25 Days and Counting!  

Caribbean cruises make for an amazing vacation, especially if you haven't had the opportunity to see many of the islands first hand.  Cruises give you the ability to explore, and if you don't like it, in a few short hours you'll be off to another destination.  

The more cruises I have the opportunity to book the more the question arises...what should I pack?  If you are anything like me, over packing is probable, but my word of advice is this, no matter what cabin you find yourself in, it is likely a MUCH smaller space than you are used to.  While I believe over packing is a must, I suggest that if you lay out all the things you will think you’ll need, then cut them in half. 

I do have a few must haves on my cruise packing list, and here they are:

• An over the door holder:  I am sure this sounds quite strange when you read it, but I will tell you it saved my sanity on the last cruise I was on.  Ships bathrooms are tiny and the shelf and counter space is even less then you would expect.  I however, am your typical girl, so I travel with perfume, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, baby oil, shower gel, sunscreen, chap-stick, a hair dryer, a curling iron, a flat iron, my toothbrush and about 40 other bottles and items that I NEED! There is no room to put any of this in the bathroom, or the cabin for that matter, so In an attempt to create more storage, I turned to the trusty over the door shoe holder, the cheapest I could find, which I hung on the back of the bathroom door, all of our bottles and stuff found their home in this organizer, it kept things off the tiny counter and at our fingertips when we needed it.  Don’t leave for your cruise without one.

• Highlighter pens:  Since you are on vacation, it is hard to imagine a need for a highlighter, but I suggest you pack one color for each person traveling.  Cruises are packed with activities and not to be missed programming, everyone will have something each day that they want to do, so when the cruise compass (daily guide) gets delivered to your room, you can each highlight your activities in the corresponding color, so during the day the things you don’t want to miss will jump off the page for you

• Post-it notes:  your cabin steward is your best friend on the ship, aside from servicing your room three times a day, and leaving the famous towel animals on your bed, he or she will replace towels and other items, bring your ice or anything else you need, pick up laundry if you have it done…they are your lifeline and the fist place you go when you need help.  I find that post-its are a great way to communicate with the stewards.  You can leave your not to be missed notes on the bathroom mirror, and they are sure to get them.  Post-its are also good for communicating to others in your party, where to meet, what you are up to.  My suggestion is decide on a memo area, where you will leave notes for one another when you first get into your room, this way they will never be missed

• Bungee Cords:  These are great for keeping the doors open in your cabin.  Balcony doors are designed to close automatically, and since it is nice to be able to sleep with the door open so you can hear the ocean around you, a bungee cord will come in handy.  This also is handy if you want to keep the bathroom or closet doors open as well. 
•  Clothes Pins:  Since a lot of time is spent at the pool and the beautiful beached of the Caribbean, and balconies are often used to dry items, but with the wind created by the ships movement, it is easy to lose items at sea.  Clothespins will keep your stuff stuck to the balcony.  

• Duct Tape:  I have also come to learn that there is the possibility for rough seas on a ship, and when this happens the latches on drawers don’t always stand up to the test.  A SMALL roll of duct tape will allow you to tape the drawers closed.  In addition, you can also use it to hang decorations on the outside of your door, or if your suit case breaks from over stuffing it with everything you buy in the islands.  

There you have it, my most unique items to bring on a cruise list.  Do you have something you can’t live without???  If so I would love to know what it is, maybe I need it too.