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Well, hello again! A lot has happened to me over the past few years. I went from blogging full-time to barely opening the site! I think a lot has to do with the fact I have not been dying so much anymore. We remodeled a home (God knows I have more pictures and post ideas from that project alone), and we have been growing a very successful business, which takes most of my time.

Since becoming an empty nester, we have settled in just fine (you can look back at my first Mother’s Day as an empty nester here). What I thought would kill me has been replaced with not only building a new company (well, it’s about 5 years new now) but also doing some traveling. When I started this blog, it was about DIY and decorating, but I also wanted to throw in some of my everyday lifestyle. So, I thought I’d share some of the things we have been up to and some tips I have learned along the way.

I thought I would start two sections on the blog where I can share some things for you to enjoy. Some you may know, and some may help you just unwind a minute and drift out of your world into mine. I am calling these new sections Hotel Snob and Welcome Aboard. The hotel snob is a term of endearment I have given to myself. I do love a great hotel and, hence the name. I have also been rating on Trip Advisor since 2012; you can also read some of those hotel reviews there. Welcome Aboard will be about the cruise ships we have been on and some tips I have learned, and because I love trying different cruise lines, I will also share how the cruise lines differ.

For those who know me, Disney runs through my veins. I have been a passholder for many years and have the joy of spending countless hours with my family at the most magical place on earth. When I first became a passholder, I would tell my then-baby girl each time we passed Disney’s Wedding Pavilion that one day, she would get married there…….well, I can tell you dreams really do come true because this beautiful little girl turned amazing woman is getting married at that very place! (More on that later)

Needless to say, I have spent many hours at what I call my true home. I also have a goal to stay in each of the Disney World Resort Hotels. There are 25 beautiful resorts (including the deluxe villas) at the time of this writing (Star Wars Resort is on the way), and I have to tell you I have sadly only stayed at 6 of them. I have often stayed at resort hotels; the problem is I keep waiting there when I like a resort! (Read about my Favorite Disney Resort) but I do have on my bucket list to stay at everyone!

The hubby and I have been starting to travel outside our favorite Orlando getaway, have gone to Vegas, and have even started spending more time on the ocean cruising. While taking these trips, I have learned a thing or two that I will share with you.

Enough about me already. Let’s sea the day and cruise right into the first Welcome Aboard post with my top tips for sailing the high seas! (ok, enough puns!)

Tip 1: Get the cruise ship app ~ Most, if not all, cruise lines have an app to download to your phone to give you great info about your cruise. I know on my last cruise with my sister aboard the Carnival Liberty, I loved seeing what activity was coming up on the ship next on the app! The Carnival Hub App allowed me to see things like the weather and menus, and my favorites were seeing my account balance and being able to “favorite” upcoming activities I did not want to miss on the ship! It was nice not to carry around the Carnival’s ‘Fun Times’ newsletter. (This newsletter is a paper newsletter left in your cabin each night to give you an overview of the upcoming day’s events, including activity and entertainment options, dining choices, children’s programming, and more, but now you can get that info on an app! The Disney Cruise Line Navigator app even allows you to have a countdown calendar till you set sail and will enable you to communicate with other passengers on the ship for free while on the ship! (More on that in an upcoming post) 

Tip 2: Get luggage tag protectors ~ I have sailed on Carnival and Royal Caribbean to attest to these two ships (Norwegian and Disney are in the works for this year). You will be given luggage tags to download and print from home. These are to be attached to your luggage, which you will hand off to the cruise line when you arrive, and your luggage will arrive in your cabin later that day. The problem is the cruise line instructs you to fold and staple these printed paper tags to your luggage! What??!!! These may rip off, and then where will my luggage be??? Even though the luggage you give them will get on the ship if yours does not arrive, I am sure they will be able to find it, but how long will you have to wait? And do you really want to spend those precious hours worrying about lost luggage? I searched on Amazon for plastic luggage tags that have metal rings. Know that Carnival and Royal Caribbean have different shaped tags, so ensure you get luggage tag protectors that fit the cruise line you are sailing with. I used these on my last cruise on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean, and my luggage arrived in my cabin with the tags still attached. Even though the plastic on one was bent, they were still intact and arrived safely in my room. It may not have made it if that tag had been stapled on. (I have sailed before just by stapling them on my bags and had them arrive at my room, but they were torn and mangled, hence the luggage tag protectors. For me, it is a very low cost for a huge peace of mind!)

Tip 3: Order water before you arrive at the ship ~ On most cruise lines, you can go onto their website and order water and pay for it before you arrive. Cruise lines have different rules for what drinks you can bring aboard the ship with you, so read before you go. The cruise lines I have sailed on do not allow you to bring water on the ships. Buying larger water bottles from the cruise line website before you sail and have the water waiting for you in your cabin is cheaper. Remember, when you buy bottled water on the ship, if you are on the drink package, you will also be paying a tip for that water. Cruise lines charge from 12-18% for this service. So get those water bottles delivered to your room before you leave home, and do not worry about it later. And if you drink a lot of water, those individual water bottles add up in cost.

Tip 4: Bring a cup with a lid~ When you bring a cup on board the ship, you can fill it up with water (not bottled water), lemonade, and tea that comes with the cost of the cruise (Disney cruise line has soda that is included!) So, having a cup you can wash out each night and refill each day will ensure you are hydrated while cruising!

Tip 5: Use Packing Cubes ~ Oh my goodness, how life changed when I started using these! I had watched several videos on YouTube about packing cubes and decided to give them a try (amazon has a ton). I love them! They allow me to get more things in my suitcase and keep my clothes from wrinkling! The tip for using packing cubes to keep your clothes wrinkle-free is to take the time to roll up your clothes neatly and actually fill the cube tightly but not too tight. This keeps the clothes from shifting when thrown around, causing fewer wrinkles because you took care to pack neatly and did not leave space in the cube for the clothes to slide around (and yes, your luggage gets thrown around by cruise lines and airlines). When you are ready to go home, roll back up the dirty clothes (they do not have to be neat, lol) and put dirty clothes in cubes and clean clothes in separate cubes to keep the clean clothes from the dirty clothes!

Bonus Tip: Buy clothes made of materials that are less likely to wrinkle ~ I love clothes made of Polyester Spandex blend. I love Susan Graver Liquid Knit and Chicos Travelers, but you can find clothes made of similar materials that travel well almost everywhere! Those are carefree materials that help me look great when I am on my trip. I also pack some Downy Wrinkle Releaser to spray the clothes when I hang them up and unpack on the ship. This stops static, allows wrinkles to fall, and freshens the clothes!

Whew, that was a long post! I hope I helped you with some of my top 5 cruising tips. There are tons more, which I will share in the welcome aboard section here on the blog. So cruise on (pun again, I know, lol) back and sit a while.

Until next time,

Enjoy your day, your family, and your home ❤

~Sandra