Weird travel essentials
Do you have some weird things you travel with? I have 15 to share with you. These are some of my weirdest travel essentials. Let’s look at some of my favourite travel gear and some travel tips!
Cruise Freebies – Get Free Stuff on a Cruise Ship!
If you love hopping on a cruise ship and you love to get free stuff, I’m here to tell you some of the best freebies and perks on a cruise and some cruise hacks to find out what’s included on your cruise. Read to the end for a freebie from me to help you plan your future cruises!
Avoid These Cruise Ship Booking Mistakes in 2025
Are you thinking about making a cruise booking? I can help you to avoid cruise problems by showing you ten cruise ship booking mistakes to avoid. Keep watching to the end for five bonus mistakes to avoid once you’re onboard.
Carry On Packing List For Traveling Overseas
Have you wondered whether you could pack carry on only for travelling overseas? I went through my carry-on packing list for two weeks overseas, so you can see what I packed. I have carry-on packing tips and more! Join this committed baggage checker in learning how to pack it all in carry-on luggage only!
Oceania Insignia Cruise Ship Review
We’ve just taken a cruise that we weren’t sure if we’d enjoy – and at our advanced ages it was for an unusual reason. For years we’ve wanted to incorporate a cruise into our regular visits to New York, and this cruise, combined with Michael’s love of photography during the autumn foliage seasons, seemed to fit the bill.
We loved the look of the port heavy itinerary, with six ports in Canada and four in the USA, ending in New York. And the time of year was perfect for us.
But we also knew that Oceania tends to have an older set of passengers, and while we aren’t spring chickens ourselves, we wondered if we would feel too young.
LEVEL UP Your Cruise – Things To Do FIRST
You just want to relax and enjoy your cruise, right? I’m going help you by giving you nine things to do first when you get to your cruise cabin, to make it your home from home while you’re cruising. I have cruise cabin hacks and organisation tips, so you can have your best cruise ever! I have plenty of cruise advice for first timers here, so you can have your best cruise right from the start.
Which Cruise Line is the Best?
Are you wondering which cruise line is the best for you? I’m going to tell you all about the different types of cruise line and compare them so you can decide which cruise line you should choose.
What’s In My Bag – MINIMALIST EDC Essentials
Do you want to know what’s in my handbag? I try to have a minimalist approach to my everyday carry essentials so for anyone who loves EDC, minimalism and handbags – or purses – keep reading! I’ve identified 41 items that I carry in my handbag in different scenarios. I try to keep the items I carry to a minimum and select small, lightweight versions of everything. I’m not claiming to be a minimalist, but I suffer from shoulder and neck pain so the lighter my bag the better. And to help those outside Australia, here we tend to call all women’s fashion type bags “handbags”, rather than shoulder bags, clutches, etc. And they are never called “purses”. A purse is something you keep your coins in! The items I carry My car key Like most car keys these days it’s big and chunky. I know that some car keys can be programmed onto a smart phone so the sooner Audi do that in Australia the better, then I can leave this at home! Driver licence Whether I’m driving or not this is my primary form of identification, so I always have this on me. Trolley key I use this to unlock supermarket trolleys, so I don’t have to carry a coin. I never carry cash, and I got caught so many times before I got this. Breath mints This one is up for review. I really don’t need them very often, but this is a tiny, slim holder – I think Michael got it from an animal welfare conference in New Zealand about 15 years ago! Canadian travel charm Maybe I’m superstitious but a friend gave me this good luck charm for travellers many years ago and I’ve carried it ever since. Costco card Costco cards can’t go in my iPhone wallet, so I’m stuck with this one. I could keep it in the glovebox of the car since I only ever go there in the car so this might get eliminated! Emergency $20 note I don’t use cash in Australia at all. This became part of my carry about 10 years ago when I let my car run out of petrol. NRMA – roadside assistance – brought me a can of petrol but I needed $20 cash to pay for it! I had to borrow from the business I’d stopped outside of, luckily, they were nice enough to lend it, even though they didn’t know me. It was a plumbing business, and we’ve used them for our plumbing issues ever since. And yes, I did repay them! Fold up shopping bag To avoid excessive consumption of disposable bags. Glasses screwdriver To tighten those tiny little screws when the arms of my glasses start flapping around. House key Just the one. I don’t feel the need to carry every key I possess. I always wonder why people have to carry big bunches of keys, like an olden day’s prison warden. Safe key More of a money tin really – we just keep left over international currency in there between trips. Nothing major, it’s more so we know where it is than for security! I keep the key with me for security though, rather than need. Hand cream This tiny container is perfect – I like things as flat as possible. I refill it with a fairly thick cream – a runny one might leak. Lip balm No explanation necessary! Anker magsafe power bank For phone low power emergencies – that time I ran out of petrol I’d also forgotten to charge my phone, and I didn’t have a charger in the car. Another thing the nice plumbing business lent me was a charger! Rolling Square InCharge X xmall charging cable I can use it to charge anything USB C, Micro USB or lightning if there is a USB A or C outlet to plug into. The MagSafe power bank can give my iPad a tiny charge using this cable, if I’m really desperate! Nasal decongestant I tend to get a stuffy nose quite a lot. Pen Always good to have. I have a LAMY Safari pen I bought in Japan, but it’s a bit big and chunky. I love it but I’m thinking of getting a small pen like a Fisher Space Pen or something made for EDC. The pens above are NOT to scale! Hand sanitiser Even before Covid I usually had it but now it’s more important than ever. Shout wipe If you’ve seen my video on packing for a six-week trip you’ll know I tend to be a bit of a messy eater. Small mirror This is the tiniest mirror I’ve ever found. I got it, well we got two of them, at an animal welfare conference in Washington DC in 2011. It was a gimmick – “looking into this will show you who can save these animals” kind of thing. But I’ve carried one ever since for makeup touch ups – it’s all I need and so tiny! Small scrunchie When it’s hot and sticky and I’m out and about my hair annoys me so when I’m about to go completely mad I get this out and pull my hair back. It looks awful but sometimes that just doesn’t matter! Small tin of medications Just a few painkillers, antihistamines and antacid tablets. I wrap the scrunchie around this, so they’re always together. The tin is from some souvenir breath mints I bought at George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon. Smart AirCard I bought these from a Kickstarter, they work the same as Air Tags, but they’re flat so easier to carry in small pouches and bags. Sunglasses But not very often since I can’t drive in them or read my phone in them. And only when its sunny of course! I keep them in this soft pouch, which doubles as a lens cloth. SwissCard NailCare From the makers of Swiss Army knives and with similar functions. This one doesn’t have a blade, but it does
2025 long vacation packing list
See my complete packing list and what’s in my bag as I pack for a six-week holiday and hear what I learned and what I should NOT have packed! We are travelling by air from Australia to Canada for two nights in Montreal, then cruising on Oceania Insignia through Canada and New England, arriving in New York. We spend two weeks in New York before hopping on Norwegian Prima for a cruise to Bermuda. We spend two more nights in New York then fly home to Australia. What would you pack? Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalise a purchase. Clothes Handbag and EDC Tech Makeup Toiletries Health and comfort Cruise essentials Miscellaneous
Never do these 20 things in your cruise ship cabin
Like anything in life, cruising has things you shouldn’t do – particularly in your cabin. I have 20 of these and I’ll also include some clever tricks to help you enjoy your cruise.
