I have a long packing list just for cruising. Over the years it has been refined. After each cruise, the list gets updated. Clothes get worn out and replaced. Gadgets get updated. Items that were not used gets removed from the list.
For this upcoming cruise, new clothing has been added to the list to accommodate the cooler weather. Instead of leaving from Florida as we normally do, we'll be leaving from the Port of Houston.
We are flying in two days before the cruise and staying in downtown Houston. The weatherman is calling for chance of showers along with 60 degree weather. This is our first trip to Houston and we plan on doing a lot of exploring and walking around.
I've been hanging out on CruiseCritic.com and reading the reviews for our cruise. Many are saying that it's been chilly on the day of embarkation and the first day/night at sea. We're adding pants to our list along with a lightweight rain jacket. Just in case.
We're 90% packed. I've gathered all our formal wear and arranged them into a lightweight garment bag that I can pack into our 3rd suitcase before we leave.
Our snorkel gear is packed as well as our warm weather clothes and flip-flops. Our toiletries will be the last items to pack.
So far, the 3 pieces of luggage are wring in under 30lbs each. Yes, I have digital scale to weigh the suitcases. That will also get packed at the last minute.
We'll both carry our backpacks which will be filled with gadgets! I've loaded my Kindle HDX with lots of eBooks, movies, and games. This will be my first cruise where my iPad will be staying behind. That really says a lot about my lovely Kindle.
I should weigh my backpack before I leave. It's going to be loaded with my full frame camera with 24-120mm lens (plus my 60mm micro lens), 2-3 point & shoot cameras, batteries, media cards, and my MBPro. The micro lens will be used to photograph the wonderful food onboard.
Packing tips::
- For longer cruises, I will typically do a load or two of laundry onboard. I bring softener sheets and dollar bills.
- I bring a Belkin power outlet to simultaneously charge all our gadgets. On the Princess ships there are two outlets located at the desk in each cabin. Bringing our own gives us additional outlets plus it provides surge protection.
- I print out our flight/pre-cruise information and cruise itinerary and place a copy in each of our luggage. Just in case.
- I pack a mini-stapler so I can attach our paper printed cruise tags to our luggage the morning of our embarkation.
- I pack over-the-counter medicine...ones that we frequently need and use at home. On some islands it's hard to find common medicine let alone a drug store. The ships carry a few things, but may not have the specific brand.
- I pack plastic clothes line clips for hanging hand washed items in the bathroom.
On our first two cruises I used to pack 2-3 months before our cruise. Now, with our refined list I'll start two weeks before our trip.
Picture of Geoff's Caye in Belize (2012):
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