DDaley

I swear by these Loksak underwater bags. They're certified water tight to 60m. I use one bag for my iPhone and another smaller one for passport/room key/money etc, put them both into the splashsak waist bag and bring everything into the ocean with me. They work fantastically, I have had the same set for 8 years and might just now have to replace one (only due to cloudy plastic, not from any leaks).

Please show us a pic!! I love to see design differences when packaging changes over the years.

I have never cruised solo but I have been on several big 5-6 night trips by myself and had the best time! Everyone is shocked and wants to be your friend when you're traveling alone... I bet even more so in a cruise environment. Hope you get to do it!

Wow! What an awesome tool! Looks like I am easily set to break even if I don't perish from dehydration. How early do bars open on port days? Can you sneak in any breakfast cocktails before departing the ship?

oh wow, and that's the port I most want to see as well. I hope you guys are able to find a beautiful patio and just sit and soak it in! Even just sitting and looking should be spectacular.. pack so much water! Ooh, now you got me thinking about packing my camelpak for the Caribbean as well, then you're not carrying as many bottles. 🤔🥵

Oh good!! The thought of planning a land vacation to all those Greek/Italian stops is so daunting, cruising seems perfect.

I was worried about this for a 9-night Explorer sailing out of Civitavecchia for next August! Now that it'll be amped by then maybe there'll be TOO much to do!? Also I hope the Europeans don't judge us for the water slides! Big garish number comes sailing into Santorini marring the pristine coastline, haha

I wonder if all Freedom cruises out of San Juan to the Southern Caribbean on this itinerary got changed or if we're on the same sailing? Freedom August 18th! I have MTD scheduled for 7:30 that night and I can't decide if I should push it back or forward! More Barbados time or done with dinner in time for sail away? 🤔

YES! My friends and coworkers always make fun of me at pool parties for simultaneously having a cocktail tumbler and a water bottle with me constantly! Also I find that when I mix myself a vodka/vitamin water cocktail, an inch of so of water at the top never hurts. Cruise plan is a lot of vodka-water-splash-o-juices and just one or two sugar monstrosities a day.. those mudslides will GETCHA

Awesome, this is exactly the info I was looking for!

I booked my first excursion through RC (all previously through Shore Excursioneer) and I am wondering when you find out about all the details. My 4 Shore Excursioneer purchases were followed up with detailed PDFs outlining when/where to meet after the ship docks. Will RC provide this info prior to departure? Or maybe just in your stateroom once on board? Sounds like a hassle for the attendant/easy way to put the wrong info in cabins since it's not the same for every guest. As of right now I only have a confirmation that lists the price with no additional info and I can see it in my cruise planner calendar. I looked through the first 5 pages of shore excursion boards to see if I could find this info without starting a new topic but didn't see anything. Thanks for any insight!

Haha, I was thinking about doing the same with all the cruising items!

I am back from my pre-cruise summer vacation to the Grand Canyon and got to use my new cruisin' cubes in a trial run! I recommend them, pretty cheap ($36 for this set that also included a laundry bag I used for shoes) and seem well made. Gonex Compression Packing Cubes - Amazon They worked better than anticipated and once all my clothing was packed, left quite a bit of room in the suitcase for other things (on the cruise it's for floats, towels, plastic bottles, beach sheet and tent!) including my big a** hiking boots! I found them somewhat tricky to compress at first but once you know perfect finger placement to keep it from zipping up the interior fabric into the zipper, they are so convenient. This is a standard 22" carryon from Samsonite and as you can see once they were all in the suitcase, I still had plenty of extra room at one end and an extra 2 inches all over for putting things on top like my toiletry bag, cooler purse and stupid brimmed hiking hat. The small one I am holding in the last image contains 4 tank tops! Crazy! Overall in these cubes I packed: 2 long sleeves, 5 tank tops, 6 shorts, 1 pair of leggings, 5 dresses/rompers and 8 pairs of hiking and regular socks. Seems like plenty of items comparable to 7 days of cruise wear. The dresses I rolled into the largest of the cubes and I found I didn't have that many wrinkles to iron out upon arrival. I will get some more use out of these on a quick trip to Detroit for a wedding before my August Freedom sailing so I will update if they start showing any signs of wear and tear. 😎

I love that the whole crew gets to come cruising!!

Yes! Planning on bringing my black Rothy's and a pair of sandals and that's it for footwear! Thanks for this insight. I gotta have the flips for beach days but if my Rothy's can get me by on formal night I am all for it.