Check with your cruise, most allow you to bring one bottle of wine per adult. 

E-Bags– these cute little bags allow you to pack smaller! I ordered 4 from Amazon and I was able to pack: 3 nightgowns,  3 swimsuits, 3 cover ups, 3 dresses, 2 shorts, 2 shirts, and 2 sports bras all in one large bag. My husband used the other large bag, and my boys each got one small bag! Everything fit in one large suitcase. Usually we take 1 large and 2 small suitcases!

Bottled water-  Buy a case of bottled water and put it in your suitcase. That way it will be delivered to your room with your luggage. Then you can sit back and watch all of the fools walking around carrying their case of water.

Soda- if you have an addiction to Coke Zero before dinner (don’t judge) again put a 6 pack in your luggage. I asked house keeping for a bucket of ice. They brought me fresh ice every day and put my Coke Zero on ice before they left the room! I was a very happy girl!

Power strip– most rooms on a cruise only have 2 outlets, in the whole room! I love this power port, it can power all of your devices at once.

Over the door shoe holder– the bathroom has very limited storage space. The over the door shoe holder works great!

Lanyards– these were great for kids to hold their room key. I would take them away when we debarked the ship. It was the only way we could get back on and I didn’t want the kids to lose them and get stuck in Mexico!
Walkie talkies- great way to keep in touch with your family on the ship.

Air freshener- it’s a small bathroom and your whole family shares it!
Night light- inside cabins gets really dark and it helps find the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Water bottles– refill water on the ship and take it with you to your room. It was also nice to have water bottles for excursions.

Dress- This is my new favorite dress! The soft, easy to wear, and washable fabric makes it great for traveling. The built in bra makes it so comfortable you feel like you are wearing pajamas. I bought several of these dresses and I wear them on the plane, to dinner, shopping, and they look great dressed up or dressed down.  http://www.soybu.com/dresses/malia-dress-delicate

Switch Flops– I love these shoes! I have the flip flops and the heels. I bought some cute straps and I can switch between the flip flops for day time to the heels for night. They are so cute, comfortable,  and practical you are going to want to wear them all the time! http://www.lindsay-phillips.com/strap-shoes/shoes.html/

Laundry bag– easy to haul your laundry to the washer and dryer on the ship. Don’t forget the quarters and laundry detergent (I love Tide pods!)

Clothes pins– They come in handy when you want to hang your wet swimsuits over the shower in your room.
Towel clips– keep your towel lying flat when you’re sitting on the pool deck enjoying a drink and watching the kids

Ziploc Bags– I always grab a couple of apples, grapes, or muffins from the breakfast buffet for our excursions. I throw them in a Ziploc bag in my large swim bag and take them with me. You never know when you will be fed and its nice to have a snack for the kids when you are on the van to the traveling back to the ship.
Alcohol- if you want to drink but not spend a fortune on the cruise drinks, I use a sunscreen bottle I bought on Amazon.com. It looks like sunscreen but you fill it with your favorite alcohol. I love rum and I would add it to the orange juice for a tropical poolside drink.

Happy Sailing!

4 Night Carnival Cruise to Catalina Island and Ensenada Mexico

Long story short, we were planning a trip to Hawaii. We sat at the airport all day Saturday and all day Sunday trying to fly to Hawaii on stand by. Since my husband is a pilot for South West airlines, and they don’t fly to Hawaii yet, we were trying to get on another airlines flight. It didn’t work. Sunday at 1pm when the last flight to Hawaii left, I was disappointed. But I don’t give up! I decided to turn lemons into lemonade. I got out my IPad and went to www.vacationstogo.com. I found a cruise leaving Long Beach, California the next day. I called the number and booked us on the cruise. We ran home repacked and flew to LAX ! We took an Uber car to the Long Beach terminal and I swear we were the last people on the ship! To our surprise this was the best vacation we have ever taken with our boys! They loved the cruise ship, the pool and water slide, and the sense of freedom. We let them stay together and gave them times and places to meet us. They followed through every time; I think they were afraid to lose their new found freedom.

Long Beach California,  Carnival Cruise $119 per person before taxes and tip (bought 1 day prior)

Monday get on the ship

We literally got on the ship and went straight to the drill. After we found our cabin, it was nice to unpack and get ready for dinner.

Tuesday Catalina Island–

We walked off the ship and went to the first dive shop we saw. We got wet suits, snorkeling  gear, and fins for $$$$ less than the excursion on the ship! We walked to the dive spot, threw on the stuff and walked into the ocean. Great start for kids first time snorkeling. I bought an Olympus Digital Waterproof camera a year ago and I was so excited to use it. It came in really handy.

Wednesday Ensenada Mexico–

Kayaking to the La Bufadora, blow hole.We booked the excursion on the ship. It was a 30 minute bus ride. We kayaked in the ocean to the blow hole and back. The bus stopped in this tiny little town so we could have lunch. We had the most delicious tacos and fresh churros!

Thursday at sea

We spent a lot of time at the pool. I was multitasking, watching the kids, working on my tan, and doing laundry. We found a laundry machine on the ship and took advantage of the day at sea. I hate going home with dirty, wet, smelly clothes!

We enjoyed the dining room every night. The kids loved steak and french fries for dinner, every single night! Trust me there were plenty of choices but my little carnivores couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have steak and fries.

Friday get off the ship

This was the end of our trip and we were all sad to leave the ship. I was going to miss my omelet and coffee every morning. The boys would miss the pool and new friends they made. My husband was going to miss the relaxing time we spent together.

I knew we would cruise again, real soon!

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