urgent tips for a packaholic!!

[kevinsmom]

hi there

i am leaving on sunday (Yeah!) on the dawn. i am a confirmed over packer :) no matter what i do i seem to want to bring EVERYTHING with me. i have this fear that the one thing i forget will be the one thing i need. this will be my first trip w/my son (16 mo old) and that is making it even worse. i have read all of the packing tips/lists etc.. i was just wondering if anyone had any last min suggestions on how to par down. how about w/the baby? i seem to really want to bring everything!!

thanks,

gina

[trish1c]

Gina --

 

Lay it all out -- everything you think you want to take. Now, take 1/2 of it (except underwear ;) ) & put it back. Try to keep things that do double duty assuming the 16 mo old doesn't spit up on you.

 

Enjoy.

[vtsi04]

Hi Gina,

My husband and I are also going on the Dawn this Sunday and we are taking our soon to be 6 month old son. I have made a list of all the "stuff" that we need to take, trying to keep it to a minimum (not easy to do). I'm thankful that 1) we're leaving from NY and don't have to drag all this stuff through the airport and 2) alot of it won't be coming back with us (diapers, food, etc).

I think that if you just use common sense and don't go crazy, you will be fine. Also, I keep reminding myself that it's not like we're going to some small foreign country, mostly we are visiting places that we can pick stuff up in a store if need be.

My favorite tip that I found on these boards is about bringing the hanging shoe holder (the over the door one). It sounds like such a great idea for organizing the baby's stuff.

Have a great trip.

Vickie

[JerseyMom]

Wow! It is really hard to par down when you have a baby with you. Seems like they need so much stuff. DS is now 9 but once he was potty trained, could eat only table food (no formula or baby food), and could sleep in a "big boy bed", I only had to pack half of what I did before. Have you called to find out what is available on the ship (cribs, strollers)? The less you have to bring with you the better.

 

Have a wonderful trip!

[kevinsmom]

thanks for the advice/sympathy ;) yeah, it isn't easy to par down w/a little one, but luckily he is on reg food and milk, so that eliminates formula and baby food. i guess that makes it a little easier, and he sleeps w/us now, so i assume that is what we will do on the cruise. i doubt he would change for that :) i am hoping to "lighten" my load, even if i can't do his.

Vickie, maybe we will see each other!! i am sooo excited. i am going w/my whole family..parents, 3 brothers, their girlfriends and my best friend. so thankfully i will have some help! i live in queens, i assume you are from ny b/c you said you aren't flying. where are you from?

thanks again,

gina

[vtsi04]

Hi Gina,

Yes, you're right, I'm from NY. We live on Staten Island. We have our own little group going. It will be me, my husband and my 6 month old son. Also coming with us is my best friend and her 12 year old (soon to be 13 as he tells me!) son. I too am glad to be traveling with some help, that's one of the reasons that we invited my friend to come along - the extra help. We are helping out with their cruise fare in return for some help with the baby. This way my husband and I can have dinner alone once or twice if we wish, visit the spa, etc.

I haven't had a vacation since last year before I was pregnant so I am sooooo ready for this trip.

I was glad to read that other families are traveling with little ones as well.

Vickie

[GianChaz]

I've found good tips at this site. I am having trouble with links right now. It's cruisediva dot com. Change the dot to a period and remove spaces.

There's traveling with families. Check the side panel for Packing & Lists and planning tips.

[Cruise_More_Often]

One of the nicest things about NCL is the dining options. You can take fewer nice things with you because, unless you eat at the same table and with the same folks, no one will remember from night to night what you wore. Yes!

[newmexicoNita]

First and foremost remember most people will not be watching exactly what you wear so don't worry too much. This doesn't mean being a slob, I like to be just the opposite, but as has been mentioned you can certainly plan on wearing the same thing to dinner more than once: we take shorts that can be worn more than once, keep the shoes to 2 or 3 pair. I usually take a pair of dress type shoes (but comfortable) 1 or 2 pr of sandles and tennis shoes. DH about the same, but only 1 pair of sandles. We leave the hair dryer at home, sometimes travel in an outfit that has seen better days and just toss it when we get on the ship. Not overboard please! LOL The thing I have the most trouble with is jewelry; I seem to think I will change it about a dozen times a day. I am getting better; same as shoes: one or two pieces for those special nights and just a couple more pair of ear rings, chains and bracelettes. Also don't need an entire cosmetic counter full of lotions, make up, sun protection etc. Remember you will be in ports and can always pick up what you need or get yourself a nice t shirt or two. For the toddler, I can't help there: haven't had one for almost 40 years. Have a great trip. NMNita

[GianChaz]

"...hair dryer..."

There's one available in the cabin (at least in our BA)

 

"...travel in an outfit that has seen better days and just toss..."

My DG (devoted girlfriend) passed along a dress to our cabin steward(ess) who was quite happy. Fortunately, they wore a similar size.

 

I have found that the stewards enjoy receiving things like toiletries, candies, clothes, etc.

[leenie29]

Hi Gina,

 

We were on the Dawn 6/20/04 and traveling with my husband's entire family and his 22 month old niece. They had a crib for her that NCL supplied. My SIL brought porta crib sheets just in case. It was your standard wooden porta crib. I think they requested the crib prior to the sailing

 

You said your son sleeps with you. All of us were on Deck 5 and there was a twin trundle bed underneath one of the beds (not sure about the other cabins on other decks). We were 4 in a cabin, so we used the trundle bed, the beds and the pull out from the wall bed. But the really neat thing (if you can call this neat)was when all three beds were pulled out the cabin was exactly 3 twin beds wide so no one fell out (got out of bed from the end of the bed). My 5 year old is a mover in his sleep so this was great, he just rolled from one wall to the other all night long.

 

The kids center has open play where the younger kids (the under three crowd) can go in and play (with parents supervising them) up there for a couple of hours.

 

Remember to bring laundry detergent and dryer sheets because there are free washers and dryers on board. The machines are very small and it could take a while to do a lot of laundry. This lightens your packing when you know you only have to bring clothes for half a trip.

 

The shoe bag on the bathroom door was the greatest suggestion that I ever took from this board. I kept everything in it and it kept the sink area free.

 

The waiters are great with little kids and serve them fast (even though we had to wait a while to be served).

 

I packed a lot of mix and match clothes for me for dinner so that really cut down on what I brought. The boys in my family were khaki's and casual buttondowns. Everything got washed mid-week to start a second round of wearings. We had two suitcases, and a duffle bag for meds and a duffle bag of shoes for 2 adults and 2 children for one week.

 

Have a great time. It's a beautiful ship.

Leenie

[kevinsmom]

i feel so much better hearing from others who have done this :) i am so excited and have started the packing already, but it seems like i have a lot even though, i did really try to eliminate some of it. i am going to roll my clothes, i hear that is better....more room.

 

**Leenie, we are on deck 8, so there is supposed to be a queen size bed, i think this should be fine for the three of us :) to share. i doubt my son will go in the crib and if we get it, it will probably be in the way. i am going to bring some laundry detergent in case, but i don't want to do too much, it will be like being at home :)

 

**Vickie, i am super excited also! only 4 more days!! yeah! this ship seems family friendly, so i am sure we will have a great time w/our little ones.

 

**GinaChaz, thanks! i am not going to bring my hair dryer. i believe there is one in our cabin as well.

 

**NMNita, thanks for your advice also. it is funny, but you do tend to feel like someone will know if you repeat an outfit :) silly i know.

 

does anyone know if there are irons available?

thanks, gina