack
Flip flops	Poo-Pourri	Knitting projects
Cross-body purse	Day pack	Tide Pen
Regular watch	Bonine	Sea sickness bracelet
Fan

Many of these are fairly obvious, but here are a few notes for the possibly less-than-obvious ones and/or notes about our use.

Orange Shirts: Orange is the official color of Holland American, and during every cruise they have an Orange Party. We wore our orange shirts, but not to the party, which started at 9 PM and went way past our bedtime.

Tie: Chuck wanted to have it for his birthday dinner. Not sure if he will bring one next time.

Wrap: I’m talking about the rectangular shawl-like wrap. I brought one along and bought one in Italy. I used them both – it can get chilly on the ship.

Regular Watch: We both have FitBits, and both have given us a hard time changing time zones smoothly in the past. We brought along regular watches so we could easily keep up with the time changes.

Fan: We take a battery-operated desk fan with USB charger, and it is a life saver! I will not travel without it. The one we bought is no longer available, but the WITHOUSE “Portable Mini Fan” is similar.

Beanie hats: Brought along to have in case of emergency. Technically we didn’t use them, but we did have them in our emergency bag.

Eyeglass cleaner: Good for cleaning glasses AND for cleaning the glass on our verandah. That salt water spray builds up.

Small bar of soap in zipper bag: Not all public bathrooms have soap

Bandanna: Not all public bathrooms have paper towels

Travel credit card: Got this through our bank, but I know there are others out there. There are no exchange fees if you use it to purchase in non-US currency.

Euros: We ordered Euros ahead of time through our bank. We were told it could take up to 2 weeks, but it was more like 2 days.

Thieves Oil spray: Disinfectant we used on our hands and hard surfaces. It also works well as an air freshener if your cabin gets a little stale smelling.

Bonine: Sea sickness meds. I took one every day for the first week or so. Took it a couple of times on the Atlantic transit when we had particularly rough seas.

Lanyards: For our stateroom keys

Highlighters: To mark the activities we want to do. Yes, many cruise lines have apps, which are great when they work. We like have the printed, especially because we can use it to track who is going where so we know how to find each other. Next time I will bring 2 colors, so we can color-code our activities.

Magnetic Clips: Most stateroom walls are metal. These are a great way to hang up all kinds of printed material, including notes you may need to leave for your roommate or cabin steward.

Magnetic Hooks: I bought some heavy-duty Mavoro Magnet Hooks, and they were in constant use for hats, items that were hanging to dry, our fan, and more.

Cruise extension cord: There are not enough plugs in a cabin for all of the charging needs. The cord you bring cannot have a surge protector. We use the TESSAN Small Desktop Charging Station (Amazon).

Thank you notes: While gratuities for the crew are usually included, we tip those who have been extra helpful/attentive, such as cabin stewards who take great care of the room, the bar server who remembers your drink order and practically has it ready for you, or anyone else who has given exceptional service. It is easier to pass along a tip when it is in an envelope with a short note.

Books: While we did some reading, we took along way too many books. Next time I will find a paperback or two I can read and then leave for others to read.

Potty Pack: As many public toilets do not have toilet paper (or the TP is by the sinks and you realize that too late), it was very helpful to have a snack-size zipper bag with TP in 2-square increments. Why 2 squares? It was easier to fold J

Knitting Projects: I am just learning how to knit…and I took along way too many projects! It was really fun, because there were quite a few knitters on board and we started meeting up in the mornings. We would bring our projects, knit, and chat about just about everything except religion and politics.

 

The list of things we didn’t use but will still take along in the future:

Sewing kit	Eye shades	Swim socks
Ear plugs	Dental repair kit	Small umbrellas
Lip balm	Back-up pairs of glasses	Downy Wrinkle Release
Ginger chews	Wine opener

Ginger Chews are to help with sea sickness. I didn’t use them this time around, but I will continue to take them with me. I picked mine up at Trader Joes. They were not easy to find, but they were significantly less expensive than the ones on Amazon.

 

Things I took along but will not bring next time:

Laptop – I will take an external drive for downloading pictures instead

Sweatpants – I will take lighter-weight lounge pants

Slippers – A pair of slipper socks will work find and take up less room

 

Things I didn’t take, but it worked out OK:

Shampoo & Conditioner	My entire skin care regimen	Lotion
Blow Dryer	Body wash

The shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion the ship provides all worked great for me. I didn’t take all of the lotions I use on my face at home – and because of the humidity, I rarely used the ones I did take along.

Things I didn’t take but will next time:

My Birkenstocks	Tiger Balm	Favorite shirts
Magnetic pencil holder

I talked myself out of taking my Birkenstocks and a couple of favorite shirts. Next time I will go with my gut and take them. The casual shoes I bought just a week before were not nearly as comfortable as my Birkies.

Tiger Balm is great for sore joints and muscles…but I forgot mine at home. My knees were throbbing, and I finally remembered to stop at a Farmacia to ask for some. So glad they had it. I will not forget next time.

The magnetic pencil holder, like the kind used in lockers, is a “maybe” for the next time. It would give me an extra way of staying organized in cramped spaces.

 

I will probably remember more later. If I do, I will add it in the comments. If you have any questions or comments, let me know J