Welcome to my blog! As of about 3 minutes ago I started packing for my upcoming cruise on the Disney Dream and thought… this is what my first blog needs to be about, “How to Pack for a Cruise”. This is an area of concern for most all of my first time cruisers, OR clients who haven’t cruised in a while. So, here are just a FEW tips you may find helpful.
Formal Night Attire: Formal night is my FAVORITE night! It’s the night you dress to impress. This is what you need to pack for that night:
Ladies- cocktail dress, a nice skirt set, skirt with blouse, or a dressy pant suit.
Guys- the minimum is dress pants with a button down shirt. Don’t stop there though. Go the extra mile, make your woman happy, and slap on a coat and tie. J
*No-No’s for Formal Night- no shorts of any kind, jeans/denim of any kind, t-shirts, flip-flops, and last but CERTAINLY not least…don’t wear your bathing suit to dinner. Here's a pic of what Rob and I wore on our last cruise
Tip #2) The best thing I’ve found that I NEVER travel without (especially on cruises) is a toiletry hanging bag (picture below). I can get ALL of my toiletries in this bag, AND it hangs conveniently on the back of the bathroom door, out of the way! I got this one from a Mary Kay representative, but you can find them just about anywhere. I know for a fact you can get them at Accessory City in Hoover, or you can also just Google it and order one online!
Casual Night Attire: Casual night attire applies to all other nights on your cruise.
Ladies- casual/summer dresses, cute skirts, capris, pants, dressy shorts, jeans (no cut offs).
Guys- dress shorts (make sure they’re long), khaki pants, jeans (no cut offs), Polo styled shirts.
*No-No’s for Casual Night- gym attire, sleeveless shirts (guy rule only), baseball hats, flip-flops, and again…no bathing suits.
(Note on the description of flip-flops: They mean no rubber/beach style flip-flops).
Toiletries: Tip #1) Travel Size! Travel Size! Travel Size! In case you haven’t heard, bathrooms on cruise ships are small. Even the “large” bathrooms in the suites are still small compared to a normal sized bathroom. So, keep that in mind while packing your toiletries. You’re going to have very limited space for large bottles of shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, lotions, etc. Travel size...
Tip #2) The best thing I’ve found that I NEVER travel without (especially on cruises) is a toiletry hanging bag (picture below). I can get ALL of my toiletries in this bag, AND it hangs conveniently on the back of the bathroom door, out of the way! I got this one from a Mary Kay representative, but you can find them just about anywhere. I know for a fact you can get them at Accessory City in Hoover, or you can also just Google it and order one online!
Tip #3) If you are rooming with friends or family members, I have found it helpful to coordinate with those people and designate one person to bring shampoo and conditioner, one person to bring body wash, so on and so forth. Obviously in this case, you would need the larger bottles…NOT the travel size. That way, instead of having 3 to 4 bottles of shampoo…you only have one that everyone can use. You can do the same with the hairdryer. MOST cruises provide a hairdryer in your stateroom; however, there are some people that insist on having their own. I am one of those. The dryer on the wall just doesn’t cut it. So, in that case buddy up with the other people in your room so you don’t have 4 hairdryers.
Keeping your Clothes Wrinkle Free: Needless to say…you’re on VACATION! You don’t want to spend your time ironing clothes. So, the best tip I have is to iron all your clothes prior to packing, and then pack your “easily wrinkled” clothes in plastic dry cleaner bags. It cuts down on the wrinkles BIG TIME!
(Picture Below)
If some of your clothes still end up wrinkled, hang them in the bathroom while you shower. The steam will help relax the wrinkles.
If worse comes to worse and those two options fail, there will be a room with irons for you to use. 
The Must-Have Mini Pharmacy: *Pack a mini-pharmacy in your suitcase. I do this no matter where I’m traveling! (Pic below) Now, this may look excessive, but trust me…as soon as you have an upset stomach or headache and have to pay $15 for a 2 capsule pack of Advil or Pepto, you’re going to wish you had! Don’t take the whole bottles of medicine. I usually take 4-5 tablets/caplets of each medicine (if they are individually wrapped), and throw them all in a ziplock baggie.
Hope you find these little tips helpful!!!
