Tips To Make Your Land Life Smooth Sailing
THE SCENE: A team of extremely talented and hard working staff has pampered you for a week. Your cooking and cleaning skills have all atrophied. It’s the last night of your cruise and you start to think about all the things needing your attention when you arrive home. Rather than dwell on it you decide, “That’s tomorrow me’s problem” and order your favorite drink. Then you remember and mentally high-five your pre-cruise self. You are ready for your arrival home because of a few small but impactful things you accomplished prior to sailing.
Pre-Cruise Home Happy Honey-do List:
This is your pep-talk. If this reads like a list of chores, that’s because it is! Adulting is hard, but you’re about to vacation hard too. You can do it! Even accomplishing one of these things will make your integration into your home life smoother. #adultlikeapro #cruiselife
Take Out The Trash
Go through your house and take the trash to the outside bins. Ask a neighbor to take it to the curb on trash day. It won’t stink when you get home and those pesky, albeit cute, trash pandas won’t be a nuisance while you’re gone. Additionally, your trash cans at the curb will signal that someone is monitoring the property while you are away. Don’t forget litter boxes and compost bins too!
Empty Your Refrigerator
Furry animals are cute; fuzzy fruit is not. Purge that fridge! Check those expiration dates and throw away anything that expires over your cruise dates! Nothing is worse than opening your fridge to the odor of rotten food, rancid dairy.
Order Grocery Pick Up or Delivery
Plan to restock food essentials like milk, fruit, veggies and kid lunch box items. With a long lead time, and internet connection, on ship or in port, you can add on to your order as your think of things closer to your return date. If you plan to pick up your order make sure you plan a time frame that is manageable for your arrival home. For home deliveries, plan to leave instruction in the case of late arrival home.
Cook Ahead
If the thought of cooking yourself a meal when you get home feels like too much work, pre-assemble a simple meal and freeze it. Make it in a disposable tin foil pan for easy clean up. One helpful trick is to cook double portions of meals leading up to departure and freezing half. Your freezer contents will resemble a tower of frozen foil bricks but there is nothing wrong with being an overachiever! Easy freezer meal recipes to google are freezer quiche/frittata, chili and soups.
Collect Your Mail
Let’s be honest, mail can be love. Don’t let Grammy’s birthday card (and reliable fiver) get wet. Place a hold through the USPS system or again, ask a neighbor or family member to stop by every few days to make sure it’s not filling up. (Mailbox, baseball joke?)
Clean Your Bathrooms
You don’t want to work when you get home and surely don’t want to clean right either. GERMS DON’T CARE. Besides the obvious sanitary worries, they can be unsightly and smelly. Do your future self a huge favor and give everything a quick wipe before you lock up and roll out for your cruise.
Change Your Sheets
This is such a delight. Just like sliding into the fresh clean sheets in your cruise cabin but in your own home. Ahhhh. Sleep well! Zzzzzzzz.
Lock In Your Cellular Rate In
Just because you can get cell service does not mean you want to pay for that service. Call your carrier and ask if they have a cruise line package AND if they offer international coverage for your ports of call. Roaming, cellular at sea networks and cruise line coverage can be expensive. Getting this wrong can be the difference between needing to pinch pennies and eat instant ramen for a month to refinancing your house. Make a quick call, or go online to review your cellular coverage!
Set Your Thermostat
Set it from your house, set it from your smart device, just remember it! Look at the weather forecast and set your thermostat accordingly. Does it need to be cooler so you don’t cook your cat or does it need to be warmer so you don’t freeze the pipes? Heating and cooling a house can be expensive but minimized by planning ahead. Bonus tip: Make sure your kids or roommates haven’t left windows open! (This is a real life roommate lesson from our very own Mystery Matt.)
Check The Washing Machine
Laundry, like expired foods, stinks! Make sure to check your washing machine for wet laundry before you depart. Dry or hang anything still wet! Rewashing is a time suck and a downer for the environment.
Unplug and Turn Off Appliances
Think this is overkill? Smokey the Bear is right, “Only you can prevent wildfires,” and your house unnecessarily burning down. Take a lesson from this author who’s dishwasher EXPLODED. Thankfully, the breaker worked and it was throwing enough water mid-cycle to put itself out. Turn the appliances off.
Save Your Plants
Pass them to a neighbor or put them on a drip. Save your plants!
What’s Are You Post Cruise Tips & Tricks?
These are some of the things we do to make our post cruise home adulting easier. We would love to learn what you do! Please share with us at marketing@cruiseally.com It might even end up in this blog and we will give you credit! Fancy.
Repeat The Cycle
You’ve cruised, returned home smoothly and unpacked your bags. It must be time to book another cruise. Return to CruiseAlly.com to find your next ideal cruise vacation!
