Packing for kids

How do you pack and organize kid stuff for your cruise? Is it different from how you pack for other kinds of trips? Every trip we take with the kids ends in huge mess by the end and I really want to avoid that for our first cruise. We have a year but I want to keep an eye out for sales on new luggage for us and them and there will be other trips between now and then as well.

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My kids all have these rolling backpacks from ikea, that have a zip-off daypack. We've only used them for land travel thus far, but I love them. Kids usually pack the zip off bit with travel toys, books, electronics, and then the main part can either roll or be worn as a backpack. For our fall cruise, I'm planning to have them pack a swimsuit in the daypack so we can hang out by the pool before the room is ready.

I'm also a huge fan of packing cubes, or ziplock bags. I pack daily bundles per kid in a freezer bag, squeeze the air out, and pack one more bundle than we have days in the trip.

I love that my kids (even the little guy) can transport his own luggage!

Age of kids?

When mine were younger I paired t-shirts with shorts for the day time, and then took 4 polos, 2 dress shirt tie and 2 pairs of kakhi's for evening....obviously I have boys!:rolleyes: Threw in 2 bathing suits, belt, slip on loafers, socks, underwear (PJs when little too), water shoes and flip flops. They wore jeans, and a sweatshirt and tennis shoes for boarding. At 13 and 19 they are long ago packing for themselves...but this is still the basics for any Caribbean traveling male!

When we boarded, the 4 polos, kakhis and dress shirts got hung; the every day outfits stacked in a drawer. This was all great in theory but they are in their own room and my oldest is PigPen...he drives his little brother nuts with his mess! So, our family rules of cruising require that showers happen before dinner and that everyone eats dinner together. Before we head out, I have started to do a room check and at least make them pile their dirties and shut the drawers. Beyond that, not much hope.:eek:

For their personal stuff, they each had a backpack. The oldest crams in books and video games, the youngest, a kindle for movies and basketball....see where I am going here? My sons are nothing a like but the rule is still "If you pack it, you carry it." When younger it was coloring supplies, small balls, matchbox cars, stuffed animal etc.

I think the key to less clutter is simply to take less. So many people over pack...

Age of kids?

 

 

 

When mine were younger I paired t-shirts with shorts for the day time, and then took 4 polos, 2 dress shirt tie and 2 pairs of kakhi's for evening....obviously I have boys!:rolleyes: Threw in 2 bathing suits, belt, slip on loafers, socks, underwear (PJs when little too), water shoes and flip flops. They wore jeans, and a sweatshirt and tennis shoes for boarding. At 13 and 19 they are long ago packing for themselves...but this is still the basics for any Caribbean traveling male!

 

 

 

When we boarded, the 4 polos, kakhis and dress shirts got hung; the every day outfits stacked in a drawer. This was all great in theory but they are in their own room and my oldest is PigPen...he drives his little brother nuts with his mess! So, our family rules of cruising require that showers happen before dinner and that everyone eats dinner together. Before we head out, I have started to do a room check and at least make them pile their dirties and shut the drawers. Beyond that, not much hope.:eek:

 

 

 

For their personal stuff, they each had a backpack. The oldest crams in books and video games, the youngest, a kindle for movies and basketball....see where I am going here? My sons are nothing a like but the rule is still "If you pack it, you carry it." When younger it was coloring supplies, small balls, matchbox cars, stuffed animal etc.

 

 

 

I think the key to less clutter is simply to take less. So many people over pack...

They are 4 year old twins. They share no clothes and few toys and are not the calm types(though in very different ways) so it all adds up pretty quick.

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I pack for a cruise the same way I would for any vacation at a place with the same climate! With kids, you have to bring lots of stuff that a "couple" wouldn't...part of being a parent!

As far as a "huge mess"...you simply have to "stay on top" of their dirty clothes...fold and pack for the trip home daily...or, use the ship's laundry and get them cleaned and packed....yep, it's work for mom!

They are 4 year old twins. They share no clothes and few toys and are not the calm types(though in very different ways) so it all adds up pretty quick.

 

 

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Then I would say zip lock the outfits. Then you can name label.

How are they sleeping? Can one go into a top bunk?

We take command hooks so you could put hooks up on the wall and toss their toys into their backpacks. Or in the alternative the pop up hampers from the dollar store.

We either use one closet or the suitcases under the bed for dirty clothes.

If you are sending them to camp I think you will find that they will be more tired than usual in the evenings. My youngest was 2 when he first cruised and played as much as he could in camp. At 4 pm when they broke we put on a movie and told him he was to stay on his bed until a shower at 530. He said of course he wasn't tired but always got a nap in....and even at 12 sometimes crashed in the afternoon. That hopefully will give you time to reorganize.

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I pack a couple of roll up cloth tote bags that I use for dirty laundry. I unpack into the drawers/compartments/closets and then have them deposit dirty laundry into the tote bags. At the end of the trip I drop the tote into my luggage and packing to go home is done. I do this for land or sea trips. I find this works better with kids where they wear something once and are done. It's less effective for me and my husband who might wear the same pair of pants for dinner a couple nights. But the idea is the same, when you're done with that particular item it gets dropped into the dirty laundry bag, otherwise it's put back into the drawer/closet. Key for us is to unpack entirely on the first day.

We also do things like designate one drawer or shelf per kid, and a shoe spot (usually in a closet near the door). We generally have a messy heap of shoes and the state of each kids drawer is willy-nilly, but that keeps walkways clear.

Here's a couple of images of the packing process before our last cruise. I found that rolling the outfits really tight and putting a strip of masking tape to close them worked better than ziplock bags. You could even roll both boy's clothing together in one roll. That's what I did for my boys.

We use Ziplock Space Bags, which can be squished to get all of the air out. Each person gets their own bags, one for each type of clothing. It saves a ton of space in our luggage and makes unpacking a breeze. We designate drawers/shelves for each person and each type of clothing (under garments, shirts, shorts, swim stuff, etc) and the bags make sorting things out super easy.

We also bring mesh laundry bags -- when things are dirty and won't be worn again, they go into the laundry bag so that they are out of the way. Bags either sit on the floor of the closet or may get hung up if we need the floor space for shoes and such.

We also bring lots of magnetic hooks. They stick to the walls and doors and make it easy for hats, lanyards, backpacks, jackets, etc. to go up out of the way. Some shoes can also be hung up, if you put the hooks close enough to the floor. We also use magnetic clips to keep important papers up on the wall, so they don't get lost in the shuffle.

For toiletries, each person gets a ziplock bag and all of the bags are stored out of the way in the bathroom, often in a drawer or on an upper/lower shelf. This helps keep things off the counter and keeps small things from getting misplaced.

For 4 year olds, I would bring a couple of pop-up fabric boxes (they store flat in the suitcases), which can also hold toys or small items on a shelf or even under the desk area. Give each kid their own, so that they have a place that is theirs.

We use Ziplock Space Bags, which can be squished to get all of the air out. Each person gets their own bags, one for each type of clothing. It saves a ton of space in our luggage and makes unpacking a breeze. We designate drawers/shelves for each person and each type of clothing (under garments, shirts, shorts, swim stuff, etc) and the bags make sorting things out super easy.

 

We also bring mesh laundry bags -- when things are dirty and won't be worn again, they go into the laundry bag so that they are out of the way. Bags either sit on the floor of the closet or may get hung up if we need the floor space for shoes and such.

 

We also bring lots of magnetic hooks. They stick to the walls and doors and make it easy for hats, lanyards, backpacks, jackets, etc. to go up out of the way. Some shoes can also be hung up, if you put the hooks close enough to the floor. We also use magnetic clips to keep important papers up on the wall, so they don't get lost in the shuffle.

 

For toiletries, each person gets a ziplock bag and all of the bags are stored out of the way in the bathroom, often in a drawer or on an upper/lower shelf. This helps keep things off the counter and keeps small things from getting misplaced.

 

For 4 year olds, I would bring a couple of pop-up fabric boxes (they store flat in the suitcases), which can also hold toys or small items on a shelf or even under the desk area. Give each kid their own, so that they have a place that is theirs.

The pop up bins are a great idea. We have some that pop up and some of the zip flat IKEA ones.

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I'm a neat freak and hate a messy cabin. Last year was the 1st cruise my DS (age 5) had been on with us since he was a baby. I bought folding fabric cubes that I got at the dollar store. They were perfect. I had one for his underwear, shirts, and shorts in the closets. His clothes were pretty interchangeable so his shirts matched any shorts he picked. There was just not enough drawer space to put them in there. The only thing I hung of his were his polos for dinner.

The other place we used cubes was for snacks in the cabin. Those set out on one of the shelves near the safe/fridge. It was great to have all those in once place. We had one more for sunscreens and beach/pool necessities in the same area. They fold flat in the suitcase and I think I spent less than $10 on all of them. Well worth it!

I also got a folding mesh hamper at the dollar store for dirty clothes. It ripped so it got tossed, but still worth the $1 to not have dirty clothes all over the place. Magnetic clips were also helpful for hanging the kids club schedule and other papers to the cabin walls. Table/counter space it at a premium!

DS was able to pack one small bag (think drawstring cinch backpack) with things he wanted. He filled it with Kindle, books, a few toys, and his notebook and a pencil. All items stayed in the bag when not in use. It was hung on a command strip right by his bed.

Ziploc their outfits and label. That way you can designate a shelf for each of them and all of their outfits will be on it in neat ziplocs for each day. Add PJ's and your done.

We use a pop up hamper and everything that is done being worn goes in it. Keeps all the laundry in one place. About mid cruise either do laundry or empty all the dirty stuff into one of the suitcases under the bed. With 4 people that hamper will get full fast!

Designate a place for shoes, and be firm, otherwise your going to be tripping over them ALL the time!

Bring along a plastic file folder and put all of your paperwork into it. For some reason our room always ends up with flyers, receipts and loose paper, now that we have a place for it to go, it's way easier to keep under control.

Our kiddo is only allowed to bring her small back pack w toys and stuffies. If it doesn't fit in there it can't go.

Decide on a time to clean the room each day. (Heck agree on 2 times to clean.) Before breakfast is good, (and before dinner) all toys go into back packs, laundry into hamper, shoes into shoe spot, paper into folder, garbage gets thrown out, pile any dishes on the side, towels into bathroom. If everyone chips in it really doesn't take much time and it will go a long way to keeping you sane. If your littles won't help or are too unruly have your partner (or yourself) take them for a walk before breakfast and spend 5 minutes of alone time tidying the room (don't fight with them to help, honestly not worth it. Just cut your losses and send them off). We had to do both during the last trip, there were days DD would help, but a couple she wouldn't, so off for a walk she went and we'd all meet up a few minutes later.

For me, the 10-15 minutes of time we invested each day in keeping our room organised/tidy was well worth it.

Making sure your kids know where everything's home is helps too.

Have a great time!

How do you pack and organize kid stuff for your cruise? Is it different from how you pack for other kinds of trips? Every trip we take with the kids ends in huge mess by the end and I really want to avoid that for our first cruise. We have a year but I want to keep an eye out for sales on new luggage for us and them and there will be other trips between now and then as well.

 

 

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The key is not to overpack for you or the kids. If you plan to do the formal dining, no need to overdo it for kids and pack a different outfit each night. My kids 10 and under generally wear shorts all week. Pack 2 pairs of pants for cooler nights and a couple long sleeves . Make sure stuff is comfortable. Pack 2 swim outfits each so you an alternative. You will read that some, us included sometimes end up washing a short or item in the sink lol. My kids loved the kids club when they were 3 and 5 so no need for toys as they play there all the time. They actually beg to go. There are TV with cartoons on all the time on RCCL so it helped to get them settled when in the room.

Ju my 2 cents

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I have purchased a PACK gear for each person in my family. We hang each of these in the closet area. It has enabled our family of 4 (age 3 and 7 kids) to only do carryon.

I also roll entire outfits into our socks as shown on