crewsgirl

I haven't tried it. I need some support, and it looks like it doesn't have any. I have some Wacoal bras that dry quickly, give me support and are comfortable. I can always find them on sale, either at Nordstrom.com or Ideel.:)

 

One problem that DH had with the EO T shirts was that the sleeves were too long - when he wore his short sleeved polo shirts, they showed underneath. He had some cotton T-shirts that he wore for that, but they don't dry well, so he got caught a couple of times with his undies showing.

Yep, I need support for the girls, and after looking at the EO & reading the reviews, I probably will opt for a traditional sports bra for the long flight. The little crisscross front looks cute on the model, but in real life....hmmmm, might be a different story. :eek: Gotta love Wacoal :) and I have a few Soma bras that are nice.

Amazon had the men's EO Tshirts on sale, my DH will sometimes wear a V neck which I think is now discontinued, so I found that one for a bargain. And no, he is not gonna like the sleeves hanging out, so we will need to check that. :confused: Thanks for the heads up.

Since this topic seems to be getting a lot of interest, I thought I'd share my experience of packing for 10 days with just a 20" spinner. The brand is Ricardo and I purchased it at Costco for about $50. I used packing cubes as well to organize and help compress. We had an 8 day cruise out of NY and ending in San Juan, spending an extra two days there post cruise.

My embarkation outfit was black jeans & black & white striped sweater which I also wore on the return home. I wore sketcher type ballet flats instead of sneakers, so I didn't need to pack those. Elegant night, I wore a LBD with gold strappy sandals & gold jewelry. The shoes also worked with just about all my other dresses. The second elegant evening I wore a maxi dress and I brought and wore three other dresses, mostly jersey knit material. I brought one pair of capris and two dress tops. For daytime I had three pairs of shorts and three tops, three bathing suits and one coverup. I also had two thin sundresses which I wore over a bathing suit. ( I could have used one more coverup instead of the third pair of shorts which I never wore.) I brought water shoes, flip flops, and another pair of sandals that went with shorts or dresses. Add underwear, one nightie, some jewelry and toiletries, and I had room left in the case for souvenirs. I carried a small wristlet which I used throughout the cruise. I had enough options and no heavy luggage!

Surrealistic, THIS, yes, THIS is what I'm talking about! You, go, girl. I think planning the travel capsule wardrobe to accomplish this is the ticket! Have you had a look at http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/app.template , this is a great little template to put together a coordinated travel wardrobe.

I usually use the compression bags, but I am interested in the packing cubes and wonder if they create more space or simply keep you organized?

So glad you had a great trip without a ton of unnecessary luggage! :)

Scarletwelsh, good to know. How far is GBR from Sydney?

Sent from my iPad using Forums

One thing I would do is check the age of the ship you are looking at (I look on Wikipedia for info). The newer ships are of course better at handling any rough seas that might happen.

 

Our rule of thumb by experience is to do North Australia and South Pacific during Oct/Nov, and South Australia and NZ in Jan/Feb, due to better weather conditions. December suits everywhere, but we don't have the ability to go away then, and we also find it a lot more expensive then due to Australian school holidays Dec/Jan which can also make January a bit dearer also.

Hmmmmm, Goodycruising...this gives me pause....sailing the Caribbean is like being on lake water, and around the Hawaiian islands was pleasant, but we had some major seas when we turned into the North Atlantic on our Canadian travels.....how would you compare the sea between Australia out to NZ? I'm not usually a fan of the mega-mega ships, but I may rethink that issue on this trip in the face of rough seas.

And, as for the weather, I would prefer to travel either at the end of Dec or beginning of Jan and be away the entire month. I work as a nurse practitioner at a college, so it would coincide nicely with our break. I have noticed these cruises have very limited dates of availability, so I am assuming the ports are not overrun with tourists.

I think my DH will want to see the Great Barrier Reef. Now, how to do that? I saw in Terry's review, they did an aerial viewpoint, but is snorkeling available? We don't scuba dive.

One thing I would do is check the age of the ship you are looking at (I look on Wikipedia for info). The newer ships are of course better at handling any rough seas that might happen.

 

Our rule of thumb by experience is to do North Australia and South Pacific during Oct/Nov, and South Australia and NZ in Jan/Feb, due to better weather conditions. December suits everywhere, but we don't have the ability to go away then, and we also find it a lot more expensive then due to Australian school holidays Dec/Jan which can also make January a bit dearer also.

Hmmmmm, Goodycruising...this gives me pause....sailing the Caribbean is like being on lake water, and around the Hawaiian islands was pleasant, but we had some major seas when we turned into the North Atlantic on our Canadian travels.....how would you compare the sea between Australia out to NZ? I'm not usually a fan of the mega-mega ships, but I may rethink that issue on this trip in the face of rough seas.

And, as for the weather, I would prefer to travel either at the end of Dec or beginning of Jan and be away the entire month. I am thinking it would be summer there. Is that correct? I work as a nurse practitioner at a college, so it would coincide nicely with our break. I have noticed these cruises have very limited dates of availability, so I am assuming the ports are not overrun with tourists. Is that correct? Thanks, :)

There's also Royal Caribbean who have 4 ships down under during September to April to consider.

Speaking on board to Americans many have realised that 4 weeks is just not enough to see what was Australia & New Zealand have to offer so not too sure how much you can manage in 2 weeks.

Terry from Ohio has done a great review of his recent visit down under so suggest you search for it. Very detailed & informative from an American's point of view.

Do come back with further questions. We're a very friendly lot here!

Gae

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

As I started to read all these great responses, I got stuck right here! Thanks, Gaechann....I spent the rest of the evening reading the review by Terry from Ohio! I am lusting to do Australia/NZ now! :):D:p My poor DH! ;)

DH told me the same thing so we will be doing a Princess 12 day Auckland to Sydney cruise with 3 nights pre-cruise and 1 night post-cruise. (Others on the same cruise are extending pre and/or post cruise). In Sydney we have tickets reserved for Madama Butterfly at the opera house --perfect ending to the trip.

Oh my, Madama Butterfly sounds absolutely fabulous! Going to look up Princess right now! Thanks for the tip! ;)

And sewgood, "Quite often I am or so my husband tells me.:p" This cracked me up! I did see one on HAL that looked do-able, but I have never sailed Celebrity, so I will be looking at that as well.

I am inclined to think it will be critical to do both Sydney and Melbourne, so that may be a deciding factor. Do you agree? Thanks so much! :)

I am just beginning to research the possiblity of an Australia/New Zealand cruise and would love to get your perspective as we have never traveled to the area. We typically like port intensive itineraries and would like to visit/see as much as possible. We are active 50s/just 60(DH). I would love to do a 28 day, but the DH would probably only be on-board with 14/15 day max. (pun intended) :p

We really enjoyed HAL in Canada, although it was quite an older, smaller ship, probably would not go with Carnival, and we usually prefer itinerary over ship. I was happy with NCL in Hawaii as I am good with the idea of a floating-hotel-unpack-only-once mentality. We are somewhat cost conscious and I like to get a good value like HAL for example.

Which cruise line/itinerary to Australia/New Zealand would you choose? What are the absolute must-do/must-see, etc in that part of the world? How to best accomplish that on a cruise?

Thanks in advance! :)

I'll never understand why people allow a travel company to book them flights over which they have no choice.

Absolutely. This. In a nutshell...book your own airfare, use your points, make the connections you want to make, get there when you choose, upgrade if you can, and no complaints. :) It is so easy, really. They are not offering such a great price anyway.

Did a quick "test pack" tonight as I had a bin of items sitting in the spare bedroom. I put 90% of our items in one suitcase - my 24" weighed 28 pounds and it was stuffed to the brim. His 24" weighed 23 pounds. It's amazing how much stuff you can take and still pack "light." This year feels soooooo much better than lugging around that 29" 50-pound-plus suitcase last year in Ireland!!

 

I'm going to slim some things down, move things to backpacks and we will probably both end-up around 20-25 pounds each - easy to roll (spinners), no back or arm strain, and it feels good to know we have the essentials and then some but we aren't taking the entire closet!!

 

So glad I found this thread... it's my little reminder that less is more.

Whoa, CupKayke! 28 lbs is great! :p I am impressed that you were able to whittle down to that amount and be efficient! Thanks for the inspiration! And, the real benefit is that you will have a great trip and not be bogged down by too much stuff. Are you using compression travel bags?!

As for me, I was so disappointed in the Romika shoes, :(, while nicely consturcted, I did not like the sole) then, I was disappointed in the Naot shoes also! (my DH thought the little flower was ridiculous) :(:(. Clearly, I am still on the "look" for the right walking shoes.

On a positive note, after looking at the weather history in Amsterdam, I have decided my DH will need waterproof shoes, and I ordered these Clarks for him:

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/clarks-feldars-lo-shoes-leather-for-men~p~7058f/?colorFamily=01

And the good news.....these are quality shoes that fit very well, AND are waterproof and don't look like "hiker-man"! LOL! So, he is set.

Actually, it was 5. I forgot the pair I wore on the plane. Yes, I washed them every day. They are the Ex-Officio brand that dry in the blink of an eye.

So, I have stocked my DH up with 2 Ex Officio T shirts & 4 briefs and I am thinking about the cami & bra for myself. The fabric is the bomb! Have you ever tried the ex officio bra? Where to purchase? I am thinking it would be perfect to wear on the overnight flight to Amsterdam and the cami for pj top with leggings.

Yep, I really like that grounded adapter in your link and the small strip is handy for packing & very lightweight, but the Belkin offers surge protection & 2.1 Amps.

Lots of good options, just not sure how fast everything could charge if it needed to be all at the same time! :confused: The DH may have to weigh in.

Thanks for the info.

Usually not. The clip that fits from the earpiece to the device is rectangular in shape. No small, round hole available.

Well, good to know. Thanks for the info. I love my Bose NC earbuds on flights & I am going to use them through the Rijks museum in Amsterdam as well as all the Rick Steves city walks on iphone apps.

I may use them to sleep if things go bump in the night :eek:, so I just wondered about the audio tours. I guess they use disposable earpieces, I hope :confused:? Anyway, I am excited about the tours with audio as it makes all the difference in the world and I am looking forward to a great guide in the cities.

I am reading about the Quietvox device used for the Viking tour guide talks and I have a quick question for those of you that have used this device. Can the box be used with personal noise cancelling earbuds? Thanks

Hey there Crewsgirl,

We're on the the Kara in a few weeks and just went through this research. The longships have both American 110v and Euro 220v service and outlets. They are clearly marked. So if your staying only on board you don't need a plug adapter. We're staying at hotels also so bring ours. Only a few bucks anyway. We also got a power strip with USB ports for all our stuff. One thing I think I discovered was that the iPad pulls a heavy load to recharge and might not do well plugged into the power strip while other stuff is also charging.

We're with you. Tech can make travel a whole lot easier.

Have a great cruise

Thanks Francis M, I am re-thinking the amps on the power strip for that very reason, we will be in an apartment in Amsterdam for a few days precruise, so we definitely will need one. I may just opt for a European surge protector 10 Amps with usb ports like this and this comes in just under 15 oz, but still not as compact as the Belkin:

Romika run wide for me but IMO are excellent quality. I have purchased a few pairs for my mom and she loves them! I see them all over Germany.

 

Naot, Ecco, Geox all work for me, in their styles that run narrow. I live in Florida so much of my footwear is for warm temps. I love Naot Treasure, Aphrodite and my Kumara lace ups are great for closed shoes. I bought a pair of Naot Chi boots for this coming trip (4 days and still working on fine tuning my packing) and they are fab! Super comfy right out of the box and great arch support which I really appreciate.

Good to know, caviargal, wide will be helpful for me. I love Naot too, I have the Kirei, but those Chi boots are really cute. Hope you have a fabulous trip!

Crewsgirl, both are very cute. You will see Romika in all the shoe stores in Germany. Very reasonably priced, too.

Aha! Good to know, H2Otstr! I'm trying to not look so all-american-touristy! ;)

Okay, ladies, I am obsessing over the travel shoes & I got a deal flyer and ordered these:

http://i.stpost.com/romika-gina-32-mary-jane-shoes-for-women-in-black~p~7470x_01~1500.2.jpg

Have you ever heard/worn Romika? Yea, me neither, I have no idea what possessed me....but I am hoping these German models are going to be great.

Then, I ordered these:

http://i.stpost.com/naot-totki-mary-jane-shoes-for-women-in-jet-black-shadow~p~7971w_01~1500.2.jpg

but at least I know the Naot will fit and feel great. :D

We have one of those and love it, because you only need to find one free plug and you're home safe. You might also bring an adapter so you can plug this into Euro outlets.

Thanks, Jazzbeau. So an adapter will be needed on the ship? Good to know, I thought maybe the ship would have a 110 & this would work on its own.

And Cary Cruiser, all of our itinerary information, airline boarding passes, music, museum audio apps, RS walking tours, language translators, maps, $$ converters, public transportation apps & reading material are downloaded onto our devices. While I do agree that it is great to get away from the necessary daily evils of devices, I am wondering if you carry papers, maps, & books for all that stuff? We are planning to do 12 days in a carry-on bag only, so no way could I do it without downloading all the info. I guess my DH could sacrifice his camera & just use an iPad.....:confused:

rjscott, sounds like the cabin will be perfect for "getting ready" while the DH occupies the shower! Good to know. Thanks all.

We will be traveling on the Viking Ksvair and I am thinking about the number of outlets available for charging devices and would love your input. How many outlets are available in the cabin? I know the hair dryer is in the bathroom, so that is not an issue. I am not thinking we will have any need for a converter, just additional plugs.

We will have 2 iPads, 2 iPhones, noise cancelling earbuds, camera, and the audio headphones that need to be charged at various times as well as a curling iron to plug in.

I am thinking this will work as it swivels to accommodate the location of the plug and has 2 USB ports as well.

Crewsgirl, I like both of those Keen ballets, probably more the Rivington, but it would be interesting to see them on a foot.

 

I also love the look of those black Haglofs!

 

Here are my New Balance. I told the girl in the store that they looked like "old lady shoes", and then do, but so far are very comfortable:

 

http://www.newbalance.com/women/sports-%26-activities/walking/ (the 928's--sorry, the link won't come up directly.)

This made me smile :D :p :) because I am the Queen :eek: of Old Lady Shoes!

Hey Hoya, I am loving those Keen Mercers. What size are they? I tried on Keen and found the 8.5 the best. Did you get those at Sierra Trading Post? The toe cap is not so ginormous and I like those.b:)

I have this Keen waterproof & insulated boot- the Silverton - and LOVE it but it's brown and I tend to pack a black-based capsule wardrobe, so I don't travel with them often. http://www.sierratradingpost.com/keen-silverton-leather-boots-waterproof-leather-for-women~p~4886u/?filterString=s~keen%2Fshoes~d~4%2Fwomens-footwear~d~19%2Fwomens-boots~d~255%2F&colorFamily=02

I am seriously wanting those Keen Silverton boots! Love them. :) But, I'm with you...I will travel with a black color coordinated wardrobe. It's a bigger challenge to pack for winter travel for sure. Do you check a bag?

We are staying in a bed and breakfast in Amsterdam 2 nights pre-cruise that we booked independently and they requested cash upon arrival. ~350 Euros, would you wait until you get to the airport in Amsterdam to withdraw that or order from our local bank and carry with us?

I obtained a chip & pin credit card from USAA to use, and I have a Capitol One debit card with no foreign transaction fees, and no, it doesn't have a chip & PIN embedded in it and we didn't have trouble anywhere in the Med.

I am a bit confused, as Rick Steves really advises that cash is king, and if you want to bargain and purchase items locally in the street markets, carrying cash is the way to go. I admit, I have been reading his travel forum, as I would like to experience some local culture before getting on the ship.

I wear my sports sandals whenever possible, Tevas. I've just bought a new pair of New Balance walking shoes, my second pair, that I wear when I just can't wear sandals--I'm hoping they will be good for touring cobblestoned streets. I love New Balance because they come in wider widths, and my feet are shaped kind of like a duck's. Keen's are good for having a nice big toe box, but I have just tried one pair and they didn't have the support I needed. In the past, I had a number of pairs of Ecco shoes as well.

Oh, Wendy, you make me :D! I had reconstructive foot surgery last year, so I am on the "duck" side of things too! I did a Med cruise wearing black patent Ecco mary janes and they held up well. I also love Teva sandals.

The Keens are comfortable, but that giant toe cap while protective :) is a little ugly, right :(, however, I have these Keens in the shopping cart at 6pm.com, http://www.6pm.com/keen-mercer-ballerina-cnx-black

These only weigh 8 oz, but what do you think of suede in summer?

My other choice is http://www.6pm.com/keen-rivington-mj-cnx-brindle?zlfid=192&ref=pd_sims_p_1

I have also read great reviews of the Privo, and I have a pair of Naots that I really love. Have you ever seen Arcopedico shoes? Now, girls, this one is incredible! And I mean, the best comfort shoe you will ever put on, I have the L18, and weighing in at 5 oz & vegan to boot, this will probably be my airplane shoe. Has a stretchy fabric upper, so if you have bunions/hammertoes, this is the one for you. Sexy, right? LOL ;) See it here

http://www.zappos.com/arcopedico-l18-black

And my very last dressy comfort shoe is the Helle Comforts! These heels are the bomb. Surprisingly, they also look fairly decent, these are for summer, but I have the Bono in a black that work year round, Only 7 oz. & pack so easily. :)

http://www.zappos.com/helle-comfort-bona-natural-cork

And Hoyaheel, I can't wait to hear about the Christmas Market cruise, that trip is on my list for next year. Yes, boots for sure. I'm going to take a look at those Haglofs!