Greg had purchased a new suitcase for himself and the INSIDE dimensions met the airline's requirements; not the outside dimensions. He is off at Kohl's right now exchanging his suitcase.
From the airline:
Maximum weight is 50 pounds and maximum size is 62 inches (length + width + height) per check piece of luggage. Effective for tickets purchased on or after December 15, 2012, for travel on or after February 13, 2013, overweight items from 51 to 100 pounds and oversized items in excess of 62 inches but not more than 80 inches will be accepted for an overweight and oversize baggage fee of $75 per item.
Glad he found out today instead of when we got to the airport.
I did get something nice in the mail from Southwest Rapid Rewards.....Four of these, 3 flights, this I can handle.
This stuff is packed now. It wasn't earlier this morning.
This is our "family" flag. It goes on every cruise. We fly it inside the stateroom, as if other ships actually see this, it could be misinterpreted. It's fun to have and I end up talking like a pirate 'round ship just to see peoples' reactions. Priceless.
Below is my bed with my two bags I am going to check. I thought the best way to pack for a cruise that spans 3 seasons would be to divide it up into "cold" weather and "warm" weather. So far this is working. The summer clothing is smaller and rolls up nicely into the purple bag. The cooler weather clothing is fitting well (so far!) into the large red suitcase. I will let you know how this all plays out after the cruise is over.
I have yet to pack: Febreeze, Lysol, my raincoat, a pair of jeans (there is one pair that I am wearing on the plane, one pair packed and one pair on it's way here from Kohl's). I also need to pack a couple more sweatshirts.
Not yet started is my carry-on luggage. I am taking with me three cameras: A Canon 6D, a Nikon point and shoot, and a GoPro Hero 4+ Silver edition. I also need to pack multiple medications. This is a trick for being gone just over a month; I had my doctor change my prescriptions to a 90 day supply so when I filled them, I'm good to go. You have to think ahead with these things!
Things not to forget!
- Your PASSPORT AND STATE ISSUED ID. You will not get anywhere without either of these.
- Your medications IN the bottles that they are prescribed in.
- Sunscreen. I don't care if you tan. The sun is much hotter (and closer) in the Caribbean/South America. You will burn. Bring it. And aloe vera just in case.
- Your cruise documents and any print outs of shore excursions that you may have purchased prior to sailing. Also, if you have pre-paid anything (such as gratuities) print this out and bring it along also.
- Check in 24 hours before you fly to your departure port if you are flying and print your boarding documents if necessary.
Things that are really nice to have along!
- Ziplock bags of all sizes. These are for anything that might leak all over the inside of your luggage. No one wants to open their suitcase and have their clothes, etc. covered in even the best of mens' or womens' colonge. Or toothpaste. I have first-hand experience with the toothpaste.
- A small bottle of clothes detergent.
- A 15 gallon trash bag for dirty clothes. Often they run specials on doing your laundry onboard ship; you need to have somewhere to put funky clothes until you can get them laundered on a long cruise.
- Packaged snacks, such as granola bars, protein bars. If you are off ship for an excursion, food may not be readily available so if you get hungry, this kind of stuff will tide you over until you get back to the ship.
- First aid kit. I made my own with various things (band aides, antibiotic ointment, hydrocortisone (anti-itch) cream, etc.). Over the counter pain relievers are a must also. I'm not prone to seasickness, but I do pack a bottle of meclizine just in case. The medical center is expensive even with cruise insurance.
- MP3 player and headphones. Nice for hanging out on deck or out on your balcony if you have one.
- A tablet. Get an anti-glare screen protector, it's easier to see. Download some books so you can read off-line, games, etc. to keep you busy on the plane or again, for just relaxing on deck. You can also use your tablet to connect to the internet onboard, but it is pretty expensive (at present with NCL it is $125 for 250 minutes, and the connection is very slow).
- A large travel mug for coffee. The buffets give out little cups and you have to make multiple trips back and forth to keep refilling.
- Your cell phone, Be sure to have it in airplane mode from the time you get on that ship until your cruise is over. Why? Roaming is expensive; also your phone will "try" to connect to the ship's internet the entire time. You will need your phone when you are at the airport, pre and post cruise hotels.
I may add to this list later on, so check back ;)
That is all for now. The next entry will be from our port of departure, Tampa, FL.
