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Life of Iris
  • does a baby need a passport
    Travel | Travel Tips and Tricks

    Does a Baby Need a Passport to Travel? And Other Essential Documents

    ByIris M. April 8, 2025May 23, 2025

    Traveling with a baby – whether it be a newborn or a one year old – is a big adventure. Not all good, not all bad – but without proper preparation can feel all consumingly stressful. One of the big things you’re going to need to travel with your little one is the proper documentation….

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  • Baby Travel Essentials: Packing List & Top Tips
    Packing | Travel | Travel Info & Experiences

    Baby Travel Essentials: Packing List & Top Tips

    ByIris M. February 7, 2025May 25, 2025

    Traveling with a baby? These are the essentials you need. Your travel adventures don’t have to stop when you have a baby. My baby took her first international flight at 2 months and before she was a year old had been to three continents and 10 countries. There are some things that have made that…

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  • what to pack when working on a cruise ship
    Crew Life | First Cruise Ship Contract | Packing

    What to Pack When Working on a Cruise Ship

    ByIris M. July 23, 2024May 8, 2025

    Wondering what to pack when working on a cruise ship? We’ve got space-saving hacks and must-have items for your life at sea. Whether it’s your first cruise ship contract, your 50th, or somewhere in between packing to work on a cruise ship can be a challenge. Over the past decade as a crew member I’ve…

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  • cruising with a baby
    Life On Board | Packing

    Cruising with a Baby: What To Expect, Tips & More From A Mom

    ByIris M. July 23, 2024February 2, 2026

    Thinking of cruising with a baby? With a bit of planning it can be an incredible family vacation. I’m a mom, former crew member, and I started cruising with my baby at 6 months old. Cruising is a great way to see the world and can be an incredible family vacation or multi-generational family vacation….

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  • Best Laundry Detergent Sheets for Travel: EarthBreeze Review
    Crew Life | Life On Board | Travel Tips and Tricks

    Best Laundry Detergent Sheets for Travel: EarthBreeze Review

    ByIris M. April 6, 2021February 9, 2025

    Laundry detergent sheets are among my favorite packing hacks for travel and Earth Breeze makes it easy. Check out my review of Earth Breeze laundry detergent sheets. I regularly pack my life into a suitcase for months at a time – and now I do that with a baby in tow. Anything that I can…

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  • Travel Essentials
    Packing | Travel | Travel Tips and Tricks

    What’s the Most Important Travel Essential to Bring With You?

    ByIris M. February 11, 2021April 29, 2024

    In my network of friends and past coworkers there are a lot of world-travelers. Many have been to over 100 countries and places like Antartica more times than they can count. So, when I posed the question, “What’s the most important travel essential to bring with you?” I got a myriad of answers. Some of…

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  • Traveling with a Food Allergy
    Life On Board | Travel | Travel Tips and Tricks

    Traveling With A Food Allergy

    ByIris M. October 17, 2020September 5, 2021

    Traveling with a food allergy can be a challenge. As someone that has done it a lot I am here to tell you it doesn’t have to be what stops you from flying away – although right now COVID and/or COVID related travel restrictions might. There are times that it has been incredibly frustrating or…

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  • Google Fi For Cruise Ship Crew
    Travel | Travel Tips and Tricks

    Google Fi on a Cruise Ship: Why I Switched

    ByIris M. April 7, 2020March 13, 2025

    Thinking of switching to Google Fi? I’ve been using it for 5+ years and traveled to 50+ countries with it. Here’s why I switched and would do it again. A few years ago I was sitting on a train in China, I was trying to meet up with my friend that was living in Beijing…

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  • Superlatives of My Travels
    Travel | Travel Tips and Tricks

    Superlatives of My Travels

    ByIris M. February 11, 2020December 29, 2020

    One of the most common questions that people ask me about my life is where my favorite place I’ve traveled to is. I am lucky to be from Vermont in the United States and my husband is from the beautiful country of Scotland, so my standards for beautiful places are quite high. Every place I’ve…

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  • Travel | Travel Journal | Travel Tips and Tricks

    My Opinion on “Once In a Lifetime Experiences”

    ByIris M. January 15, 2020

    Today my friend and I were walking towards the Edinburgh Castle. For so many people they would consider that a Once In a Lifetime Experience. Edinburgh. Scotland. Castles. Bagpipes. Woohoo! For me it certainly isn’t, as I spend a good chunk of my year in Scotland, and for this friend I certainly don’t think it…

    Read More My Opinion on “Once In a Lifetime Experiences”Continue

About Me

Welcome to Life of Iris! I’m Iris – a former cruise ship crew member now traveling the world with my cruise ship engineer husband and our little one. Whether you’re a cruiser or crew member, I’m here to help you dive into life at sea. Read more about our adventures by clicking here.

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