need packing tips for kids

[SuperCoolOne]

So, by the time of our cruise, to the bahamas, in April, we will have a 3 1/2, 6, and 7 1/2 year old.

We are either driving the entire way or driving about 8 hours away and flying the rest.

 

Either way, we will be in Florida the day before we cruise so I can wash whatever clothes we wear before we get on board.

 

Each kid has at least 2 swimsuits already. For a 5 day, what do they really need in terms of shorts, shirts, jeans. I know they will need 1 nice outfit as well.

 

2 of the 3 kids are not fully potty trained at night so we will be bringing pull-ups for that and that will take up a bit of room.

[BBigfoot613]

So, by the time of our cruise, to the bahamas, in April, we will have a 3 1/2, 6, and 7 1/2 year old.

We are either driving the entire way or driving about 8 hours away and flying the rest.

 

Either way, we will be in Florida the day before we cruise so I can wash whatever clothes we wear before we get on board.

 

Each kid has at least 2 swimsuits already. For a 5 day, what do they really need in terms of shorts, shirts, jeans. I know they will need 1 nice outfit as well.

 

2 of the 3 kids are not fully potty trained at night so we will be bringing pull-ups for that and that will take up a bit of room.

 

 

Where are you from, where's the cruise going to and are you going beginning of April or towards the end?

 

I would say that if you are used to the warmer weather it might still be "cold" to you and your little ones would prefer jeans to shorts. I would also assume that if you are north like I am then your little ones would prefer shorts over jeans. Also if you are sailing far enough south the time of year becomes more irrellivent since the temps get warmer and can feel rather nice. Also remeber that they could wear a pair of jeans twice if they don't get messy easy.

 

We are going from Baltimore in early may and figure of the 7 days our 2 will prefer shorts atleast 4 of the days (barring rain). we also plan on mixing and matching to minimizing the amount of clothes to take. We overpacked by alot on our first cruise with our daughter but got it almost perfect on our second cruise w/o either cruise. I'm hoping to get everything right this cruise with both kids so I'm not taking clothes on vacation that'll never be worn.

[SuperCoolOne]

We are in central NY, sailing out of JAX in mid April to the Bahamas on a 5 day with 2 port days.

[BBigfoot613]

We are in central NY, sailing out of JAX in mid April to the Bahamas on a 5 day with 2 port days.

 

Ok so you are slightly north of me! lol I'm in north central Pa.

 

I'm going to make an assumption using "normal" weather and not the crazy weather we had in the spring on 2009. We could never get a fix on what the next week was going to bring. I'm assuming flying down a day before the cruise since you said you'd be in florida the day before for laundry. Since "travel day" will likely be mainly sitting at airports or in a vehicle I can't see where they'd be getting very dirty. you'll more then likely be wanting to wear something warmer (jeans with or w/o a jacket) for the travel. I'd say these would be nice to have for the cruise so you won't have to pack extras of. So being a cruise all in the south florida area, you'll be seeing average temps in the low 80's for highs. Personally I'd pack 1 pair of pants, use the travel pants as a spare just in case, the formal wear stuff, and 3 (probably) pairs of shorts. Might go with 4 but consider how often they'll be swimming and how often they'll want to be in the pool or in the ocean at the beach. You'll find that if your kids like swimming they'll be pool side as long as the weather allows (or in bad weather for me with my daughter age 7). Throw in a clean shirt for each day and underclothes and you should have plenty.

 

I found a website with average temps for the bahamas here http://bahamas-guide.info/weather/

 

Oh and depending on cruiseline and ship, the kiddos might spend most of the day sliding the slide (read clothes worn to the pool and laying on a deck chair) lol.

 

I hope this helps you some. It's what I'd do personally and I'm sure others will see things differently. We're going on a 7 day from chilly baltimore. I'm planning on jeans for the boarding sunday and monday and shorts/swimwear for tuesday-friday and pants for sat and sunday.

 

Oh and I forgot to suggest clothespins. since you are already thinking 2 swimsuites each I'm sure you'd think of that but they make an easy way to hang the other one up in the shower to dry when needed.

[SuperCoolOne]

Thanks, yep I do have clothespins on the list as well. Just have to remember to actually buy them.

[BBigfoot613]

Thanks, yep I do have clothespins on the list as well. Just have to remember to actually buy them.

 

Well since I have 130ish days I'd suspect you have 100 days or so remaining to get to the store to pick some up. I do know that the carnival ships showers have a built in clothes line, atleast the 2 I have been on.

 

Is this the first cruise for the little ones? I know my daughter and DW burned ALOT easier than they do here at home. the carribean sun is much more harsh on the skin than our up north sun. It didn't help that both have redhead in their blood. I do also but don't burm to a crisp easily and even I got a nice little burn (even trying to not get burnt). to top it off all 3 were wearing sunscreen and applied it occasionally incase it wore off in the water. I guess I need to get better spf than last time so we don't have any whining of being burnt. My 2 will be 4 1/2 and 7 1/2 when we sail in may (both oct b-days)

[SuperCoolOne]

I will need a high spf for myself as I burn very easily.

We will apply it to the kids as well but they don't burn like I do.

[uscspur]

Since you will be in FL the day before buy your baby items once there. It will save a lot of room.

[A&Jfamily]

So, by the time of our cruise, to the bahamas, in April, we will have a 3 1/2, 6, and 7 1/2 year old.

We are either driving the entire way or driving about 8 hours away and flying the rest.

 

Either way, we will be in Florida the day before we cruise so I can wash whatever clothes we wear before we get on board.

 

Each kid has at least 2 swimsuits already. For a 5 day, what do they really need in terms of shorts, shirts, jeans. I know they will need 1 nice outfit as well.

 

2 of the 3 kids are not fully potty trained at night so we will be bringing pull-ups for that and that will take up a bit of room.

 

We cruised the Fascination in March last year and my DSs were in shorts except for the day we boarded the ship - I put everyone in jeans because the morning was cool.

 

For day, I pack the kids 1 t-shirt and shorts for each day. 1 dressy outfit. The for the other evenings, I take 1 pair of pants for every two evenings, with a different polo shirt, so in this case, 2 kakhis or nice jeans, and 4 polos - if you have girls, a casual summer dress or capri's and a shirt would be perfect for dinner. 2-3 bathing suits. Sweater or sweatshirt in case they get cool. Flip flops, tennis shoes and nicer shoes (dressier sandals for girls) for dinner. If they have some kind of spill/accident, there is always wash that can be done - but that kinda bothers me to wash while on vacation!:D

 

6-8 pull ups will really not take up that much space. I would pack 2 in one larger suit case and the other in a smaller one.

 

BTW - the same packing rules go for me as well. I find that most of my day time is spend in the day in either a swim suit and cover up or t-shirt and casual cotton shorts and flip flops. I have a couple of work out outfits, including some yoga pants and a hoodie - I get cool in the afternoons after a day in the sun. And dinner is a dress/skirt or two and a couple of capris - just mix up the tops. You really, really don't need that much.

 

If you can, fly - keeping the drive to a minimum. It is 8 hrs to JAX from here, and that is enough drive - more than that is really, really a downer on the trip home. Fly in the day before, stay at one of the airport hotels - it is only about 15 minutes to the port from there - some may offer a shuttle - you might want to check the boards. Trust me for the extra money spent, it is well worth it to maintain the relaxation the cruise will bring. 5 glorious days of no cooking and cleaning (and even no laundry if the kids are neat!).

 

Also, my little tip for mornings with kids...try breakfast in the dining room at 8. The Lido deck is nice, but they offer all the same things in the dining room and there is no getting up and down for more of this and that. On your sea days, lunch in the dining room is also a great option. And if you can either put the kids in camp, or take them with you, tea in the dining room around 3 on tea days (watch your capers) is such a treat! Can you tell I like the food?;)

[yogi2929]

Aloe gel will help soothe the burns.

[Essiesmom]

If your five day on Fascination includes Half Moon Cay, you won't need anything but a bathing suit and cover up for that day. It's the best beach ever, great sand, no stones...no waves, clear water. EM

[Bluegirl]

We are about to embark on our 7th cruise--7th also for my six-year-old, though just the 6th for my 4-year-old. They are actually half way to their next birthdays. Packing was a huge deal at first, and even today I don't have it quite down to a perfect, efficient art. Mainly, I overpack, and I'm not ashamed of it. I have two boys, and if the ship we're on doesn't offer self-serve laundry, I do not want to spend a ton of money laundering their stuff just because they generally go through an average of 3 outfits a day. (Yes, messy eaters for the most part.) So, for a 7-day cruise (w/o laundromat), I pack as if we're going on a 12-day vacation. Two swimsuits are good, but three are even better - it's hard to get suits completely dry by the next day, and even harder to wrangle kids into cold, wet suits. For my 4-year-old at night, I pack about 1 1/2 times as many pullups as I think I will need. A 7-day cruise for us (out of Florida) is actually an 8-day vacation for us since we have to fly in a day early from the West (where it's always COLD): jeans, long-sleeve shirts and light jackets/sweaters/fleeces. These can come in handy for the trip back (if not too dirty) and/or rainy days at sea. Hats are very important. My kids are fair and will bake out in the sun aboard ship or ashore. And are also items that will cost a pretty penny if you try to buy them in port.

 

I pack two or three sets of long-sleeve, long-legged PJ's for each boy since an air-conditioned cabin can be a little too cool for them at night - where we live, no one has air conditioning and so they're not used to it at all.

 

A small selection of self-selected games, puzzles, toys, books or the like for each kid. My oldest brought his magnetic chess set for the upcoming cruise (I am typing this the night before from the hotel room! we embark tomorrow!); his brother brought a favorite Xmas ornament, a comic, some Bakugan, etc. You get the idea. They hardly really play with this stuff on the cruise because all revolves around either the pool, the arcade, running around and the kid program. They love going to that (on nearly every ship, though some are better than others in terms of kid stuff) and always race off happily right after dinner.

 

I usually bring two sets of fancy clothes since we would NEVER get formal pics taken anywhere but a cruise ship so we have to take advantage of having the photogs there and get as many pics taken as possible to choose the best from. Grandma loves them.

 

What else? I bring a veritable pharmacy of kid OTC medicines, bandaids, etc. since this stuff is not to be found on the ship and/or very expensive. Including sunscreen, bug spray, neosporin, Tums, kid benadryl, the works. Usually hardly ever needed, but always somehow suddenly crucial the moment you decide to leave it at home.

 

For myself, I want to add that I ALWAYS wish I had brought (or actually owned) more nice bathing suit coverups since I am in a bathing suit most every day myself. It's nice to go to and from the pool/beach in an outfit you really feel GOOD in and is easy - not shorts and a t-shirt, for instances. So that might be something to invest in. After being worn just once, a coverup usually gets a funky smell or never quite dries. I also pack small fabric freshener for these situations as well as small travel bottles of laundry detergent in case of emergency. And AS MANY TRAVEL TISSUES AS POSSIBLE. These are crucial since no kid can usually go for more than a few hours without needing a nose wiped.

 

Anyway, this has probably gone on too long, but I hope it has been a bit helpful. Good luck and have fun!

[SuperCoolOne]

Thanks everyone, I have started a shopping list.

[Smithkids5521]

And remember that most cruise ships have a laundrey facility on board... if you need to wash a few outfits to get you through a couple of days- than just be sure to bring some quarters and I really love this 3 in 1 laundrey sheet when we travel (detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheet all in 1) it saves alot of space instead of having to bring all 3.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Laundry-Detergent-Softener-Anti-static/dp/B0028OP0O2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1263174634&sr=8-1

 

If your kids have sensitive skin, you might want to pack your own body wash and shampoo. I would be afraid the soaps provided by the cruise line may be too harsh for some kids...