Wine/save big $$$, u.s. mail & bubble wrap

[bravemom]

my husband and i always joke that we could make a profit if we packed only wine and sold it from our stateroom. seriously, wines that are considered low end (always on sale at the local grocery for less than $8) in our neck of the woods go for $25 plus on board. so my suggestion is (1) either take your own, or (2) make friends with someone in the napa area (or cruise the internet) and investigate the wineries that will sell direct (they pack it for you and in the long run depending on how much you take, the shipping charges still beat out the prices on board). the same goes for anything that you enjoy that sells for a premium onboard. i was surprised to see that Jelly Belly products are popular items for bon voyage gifts-but was shocked to see how much they charge for them. the jelly belly factory is in northern california and can be contacted via the internet to order many of the items at a much lesser price. anything that can be bought prior to cruising is going to save you in the long run, plus there is the added benefit that the item comes prepackaged for travel. On the subject using the mail to save (this only works if you don't embark outside the u.s.) consider mailing to your hotel anything too cumbersome to pack. we did this a couple of years ago for our disney cruise. i packed a box with some toys for the kids, our watershoes, disposable cameras and other items i didnt want to have to pack in our luggage (if i had my way everything would be carry on-i hate waiting at the luggage carrousel!). i took it to the post office and sent it a week ahead of time (with an advance call to the hotel to see how they wanted the package labled for storage), i also purchased the postage for the return trip (we dropped it off on the way to the airport) which was packed in the box along with mailing tape & a roll of bubble wrap for those souvineers i would be packing in our luggage. if nothing else-take bubble wrap!!!! you can get it for next to nothing and it will save the heartbreak of breakage.

happy cruising