Cruising Thoughts for the Banded…

This is going to be a long one… I had a great time on the cruise… I need to figure out a way to win the lottery so that I can do this on a regular basis. The Band-Goddesses were with me, in that I wasn’t too tight – in fact, I was able to eat pretty much anything and had no getting stuck or PB issues. Dennis said it was because I was drinking with my meals and washing down the food with the 2-for-1 martinis, but I don’t know if I completely agree… OK – I did have a good dozen martinis (and only paid for 6ish) on the cruise, but I had them at night. And mainly during the day, I didn’t drink with my meals… So for what they are worth, here are my thoughts about cruising with a band!!!

PACKING/NON-FOOD RELATED THOUGHTS:

· If you can afford it, splurge for a cabin with a deck. Worth every extra penny! We had our coffee out there (via room service) every single morning.

· Consider staying on the ship one or two days that you are in port – WAY fewer people and a lot more attention = a lot of fun on the ship! (I wish I had taken my own advice on this one, alas, we wasted a day in the Dominican Republic)

· Pack clothes that might be just a tad bit tight and not too stretchy – that way you can’t overeat even if you want too!

· Bring a water bottle – fill it up in your room or at the buffet – drink your water!!!

· Bring a bathing suit you might not wear at home… everyone there will have way less on than you will, and no one knows you, so go outside your comfort zone!

· Be willing to try something new… I really, really was intending to do the rock-wall but ran out of time… however; I did wear a bikini top! (see the bullet point above)

· Pack a three or four less outfits than you intended and pay the $30 bucks to have the ship do a load of laundry for you… its worth every penny!

· Bring magazines or books with you that you’re willing to leave on the ship

· Shoes… one pair of multi-purpose sandals that you can “dress up”, one pair of great walking shoes/sneakers that can get wet (our whole family each brought our Keens) and a pair of flip flops. Nothing else needed.

· Dressy clothes – depending on the cruise line, just bring a couple of sundresses with sweaters… or mix & match skirts. They won’t kick you out because you aren’t “fancy” enough!

· Bring meds with you (ex: Tylenol, allergy, etc…) – it is expensive as all get-out on the ship!

· Fabreez. It is a wonderful thing in a small, small room. Especially when you have more than one of you in that said room.

FOOD THOUGHTS:

· I brought along protein mix to add to water in case something happened. I didn’t use it at all, but it was really worth having to just “know” I had an option. I also had papaya tablets with me to chew on if I got stuck. Again, didn’t need them.

· Bring protein bars (Clif bars, granola bars, etc…) – it was great to have that with me when we went off-ship on the excursions.

· Order juice, coffee, water, etc… from room service in the mornings – and you can ask for more than 1 glass! By the end of the trip we were asking for 4 OJ’s, 4 Tomato Juices, and 4 apple juices – for the three of us… of course, our friends managed to sneak on a bottle of rum and vodka, so we were using most of it for mixers but it was good to have regardless!

· There is ALWAYS protein (meat, cheese, fish) on the buffet and in the restaurants – when in doubt, look at everything first and don’t be seduced by all the choices! It will be there tomorrow. And at 2pm, 9pm and 3am.

· It is perfectly acceptable to order 2 or 3 appetizers as your dinner and just take bites of everything. It feels wasteful, but you paid for it!

· Allow yourself the occasional slider – you are on a cruise after all! Every meal, I chose one thing that I knew wasn’t a great choice (ex: I had eggs Benedict every morning… no issue with the poached egg or ham, but I did allow myself the hollandaise sauce with it as my treat).

· If you don’t see something, ask for it. Chances are they have it or will find it for you!

· Avoid the “up-charge” restaurants. We went to one for our friend’s 6^th birthday – one of the Japanese steak places that cook right in front of you. It was fun – but was NOT worth the extra $25 per person they charged. The choices are great in the restaurants … you can live without the “specialty” places in my humble opinion.

Happy to answer any other questions that come along – have a great time!!! Hope that these thoughts and suggestions are helpful for ya’ll.