Packing your bags:

Whether or not you fly, some thought is required when packing your bags. When you arrive at the cruise terminal, you drop your bags off and they are brought on board by baggage handlers. Although we have never had a problem, it is possible your bags may not arrive at your stateroom until the next morning. So the best plan is to pack a carry-on bag with a few essentials. We actually take two bags; one a backpack that my wife carries, and a photo-backpack that I carry as I tend to take a lot of camera equipment with me (more discussion is devoted to camera equipment later). In her bag, we take our medication, her jewelry, toothbrushes and deoderant (the cruise line supplies soap and shampoo), a change of clothing, and most importantly, swim-suits.

On our last cruise, we almost didn't have room in the trunk of our car for the bags. Be sure that logistically, either driving or flying, you can get all of the necessities you believe you need to the ship; at least without renting a van. Do you really need all of that stuff?

The cruise line maintains a list of items that are prohibited on board, and I'll not attempt to list them here. Rather, you should go to their website to find out what the list contains. One item for sure is alcohol, at least the drinking kind. If you try and bring some personal libation on board, it will be confiscated when you arrive.

Remember, you are in the Caribbean, where it's hot and humid year around. Lightweight clothing, shorts, and T-shirts are going to be what you will be wearing most. However, the formal dining room has a dress code, and for the evenings, shorts and T-shirts are never appropriate. On casual nights, a polo shirt and slacks are appropriate for the men, a dress, skirt-and-top, pant suit, or similar clothing for the women. Should you decide to attend the formal nights in the dining room, you will want to wear a suit and tie or Tux. You can rent a Tux on-board, or if you like cruising like we do, I purchased a Tux of all places, on eBay. There are a couple of dealers there, selling both new and slightly used rental Tuxedos, and for less than $100 you can get a nice one.

We have found that for the evening dining room on a 7 day cruise, a couple of pair of Dockers or dress pants for the casual nights are enough as I change into them just prior to dining, then change back into something more comfortable later. I usually bring more than one shirt per day; some combination of T-shirts, Hawaiian shirts, or polo shirts as I am prone to perspieration, so I go through a couple of shirts per day in the hot, humid weather. If all else fails, I can buy T-shirts in the shops on board, and we usually buy the requisite souvineer T-shirt, so we always end up bringing home more shirts than I start with. Therefore, if you wish, you could skimp on those when you pack your bags. As the rooms are small, we like to limit ourself to a 24" or 25" bag, one for each of us, as well as a garment bag that we share that contains our formal and evening wear. We find those sized bags fit nicely into the closet. But if you bring on a lot of suitcases, you may find you will have a hard time storing them in your stateroom.

I also take a small travel document case that I keep our essentials in; passports, cruise documentation, and other items.

If you are not ambulatory, and have a wheelchair, scooter, or walker, they are allowed on board. Check with your cruise line or travel agent before booking to determine what restrictions there are, and to be sure they can accomidate you. However, when we have been on board, scooters and walkers were a common site. The ships I have been on are fairly wheelchair accessable. Even one of the pools on our last ship had a chair lift for entry. You should never feel you cannot go on a cruise because you need a little help getting around.

One item you should probably leave home is camouflage clothing; even for children. While this clothing is not as popular as it once was, remember you are in the Caribbean, and going to islands that have different rules, and this clothing may be illegal to wear. Why not take the safe action and just leave that stuff home for your next hunting trip.