At about halfway through the trip, after all the long pre-departure angst of guessing, shopping, packing, and planning for everything it takes to live on a ship and sightsee in a variety of distant foreign lands for 109 days, I find that all the preparation has actually paid off pretty well. I’ve worn almost all my clothes at least once, but still even like them. In spite of bringing far more shoes than is recommended in the travel guides, I have had no regrets. And I haven’t felt I forgot anything important.

While there is plenty of space in our suite, it is not particularly efficient for long term travel, so I am glad for the collapsible, packable hanging drawers, over-the-door-shoe holder, hooks, suction magnifying mirror, and additional plug adapters that I brought, even though they added unwanted weight to my luggage. Ships are made of metal, so magnets will hold pictures on the wall if you feel a need to personalize the space.

Our dressing table doubles as a charging station at night, with several devices connected to a multi plug strip with additional sockets and USB ports, plus adapters for some ship sockets that are not US compatible. This all accommodates camera batteries, computers, iPads, iPod and Nano, bluetooth headphones and speaker, and phones, that need to be charged on almost a daily basis.

As in most travel situations, I once again realize that I don’t need as much as I think I do, but so far I’m glad for what I brought. And to keep track of items, it is essential to adhere to the moniker of “a place for everything and everything in its place”. Tidiness here is essential to order and efficiency.

While this is not how I would pack for a road trip or shorter cruise, for extended ship life that requires unpacking just once, it’s working just fine…and I’ll just hope I can retain some of these rules of order when I’m back home.

Dean & Kristy’s Closets, Vista Suite, Insigni

Dean’s Closet, Vista Suite, Insignia

Charging Station, Vista Suite, Insignia