After returning from my first cruise vacation with my awesome family and their spectacular friends I have decided to offer up my must-have list for anyone thinking of taking a cruise in the future (ahem... this better mean you because if you haven't gone on a cruise yet YOU MUST GO NOW).
Seabands - available at the pharmacy. Maybe motion sickness is all in my head (you mean the ship wasn't violently rocking when docked?) They are also a quick/cheap remedy.
Visine - for morning after bloodshots or windy days on a cruise ship. You can thank me and my cousin Iaesha for this one.
Sundress for every day of the trip (me again, and Vicenta).
Clutch wallet for the essentials: ID, cash, and chapstick because the sundress has no pockets and ID and cash in the bra gets uncomfortable. Why else do guys board shorts come with pockets. Obviously.
3 pairs of underwear for every day of the trip. Or enough for pre- and post-poolside wear and formal dinner nights. And because some cabinmates don't appreciate handwashed undies hanging around the room.
A cabin with a view. Confined spaces and no windows can make even the non-claustrophobic a little panicky after a couple days.
Gas medicine. Confined spaces, people. Confined spaces!
Tip calculator. Unless money is no object to you or you can do quick math in your head. Or you can just realize they already tack on 15% to every drink and resort to looking like a cheap bastard for not adding extra.
Water bottles if you plan to work out. $5 for a bottle of water (plus $0.50 tip) is ABSOLUTELY CRIMINAL. Now you can just skip the water and the working out part and fill a nalgene with your beverage of choice (thank you Gina for this one). Afterall spring water is overrated especially when it tastes like minerals. EVIAN.
Extra sunglasses - for days at Port in case they get lost in a big wave or stolen or dropped when stumbling back to the ship.
Book to read when by the pool when you happen to not be passed out. Something uplifting of the non-natural disaster sinking ship genre is recommended.
Walkie talkies - Save your international roaming fees because you're never too old for walkie talkies!
Yes I think that concludes my shortlist, now feel free to print this handy guide and laminate for future use. I stand by my tips so don't judge me! You can thank me by commenting on how fabulous you think I am / cruises are.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Vacations Part 1
I have a confession. Ready? Good. The truth is there are few things I enjoy less than going camping. There, I said it. Cavity filling? No problem. Just give me some novocaine and my ipod. Sleeping in the woods? HUGE problem. I'm not sure why when as an environmental engineer, my job more or less consists of minimizing effects of development on our natural resources through proper planning and design... And yet when an opportunity arises to spend good, quality time in that environment, I'll make up every excuse in the book to avoid it.
Certain things just lost their illusion of fun and mystery once I reached 14. Like puberty. And everything that had to do with high school. If people are born with straight teeth, they don't get braces. If people have a home with a comfortable bed, they don't sleep outside on the ground, with rocks in their back. I know you see my logic.
There were a couple good memories I had of camping, and they had to do with cute boys and food. Surprise. I know how much my family would LOVE for me to relay story of being 12 or 13 and having a massive crush on the kids camp guy and literally collapsing in disbelief when he mentioned his girlfriend. Mellodramatic much? Well it makes for a good story, and I don't embarass easily thanks to growing up around my father, I've had lots of practice in that department! Love you, Dad ;)
The other memories involved playing board games and eating turkey sandwiches and cheesecake on my birthday, which always coincided with the annual camping trip with the family. There was never really a dramatic turn for me, I just know by the time I reached 14, the fun and escape of camping was overshadowed by sheer discomfort of being dirty all the time, walking with a flashlight to the bathroom, and the bugs. Dare I say it... I'm far too girly for camping.
Yes, I know, nowadays everybody owns an air mattress, as if to say they can enjoy nature without roughing it. But panicking and carefully contorting my body while I remove my shoes to avoid getting dirt or bugs into the tent...guess what... is still roughing it! Not to mention if there are no flushable toilets and you have to resort to the portapotties. I'm not usually a freak about where I go, but having to manage the flashlight, bugs, and dirt all the way to the portapotty is enough to stop my bowels in their tracks for the duration. And people have the audacity to call this a vacation?!
What ever happened to renting a beach house... taking a roadtrip. cabins in tahoe. You can even do yosemite if you need to become one with nature... and then at night relax in the comfort of a hotel and NOT the little shacks with the cloth door like we did on the 8th grade class trip.
So needless to say whenever the subject of camping comes up around friends, family, or colleagues I cant help but grimace knowing I'm about to crush their excitement and betray both my family traditions and my profession. It's not even that I can't live without cable and my blow dryer, either. It probably comes down to knowing I can't really relax unless I'm actually comfortable. It may be girly but at least I choose to opt out of any camping trip that is longer than one night to save my friends/family from having to experience the dirty, uncomfortable, stopped up version of myself. Trust me, it's not cute.
Certain things just lost their illusion of fun and mystery once I reached 14. Like puberty. And everything that had to do with high school. If people are born with straight teeth, they don't get braces. If people have a home with a comfortable bed, they don't sleep outside on the ground, with rocks in their back. I know you see my logic.
There were a couple good memories I had of camping, and they had to do with cute boys and food. Surprise. I know how much my family would LOVE for me to relay story of being 12 or 13 and having a massive crush on the kids camp guy and literally collapsing in disbelief when he mentioned his girlfriend. Mellodramatic much? Well it makes for a good story, and I don't embarass easily thanks to growing up around my father, I've had lots of practice in that department! Love you, Dad ;)
The other memories involved playing board games and eating turkey sandwiches and cheesecake on my birthday, which always coincided with the annual camping trip with the family. There was never really a dramatic turn for me, I just know by the time I reached 14, the fun and escape of camping was overshadowed by sheer discomfort of being dirty all the time, walking with a flashlight to the bathroom, and the bugs. Dare I say it... I'm far too girly for camping.
Yes, I know, nowadays everybody owns an air mattress, as if to say they can enjoy nature without roughing it. But panicking and carefully contorting my body while I remove my shoes to avoid getting dirt or bugs into the tent...guess what... is still roughing it! Not to mention if there are no flushable toilets and you have to resort to the portapotties. I'm not usually a freak about where I go, but having to manage the flashlight, bugs, and dirt all the way to the portapotty is enough to stop my bowels in their tracks for the duration. And people have the audacity to call this a vacation?!
What ever happened to renting a beach house... taking a roadtrip. cabins in tahoe. You can even do yosemite if you need to become one with nature... and then at night relax in the comfort of a hotel and NOT the little shacks with the cloth door like we did on the 8th grade class trip.
So needless to say whenever the subject of camping comes up around friends, family, or colleagues I cant help but grimace knowing I'm about to crush their excitement and betray both my family traditions and my profession. It's not even that I can't live without cable and my blow dryer, either. It probably comes down to knowing I can't really relax unless I'm actually comfortable. It may be girly but at least I choose to opt out of any camping trip that is longer than one night to save my friends/family from having to experience the dirty, uncomfortable, stopped up version of myself. Trust me, it's not cute.
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