Diaper Bag for Vacation (Cruise)

[JustMare]

I have approx. 90 days to our cruise and I'm already obsessing!

I have the Nordstrom Diaper tote and a SkipHop bag. I plan to bring the SkipHop since we'll be making a stop at Disneyworld for the day and it's a great bag for a theme park. But for the cruise, I'm not sure if the Nordstrom Tote is sufficent? DS will be on baby food by then and I'll need to carry his food and equipment with me. The bag might get too heavy.

Anyone have use a great bag for a vacation that they can recommend? I'm debating if I should get a backpack. I've never worn a backpack, but was tempted to purchase the RL Polo Backpack at Costco for $19. Had tons of pockets and was very lightweight, but I chickened out since I've never used one before.

Also, if anyone has any tips on packing and shelping everything on vacation I'm all ears!

Thanks!

[khakismom]

Highly recommend the backpack. We just got back from a cruise about 2 weeks ago and I would never go again without the backpack.

Mine mainly hung on the handles of our Pliko (about 95% of the time)but occasionally I would need to wear it and it was wonderful to be hands-free. I flew into Tampa with both girls by myself and the backpack was a life saver. Our previous travel excursion with both girls I had a LE Multiple Tot Tote and I swear it was like hauling around a suitcase. Never again.

I found I actually needed 2 bags on the trip. The big dipe bag to go on excursions, hang at the pool, and strolling around the boat--and for that we used the backpack, and it hung on the stroller. I used a smaller dipe bag with just the essentials for 1.5 hours during dinner because we didn't take our stroller to dinner. So for that I used the Fleurville Escape Pod to hold bibs, 1 dipe, wipes, my room key, lipstick... stuff like that. Plus I was all dressed up and I wasn't about to sling the backpack over my shoulder. :)

I saw the RL backpack at Costco this weekend and it's really cute (I loved the light blue color!) I used the Baby Trend ActivPak--tons of space, compartments and room. I even hauled the video camera around in ours and it still wasn't super heavy.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005TPSQ/qid=1086731872/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-8912145-1089522?v=glance&s=baby

I would definitely take the Skip Hop. And if you think you can get away with all your necessities (for you AND baby) in the SH, then maybe you don't need a backpack. But if not, I recommend traveling with the backpack. I won't travel without it anywhere again. HTH! :)

[JustMare]

Thanks for your quick reply!

I'm still on the fence about this backpack. Did it help you the most at the airport? We're sailing out of our hometown, so no plane ride. Taxi to the harbor :) I'm bring our Zippy stroller which always has my Skip Hop attached. Dinner is casual since this cruise has Freestyle Dining with 10 restaurants and no formal nights (only if you want to dress up but I've heard no one does and goes to dinner in jeans - right up DH's alley!) DS will be 7 months at the time we sail which is why we love the Freestyle Dining so much. Eat dinner anytime between 5pm and 11pm, at a table all our own.

Our shore excursions are not at all as exciting as yours (my inlaws went on the Voyager last July). We're sailing to Port Canavaral-Orlando, Nassau, Private Island and Miami. Nothing interesting or exotic. I've heard 50% of the passengers don't even bother to get off the ship. We plan to go to WDW one day then stroll around South Beach for an hour or two the next. No organized tours or anything. I've been to Nassau plenty of times, might stay on ship that day and who doesn't love the private island BBQ day? :)

I will have a beach bag for the pool and beach days, just too much stuff for the diaper bag, plus who needs sand in there anyway! For my personal stuff I have a small Louis Vuitton Wristlet and a Coach Waist/Belt wallet to wear - even thought it's a casual cruise, we must be fashionable, right :) My digital camera is tiny and always in my diaper bag already. The camcorder is for DH to carry, let the man carry something, I have enought stuff to worry about! :) Plus I'm considering getting a Walking Rock Farm Hip Baby carrier to use at WDW, the baby bjorn doesn't fit DH and those lines are too long to just hold DS.

Maybe I'm fooling myself but I don't really think I need to pack a lot with me at all times. The only day we'll be away from the ship for more than six hours is our trip to WDW. The rest of the time, I could probably stop back at our cabin whenever we need to. Plus to be honest, it took me 4 months to get used to the two bags I already own, which makes me nervous to use a new bag. Since the Polo bag was only $19 I'm still debating about it though. Ugh!!! What to do????

Sorry so long!

Any other tips you can think of sharing????

[khakismom]

You're right Mare that the backpack helped me tremendously at the airport. But the SH would probably serve the same purpose as a backpack.

Like I said, we took our stroller everywhere--into town, to the pool, to breakfast and lunch. And the backpack was slung on it all the time. And your SH could do just that. Plus, if you've got a waist belt that can fit stuff, the you'll probably be OK. In our backpack, we had the video cam; digital cam; my wristlet with stateroom cards, money, ID; bottle of water; snacks for the kids; sippies; dipes; wipes; bibs; and all that stuff for kids. If you can get all that in the SH and your waist bag, then you should be good to go. And you're right--the boat is right there if you need to run in and grab something.

Based on what you said above, I think you're right about not needing to pack a ton. I would skip getting a new bag and just use what you've got! They should work wonderfully! Have a great time!! :)