6. Individually Wrapped Snacks
On our last cruise, we had a very early flight to Rome, which meant leaving our hotel at 5.30am. Of course, everyone wakes up and they’re hungry! But buying a meal when you’re travelling can be tricky, especially if you’re tight for time, have strict connections, or are travelling at odd hours when places aren’t open. It can also be quite expensive for five people, and the quality of food is often not great. So we had a breakfast made of individual pre-packaged snacks. We had some fruit bars and cereal bars, individually wrapped chocolate croissants, little packets of raisins—things like that. The individual packaging means less mess and hassle, and as none of it was liquid-based, we could take it through the airport and onto our flight. Everyone could eat their share at their own pace and be fed for the journey—one less thing to think about! This option is much less expensive than buying food out, and as the items don’t need to be refrigerated and last quite a long time if unopened, you can keep anything left during your cruise and have it to hand for moments of need, or even the return journey! Just make sure to check the restrictions for carrying food specific to your destination, cruise line, and airline.
7. A Small First Aid Kit
As you’re about to board a cruise ship with excellent medical facilities, this might seem strange, but hear me out. Most kids’ injuries are very minor—bumps, scrapes, bruises, etc.—and do not require professional treatment. Going all the way to your ship’s medical centre to get an antiseptic wipe and a plaster is a real hassle, so in my view, it’s much quicker and easier to have the tools to hand to patch them up yourself. Small first aid kits for travelling can be picked up very easily from lots of shops, or you can make one up yourself from your most-used items. Mine always contains saline solution, as the kids inevitably get something in their eye, plasters, and antiseptic cream for small cuts.
8. A Pac-A-Mac
I find these really useful wherever we’re going—we all have one! They serve as both a waterproof jacket and a windbreak. You can put them on with a jumper underneath if it’s cooler and they’ll help with wind chill. Or, if you’re somewhere hot but wet, it’ll stop you getting soaked. We take them everywhere. They fold up really small for packing, and if we get unlucky with the weather, we can pull them out and everyone will be warm and dry without the need for bulky items clogging up the rucksack. Even in places where the weather is quite predictable, I like to be prepared. You never know when a thunderstorm will turn up to ruin your day at Disneyland! At least with these, you will be dry and won’t have to worry about everyone being in soaking wet clothes for the rest of the day.
9. Mini Backpacks
This is a good one if you have children who are slightly older and who are able to start looking after some of their own items when you’re out and about. Ours are, and so they each take a small backpack with us when we go away. You don’t have to buy extra ones—it could be their school backpack or the one they’re using as hand luggage. This item really helps us when we’re going on excursions or out and about in port. The children can carry their own water bottles, their Pac-A-Mac, snacks, etc. If it’s a water-based excursion like the hot springs we visited in Santorini, they can carry their own towel and swimming costume. We take care to make sure they aren’t carrying too much, but once they’re old enough, there’s no reason they can’t help out! This makes it so much easier for us parents. With five of you, there is always so much stuff, and we don’t want to be carrying huge backpacks if we don’t have to be! It’s good for the children’s life skills and helps when making sure we have everything we need because we can check bags together, rather than it being all on one person (me!) to count towels, water bottles, etc., which are then shoved to the bottom of a large rucksack and lost!
10. Rash Vests
These are a recent discovery of mine, courtesy of the recommendation of an Australian friend, and I’m an instant convert! We have them for the children, but you can get them for adults too, and they’re incredibly useful if you’re going somewhere hot or somewhere you will be out in the sun and water all day, like the beach. If you don’t know, they are a long-sleeved top made of quick-drying material that can be worn in water and prevents sunburn—a godsend for our pasty Northern kids! On our most recent cruise to Greece and Italy, we were very worried about the sun and heat, as it was beyond anything the children had experienced before. These vests were a lifesaver! The kids could chuck them on anytime they wanted to go in the pool, and it meant we didn’t have to worry about the sun cream being washed off them. They are very small, thin, and lightweight to pack and saved us a lot of hassle. They dry very quickly and can just be rolled up, shoved in a bag, and used again.
I hope you have found these tips useful! Let us know if you have any other unusual items you like to pack when Cruising Outnumbered!