The Art of Packing
As a veteran of many cruises, including cold weather cruises and round the world cruises, I should be an expert at packing by now (and I'm not too bad). However, this latest cruise has left me stumped! A fortnight in the Med is fine, but add the dimension of a Strictly Come Dancing cruise (aka Dancing with the Stars), and it leaves me fraught with terror!
I am a girl who is rarely out of comfy shoes now. Also first sign of sun, and I'm in shorts. I'm overweight and curvy. It's not easy to shop if you've left something at home. And this spells disaster for a SCD cruise! For the first time in years, I'm having to find and pack high heels, fancy dresses and make up. Usually I can get away with one nice dress, a couple of pairs of trousers and nice Flyflots. But now I find myself packing moderate heels and fancy dresses. The trouble is when I last did serious cruising (4 cruises in one year, and at least two over many years), I had a wardrobe where I just pulled things out of. I've gone up quite a few sizes in clothes and a size in shoes. Put this with a heatwave currently hitting the UK at the moment, and I feel like a Teletubbie. I have managed to loose 2.5 stone since January to an Easyloss Virtual Gastric Band, but as everyone knows, cruising is lethal for the waistline!
Today, I ventured back into the case to repack. I took out enough clothes to clothe a small third world nation. Shoes followed, and I tried to streamline them. I might as well not have bothered, the case looked just as full... My other half just 'tuts' and I defend myself by saying 'well, it is a Strictly Come Dancing Cruise' as I try to stuff more into the bag. Damn mum for booking a SCD cruise!
As for the Diamonte... just don't ask! There's enough in the case to give the Royal Jewels a run for their money.
The heat in Britain at the moment is giving me practice for my transfer to my Mediterranean Office (aka P&O Britannia), and I'm not happy. Being fair skinned with freckles, I find that the heat is too much for me now and it's only 30 degrees! In Alicante at the moment it is 44 degrees! I'll melt... or just not leave the ship.
Well I have to go, I'm going in for Round Two of packing... ding, ding!
I am a girl who is rarely out of comfy shoes now. Also first sign of sun, and I'm in shorts. I'm overweight and curvy. It's not easy to shop if you've left something at home. And this spells disaster for a SCD cruise! For the first time in years, I'm having to find and pack high heels, fancy dresses and make up. Usually I can get away with one nice dress, a couple of pairs of trousers and nice Flyflots. But now I find myself packing moderate heels and fancy dresses. The trouble is when I last did serious cruising (4 cruises in one year, and at least two over many years), I had a wardrobe where I just pulled things out of. I've gone up quite a few sizes in clothes and a size in shoes. Put this with a heatwave currently hitting the UK at the moment, and I feel like a Teletubbie. I have managed to loose 2.5 stone since January to an Easyloss Virtual Gastric Band, but as everyone knows, cruising is lethal for the waistline!
Today, I ventured back into the case to repack. I took out enough clothes to clothe a small third world nation. Shoes followed, and I tried to streamline them. I might as well not have bothered, the case looked just as full... My other half just 'tuts' and I defend myself by saying 'well, it is a Strictly Come Dancing Cruise' as I try to stuff more into the bag. Damn mum for booking a SCD cruise!
As for the Diamonte... just don't ask! There's enough in the case to give the Royal Jewels a run for their money.
The heat in Britain at the moment is giving me practice for my transfer to my Mediterranean Office (aka P&O Britannia), and I'm not happy. Being fair skinned with freckles, I find that the heat is too much for me now and it's only 30 degrees! In Alicante at the moment it is 44 degrees! I'll melt... or just not leave the ship.
Well I have to go, I'm going in for Round Two of packing... ding, ding!
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