Parents on family vacations rarely get to relax. There’s always something to arrange, whether it is accommodation or transport from one location to another. Except for family cruise vacations. With diverse facilities and activities to keep children busy, these offer parents rare opportunity to sit back and do nothing. Not to mention the fact that cruises are transport and destination rolled into one. In summary, cruises combine everything you love about relaxing vacations.

Everything is taken care of as soon as you step on a cruise. Food is plentiful, and you can choose from various dining situations to find something that’s perfect for your needs. Activities are already planned and happening, your kids just have to choose one. All of the activities are specifically designed for maximum fun and engagement, so a lot of the time, parents can sit back and enjoy vacation as a couple. All the while, you get to travel and explore new places. Many cruises will take you to destinations that are great for a family. In our case, cruise took us to various port cities in Italy, and we thoroughly enjoyed everything – from Pisa to Rome. All in all, it isn’t a surprise that cruises are a huge hit with families.

What you need to know about cruising as a family

Cruises in general are good choice for families. However, some operators are more aligned with families’ needs than others. So you need to pick an operation that provides facilities and activities suited for a family. Our kids loved Camp Ocean, a cruise ship that is packed with water activities for kids of all ages. Our kids were aged 4 to 10, but even teenagers seemed to be having fun there.

Choose your room wisely

At first, we thought that any room would do. After all, you only need to go back to your room after enjoying everything onboard. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I found that your choice of rooms can make or break your cruising experience.

Good cruise ships offer options with varying space and facilities. Cheapest rooms are not usually the best. Most ships have balcony rooms, which are larger and more practical if you have kids. Having a balcony also allows you to enjoy some fresh air without leaving your room. Personally for me, its important to not feel claustrophobic in a room. Without a balcony, I’d have to go a long way to access fresh air.

Also when choosing a room, you need to consider its placement on the ship. If you are afraid of getting seasick, choose rooms located in the middle of the ship, as they tend to feel ‘rocking’ effects the least. If you think you or your kids will have trouble with seasickness, consider booking a cruise that frequently stops at ports and doesn’t leave for few days. This could give you a nice break from being on the sea all the time.

Finally, you need to pack clothes. Swimsuits are a must. Its also a good idea to pack casual clothes as well as more official ones. And finally, it doesn’t hurt to have cruise t-shirts for family to celebrate your time there.

When you get married, it’s a tradition to go somewhere special with your special person. Some people prefer mountains, others prefer vibrant cities with character, others prefer historical cities like Rome… In todays article, we will discuss a destination that may seem somewhat unusual for honeymooners. We will talk about spending your first holiday as a couple on a cruise.

Is it a good idea?

As much as I love cruises, I have to admit they are not for everyone. They are like small resort ecosystems. Good cruise ships have everything you could possibly need, but some people may be uncomfortable spending several days at sea on one ship. But maybe you’ve gone on a cruise before as a couple, and know that you will like it. In that case, cruise can be an ideal destination for you and your significant other.

How to prepare for a cruise?

Your packing list for a cruise will depend on several factors – from cruise destination to duration. For example, if your cruise is going to stop at several ports in Europe, then it’s a good idea to bring passports, so you can get off the boat and explore local places. In 2020 our cruise ship stopped for a day at Ostia, which is really close to Rome. I had an amazing time there, even if it only for a day.

Next, you need to arrange your finances. If you’re going to be using credit cards, make sure you communicate with your bank that you will be spending money in specific currency, and buy that currency, so you don’t have to spend exorbitant fees. Or you can spend cash money. In that case, you also need to plan ahead of time and order sufficient amount of foreign currency from your bank. I don’t recommend exchanging money at the destination.

Finally, let’s talk about items you need to pack to make sure you have good experience.

How to make a packing list

When going on a cruise, you need to unpack only once – as your hotel is also your transport. Also there are lots of cleaning facilities on board, so you can stick to your essentials and not worry about laundry.

Most cruise ships have lots of water features, like pools and hot tubs. You will need a swimsuit to enjoy all these. Maybe you can pack two pairs to have options.

As for your clothes, it depends on type of cruise and activities you plan to engage in. Some cruises have more casual dress codes and activities to go with it. Other cruises may have casual, but also more serious events, so you will need a suit or appropriate dress.

In any case, its probably a good idea to take clothes you are comfortable in, and at least few business casual pieces of clothing.

You can also get cruise t shirts for couples to add a bit of flare to your adventure. These will certainly catch others’ attention, and portray that you are available to make friends and have maximum fun.

I’ve been on dozens of vacations, but only few have been as memorable as the time me and my friends went on a cruise. Yesterday I was looking at old pictures and was reminded of this amazing trip, and wanted to share. It was on our first summer vacation from university, the first time we traveled as a group. It was definitely an eye-opener for me, and showed me how much fun vacations could be, especially if spent with some of your favorite people in the world. And what made it all the more special was the cruise t-shirts we all bought. I kept mine and it was right there with the pictures. Having that memorabilia can really bring back emotions and make you appreciate your times.

If you decide to go on a cruise vacation with friends, there are several things to keep in mind. But the most important, in my opinion, is to get matching t-shirts to elevate your vacation to next level of fun.

Choosing a t-shirt

First of all, let’s discuss where you can get perfect tees for your group of friends on a cruise. You can order them online, or get one in person. Your traditional retail stores are unlikely to have cruise t-shirts, so you will have to print it.

Lucky for you, Etsy is full of smart and original cruise t-shirt designs. They are simply image files formatted as png, which means they have transparent background. You can take these to print shops near you, and pick out a t-shirt you want. Choosing a t-shirt in person has several advantages. Most important is that you can choose any material you want. This is a t-shirt you will be wearing all day, so its important to pick one that feels comfortable on your skin. Second, you can also ensure that the t-shirt is the right size. I wear an L, but sometimes when I order online, L is too small for me. There’s no way to know the sizing standards for sure. Trying it on at the print shop is one way to make sure your cruise t-shirt for group of friends will fit you.

Designs

Now, lets talk designs. There are a lot of fun and creative designs online. Most of the designs you find on Amazon or on online shops are available on Etsy. Some sellers even have a pack of 100+ designs in PNG format. Surely you can find one you like.

I think its not obligatory for all group of friends to wear the same design, or wear custom t-shirt at all. Its just more fun this way. I recommend giving your friends the freedom to choose a design they like, or come up with one themselves. Its much less work on your part, and makes the whole thing that much more exciting. But do help your friends figure out the logistics of printing a t-shirt for group of friends on a cruise.

So you and your partner decided to go on a cruise. There’s a lot to decide – where are you going to go, for how long, and what is your budget? Besides these important questions, there’s also a question of what to pack. A custom t-shirt might be what you need to stand out and have fun while there. A funny or creative design could be a conversation starter and help you make new friends.

Let’s get to the point.

How to choose cruise t-shirts as a couple?

This probably isn’t your first time choosing a t-shirt, so you know the general process – make sure you find the right fit, and choose colors that go well with the rest of your outfit.

There’s also some factors you need to consider because you will be on a cruise. Depending on where you’re going, the weather can get quite hot, so make sure you choose a t-shirt that is breathable. This is a factor of quality materials, as well as overall thickness of the t-shirt. You want something that’s lightweight, but doesn’t feel flimsy to the touch. It’s a fine line, but some sellers manage to tread it well.

Next, you need a material that is durable and looks good. Its not easy to find t-shirt material that is both, but I found viscose to be great. A lot of my friends had good experiences with t-shirts that are 100 or 90 percent cotton. Ultimately, its best to feel the material, and try it on so you can decide whether you can tolerate wearing it all day. Trying on the t-shirt also helps with finding the right size for you.

Finally, we get to the interesting part. Design is a factor that can make or break a t-shirt for me. Me and my partner found that wearing a t-shirt with cool text and image helped us make friends and generally have a great time on board.

Where to buy cruise t-shirts

This is quite a niche topic, so there are not a lot of places to buy great t-shirts for couples on a cruise. In my opinion, Amazon has a lot of good designs. You just need to look through pages, and carefully check size guides to find something for your body.

Alternatively, you can find interesting t-shirts and designs on Etsy. Sometimes artists create compelling designs and sell them as a package. Usually these designs are formatted as svg or png, so you can print them on a t-shirt yourself.

Once you have designs, you can use various t-shirt printing services to create a tee yourself. This approach gives you all the flexibility to customize the size and position of the graphics on your t-shirt.

You can also talk with your local print services. Maybe they are able to print on a t-shirt. This way is the cheapest, because you can print multiple t-shirts and pick them up at local shop. You can also choose a t-shirt material that feels comfortable and fits you.

Component reusability is one of the cornerstones of building web apps in React. Developers can write the component once and reuse it as many times as they need. Check SimpleFrontEnd for great tutorials on React.

Why we need to loop through array of objects

Often we need to render components based on data received from the API. External data can be formatted in many different ways. Most often, we receive an array of objects. Each object contains information to render a component or element. Most often, we use map(), filter(), or other array methods to return a new array with modified items. And the callback function is used to specify how every item needs to be modified.

However, looping through an array of objects requires some precision. First of all, let’s look at how to import an array of objects from an external source. This is usually done using the useEffect() hook. It’s important to understand how the dependency array works and how useEffect () can replace lifecycle hooks, typically used to perform side-effects in React.

Once you have an array of objects stored in a state variable, you can get to work. You need to create a new array where every item is an element or a component. Methods like map() and filter() are perfect for this purpose. Map() returns a new array made up of transformed components, and filter() does the same except it filters array items as well.

Using map() to loop through array of objects

So, how do you use map() to loop through array of objects in React? You take information contained in objects and use this information as values for props and contents for components.

You can create a new array of elements and components in JSX or outside of it. The latter option is better, because it’s more readable to separate JavaScript logic from JSX as much as possible. It’s better to finish the array transformation and store final result in a variable. Then you can reference that variable inside JSX. Remember to use curly braces to differentiate dynamic expressions from normal content in JSX.

If you do decide to use map() directly in the JSX, you will need to use curly braces. In fact, you might need to use curly braces on multiple levels. For example, you need initial curly braces to embed the initial expression (performing map() on array). Remember that map() callback function usually returns JSX, so you need to use curly braces again when you need to embed values from the object into elements.

There are other things to remember when you use map() to loop over objects in the array. For example, every new component or React element must have a unique id property. This is necessary so React can reliably identify every DOM element.

Technically, you can also use for loops and forEach to loop through an array of objects in React. However, doing this requires more lines of code and the end result simply isn’t as readable as using the map() method. SimpleFrontEnd explores different ways to loop through an array of objects in React.