I know it is close to cruise time when I pack my backpack and the bag I plan on bringing our wine in. I have done it so many times at this point it is second nature.
In my backpack I have:
fan for stateroom and the cord for it.
my jewelry in the container
travel documents folder
misting fan
metal straws
face masks
small umbrella
rain pancho’s
small notebook but this may end up in my purse. Only time will tell.
fan necklace (yes a battery operated fan you wear as a necklace and it came in hand on embarkation day for the Vista cruise we were on in August).
Uno cards
And this is how it looks packed!!!
Our “wine” bag is actually a weekender bag I purchased on Amazon. It works great as a way to bring our wine on board. On this trip, it will also double as our beach bag! This bag contains:
wine (to be purchased in the next day or two)
2 beach towels (to wrap the wine in and to use on our excursion we have booked in Cozumel).
plastic reusable wine glasses and champagne flutes (both are stemless, LOL).
In a container, I have our corkscrew, napkins, dish soap, and a sponge so I can wash our glasses and our metal straws.
2 Coozies for our canned beverages.
Now I am really ready to go, but there is still some things that need to be completed. For instance, I still need to purchased some wine or champagne.
Our first aid kit is kept in a tri-fold travel organizer bag I purchased from Thirty One several years ago. Unfortunately, they no longer have this style but they have some that are similar. Once we are on board, I hang it on the bathroom door using a command strip. Basic necessities that I take on a cruise are:
Tylenol
Advis
Tylenol PM
Aspirin
Excedrin Migraine
Band Aids
Hydrocortisone cream
A & D ointment
Athletes foot clotrimazole creame
Absorbine jr back patch pain relief
Cold Hot extra strength medicated patch
Biofreeze
Daytime and Night time cold & flu
Nasal allergy spray
Vitamin C drops
Cough drops
Pepto Bismol
Laxative
Antacid
Uriinary pain relief
Sore throat oral anesthetic spray
Cough syrum
Our prescribed medications are kept separately.
I also have a small first aid kit I keep in my purse that contains band aids, hydrocortisone cream, and my inhaler.
Now for the necessities of life, toiletries and cosmetics. There is a lot to take into consideration when I start gathering all the things. I do my best to keep things separate according to they type. For example, hair products are separate from face products and suntan lotions. Some lotions are in large bottles and will be put into smaller containers in an attempt to save space. I tend to keep the suntan lotions and after sun lotions in their own bag along with the towel holders and our waterproof cases for our phones.
The bag I have designated for hair care contains the normal stuff. The bag I use is large enough to fit a curling iron and/or flat iron in. Since I do not use those tools, this bag will also double for some other bathroom products to be determined later.
Now if you will excuse me, I have more things to wash, pack, and lists to make!!! Not to mention craft projects to start and complete.
I have checked off a lot of my to-do list which is a good thing!
But first, I want to get my mom a White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks. We talked about my upcoming cruise and I reassured her we would be stopping by to see her on our way out of town. I made a note on her calendar showing her when Jim and I will be gone. I also told her that I would be changing her door decorations when we return.
Since I’m at mom’s, I have given the front desk her emergency contact info for them to use while we are out of town. I have also spoke with the nursing staff to check her meds so I can order any refills and make sure they have them before we leave.
I have made my way to the bank to take care of some business for my mother.
The rest of the day is ordering refills for mom and myself, schedule our nail appointments for Thursday afternoon, schedule an appointment to get my eyebrows tamed, and probably make more to-do lists and shopping lists.
It’s going to be a busy week and I am so happy about it!!!!
Now it is time to check off some more things on my to-do list and work on craft projects that will be published the week of February 14th.
When it comes to organizing all the paperwork for travel, I am definitely a little bit extra. You may wonder what makes me so extra. Well, I have 3 separate places I keep our paperwork: a binder, a folder, and our passport holder. Let me explain further.
I use a zippered binder for copies of everything. And I do mean EVERYTHING. I have dividers in the binder for driving directions, hotel reservations, parking reservations, boarding pass, and everything else I have purchased or directly applies to this cruise. When we board the ship, the binder will be one of our carry-on bags.
After using this binder for several cruises, I finally made labels for the dividers. All documents have a specific place they can be found. This will make things much easier should I ask Jim to get something.
Then there is a folder that also has driving directions, hotel reservations, parking reservation, and boarding pass. Basically anything that I would need on travel day and embarkation day. If I can’t find something I think I need for the folder, there is likely a copy in the binder. I also have a reminder list paper clipped to the front just in case I forget something that is likely to be written down in one hundred other places!!!
Finally, the last thing I use is our passport holder. Obviously this holds our passports but it also contains our vaccine cards, boarding pass, lanyards, and a magnetic card we use for keeping the lights on in our stateroom. At this time, it also has our appointment information for our rapid COVID test we have scheduled for later this week.
So, this is how over-the-top I am when it comes to travel documents. I have a fear that I will forget something. By having things in multiple places, I feel it lessens that possibility. At least for me and my anxiety it does!
Now that our cruise is getting real close, it is time to make my must do to do list for the week. I only hope that I can get everything done. As you can see, the list is nothing out of the ordinary other than making sure my mom does not run out of any of her medications and her cokes!!!!
I have tried to plan out my week in hopes if getting everything done in between working my paying job, making sure there are items to publish on my blog while we are gone, write and publish my blogs for this week, and making sure all the craft projects are complete!!!
Luckily, the craft projects should not take more than 2 or 3 days to complete. Barring no complications or distractions.
While looking at my lists, please let me know if there is anything I may have forgotten.
Our cruise is getting close now!!! I am so excited!!!
Before I was able to schedule our COVID tests and do our online check-in, I ordered a couple of items to have in our stateroom. Once I found out that you can order liquor and/or wine to have in your stateroom, it has been a must do for us. Not because we drink a lot, but because we are on vacation and we like to have a cocktail or two in our stateroom. This has truly kept my Sail N Sign card from sinking on many ocassions! I also purchased some water for our stateroom as well.
I was concerned about scheduling our Rapid COVID test but it was just as easy this time as it was when I scheduled our tests last August. The hardest part now is waiting to take the test then waiting for the results. Please keep your fingers crossed that my husband and I remain negative!
Another item I was able to complete was our online check-in. I love having an early arrival time! For us it means the line at Guys Burgers will be relatively short.
All that is left to do is our last minute check-off list but that will be in the next cruise blog!
I can’t believe how close the cruise is. We have decided to do all carry-on this cruise. We have said that many times before and it didn’t happen, but maybe it will this time!!!
In a garment bag we will attach to one of our carry-on bags will be the clothes we are wearing to the steakhouse for dinner of the day of embarkation and our clothes for cruise elegant night. We will also put our shoes for these dinners in the garment bag as well. Also in the garment bag is a dress I am planning on wearing for dinner on the day we are in Progreso, Mexico and the top and capri’s I plan on wearing to the last dinner before they kick everyone off.
Our carry-on duffle bag will contain our clothes, shoes, and of course, undergarments. I plan on taking 4 shirts, 4 pairs of shorts, 2 swimsuits with 2 cover-ups, 1 pairs of capri’s, 1 pairs of jeans, 1 dress (just in case), a navy cardigan sweater, and a light weight suit suit for the drive home. I have not cruise in February before so I want to make sure I’m warm hence the jeans!!!
Here’s the outfits I have decided to wear and when I will be wearing them.
Embarkation day: t-shirt purchased on the Carnival Vista last year, jeans, Valentine socks, Reeboks. This was discussed in a previous blog.
For our dinner in the steakhouse, I will be wearing a pink top, white pants/jeans, and pink and black heels. Jim will be wearing a pink with blue stripes Nautica golf shirt and navy pants. We are going to be casual, but not too casual.
Sea Day #1 during the daytime I will be wearing a pink top and black shorts with pink and black leopard print shoes. Jim will be wearing his t-shirt of the day and shorts.
If weather permits, we will definitely be wearing swimsuits during the day. These are the swimsuits and cover ups I will be bringing.
Cruise elegant night will find me wearing a red dress purchased and black heels. Both were purchased from Venus.com. Jim will be wearing a short sleeve red button down shirt and black slacks. No tie… unless I find something I want him to wear.
I have also included a golf shirt for him to wear after dinner while we are walking around trying to decide what we want to do.
Cozumel is our first port of call. We have reservations to go to Del Mar Latino Beach Club. It is within walking distance to the pier. During the day when not in a swimsuit, I will be wearing a blue top, white shorts, and blue and white Sperry’s. Of course, I will have walking shoes on while making our way to the beach club. I will also be wearing the same outfit to dinner. Afterall, who wants to get all dressed up after spending hours at an all-inclusive adults only beach club? Not me. I feel certain Jim will be wearing his t-shirt of the day and shorts while we are making our way to the beach club. For dinner, I planning on Jim wearing his blue and white stripe Izod golf shirt to dinner.
Progreso is our last port of call. We have decided to take the free bus to town and walk to the beach area. This area has changed a lot since the last time we have been there and we are looking forward to seeing the changes. I plan on wearing a short sleeve shirt, denim shorts, and my Reeboks while we are exploring the area. I’m sure Jim will be wearing another t-shirt of the day and shorts. Once it is time for dinner, I plan on wearing a dress with palm leaves on it and Jim will be wearing a light green golf shirt and most likely shorts.
Sea day #2 is always a sad day. When not trying to soak of the last bit of sunshine I can, I will be wearing a white shirt and blue and white shorts with my blue and white Sperry’s. Of course, Jim will be wearing his t-shirt of the day and shorts. For our last dinner on board, I will be wearing a black and white polka dot short sleeve top, white capri’s, and black sandals. Jim will be wearing a golf shirt and shorts.
When the make us leave the ship, I have decided to wear a light blue long sleeve light weight sweat suit with my Reeboks. I have no clue what Jim will be wearing.
As of today, all of my clothes that are not going in the garment bag have been put in packing cubes and are safely in a duffle bag.
The items not shown above that I am taking are denim capri’s, black jeans, and a navy cardigan. They have been put in a packing bag and are ready to go.
I have also selected my jewelry for this cruise and I have pack the pieces in a container for safe keeping. This container will be in my backpack when we board the ship.
All that is left at this point is getting the rest of Jim’s stuff together.
I booked another cruise!!! I had intended to book the inaugural sailing, but when the dates became available on the 25th, I realized the inaugural would be the week of Thanksgiving. I do not want to leave my mother alone on Thanksgiving, so we are book for February 24, 2024.
This itinerary for this cruise is:
Galveston, leaving at 4pm.
Sea day #1
Sea day #2
Mahogany Bay, 8am to 6pm
Costa Maya, 8am to 6pm
Cozumel 7am to 5pm
Sea day #3
Galveston, arriving at 8am.
This itinerary is familiar to us as we were just at Mahogany Bay and Cozumel on our Carnival Vista cruise in August/September 2021. But we have not been to Costa Maya and are looking forward to seeing a new place.
BONUS for this cruise, my locker-mate from the beginning of middle school to the very end of high school is planning on being on this cruise as well. I’m hoping some other friends will join us too!
I do not think there will be any more blogs for this cruise until it is closer to time and the real planning has begun. But please continue to read my other blogs.
I did not know if I wanted to decorate our door or not. Then I decided I would!
I decided I would make a small rag wreath for the door. Of course it would be a nautical theme. I lucked out and found the perfect fat quarters with anchors on them at Walmart. I also purchased some fat quarters at Joanns along with some red fabric and white dots. I felt like I need an equal amount of patterned and solid fabrics to make it work.
While browsing on Party City, I just happened to find this banner that magically fell in my cart!!!!
There is one more item I purchased at Dollar Tree that I may or may not use. I can’t make up my mind. I will probably leave it at home as I don’t really like the idea of having glitter everywhere! It might just stay on my front door instead.
I will be using Command Strips to attach them to our stateroom door. I use command strips for EVERYTHING that needs to be hung in our stateroom, including the over-the-door shoe hanger. I strongly recommend them, hands down!!!!
This the extent of my stateroom door decorations. I will be sure to post of picture of our stateroom door when I start the cruise recap series.
Thanks for taking the time to read this short blog. I hope you will return to read my other blogs as well.
The easiest part of packing for a cruise is the overnight bag. The only thing that will go in it are the necessities for boarding day!!!!
For instance… our boarding attire
And, of course, our shoes and toiletries.
And everything fits!!!
So as far as I’m concerned, this bag is done. And 3 weeks early!
Now it is time to do other pre-cruise necessities such as scheduling hair and nail appointments and COVID test, and ordering water for our stateroom. You know. the other stuff that needs to be done before a cruise.
our life reality 