Honestly, I have to say for the length of the trip this is probably the first time in my life, where I felt that I not only packed enough. But does that meant there are not things I still wish I had packed?! Would it be me otherwise?
You know those treat bags that I so carefully procured for the kiddos?! (check them out HERE). That allll the moms told me I needed and were necessary for any sort of peacefulness on the flight. The treat bags that were weighty and that I thought would be oh so fun for the kids?! Now ask me if I cracked them open even once?! If you guessed no, winner winner. Now do I fully realize this will not be the same for every family and will some of these treat bags be your sanity? Of course! It just so happened that my kids didn’t need them and we took two VERY different flight times, so I know that it did not play into the factor of their enjoyment of them or lack thereof.
Our experience with American Airlines was a dream both ways. All of our luggage made it which anyone that knows me or read this blog knows that was an enormous concern of mine (thank you airtags for peace of mind). The flight was super smooth. The flight attendants couldn’t have been more friendly and our flight took off on time and without a hitch (minus our flight getting cancelled without our knowledge several days before). For this reason alone, I highly suggest sometimes using a travel agent since unfortunately the stress was more on them in trying to reroute a family of six rather than us and often they have a lot more pull in this situation and know the appropriate people to contact. Our agent was a godsend…every step of the way…period.
Anyway in typical fashion I digress….
Just to give you an idea of the types of clothes packed and how much we were able to pack with the help of cubes, see below. We each had a suitcase and the kiddos shared one.
I swear this is organized chaos.
The outfits below are what went into our compressed pack and in Sean’s backpack
Excuse the wrinkly nature of everything. I spray everything with wrinkle releaser once we take everything out.
And the aftermath/finished product (including planned shoes and outfits for the plane)
The Commodore loved wheeling his own suitcase/backpack around the airport and it was super light for him as it only carried lovies.
What is nice about his bag (besides that the eyes glow-in-the-dark) being both a backpack and a suitcase is that when the Commodore tired of it, I could put the straps on my carry-on suitcase handles and still be moderately hands free and not weighed down.
Now onto the learning curve and most importantly, what worked, what didn’t and what you should know before you go (I was dying to write that)…
Before the trip I did a little research both on the ‘Gram and online for strictly Disney Cruise Merchandise and I made list of what I wanted to get. I suggest doing this as there are quite a few items that you can only get on the Disney Cruises and this will also help you in selecting the appropriate luggage. I would also adjust for the items that you didn’t know where on the ship and now have to come home with you. Obviously being close to Orlando and a Character Warehouse, I was only looking to get strictly Disney Cruise specialty items and ones I never see in the outlets (tshirts, spirit jerseys, etc. were a no go). I did end up as also getting an ornament to commemorate our trip and the cruise as I do this for all special occassions and trips. If you know how the popcorn buckets work in the park (you pay $10 for a refillable popcorn bucket and every time you refill it, its $2) there is something similar on the cruise. Because we were going to be on the ship for a bit, we bought another popcorn bucket, which was perfect as it safely housed all of our ornaments that we got in the different countries, Harry Potter and on the ship and protected them for the trip home. I put the pins that we got in here as well. I ended up getting what I wanted for Disney Cruise memorabilia and a few other things, so I was pretty pleased.
The Commodore loves any mode of transportation so being able to get all these fun things for Christmas was a huge bonus. Who doesn’t love a good core memory gift?!
The only thing not shown because it was still in my bowband case (hard shell) protected was the Female (We Wants the Redhead) Pirate Ears. If this is something on your list, I suggest bringing something with you that will protect them for the travel home. A lot of people on Etsy sell a ‘plastic ear carrying case’ that I think would be perfect for this.
I put these gifts in the zippered side of the hardshell going home so that the Commodore and EV wouldn’t see anything.
I bought the Rapunzel mini set (below) for EV. It is musical and truth be told I kinda also bought it for myself and although not a Cruise ship exclusive (I don’t think), I loved it. I cannot remember seeing it in the park and I felt that it also served as a cruise memory since Tangled the Musical was on our ship. EV loves mini things so all in all it was a no brainer.
My other shopping tip to keep in mind is that this is not a typical Disney shopping experience. Because it is a cruise, they are not able to keep replenishing items as they would the Emporium or something of the like (they do not have a backroom and back stock). What is there is there and often times they do not get reshipments so what you might see on someone’s social media may already be sold out when on the ship. Plus without replenishments, these items can sell out first day on the ship. Meaning that if you know there is a coveted item, I highly suggest going down (or up) to the shops the first day and for the time it opens and getting what you are looking for immediately. I was in a line (granted the second person) for about twenty minutes and by the time everything opened, I would say there were about a 100 people in the line. I got everything I was looking for, but there was an individual who was pretty irate that the one thing she wanted was sold out from the cruise prior. She had a really hard time grasping the concept of port deliveries and replenishments. Don’t be this person and plan accordingly. I stored our gifts in the top cubby above the television in a DCL bag where prying hands and wandering eyes could not get at it.
Back to the plane. Man oh man were my kids great flyers. I couldn’t have asked for smoother trips both ways. It was pretty incredulous considering the one way there was twelve hours and back was eight.
As mentioned, I never used the treat bags, never popped them open and didn’t even use them on the cruise as there was so much to do and the weather was unexpectedly amazing. My kids loved the TV’s on the airplane and didn’t want to even use their kindles. However, their bluetooth headphones did not connect to them and they are not used to earbuds, so I wish I had headphones that plugged into the port. I suggest that if your kids use the bluetooth headsets that you also buy a set of really inexpensive plugins too.
We packed travel pillows from their sleeping bag set and their Sweet Ellie Sue blankets and this was a 100% a waste as the airlines had packaged blankets and little pillows and they were perfect for the kids. In hindsight I wish I had thought of this or looked into it because these pillows were a pain in the patootie to pack and get back.
I also highly suggest making a goody bag for the flight attendants. Ours was full of all kinds of fun candy and when I tell you they were so excited about it, it is an understatement. Here is our new American Airlines besties…
Make sure to turn your phone to airplane mode once on the ship and turn your clock to manual so that you can change it yourself. I cannot even tell you how many timezones and countries we were in just over two days and having a bunch of times that were never correct made for a really difficult time of going to activities on the ship. Thank goodness for a Mischa who can show me what to do so that I was able to stay on top of everything. I didn’t know what day it was EVER, but the time was something that I needed to know more often than not.
Even though it never came down to it, I did have peace of mind knowing that the outfits important to us and for the themed nights were in our carry on in case something happened to our luggage. If this is something that will worry you, I suggest just throwing them into a compression bag as we did and just know that at least on the way back it will be back in the suitcase.
There really isn’t much as far as clothes go that I would have vetoed or that I wish I had not brought as I I felt I had just enough and was thrilled that overpacking wasn’t really an issue. The tshirt dresses and tights I ended up packing were my favorite thing as I felt I was slightly dressier for the ship, it transitioned to dinner and I could still run around and feel that I looked good in pictures. A couple of things I didn’t wear included; short sleeved dressier tshirts, but I do not think this affected my packing or the weight even though I was at exactly 50 lbs going and everyone in the line cheered lol.
We did end up doing laundry on the ship twice, so having the pods and the dryer sheets ended up working out perfectly. If you are going to do laundry, I suggest super late at night (as your body is readjusting the potential time differences) or during your ‘land excursion days’ (getting back to the ship earlier than the deportation time or making later timed excursions) rather than Days At Sea as this is when the laundry is the busiest and you can end up wasting your time on doing all the fun things the ship has to offer because you are timing your laundry.
If you are planning on the European cruise and are one, not used to a severe weather change from your normal climate OR are just not sure how to pack in general I would make sure you have enough layering clothes for the kiddos alone. I felt that I packed enough for the Commodore, but did not plan as accordingly for EV. I did not have nearly enough long sleeves for her for layering and felt I focused too much on Day At Sea outfits which also were not warm enough as I did not account for the deck doors opening and closing all the time (I know I know) and spending time on the deck to take in the beautiful views. I also forgot to pack a sweatshirt for her so that I didn’t have to pack on the coats and scarves just for her to walk by a sliding door. It was also slighly chilled as you can imagine (even indoors) so for this reason I felt that extra sweatshirts and long sleeved shirts would have benefitted in the long run. I was thankful for the tights that I brought with us for her dresses as they were something she wore a lot of and that I thought were going to be a waste bringing.
Jeans, why oh why did I take jeans off of my list to pack? I did not pack jeans for myself as I hate wet jeans and for some odd reason felt that chilled jeans would not be comfortable and Europe is known for extensive rainy days (which we did not have any of mind you). In the long run, I should have at least packed two pairs instead of just a bunch of black leggings which although awesome, I got bored of them after the second day (laundry or not). After awhile, I did not feel dressy enough on the ship and wish I had jeans to combat that (I had dressier t-shirts after all).
Pack deck socks or comfy slippers. I hate my feet covered more than anything, but the deck was frigid at night because #Iceland. I hadn’t packed anything to lounge in for my feet and who wants to lounge in sneakers?! Even though we passed by several Icelandic stores selling slippers, I still did not get them (big mistake) and ended up buying Disney Cruise socks. The verandah was amazing at night and socks definitely made it easier especially when setting my clock for 2am on the off chance Northern Lights were in our future, which they were…
I cannot unblurry this here to save my life as it is fine on my phone, but you get the point.
I actually ended up loving THESE packing cubes that could also compress. I bought two sets of them (one for myself and the kids) and then also used our normal blue ones. The compression with the help of Sean actually worked out a lot better than expected. I unpacked only our jackets and clothes for formal night (and EV’s and the Commodores’s character outfits), hung them in the closet and left the rest of our stuff in the cubes, which I just placed into the drawers and in the closet like so…
This was perfect as the last ‘night’ on the ship, your luggage needs to be in front of your cabin door by 10pm and I hate wasting the last day on the ship by having to pack. This allowed me to just have to pack up our toiletries and any of the ‘gifts’ that we got and just throw the cubes in the bag.
Another thing that we got for the kids that they loved more than anything were THESE video cameras. They take pictures, film videos, there are games, etc. I also got THIS cord that I can plug in the SD card and transfer the cards info into my phone or computer. On the Days At Sea where we were just milling around or there was a lag in activities, I just let the kids run around and take pictures and videos of everything and they just adored this. The one for EV that I linked is better than the one I got for Danny as it has the hand slip on on it to hold onto the camera. The Commodore being only three had a hard time gripping his camera and running around while still taking pictures so I feel that EV’s was better equipped for smaller hands and maybe more rough and tumble kids.
Days at Sea were the best for these as if there was a lull in activities, this kept them occupied forever and they loved documenting everything on the ship.
Remember that perfect Vera Bradley carry-on that matched everything and that I went on and on about? Wanna take a guess which not only did not work out but that I almost had to sacrifice?! Within the first five minutes (and I am talking about getting out of the car, arriving at the Sheraton, parking said car and then taking said luggage from the Sheraton to the hotel shuttle) the rubber on the wheels shredded. What did this mean you ask?! It meant that the bag was useless, I had to put it in the new suitcase we had just bought that was meant for gifts on the way back since it had diapers and pediasure that would long be over and I had to put that bag (luckily filled with things) into the suitcase in the hopes that either Vera Bradley will replace it or I can replace the wheels. If you are taking a long trek for your cruise make sure that not only is the suitcase comfortable but that the suitcase moves easily as traipsing around with two kids, I needed to have my head on a swivel and luggage that manuevered easily. I ended up buying a suitcase in London at their Primark because we went to the WB Tour of Harry Potter (nuf said) and honestly it is one of the best suitcases I have ever bought. Of course I say that now. I also had an extra empty backpack in my luggage that proved quite useful as well. Packing extra empty bags such as backpacks was probably the best idea I ever had.
You should take some time, do some research and partake in some of the cruise decorations that you can purchase. You will be highly disappointed not having anything once you see what everyone else does and that is honestly half the fun. I carried our cruise magnets on the ship as I didn’t want them destroyed in the suitcase. We normally get ours from Grayson Tags and More (HERE). They are beautiful and you can get specialized ones for your exact ship which are fun, great mementos, and people decorate their doors with them so it provides all sorts of interesting tidbits about those staying in that cabin. Just Pinterest Disney Cruise doors and enjoy the rabbit hole I send you down.
You can also get a ‘fish extender’ bag. My amazing mother-in-law made ours but again, you can Pinterest for ideas or buy one off of Etsy. It is called a ‘fish extender’ because it extends off the fish hook outside of your room (see what they did there). Basically, the nights you are on the ship, you can put little treats in their for your kiddos and they are basically pixie-dusted or given a gift from Captain Mickey/Minnie. We snuck ours in before dinner so that when we came back after, the treats were there and they could enjoy them. I know a lot of parents do it for when the kids wake up, but we normally had plans or excursions and I didn’t want anything too distracting to have to worry about taking with us, or them not being able to enjoy the moment of their fun treat. The last night on the ship I gave (I mean Captain Minnie did) little mini Disney Cruise ships that I had gotten in the store the first night to commemorate our trip together and they were a BIG hit.
My brother in law packs magnetic sign-boards (seen below) and every day we each posed a question for guests to answer, such as; fave star wars character, favorite meal on the ship, best part of your trip, etc. I still cannot get over what a big hit these are and highly suggest if anything, this should be your number one item to throw in your suitcase this is it. Every cruise several guests ALWAYS tell us that our boards are their favorite part of the trip and that they will come down or up from their rooms everyday just to answer the questions. It is a lot of fun!!
If International, make sure to buy International Travel Plugs (HERE) as you will need them to function. I love the ones mentioned and loved that the adapter also had two USB plugs as well so that multiple things could be charged or used. I say this with a caveat. I had brought my Revlon hair brush and when in Copenhagen, we were staying at an older hotel (The Plaza which overlooks Tivoli and is amazing), I should have thought better since the hair dryer there was a really low setting, plugged my hair brush in, immediately smelled a burning hair smell and then my hair brush died. Luckily, I had brought a bunch of hair clips, my travel bang hair straightener, hair stuff to do space buns and my bow bands, but it was still unexpected and a pain (luckily this did not happen to my mini hair straightener). I highly suggest either buying something you do not care about to bring with you to do your hair (ixnay anything Dyson) or at the very least bring other hair accessories so that if this happens to you, you have other ways to do your hair that will not be upsetting. I kind of scoffed at all the bow bands I was bringing, but boy was I thankful when this happened :).
Although not a necessity, but I felt that it added to our trip was an extendable phone tripod. There were plenty of people that we could have asked, but it was nice not feeling as though I was stopping anyone from what they were doing or that I would have to put on a front that I like their picture while I asked someone else or grumbled about it the rest of the day. Having a tripod assured that I would get the shot and my kids have nothing but a big cheesy grin while they do the countdown, so it is truly a win win. Not to mention although it is long, it is not bulky, fit right underneath the stroller and only protruded a little (this description is something else) and was easily packed into the suitcase. Plus, it fits in a large 16″ backpack (again with only a bit peeking out ::giggle::). Even if it is something you do not end up using, for a trip like this, I think it is something that should be packed and taken regardless. I bring it into the Disney Parks too.
In the end with the exception of the suitcase fiasco in the beginning I feel that there was not anything that was such a waste that it took away from space I needed and although there were some clothing items, I wish I had included I do not feel that not having them made me look back at the pictures wishing I did, which if you know me, is a success in and of itself.
Huzzah for first times for everything.
What do you think? Too excessive? Just enough? What pivotal things did I forget that I will kick myself for once you mention it?
