Even if all the packing I’m showing is for a man, these are the steps you can follow as a woman as well, if my wife was as organized as I’m I could be showing you the same steps but I’m sure I’ll get to the end of this blog before I have something to show you from a woman’s perspective, while I already started packing, my wife is just thinking about it.

T-7

First thing I do is to throw my suitcase on the floor and start putting things that I don’t need right now, but I need to take on the trip

T-6

Six days before the cruise, my wife finally started looking at some dresses. Since the cruise has two formal nights, I need to decide whether to bring a tuxedo or not and that is going to depend on the dresses my wife picks for those nights. If she decides to go for a long dress, I’ll bring my tuxedo, if she opts to bring a formal dress but not a long dress then I’ll dress in black suit with a tie.

I like to bring some cokes and snacks with me to eat late at night. You can find something to eat anytime on a cruise but when I’m in my cabin late at night and I want something to drink or munch, I don’t want to get out to find it

T-5

In the meantime, I have sent some of my clothes to the dry cleaners. Make sure your dresses, blouses or shirts are clean and pressed. Having then clean and pressed in the ship will be expensive. Some cruise lines have laundry facilities for the passengers with ironing boards, but many do not and they don’t allow you to bring your own iron, so, check before you go. #Howtofoldyourclothes

T-4

Today is Wednesday, we are leaving on Sunday and my wife has not started to pack yet. I’ll be rushing Sunday morning to see what she forgot to bring, like her phone, jewelry and probably her dress shoes. Let me mention that we don’t have to fly anywhere to take this cruise, by doing so there is a great advantage, first, we can overpack or take two suitcases each without having to pay extra fees, second, we save ourselves one night of paying for hotel, taxis and meals if we were to take the cruise from another port. I know this is not an option for everyone, but if it’s, go ahead and pack, pack, pack.

The only thing my wife have chosen so far are her two formal dresses, a royal blue and a silver dress. I decided I’ll take a tuxedo and a black suit, the jacket from the suit will double as a dinner jacket for the other nights just combine with different shirts, the tuxedo will go well with her blue dress and the suit and tie will combine with her silver dress.

T-3

Today I put together all the shirts, socks and pants I’m going to take. I’m not going to put them in the suitcase now, I’ll do that at the last minute, so they don’t get too wrinkle. We are going to the Caribbean and its summer; these shirts will be my dress shirts for the evenings while on the ship. anything else I need to take is going to be the summer clothes for the daytime, shorts, flip flops, t-shirts, hat, sunglasses and bathing suit.

Finally! My wife is starting to pack; the first thing she throws in the suitcase is beach wear.

T-2

We are two days to go and counting down, I have picked the rest of the clothes I’m going to take, and I’ll start organizing. I’m taking one suitcase and one carry-on. It’s important to have a carry-on with you when you board the ship, first, your cabin may not be ready if you board very early and you may want to change into a swimsuit and lay by the pool, second, if want to change before going for dinner you will have something to change as your suitcase may not be in your room yet.

My wife suitcase remains the same

T-1

I’m all pack, the only things that remain is the last items that I still need; toothbrush and paste, deodorant, shaving items, hairbrush and anything else that you need to use every morning. One last item that I’ll pack is a plastic bag to put my dirty clothes throughout the day.

In my carry-on I have put my bathing suit, t-shirt, flip flops, bathroom items and a change of clothes. In my backpack, I have all the travel documents, my camera, cell phone items, plugs and spare batteries.

T- 16 hours

It is midnight – My Wife is starting to pack

I’m pack, we are driving to the ship at 10am, I won’t say that it’s procrastination, but you can call it anything you want.

THINGS YOU HAVEN’T THINK ABOUT

• Carry-on phone charger
• Sunscreen – Very expensive on the ship
• Dry bag for your phone, money, credit card
• A clutch for the dress -up nights
• Dollar bills for tips
• A gift for your room attendant, give it to him when you embark, it will pay off the rest of the trip.
• A light jacket
• Old cell phone if you have one. If your phone gets wet and damaged, just take the Sim card out and put it in your old phone. Make sure you have the adapter if the Sim cards are different
• Empty your wallet and your purse of credit cards and things you don’t need
• Notify your credit card that you are travelling
• Add international roaming to your phone or turn off mobile data once you depart or you may find yourself with a hefty phone charge

It’s midnight, I’m pack, my wife hasn’t started but we are driving to the ship at 10am, I won’t say that is procrastination, but you can call it anything you want. I’ll have to hear for the next seven days, I forgot this and I forgot that.

T- 13 Hours

My wife is done packing, we are living the house in 7 hours

The shirts are on hangers, I’ll close the suitcase and it will keep the shirts nice and pressed without having to roll them or fold them. The only thing left is to put my last things on my carry-on and hurry up and help my wife find everything she remembers she is going to need but forgot to pack.

Once you fold the shirts, it should looks like this

Don’t worry about your clothes, make sure your wife has enough shoes and bathing suits