Carnival Breeze 2022 – Pre-cruise Amazon purchases

As with every cruise or road trip we plan, I find myself stalking Amazon for purchases I think I need, but I really do not need. But I always seem to buy the things!!!! I blame COVID for this addiction.

Let’s get started with the shopping. I will list the description of each item along with the name of the seller. If the item is something that does not see cruise related, I will give an explanation as to why it was purchased. The pictures in this blog were found on the Amazon website. Actually, they were found in the view order details!

The first thing I always purchase before any cruise is a binder. This time I purchased an AVERY + Amy Tangerine 1″ binder. Since our cruise leaves on Valentines Day, I thought the hearts on the binder were perfect. I use the binder to keep all of the important papers in and any paper flyers or notices we receive during the trip. It isn’t as necessary now that the cruise lines uses QR codes for everything but this one will be used primarily after the cruise to keep all the copies of our paperwork in and any notes/info from the cruise. This will help me remember what we did when I start working on the scrapbook. Seller: Amazon.com Services LLC

I decided Jim needs some new fancy face masks so I purchased the Perry Ellis reusable pleated face masks. Seller: Amazon.com Services LLC

I was looking for a blue tunic and I found this one that will work perfectly. I have already worn it so I guess it wasn’t necessarily purchased for the cruise but I will likely be taking it with me. Seller: AWULIFFAN

After our last cruise, I decided it was time to replace the over-the-door shoe hanger as it was looking worn. So worn that it really did not need to be going on any more cruises. I decided to look at something smaller that would work for the narrow doors and I found this instead. It will definitely work for our needs. Seller: EPFamily Direct

Of course, I purchased some Command Strips to keep the new over-the-door shoe hanger in place. Seller: Amazon.com Sellers LLC

I was looking for a pair of casual shoes to wear with a specific outfit and just happen to find these. I do not know if the outfit will make the cut on this cruise, but they will go with another outfit I have in mind. Seller: FRACORA director

Before our last cruise, I purchased this shirt. Unfortunately I lost it in a bad laundry accident. I did not check my husbands pockets and there was a pen left in one of his pockets. The shirt was the only casualty of the incident. So naturally, I had to replace it. The color is Lake Green. Seller: Dofaoo

I have purchased a red dress to wear on cruise elegant night. It only seems natural for my husband to have a red shirt to wear as well. He’s hot-natured so I found a short sleeve, button down shirt for him. Seller: EsabelC

I have been looking for sweatsuits/loungewear that were suitable to wear outside of the house and very comfortable. I decided to try this one in the color blue. Fits perfect! Seller: Automet-US

When you find jeans at a good price, you buy them. I just happened to find a pair of black Lee jeans at an unbelievable price and they somehow ended in my cart. Seller: Amazon.com Services LLC

For some time now, I have see this shirt but I just never could figure out a time I could use it. Well, the time is for this cruise. I am not use to cruising in the winter months so I decided that some tops with longer sleeves would be a good idea. This shirt is a pretty shade of pink and it is slightly see through. I will be looking for a cami to wear under it. Seller: LookbookStore

The pink top looks well with white pants in the pictures on Amazon so I decided to find a pair of white jeans to go with it. Seller: VIV Collection

To complete the outfit, I found some cute pink and black heels to wear! I have already worn the shoes and they are comfortable. Probably the most comfortable pair of heels I have worn in a long time. Seller: fereshte

What’s better than one pair of black Lee jeans??? Two pairs! I purchased another pair. One pair is a longer length that works great with ankle boots and the other works with flats or sneakers. Seller: Amazon.com Services LLC

I found a pink leopard print top with 3/4 sleeve that will be nice to wear to dinner in the MDR. Seller: Zattcas company

You can’t have a pink leopard print shirt without a pair of pink leopard print slip on shoes. They fit great. Seller: Kufeiti shoes.

Might as well but another pair of slip on shoes. But this one is on beige leopard print. This pair of shoes may not make it on the cruise. Seller: Kufeiti

I purchased a pair of ankle boots that will only make the cruise if the weather is cold. Most likely they will stay home. But they are so cute and very comfortable. Seller: Fishbone Apparel

I have noticed I have been having a hard time finding my favorite brand of athletic shoes, Reebok. I was browsing Amazon and I found a pair that I knew I needed. Seller: Amazon.com Services LLC

The blue lounge set I purchased earlier was so perfect, I bought another set in black. Depending on weather at the time of our cruise, they could be my travel day outfit. I will have one for traveling to Galveston and one to wear traveling home. Seller: Automet-US

With the uncertainty of the temperature during the day, I purchased a short sleeve shirt that is short in the front and long in the back. I decided on the color pink. Seller is Zeagoo.

I like the pink 3/4 sleeve top so much, I purchased another one in black and white. I can pair this shirt with either the black jeans or white jeans. Seller: LookbookStore

I found what I hope will be the perfect cami to wear under my pink top. It is pink in color so I do not think it will stick out as much as a white cami would. Seller: Shein online store.

Sweatsuits/loungewear is something I am interested in buying for this cruise. Not to wear during the cruise, but to wear to travel to and from Galveston. I found a couple that I like. The first one says “Be Kind” on the front. I decided on the color blue. Seller: Ze Qing.

The second sweatsuit/loungewear is also in blue and is more of a loose fit. And it is so comfortable. Seller: LYHNMW

And the last purchase for this cruise is a short sleeve casual white shirt. The sole purpose of this shirt is to wear it under a long sleeve sweater I have. It may or may not make this trip.

We have come to an end of our Amazon purchases for our upcoming cruise on Carnival Breeze. Thanks for taking the time to read this long blog. I’m hoping to have another cruise related blog on January 6th.

Have a great week!

Carnival Vista 2021 – Precruise #10 Last minute preparations…

With time ticking away, it’s time to get things together.

The most stressful part has been getting the COVID Antigen test. Luckily, the results came back as negative for both of us!!! This means that tomorrow will be a very busy day but at least it will end up relaxing.

First stop is to Amazing Lash Studio. Need to make sure my lashes look outstanding.

Stop number 2 is to Ross in search of a belt for my husband and also some socks for him.

Stop number 3 is to Marshalls still searching for a belt for my husband.

And, of course, since I’m in the area, I will need to go to Ulta.

And one last stop at CVS for prescriptions. While there, I decided to use my $7.00 worth if coupons I decided to get a couple of things.

The rest of the afternoon will be finishing the packing and double checking each and every list known to mankind.

Finally, it’s time to relax and manicures and pedicures for my hubby and me.

Ending the night with a visit with mom. Unfortunately, her Alexa mysteriously disappeared, so Jim is trying to set up the replacement he bought. He’s not a happy camper.

I’m sure tonight will be sleepless as it usually is the night before a road trip.

Tomorrow will be a fun day so hopefully before we get on the ship, I will be able to share that blog as well

Carnival Vista 2021 – Precruise #2 Shopping an independent shop and 3 Etsy shops

One thing for is for certain, small shops and/or shops owned by an individual ALWAYS have amazing customer service. And they always want to make sure you are completely satisfied with their products. I will continue to use the shops I’m about to talk about.

We are currently at 20 days away from our cruise. At least that is the plan for now but we all know that could change in a moment’s notice.

The first time I ordered from customcruisewear.com was for our four-generation family cruise on the Carnival Vista in 2018. I found myself in a jam and needed to make an order for 9 shirts that I needed within a couple of weeks. Angela made sure our order was taken care of and was beyond helpful. Our shirts were amazing!

In 2019 after I Carnival Dream cruise, I started looking at cruises for 2020. I found an 8-day that I thought would be perfect as we have not been on a Bahamas cruise on the Carnival Freedom and the bonus was that there was an inside stateroom with walkway view available on deck 7. It was a no-brainer, especially since there was currently a $50 deposit special going on. So we were scheduled to sail in August 2020. As a Christmas present, I got my husband a t-shirt from customcruisewear.com that says HUSBAND & WIFE CRUISING PARTNERS FOR LIFE. Of course, I got one for myself as well. This was going to be the shirt we would wear when we boarded the Carnival Freedom!!! And we would have worn them except, COVID had other ideas.

On June 22, 2020, our cruise was cancelled. We had prepared ourselves for this possibility and we had a back-up plan in place. We had already decided that if it were to cancel, which it did, we would book on the Carnival Radiance and would upgrade our stateroom to a balcony cabin with the extra large balcony. I knew one was available and I was keeping my fingers crossed that it would still be available when I spoke to my PVP. It was!!! So now we were booked on the Carnival Radiance for August 2021. We had a year to prepare for it. Surely everything would be back to normal in 2021.

We were wrong. On July 23rd, 2020, we received a letter stating that our cruise was being cancelled as it would not be finished with dry dock. Thanks, COVID. I quickly looked at other options for August 2021 and we decided on an 8-day Bahamas cruise on the Carnival Dream. We booked it on July 23rd, 2020 in a balcony stateroom with the extra large balcony on deck 7.

During this time, it became obvious that the mom and pop shops were really suffering. And I’m sure they are still struggling to keep their heads above water.

Once June 2021 came around, I felt more confident that our cruise on the Carnival Dream would happen. I was so confident that on June 4th, 2021, I ordered a shirt from customcruisewear.com that says VACCINATED AND READY TO CRUISE. On that day, I decided that this would be the shirts that Jim and I would wear on embarkation day!!!

After a few days, I started thinking that I really wanted a shirt that says EMBARKATION HERE I COME and another shirt that says FINALLY ON A FUN SHIP. Since I knew that Angela at customcruisewear.com does custom shirts, I looked at all of the designs she has on here website and decided on the backgrounds I liked then sent her an email asking if my request could be done. And within a day or 2 I had the designs. So, I ordered 2 of each shirt. These shirts were ordered on June 9th, 2021 and I could not be more happy with these purchases from customcruisewear.com and will continue to order shirts from her.

On June 10th, 2021, we received an email stating that our cruise was being cancelled. And now we are booked on the Carnival Vista. I feel more confident with this as she has already started sailing. But I am fully aware that this too could change. But I’m still shopping!!!

After purchasing the shirts, I decided I really wanted to find some earrings with a nautical theme. I wasn’t finding anything on Amazon that I really wanted so I turned to Etsy and did a search for nautical theme jewelry. There was so much to choose from but I narrowed down my options to 3 pairs of earrings. And since I couldn’t pick just one, I picked all 3!!!

The first one is a pair of Anchor Earrings that are studs. The name of the shop is JustaGirlintheGarage. The earrings are perfect and I would highly recommend her shop. I will be wearing these earrings when I’m wearing my swimsuit, so almost every day!

The second one is a pair of Flip Flor Anchor hardboard earrings. The shop name is PaintedPugCreations. I love these earrings. In fact, I’m wearing them today. They are not heavy at all and will definitely be worn a lot!!!

The final one is a pair of Nautical Earrings from the shop MichelleLynneJewelry. I will definitely be wearing these earrings when I wear my FINALLY ON A FUN SHIP shirt.

In the future when I’m looking for earrings for a special theme, I will first look at these shops. They are fantastic and the quality if perfect.

So now I ask that you please come back for the next shopping installment.

Carnival Vista 2021 – Precruise #1

We currently are 23 days out from our cruise on the Carnival Vista. I’m still not 100% positive it will happen, but I am trying to remain optimistic.

Pre-cruise reservations have been made for our overnight stay in Galveston. We will be staying at The Commodore on the Beach as we have stayed there before and had no problems. So, should this cruise cancel, at least we WILL be spending one night in Galveston.

This cruise will be taking us to Mahogany Bay, Belize, and Cozumel. We plan on doing nothing in Mahogany Bay other than shopping, which I didn’t do the last time we were there, and possibly spending time on the beach. We will just wait and see how we feel when we get there. In Belize, we might take the tender to the port for some quick shopping but then again, we might just stay on the ship and do absolutely nothing. We are looking forward to our stop in Cozumel. For the first time in fourteen trips, both cruise and land, we will be going to Mr. Sanchos. I am looking forward to doing something absolutely different than what we have done before.

Yesterday, we were notified of some new protocols for vaccinated and unvaccinated passengers. Beginning August 7th, there is a new mask protocol in place. “We strongly encourage all guests to wear face masks when indoors, particularly guests who are unvaccinated including children under the age of 12 should wear masks in public areas, except when eating or drinking.” I am NOT concerned with this at all and I have no problem following this. Beginning August 14th “we will require ALL fully vaccinated guests to produce a negative viral COVID-19 test (PCR or antigen) taken within 3 days of their embarkation on all Carnival Cruise Line sailings” It goes on to say “Fully vaccinated guests will be required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test along with proof of full vaccination upon arrival in the terminal and can then proceed to board.” Jim and I will be have our tests done on either the Wednesday or Thursday before we are scheduled to cruise. And let it be know, I will gladly follow this protocol as well.

Leading up to yesterday’s letter, I had been doing some shopping. Mostly from Amazon, and couple of things from Venus, and several t-shirts from custom cruise wear. I strongly recommend that shop for cruise shirts and they also have door signs and banners and other cruise related items. Go check them out sometime.

In the days to come, I will blog about the purchases made for this cruise that will also be used in future cruises, what we are packing, and even some jewelry I made for myself. I had to do something to keep myself occupied.

So for now, I will end this blog. Please stay tuned for the next blog, Carnival Vista 2021 – Precruise #2.

Carnival Dream 2019 – Precruise #4: My Amazon purchases for this cruise.

Amazon Prime can be dangerous and oh so much fun! I’m figuring this out now that our countdown is at 9 weeks. At least I haven’t had to dip into our cruise fund to pay for any purchases!

Since we decided that we want to TRY to do carry-on only, I decided that I would need to make a few LUGGAGE type purchases. In browsing the many options on Amazon, I decided that I wanted to get 2 bags that have a sleeve that goes over standard luggage handles (1 for Jim and 1 for me), 1 rolling duffel bag for myself since I bought one last year for Jim at Costco, a travel toiletry bag for Jim, and packing cubes for both of us. I purchased some last year but I wasn’t thrilled with them over-all. Please excuse the wrinkles in all clothing purchased. I promise they will be wrinkle free when we cruise. Know that I’m just not in the mood to drag out the iron and ironing board at the moment. But I will when we get closer to our travel date.

BAOSHA HB-29 Ladies woven canvas travel weekender in blue dots. Sold by: BAOSHA. Dimensions are 16″ x 12″ x 8″.

Canway 65L Travel duffel bag in Heron Gray. Sold by Crdc. It is waterproof and tear resistant. Dimensions are 26.3″ x 13.7″ x 12.2″. Folded size 10.6″ x 9.4″ x 3.9″.

Olympia luggage 29″ 8 pocket rolling duffel bag in navy. Sold by Amazon.com Services Inc.

Travel toiletry bag with 3 zippered compartments. Sold by IQTRAVELS.

6 Set packing cubes in 3 various sizes. One set is in navy dots, the other set is black. Sold by Bagail. Dimensions are: large – 17.5″ x 13.7″ x 4″, medium – 13.7″ x 9.8″ x 4″, and small – 13.7″ x 5″ x 4″. Obviously our Shih Tzu/Bichon mix knows something is up as he has managed to make his appearance known.

My hope is that we put all of this to use and our plan for carry-on only works!

Another couple of items I was looking for were power strips that did not have a surge protector. I found 2 and since I could decide on which one, I purchased both. Now we will be able to try them both out and see which will work best for us.

Cruise power strip with 3 USB charging ports and 3 outlets. Sold by Surge Pro Source.

Cruise power strip with 3 outlets and 2 USB charging ports. Sold by TROND Official.

I am really looking forward to trying both out. Have no fear, we will definitely review them in our post-cruise blogs.

Something I have never purchased before on Amazon is polo/golf shirts for my hubby. I decided, now would be a good time to see what I could find and get him a few. Well that few turned into 6. He definitely needs new shirts since he wears them daily for work. The new shirts are now set aside for the cruise.

3 Amazon Essentials men’s regular-fit, quick-dry golf polo shirts in size XX-Large. One in aqua, one in deep teal, and one red stripe. Sold by Amazon.com Services Inc.

Dockers men’s short sleeve performance polo in nebula blue, size XX-Large. Sold by Amazon.com Services Inc.

WANNEW polo shirt, short sleeve, regular-fit, size XXL in gray. Sold by WANNEW-USA.

IZOD mens golf clubhouse short sleeve stripe polo, size XX-Large in placid blue. Sold by Amazon.com Services, Inc.

And then I started getting things for me. No doubt I went over-board. But I’m sure there is a reason for my madness!

Two clothing items were purchased, one swimsuit cover-up and one shirt. Not bad, right?

TECREW women’s sleeveless beach dress, size large, in white. Sold by Tecrew.

Sipaya tops for women criss cross short sleeve t-shirt, size large, in navy blue. Sold by Sipaya.

And, of course, I would also need shoes. As you will see, I bought a pair of water shoes. My plan is to wear these while catching rays on deck. Jim and I both have water shoes that we always use when we go to the beach in Cozumel.

Water shoes, quick dry in blue/pink. Sold by SNH_cbinet.

Guilty Shoes Fifi-1 white. Sold by Guilty Shoes.

Guilty Shoes Ruby-61 Tan6. Sold by Guilty Shoes.

And then came the jewelry. Now this is where the method to my madness come into play. My theory is that I do not want to travel with jewelry that is expensive to replace if lost or stolen. I like to find quality costume jewelry pieces that will not break the bank if they are misplaced. With that in mind, these are the pieces I purchased.

Tassel pendant necklace. Sold by Urwomin. This piece was specifically purchased to go with a pair of earrings I purchased from BaubleBar last year.

Espere CZ pear drop lariat necklace. Sold by ESPERE. To be honest, this piece may or may not make the final jewelry cut for this cruise.

OUFO jewelry set crystal rose gold plated necklace and earrings. Sold by OUFO.

COOLSTEELANDBEYONE gold black statement necklace. Sold by COOLSTEELANDBEYOND. I’m looking forward to wearing this on the cruise elegant night.

Viennois cubic zirconia stud earrings with blue crystals. Sold by Viennois Jewelry.

GEMSME necklace/bracelet/earrings/ring set. Sold by GEMSME. Why this? BLING, DUH!!!

Rounding out the Amazon shopping is one purse, one beach bag, and one craft organizer to use as storage for my jewelry while traveling.

Crossbody purse/messenger bag. Dimensions are 10.5″ x 9″ x 0.5″. Sold by SUPON.

Serenita extra large canvas beach bag stripe 3 navy. Dimensions are 23″ x 18″ x 6″. It is foldable, lightweight, has in inner pocket with zipper, and a soft rope shoulder strap. Sold by fasion2100.

Creative Options pro-latch utility organizer, medium. Dimensions are 10.9″ x 7.4″ x 1.8″. Sold by Amazon.com Services Inc.

This should be all of the Amazon shopping I will be doing for this cruise. If you have any questions about any of the items, please let me know.

Please come back for next weeks precruise blog. I will be showing what I am packing for myself and maybe my hubby for our time catching rays on deck or at the beach.