Sep 12

Sep 12 What We Packed for a 3 Night Friends Cruise to The Bahamas

Two years ago we went on a cruise to celebrate our friends 10th wedding anniversary. We had so much fun that it’s turned into an annual event. This year our group of eleven wild and crazy (mostly) millennials spent three nights aboard the Carnival Liberty drinking, feasting, floating, and singing/dancing.

So today I’m sharing what we packed for a 3 night booze cruise with friends. Ladies first, duh.

I packed in my regular checked bag size Away suitcase. I have a hanging bag that fits in here, so that makes it easier to pack my dinner dresses.

I always start with dinner dresses, becasue that’s easiest for me. I pick one dress for each night, plus one spare and one to wear off the boat the day we get back. I zip those babies up in my hanging bag and boom, one part done.

Next bathing suits and rash guards. I am PALE. I take a bathing suit for each day, plus a spare, and rash guards to match. I also pack a pool cover up or two for quick trips into the buffet for snacks.

Then I pack underwear, pajamas, and a sweater in case the boat is cold, stuff all of that into packing cubes and stuff ‘em in the suitcase.

I use a tri-fold hanging toiletries bag and try to keep it simple. We also bring a small liquid hand soap (not pictured) for hand washing in the cabin. I usually pack a travel dryer and hair straightener, but I didn’t use them, so I might stop.

Next, comfort. I always bring a battery powered fan to put on my side table, because I love a good night time breeze. I also bring a couple hats to keep my face out of the sun.

Shoes! I love shoes, but I try not to pack too many. We don’t usually get off the boat on this friends cruise, because we take the exact same one each year, so I just need pool and dinner shoes. I take 2 pairs of flip flops, and two pairs of dinner shoes and I probably would be fine with just one of each, but I like options.

For Christopher, I packed in the larger carry on Away Suitcase. I started with his bathing suits and pajama pants. I packed a bathing suit for each day plus a spare, and one pair of pajama pants. Then one pair of nicer pants, one pair of jeans, and one pair of shorts. Fun print button up shirts for each dinner, and t-shirts to wear with each bathing suit. I rolled all of that up, added underwear, and stuffed it into the suitcase. I topped it with his Hemlock hat and he was ready to go (he packed his own toiletries).

Finally, I packed our pool bag. Most importantly, flamingo towel clips to keep our towels securely attached to our pool chairs. Then I packed two bags of sunscreens, one to keep in the pool bag and one for the room with extras.

I also like to take plastic luggage tag covers and a springy wrist key chain thing for our sign and sail cards, becasue you don’t want to be caught without your card and thirsty when a server comes around to take drink orders.

Now that you know what we packed, do you have any cruise tips? We’re going on another cruise with the family in a week.