Countdown: Less Than A Week To Go!

The beginning of our 'adventure' is less than a week away so we're starting to pack and I'm going through all the notes I've taken since we booked this trip. One section of those notes is devoted to travel-related apps that I thought might be useful for us. I'm not going to use or list them all but it sure is amazing what you can find online!

For example, there's an app called Ship Mate. With this app you can create a dashboard for your cruise that lets you access your itinerary, excursions, deck maps and more. You can count down the days with a 'Cruise Ticker' and find all kinds of information about your cruise ship. You can also take a virtual tour of each level of your ship and use the Cruise Port section to get Tips, Photos, and Reviews for the destinations you’ll be visiting.

Then there are the apps to help if you get sea sick (I do). Several of them, like SeaSickness or MyHorizon, use either the gyroscope on your electronic device or a fixed horizon image to alleviate the symptoms. Another one called Nevasic provides audio that uses specific tones, frequencies and pulses to stabilize the balance receptors in the inner ear to provide relief from nausea. This one is actually a registered class 1 medical device in the U.S.

Next are apps to help you pack. I've kept my eyes and ears open for any & all tips on how to pack when you're away for 3 months! Packpoint, Packr, Packing Pro, Travel List and Vane are a few of the packing apps. Each has its own twist but I like Packr because after you enter your dates, sex, filters and destination, the app automatically pulls in the weather for your destination and creates a custom packing list.

Sit or Squat: Restroom Finder - I couldn't resist mentioning this one. This one is appropriately powered by Charmin bathroom tissue. The reviews are mixed and there are only a few select countries included besides the US so it won't help us much ... but love the idea!

Although most everything is included on our cruise, there may be times when we want to purchase something while on an excursion. Since we're going to so many countries with different currencies, the XE Currency app should come in handy. It lets you access live exchange rates and calculate prices on your smartphone or tablet. It also stores the last updated rates so it works offline - even better!

This blog post was a fun break but now it's time to get back to packing!! Only 5 days to go! YIKES!

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