Carnival Breeze 2022 – Time to make the lists.

With 4 weeks to go, I have decided it is time to make the lists for this cruise. I will primarily be focusing on clothes and maybe shoes. But I will also include my excessive first aid kit. So lets get started.

Since my first aid kit seems to have more on it than the clothes I will be taking, lets start with it.

I know the list is long but in these times, I want to be prepared for anything and everything including taking a lot of face masks!

I do have a small first aid kit I keep in my purse, but it is very basic.

Now for the clothes. For every cruise I go on, I will make a chart of the days on the cruise and what will be going on those days. This year, I decided to use my handy dandy Plum Planner.

First, I wrote on each day what would be going on. This gives me an idea of what I will wear on that day.

On the opposite page, I wrote in pencil what I plan on wearing that day and evening.

Since I have written everything in pencil, it will be easy to change in my planner should I change my mind about something. And believe me, I already have.

For some reason, when I was putting the clothes together, it appears that I will be taking a lot less clothes than I normally do. This makes my husband so excited. But since it is still early, there may or may not be any changes made to the list. I guess the only way to find out will be to come back for the packing blog which will be up closer to cruise time.

Thanks for reading!!!

Carnival Vista 2021 – Precruise #9 Packing my jewelry.

This is always the most difficult thing for me to do. I’m always changing my mind on what I want to take and what I want to wear. But one thing never changes. And that is how I pack my jewelry.

On our last cruise, I used one container for my daytime jewelry and one for the evening jewelry. Yes, I am that extra. It’s the only time I get out!!! These containers can be found at any hobby or craft store and also on Amazon. I love using them as you can arrange the sections according to your needs.

Now it’s time to sort this mess and get them into containers.

Here’s the daytime container.

Here’s the evening container.

Now it’s time to get all the last minute errands run and finish getting our stuff together.

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.

200-Day Countdown to Carnival Freedom, Patiently waiting for our 8-night cruise, issue #1

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Although this cruise was actually booked months ago, I have been in a funk, so to speak. Typically at this stage, I would already have our hotel booked, parking reservation made, and started planning the clothes we will be taking. But for some reason, I just have not been able to get into it like I normally do. That is until today which is actually 198 days away!

What changed??? Well, I always look for good deals on hotel rooms and I have always been able to find good deals on Hotels.com. But for some reason, the prices have been more than I want to pay for one night stay. We prefer to stay at Quality Inn as we have always had a good experience there. We have also had pre-cruise stays at The Commodore and used bonus time at Silverleaf Seaside Resort (now Holiday Inn Vacation Club Seaside Resort… don’t get me started about this). Since prices are more than I care to pay, we started looking at possibly staying in Kemah for the night. I’m basically a creature of habit. I ALWAYS stay the night before a cruise in Galveston and have dinner at The Original Mexican Cafe. I just could not wrap my head around staying somewhere other than Galveston. Today, I decided to check Priceline.com to see if their prices were any different and I am so glad I did. I booked a room for one night at Scottish Inn. The room is prepaid for and there is no cancellation for this booking. We are locked in for our stay!!! The best part is the price difference between the two websites was $36.00. I try to save money anywhere I possibly can!!!!

We have friends that stay there often pre-cruise and have had no problems. I like that it is off the beaten path yet convenient for our needs. By that I mean that it is close to The Original Mexican Cafe and not far from the cruise terminal.

So now, all that is left is to book the parking. I’m 98% certain that I will be booking our parking with ezcruiseparking.com for this cruise. We used it on our Carnival Dream cruise last year and the only drawback for us was the walk to the car after the cruise. But, for the price, we are willing to make the walk again. We like being able to walk to the cruise terminal before and after the cruise and our preferred parking is approximately $40. more.

I also need to start making lists!!! One good thing is that I do not need any new clothes and we do not need any new luggage. I may have gone a little overboard last year, LOL!!!! Hopefully this year we will not leave our 12-packs of coke at home!!!!

Getting Carnival Vista Ready #10… Let the packing begin.

I have had plenty of time to choose my clothes, shoes, and accessories. Now it is time to start packing.

For this cruise, I decided to use packing cubes. This is something very new to me so I’m not sure exactly how it will work out, but I’m going to give try it. I started out by ordering some GONEX packing cubes from WalMart. It comes in 3 sizes and in a variety of colors. Since I would need to order some for my mother to try, I order 3 in different colors, Blue, Yellow, and a turquoise color. I received them very quickly and decided to give them a trial run. I tried rolling my clothes and I tried just folding my clothes. I have decided that these will not work for me for a 7-day cruise but can still be used for the smaller items. I next turned to Target and found some things I thought would work great for my husband and I so I ordered said items. I was able to use the extra large and large cubes to fit my clothes in.

I decided to use the large cube for what I consider daytime clothes… shorts and shirts to wear around the ship and at the various ports of call. I tried the rolling technique and the regular folding and found that regular folding works out best for me. Everything fit in the cube nicely and doesn’t feel like they clothes are shoved into the cube.

I used the extra-large cube for the evening clothes which are the outfits I will be wearing to dinner and around the ship afterwards. My cruise-elegant dresses will be packed in a regular garment bag. The evening clothes fit nicely into the extra large cube and I can probably add some more to it if I wanted to. But I don’t want to. I’m trying NOT to over-pack on this cruise. I guess time will tell if I have succeeded or not!!!

I purchased a bead container at Hobby Lobby along with some plastic bags to use for my jewelry as I have seen people on YouTube use them with great success. I was amazed with how easily everything fit into the container and now I do not have to worry about anything becoming tangled!!!

My travel first kit has been packed and is busting at the seams!!! But keep in mind, I’m packing for 9 and I feel the need to be prepared for any emergency that may come along. I am keeping everything in a cosmetic case I purchased at Tuesday Morning. Everything fits in nicely unless I think of some other items I might need.

I am using a ditty bag I found at Tuesday Morning for our suntan lotions and after sun lotion. Everything fits in nicely and will come in handy while hanging out on deck or on the beach. There is also enough room for the mosquito repellent wipes I purchased, but not for the Bugables. So it looks like I need to do some more shopping!!!

And last of this packing series, I have packed my hair care products into a cosmetic bag I purchased at Tuesday Morning. Everything fits well and will be easy to access for our pre-cruise stay.

In the next segment of Getting Carnival Vista Ready, I hope to be able to pack my cosmetic bag and also our overnight bag. Plus some other essentials I will be taking and how I hope to pack them.

Getting Carnival Vista ready #7 – what I will be packing for the daytime fun!

I have been planning on this cruise since we book it over 14 months ago. To say I’m excited would be an understatement. You would think it is my first cruise, but it isn’t. But this cruise will definitely be different as we are traveling as a 4-generation family. My grandchildren have never been on a cruise and I can hardly wait to see their faces when we first get on the ship. I hope they are filled with as much excitement as we will be!

Most of my days on a ship are usually spent on one of the upper decks catching some rays. I’m hoping this trip will be much like the others have been. As crazy as this may sound, I have selected 2 pairs of shorts and 4 tops that will be worn on the sea days and while we are at Mahogany Bay. I have also picked out a pair of shorts and top for our time in Belize and Cozumel. So that is a total of 4 pairs of shorts and 6 tops.

This is my selection for Belize. Now, in all honesty, there is a possibility that I will just stay on the ship on this day. But then again, I might take the tender and check things out at the port area. It just depends on my mother and how she is able to navigate here and there.

This is my selection for Cozumel. I know we will be doing shopping in town and maybe some in port area when we return.

Sea days will definitely require a swimsuit and I have 2 that I will be taking along with 2 cover-ups.

Stay tuned for the next installment which will be my even attire selections. Over-packing is alive and well and living in my house!!!!

Getting Carnival Vista Ready #6… Yes, I am an over-packer.

I always pack more than I need. But I like to have choices. This year, I will TRY to scale down some, but that may not happen. Some habits are hard to break. But I will plan everything out so that maybe, just maybe, I will actually wear everything I pack. I know it is not likely, but a girl can dream!!!

I like to try to plan my clothes for each day I will be gone. This cruise leaves on a Sunday. We will be driving to Galveston on Saturday so we do not have to stress over traffic and any unexpected delays. I do not want to miss a cruise because of delays getting to the port. I make a list clothes I am likely to wear according to our itinerary including travel days. This is the list for this cruise…

Saturday – TRAVEL DAY!!!. Jeans or Capri’s, shirt, tennis shoes.

Sunday – EMBARKATION DAY!!!! Jeans or Capri’s, group shirt, tennis shoes.

Monday – SEA DAY/CRUISE ELEGANT NIGHT. Daytime: shorts & top, swimsuit & cover-up, flip flops/tennis shoes. Evening: long dress, dress shoes, accessories (for dinner). Capri’s, top, sandals or flip flops (for after dinner). Yes I realize that is 2 outfits for the evening but I really do not want to wear my 5 inch heals all night long!

Tuesday – SEA DAY. Daytime: shorts & top, swimsuit & cover=up, flip flops/tennis shoes. Evening: Capri’s & top, sandals.

Wednesday – Mahogany Bay. Daytime: swimsuit & cover-up, shorts & top, flip flops. Evening: Capri’s & top, sandals.

Thursday – Belize. Daytime: shorts & top, tennis shoes while in port; swimsuit & cover-up, flip flops on ship. Evening: Capri’s & top, sandals.

Friday – Cozumel/ SECOND CRUISE ELEGANT NIGHT. Daytime: shorts & top, tennis shoes while in port; swimsuit & cover-up, flip flops on ship. Evening: long dress, dress shoes, accessories (dinner); Capri’s & top, sandals (after dinner). Yes I know, it another 2 outfit night. To be honest, depending on what is going on this evening, I might stay in this dress for the night. But then again, I might not.

Saturday – Sea Day. Daytime: swimsuit & cover-up, flip flops; shorts & top, tennis shoes or sandals. Evening: Capri’s & top, sandals

Sunday – THEY KICK US OFF THE SHIP. Travel day home. Jeans or Capri’s & top, tennis shoes.

After I make out my list, I look at my clothes and try to decide what I am going to take. I know on our night in Galveston we will be having dinner at The Original Mexican Cafe. This is a casual restaurant so we should not have the need to change clothes before we go out for dinner. This packing list does not include under garments. But that is only because I wait until the last minute to pack that!!! And I also have to make sure my mother has everything she needs. I have already purchased her some shorts and some Capri’s for this trip. She has since forgotten that she has them, LOL! This is what we have planned for her so far. She seems to think she needs more things, but that is probably just the dementia talking!

I do know I will need help in deciding what daytime and evening outfits to take on this cruise. My plan is to take pictures of the outfits tomorrow and post them in a blog tomorrow. At least that is what I hope to do.

StitchFix #3

It seems like a long wait since the last one in June but at last, I finally received my latest StitchFix box #3!!!

I must admit, when I received the email notification that it was on it’s way, I peaked to see what it was. With this diet I’m on, I decided I really wasn’t mentally prepared for any surprises. I knew before the box arrived that I would probably only be keeping a couple of items but I would keep an open mind while I awaited the arrival.

The box arrived one day after the email notification which caught me totally off-guard! I opened the box and there was a surprise gift inside from my stylist, Erin. I really like her and I feel like she is pretty much on track with items I would like.

Box#3 included:

Bujibaja – Crysti Straw Tote in the color tan (item 59995961) $96.00.

ZSupply – Derick Scoop Neck Knit Top in the color teal green (item 69283466) $34.00

Studio Blue – Kadence Distressed Denim Short in the color white (item 700005579) $38.00

French Grey – Evalynn Brushed Knit Dress in the color red (item 72380051) $48.00

FORTUNE + IVY – Tayler Tie Front Knit Top in the color blue (item 72613753) $38.00

About Box #3… Items being returned.

The tote is $96.00! Seriously… $96.00 for a tote to take to the beach? In all honesty I have several totes that I use for beach time so this is not a necessary item for me. And besides, just because it costs more doesn’t mean it is better. The tote is being returned.

Also being returned is the dress. It isn’t that I didn’t like it or that it didn’t fit. That is not it. I’m returning it because when I tried it on, it just didn’t feel right. So, the dress is in the return bag. I’m a little sad about that, but I’m sure I will get over it.

But I am keeping the 3 remaining items! They are perfect for our upcoming cruise as well as everyday wear in this Texas heat!

The final cost for the 3 items after the addition of sales tax and the credit for the styling fee was $99.09. I’m not complaining about the cost since the quality of the items I’m keeping is excellent. I wonder what my hubby will have to say about it if and when he reads this blog!

I have plans to wear the blue top with my Kut From the Kloth boyfriend jeans I received in my very first StitchFix box on our drive to the port when we go on our cruise. Now I just need to figure out what shoes and other accessories I will need for it. I have not made a definite decision as to whether the shorts and teal shirt will also be going on the cruise or not. But I still have a little bit of time to make that final decision!!!

I’m anxiously awaiting the arrival of StitchFix Box #4 scheduled to arrive on September 29!!!

Getting Carnival Vista ready #5

With our cruise 87 days out, I have decided to get my “cruise clothes” out of my closet. I need to see if anything still fits. I need to decide what I want to wear during the day, what I want to wear in the evenings, and what I want to wear at the different ports of call. I like knowing ahead of time what I’m taking. This allows me plenty of time to change my mind which I will probably do a million times between now and when we leave for our cruise. For me, it’s must the nature of the beast.

Since we are diving to the port, I do not have to worry about the weight of the luggage so that makes things a little easier. My husband and I typically share a large suitcase and we also have a garment bag that we take for our nicer clothes. NOTE TO SELF, might need a bigger garment bag, LOL!

I work from home, so the clothes I wear daily and not exactly anything I would want to wear on vacation. I have had to purchase some shorts and some capris and I may or may not have purchased some shirts. But anything I have purchased, I do not intend to wear before the cruise unless I decide I’m not taking them. In that case, I might return any new items. I did not have to purchase anything for either formal night as I have a couple of dresses, one old that I bought when my oldest son got married that I didn’t wear and one I bought from my last Stitch Fix box. I also have the dress I wore on our last cruise formal night but I think I want to do something different this time!

I’m not sure about shoes yet, but I should be good in that department. I will know more when I narrow things down. Right now, I have 6 pairs of heels that I’m considering for this trip. I don’t get out much so this is the only time I get to be all fancy!!!!

Either this Sunday or next Sunday, I might try-on clothes I’m considering for the cruise in hopes of getting some feedback. My husband usually does not have an opinion so he’s no help. For now, these are the 2 dresses I’m planning on for the formal nights on our cruise.

Which is your favorite???

Getting Carnival Vista ready #4

Although I have been on 10 cruises (1 on Cunard, 1 on NCL, and 8 on Carnival), I am always looking for information. Not just for the ports we will be visiting but also for packing ideas, especially with things people usually do not think about. My information comes from blogs like Cruise Radio and some from YouTube videos like EECC travels, CruiseTipsTV and CruiseGear. They seem to have very concise information that really applies!!! (And I also follow them on Instagram!!!)

I recently made a shopping stop at our local Dollar Tree. When you see the pictures of what I purchased, please keep in mind, I’m shopping for 9 people!!!! My list started out looking like this…

This shopping spree is for items that can be used in all three stateroom. These are the items I was able to check off our list: Zip lock bags in various sizes (1 of each size for each room… it might be overkill but at least we will have enough to share with other cruisers), 6 mesh laundry bags, 3 night lights, clothespins, jumbo clips, and some generic type command strips with the hook, and 9 lint rollers because you can never have too many of those!!!

I also had to make a trip to Target and while I was in the check-out line, I noticed some travel size Advil so I picked up a couple of those! Just another thing to check off our long Dollar Tree shopping list!!!

At the end of the shopping spree, if you want to call it that, our list now looks like this:

I plan on going back to Dollar Tree on Friday to knock off some more things from the list.