Out Best Tips For Keeping Everything Ship Shape in Your Stateroom

An example of items left in your stateroom each evening that keep you well informed!

Let's be honest, staterooms can feel small especially when compared to a hotel or resort room.  Even with Disney Cruise Line staterooms being 25% larger than the industry average, a stateroom can still seem cramped when you add all of the stuff.  We have found ways to keep our stateroom ship shape where everyone knows where things are and how to find them. 

Previously, guests were allowed to bring over the door organizers, you know, the ones with the metal hooks.  Disney Cruise Line has now restricted those due to the damage being done to the doors.  We accommodated to meet the new guidelines.

I found the shelf hanger on Amazon.

An organizing tool we use is a shelf hanger in the closet.  It has velcro attachments at the the top and the loops go around the bar.  We put it in one of the closets, as we usually have two closets in our stateroom.  The shelves hold the clothing for each day but could be used for anything.  I even appreciate the very top which also acts like an extra shelf.  Horizontal space can be limited in a stateroom and this adds an additional 6 square feet of horizontal space. Note:  This item weighs a bit so I pack it in our carry on.

The inside of our stateroom door.

We also pack magnetic clips that let us use the metal stateroom doors as another option for organizing all the papers, tickets, and even lanyards.  Found packages of these colorful magnetic clips at Dollar Tree.

The bathroom door is also metal so magnets work great on it, too.  On our last cruise, one of the Castaway Club gifts was a magnetic dry erase white board and magnetic marker.  We brought it back and used it for communicating with each other when we weren't in the stateroom.  I used the bathroom door handle to hang the bag with all of our gear which made it easy to grab on the way out of the stateroom.

Here's our organizational corner that's ship shape.  Notice the Key to the World Card in the slot by the door?  On the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, a magnetic key is needed to activate the lights in the room.  We bring a card from a previous cruise and slide it into the slot--it stays there the entire cruise.

There you have it.  Our best tips for keeping your stateroom ship shape!  What are yours?

Our Pants Problems!

I want to talk about pants.  Specifically the trials and tribulations we had with pants during our recent Disney Cruise on board the Disney Fantasy.

As chief packer and planner, I had made sure that plenty of pants had been packed for all along with coordinating shirts.  And, I had ordered tuxedos after measuring each of the guys—you have to put in the specific measurements into the website when ordering.  But even after all of this, we still had pants trouble.

It began night one when the boy went to put on the pants that had been packed for him in our carry-on bag to avoid any issues changing for dinner if our luggage arrived late in our stateroom.  Thing is, our luggage did arrive later after dinner, so it was a good thing we were prepared.  Anyway, the pants fit everywhere except the waist.  I got out my handy-dandy kit that includes duct tape, clothes pins, and a bit of powdered detergent and found rubber bands to secure the top of his pants—button hole to button with a slip loop.  Worked like a charm and we were off to enjoy our evening.  But it got me thinking that there may be further issues as some of his other pants that were packed were the same size.  Hmm. . .

Night two was formal night and the boy's tuxedo pants fit just fine.  It was the husband who was having difficulty.  He said that he had cinched in the pants as much as he could, but they were still falling down and required hands in his pockets to hold them up.  Rubber bands to the rescue again!  I grabbed the excess waist and put them into a pants ponytail that was covered up by his tuxedo jacket.

Night three the boy put on his pair of pants only to discover that they were too short. He wore them anyway.  At least the wait fit!

Another night, the boy's pants required the rubber band at the waist again.  My gosh, he continues to grow!

 By the sixth night, the pants bit both in the waist and were just right in length.  We hung the up after he took them off and wore them for the seventh night, too!

7th night!

Interestingly, all but one pair--the too short pair--were the same size!  And, the husband had made a declaration that he will only wear tuxedo pants if he has suspenders.  No worries, our next cruise doesn't have a formal night!

As for me, I wore the same "pants"--capris actually, for three nights!  Made packing a breeze!

Packing Plans and Dilemmas

The packing list for 16 days of summer fun has already be drafted.  And, after multiple vacations packing is typically not an issue.  But, this is the first trip when we would have a short hotel stay, followed by a 7 night cruise, and then 7 days at Walt Disney World.  I'm starting to scratch my head at the best way to pack for this vacation.

Historically, each one of us has a large suitcase for checked luggage that contains our necessities for the length of the trip with accessories being delegated to the carry-on bags.  This strategy has worked well, though, it has caused us to live out of suitcases while on the ship.

I am wondering about packing all needed items for our cruise in one or more suitcase and then have our Walt Disney World items packed in another bag that would not require opening throughout the cruise.  That suitcase could go under the bed for the length of the cruise and then we could unpack  the other suitcase(s) while on the ship.

These are less than $15 on Amazon

Also, Disney Cruise Line has changed the rules and now prohibits using over-the-door organizers--you know the ones with the hooks that hang on a door with the many pockets that can be used for shoes or other items.  With this change, I thought that a closet organizer might be a better choice.  With two closets in our stateroom, there would definitely be enough space.

To be even more efficient, one of our carry-on bags could hold what we need for our two night hotel stay prior to sailing.  This way, we wouldn't have to open either of the larger, checked bags--except to get toiletries.

The more I think about this idea, the more I like it.  But first, I have to revise the packing list into smaller lists--what's needed for the cruise and what's needed for the parks.  I will get right on that!

We Packed the Disney Santa Hats

Packing began yesterday for our trip that is weeks away.  Actually, the packing list was made a while ago, but the suitcases came out yesterday.

The husband and the boy decided to browse at the local Target—the boy got gift cards for his birthday and wants to check all his options before purchasing.  And, they stopped at Dollar Tree before heading home and bumped into the Disney Santa hats, shown above.

I was in our extra bedroom ironing for the trip when they arrived back home and the boy told me to close my eyes as they had a surprise for me.  Then, they both entered the room wearing the hats with one to spare.  The husband said we could wear them on our way to the ship and throughout our vacation.  Only a Disney husband would even see these hats at Dollar Tree, buy them, and have a plan as to when they could be worn!  And, yes, they are now in the suitcase.

How is the packing going?  Faster than I had anticipated.  The list helps. . . a lot.  Since we keep our matching sets of Disney shirts in the suitcases, already ironed, all I had to do was set aside the ones we weren’t taking with us.  Again, the list made this easy. 

The tricky part, for me, when packing for a Disney cruise is the dinner attire. . . cruise casual to semi-formal.  All of us have nice clothes to pack but my need for coordination for photo opportunities adds complexity to the process.  We’ve learned that 4 pairs of nice pants for the boy and 3 pairs for the husband suffice on a 5 night cruise, as the pants can be worn again sometime in the cruise.  My evening wardrobe consists of a brown, black, and navy set of “slinky” knit material outfits.  Great for packing and easy to wear.  I am considering packing a nice dress for the trip—holiday red, maybe. 

Rather than packing swim cover-ups for me this trip, we will wear matching Disney t-shirts with shorts (over swimsuits) for me and with swim trunks for the guys.  I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of that before, but it will actually save packing space.

The packing list also has directions as to items that need to go in certain bags.  For example, one of the carry-on bags will have swim suits and pajamas for our overnight at the Hyatt prior to our cruise.  This makes getting to the swim suits fast and eliminates the need to open all of the checked luggage.  Then another carry-on that goes with us on the ship will have swimsuits, sunscreen, hair brush, dinner attire for our first night onboard including shoes, and pajamas, just in case our bags arrive to our stateroom later in the evening.  This attention to detail and organization prior to our trip helps the rest of our trip go smoothly.

We have yet to reserve a “park ‘n fly” stay prior to our flight.  This will depend on weather predictions when our trip gets closer.  Should we make the decision, another bag will be packed that will contain our needed items just for that overnight stay.  Again, making the process easier without opening all of our larger bags.  The bag used just for that stay would contain our dirty clothes in the morning and be left in the car for the duration of our vacation.

The packing will continue, right up until the morning we leave, as toiletries will be the last to go in the bag.    

I know some people find this task daunting, and it certainly can be.  Especially when packing for others, a wide range of weather possibilities, and multiple destinations (both a cruise and Disney World in this instance).  This is why a packing list helps so much.  When I told the husband that I was going to start packing on Sunday his reply was “Do you mean WE are going to start packing?”  Packing is something he doesn’t like to do.  And, yes, he may be asked to gather socks, undies, pajamas, shoes, etc.  Maybe this is why he took the boy to Target and left the house!