First cruise under our belt-what we did right, what we did wrong!

[hansolosmom]

Sounds like a great time - love the picture with the sloth!

 

Our first cruise was a short 3 day after doing 4 days at Disney so I really didn't overpack for that one. However, our second cruise was out of Baltimore and we drove. Talk about overpacking!!! I had a whole suitcase of clothes I didn't wear.

 

From then on I've pared down what I take and I have a packing list I go by which includes all the extras, from the extension cord for dh's cpap to sunscreen. Even with that I will forget things, like my swimsuit for our Med trip. :eek:

 

I have a great backpack from Rick Steves (Civita day bag). It's super light and small, I use it for my carry-on and take it on excursions. I like it better than the draw string bags because I can put things in pockets as opposed to all together. Personal preference, but I thought I'd share that.

[mickev99]

Thanks for the review! We were on the Dawn the week before you and also had a great time. 4th cruise for me and I learned after the first one not to overpack. I completely overpacked for myself and my three girls. Took less stuff and the smaller suitcases after that!

[nanwel]

Idea for you! Before you forget all the should have's - go and buy a cheap notebook. List what you took. Your good/bad ideas

then next cruise look at it before you go - and keep it going forward.

Someone suggested that to me years ago, have not done it recently, and wish I was still doing it - Not the same as going to the photo album - just a few quick notes - great for future trips. (I used to take formal dresses - not now, things change, but it still helps!).

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

slhopper ~ sounds like a great 1st cruise on the Dawn. Just curious, what have you booked next please?

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[slhopper]

Great suggestion to start a notebook, thanks!

 

As to what we booked... we booked the Dawn out of NOLA again, this time for Jan 29 2017. We booked this first cruise over New Years as it was our anniversary, but I found it very stressful to prepare for a cruise and Christmas at the same time. We live near St. Louis, so we DO want to cruise in the winter to get a break from the cold, but chose to do it well after the holidays this time.

 

Not only did we choose the same cruise, we even booked the same cabin! HA! Our reason being we liked where it was and we know how to get to everything from there. It was quiet so why take a chance on getting a cabin that is noisy or hard to get to? Also, the only port we did not care for was Belize, and next cruise that will be Harvest Caye. We loved what we did in Costa Maya and Roatan, and will repeat those next time. In Cozumel we went to Paradise Beach and while it was nice, it was not our style. Next time we will try Nachi Cocum, think the quieter setting will be more to our liking.

 

We tend to be creatures of habit, so are excited to go back to the familiar that we enjoyed so much the first time :)