Packing tips? Room tips? Princess Alaska 3yo 7yo

Planning first family cruise with my husband, 3 to and 7 yo sons. My husband and I have previously cruised before kids. :)

Any packing tips? Ideas to keep things somewhat organized in inside room? Things to know about kids on ship?

Thank you!!

Katie

Have you checked out Pinterest? We are doing Alaska in two weeks with our 4 & 5 year olds. Our first with kids too. I found a lot of good info there. Also, maybe find out what type of laundry service your ship has, that may help cut down some of what you have to pack! Good Luck.

Princess has self-serve laundry. It was $7.50 on my last cruise for each load (detergent, washer, dryer). Might want to bring your own detergent to save a bit ($2.00 per load).

The pools on Princess ships are really nice for the kids (there's usually an indoor one on Princess ships).

The youth program will be a hit with this age group.

As for ways to keep organized. The closet area on Princess is great. You'll have plenty of room for hanging things- so hang as much as you can. There are about six shelves for storing folding clothes- which will probably be enough for 2 tiny people's clothes and 2 adult clothes. I took a hanging bag for my jewelry, which helped me stay organized. There is a shelf under the bathroom sink- which will hold most of your toiletries when they aren't in use.

My favorite packing method is the Ziploc bag method.

Hopefully the picture displays, if not here is a link:

http://lifeasmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/photo-132.jpg

My kids are 8 and 10 and we still pack this way for cruises. I even pack some of my clothes this way. I prefer to roll the clothes together. I fold the shorts, top with the folded t-shirt, undies and socks, then roll. Stuff the roll into the bottom of the bag, and take all the air out before sealing. i then label the bag. The advantages:

1) Takes up much less room in a suitcase

2) In a cramped cabin, you just grab a bag and hand it to your kid and they get dressed. There isn't tons of dresser space to unpack or store clothes, so this makes it so easy

3) given the lack of cabin space, you also don't have to try and put an outfit together or stare at a shirt and wonder what top was supposed to go with it.

In my daughter's bags, we add headbands or any jewellery she wants to wear.

I find that the small bags work great for daytime clothes and the large bags work great for a night time outfit.

My kids lay out all the clothes on the bed in the combination they want (top/bottom, undies, socks) and then I zippy everything and toss it in their suitcase. This also helps eliminate any battles on vacation of what to wear, because they have already picked all the clothes themselves.

Mine probably look more like this, accept they are all rolled together rather than separately (although that would work too). If you roll neatly, the clothes also stay relatively wrinkle free.

We've done 1 princess cruise (pre-kids) and I cant' recall what the ship looks like.

These collapsible storage cubs are AWESOME for a celebrity ship. They fit flat in a suitcase and weigh next to nothing. Mine are from the dollar store (dollorama) and they fit perfectly into the overhead storage on a celebrity ship. Each kid gets 2 bins and all the zippy bags from their suitcase get organized into their bins.

I will be taking them on our Oasis cruise. If nothing else, I can put them on the floor of the closet and use it to organize their things.

Thank you!! This is just what I needed!!

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