My pre-cruise to-do list: 2 weeks to go (and what is an eSIM?)

In case you can't tell, I'm SO excited for our cruise in two weeks time - it's our honeymoon, and will be my fifth cruise and my wife's first! It's also the first cruise I've booked myself, having always gone with my aunty & uncle previously, so it's safe to say I'm also a tiny bit nervous about everything going smoothly... Without further ado, here's everything on my cruise to-do list two weeks before we travel!

• Finish packing - most of our stuff is currently flung on top of the suitcases ready to be ironed, folded or rolled neatly and properly packed.
• Print luggage labels - ours are currently not showing as available on our Marella Cruise Control, so I'll keep checking and get them printed. We have clear plastic luggage label holders to attach to our cases too!
• Get my hair & brows done - I have a hair appointment booked for 5 days before we travel, and I'll be getting my eyebrows waxed and tinted the day before we go.
• Sort our electronics - I need to find our adaptor plugs, make sure my Kindle has new books downloaded, check my portable charger is working etc etc etc...
• Check in for flights - as we selected our seats (extra leg room of course!) we can check in 14 days in advance, so I'll be doing this asap.
• Last minute shopping - we don't need much else as we're quite organised, but I do need to pick up more suncream, deodorant, lash bond & seal, hypochlorous acid spray for my skin... yadda yadda!
• Gather all our documents - I want to make sure we have all of our relevant documents in one place, like our booking confirmations and travel insurance, so we can easily access them if need be.
• Pick up our dry cleaning/alterations - my wife's wedding suit is being dry cleaned and I'm having a dress taken up, both of which we'll be wearing on formal night!
• Do my nails & lashes - I will be doing my own lash extensions the day before we travel, and painting my toenails/doing my own press own nails too. Timing is everything with all of this, and the day before we go is set to be a busy one!
• Get an eSIM - while I'm not bothered about having internet access while we're out at sea, I do like to send plenty of photos to my family group chat and be able to check my emails where possible. 

What is an eSIM?

An eSIM is essentially a digital version of a sim card, and while they're not a big deal in the UK they are perfect for travelling if you don't have roaming included in your phone contract - like me. It would cost me £2.59 per day to use my data abroad, or I could pay £27.50 for a 12 day pass but I'd only be able to buy this after I land, if I sorted my roaming through EE. To keep things simpler, I've found that an eSIM works best for me!

You buy whichever sim package fits where you're heading, how long you're travelling for and how much data you'd be using - and setting it up is really easy. You do this before you go, while connected to WiFi, and then just before take off switch your primary cellular data line to your eSIM. Once you land, activate the new eSIM and turn on data roaming, then you're good to go! It sounds a bit complex but it's really not, and the instructions are always really helpful.

With this being a cruise, I'll be turning my phone to airplane mode whenever we're not docked or off the ship to avoid maritime roaming costs!

I always use airalo for e-sims when travelling abroad, and you can use my code KATY4231 to get £2.50 off your first e-sim.

I think that's everything, but I'm sure other things will crop up between now and then which will need to be added to my cruise to-do list. We are both so looking forward to this trip as a chance to celebrate our honeymoon, almost 7 months on from the wedding, and to spend some real quality time together.