Since I found out I would be partnering with Princess Cruises on a 7-day trip through the eastern Caribbean, I've been absorbing as many cruise ship tips as I can. The idea of spending a week onboard one of the world's largest vessels is so different of a vacation for me that I knew I would need all the advice. I haven't been on a tropical vacation in a year, but for a week at sea, I knew I would need more than just a new swimsuit.

Daywear

First off, this is my first time using packing cubes and envelopes and I cannot believe how many pieces fit inside. It seems backwards to add extra stuff (the envelope itself) to save space in your suitcase, but I love how it's keeping me so organized.

The last resort I went to, most people ran around in swimsuits and cutoffs all day. The more I dug into cruise ships, the more I realized people wear actual clothes walking around the ship, so my basics might not quite cut it. There's clearly a reason designers create a resort collection every year: I'm convinced they are made for cruisers.

I packed a couple of soft-shorts, which tend to have a dressier feel than denim, and flowy tops to keep things casual. Half of my pieces are patterned and half are textured. I've even packed a few dresses, a) for convenience's sake poolside, and b) because I'm pretty intimidated by "formal dining night," which I'll focus on below.

Eveningwear

Anyone who knows me in real life knows I do a combination of whining and complaining when asked to dress up. I'm not the type of person that thinks getting glammed up for a night on the town is a totally fun idea. I'll go out on the town, sure—maybe wearing a new lipstick—but I'll still be wearing my favorite pair of jeans. When I heard there were going to be two nights of formal dining aboard, I had to reconsider my whole outlook on life.

While I might not be a cocktail gown kind of girl, I'm using this opportunity to take my Age of Adaline red carpet romper out for a second spin. I'm excited to style it a little differently, sans heels and statement jewelry. I've also packed a black silk maxi dress, which is about as comfortable as it gets and can pass as eveningwear with the right accessories. Make sure you're following along on Instagram and Snapchat (username: truelane.co) to see every outfit from my time on the ship!

Everythingelsewear

I just learned this packing tip from the gals at Goldfine Jewelry—thread each of your necklaces through a straw to keep them from tangling! I've only ever seen this done with toilet paper rolls, which are way too big, so I'm excited to see how this strategy holds up. I'm also bringing along my favorite new Aritzia straw hat to save my scalp from sunburn, my new little Sony NEX-5, and little beach-day must haves, like a clip to keep my towel from blowing off the lounge chair in the wind. 

I'm also a little afraid of throwing my phone overboard. Not intentionally, obviously, but I have an incredibly distressing fear of it slipping out of my hands in the wind and toppling through the railing to the ocean depths below. Melodrama aside, I picked up this little Gostrap at The Container Store—my friend Sairey swears by hers.

I'm sure I've grossly overpacked and am lacking a few things that might make cabin life aboard easier, so I'll be interested to see how everything pans out as the week goes on. I'll keep you posted!

Several people have found it hard to believe I packed for a ten-day trip in a carry-on and backpack, but I’m a pretty low-maintenance girl. The trick is to pack all your clothes a week in advance, and then weed out what you’re not going to need as you think it through. I guarantee you’ll find things in your suitcase that will make you go, “Mmm, I can probably live without that.”

This is what I packed for ten days in Iceland:

Black silky camisole
White t-shirt
Striped long-sleeve
Flannel button-up
Three sweaters
Thick cardigan
One canvas jacket, one rain jacket
Two pairs of jeans
One pair of black stretch ponte skinnies
Sweatpants
Hiking socks, crew socks, no-show socks
Hiking boots, black ankle booties, my favorite sneakers
One linen scarf, one warm weather scarf
Two cold-weather hats

Bella Luxx camisole
Shop more styles:

Here’s the deal. I wore the silky black camisole under everything and slept in it; super easy to spot-clean and quick to dry (just make sure you don't get it in actual silk material). I wore the t-shirt on travel days to and from the airport. For city walking, I layered a sweater over the camisole and wore my light jackets with a scarf, tucking a cold-weather hat in my purse just in case. For night time, I layered the cardigan under my jackets and switched to ankle boots.

I didn’t have to change it up much for the road. My uniform was sneakers, skinny jeans, and a sweater. I kept my hiking boots in the backseat and wore them out for a couple treks. Honestly, the trick is to just pack things you can layer with each other. Don’t pack your orange printed this or your pink splotchy that. Don’t pack the sweater you can only wear with “those pants” or that shirt that doesn’t quite tuck into your jeans right. Only pack the things you love, and you won’t struggle to get dressed in the morning. You want to get out in to the city, out on the road, out in the world—not sit in your hotel agonizing over what to wear. We all do that enough at home.

Abercrombie, Forever 21, Bella Luxx

Vans, Modern Vice, CAT Footwear

I’ve traveled enough that I have my light packing pretty much nailed down. It all depends on how you travel. It makes me laugh, but as a style blogger it’s my job to dress well now...however, I don’t want to spend hours a day trying to look like a million bucks (I don’t know how other bloggers do it). I like to be prepared, but you won’t catch me in snow pants and a parka on an August day like every other tourist you’ll see in Iceland.

Packing light is more than just folding things the right way and trying to smash as much as you can into a petite suitcase. It's being smart about your pairings and taking the time to plan and coordinate your outfits. Feel free to share some of your tips for packing light in the comments!

View fullsize

View fullsize

Hey guys!  Kathleen here from Inspirafashion.  I'm excited to guest post here on Chelsea's blog, because we've been BBFF: best blogger friends forever, since...we both first started blogging 4 years ago.  It's crazy how time flies.  But I'm so happy to have found such a great friend through blogging.  So story goes, we've never met in person, but will finally this coming NYFW!  Which is next week (again, time flew by!)  To celebrate and kick off our birthday month (fun fact: we have the same b-day, September 16th), we decided to do a spontaneous trip to New York, soo excited for the trip! 

We thought it'd be fun also to do guest posts on each other's blogs for a fashion travel guide to share with you all for some travel inspiration, and also it has helped me to brainstorm of what I'll need to bring with me. :)

I've put together a few essential beauty items I thought I'll need for the trip.  BB cream is a must, especially for days I'll probably need to run out the door quickly (4 days sadly isn't enough in NY!)  I suggest prepping way in advance for beauty products of what you think you'll need to pack before the trip.

I've put together a quick comfy outfit I'd imagine myself wearing out to travel to the airport.  It's always important to wear slip on shoes when going (you don't want to be embarrassed holding up the line when going through security), so I'd suggest some booties would be perfect.  Also, a nice parka is great in case it gets cold on the plane.

Lastly, here I decided to lay out some essentials for tech gadgets I'd like to bring, to capture the trip.  It'll be my first time in New York, so I'm going to probably have a case of photo-overload.

Hope you enjoyed this quick guest post!  Be sure to follow our instagrams for lots of pics during our trip!
>> @truelane
>> @kathleencarla

xo,

Kathleen