Disclosure: I was provided a Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook for the purposes of this review, however all opinions are my own.

I’ve spent the past month or so packing and preparing for our spring break cruise– trying to decide which clothes, shoes, and accessories made the final cut. The easiest decision I made throughout the process was which laptop to bring with me on the trip. Ever since I received my Dell XPS 13 Laptop with 5th Generation Intel Core Processor, I haven’t left the house without it!

I’ve been using the Dell XPS 13 with Quad HD+ Touchscreen display for about a month now, and am officially hooked. It took some soul-searching to put my beloved Macbook Pro on the shelf and tote around my new Dell, but once I accepted that it was okay to “cheat” on Apple, my life changed. This incredibly high-performance ultrabook is proof that good things come in small packages. The stunning laptop with 13.3 inch infinity display weighs as little as 2.6 lbs! The Quad HD+ display packs in 5.7 million pixels (over 4.4 million more than the Macbook Air 13 with HD). With its 5th generation Intel® processor, solid state drives, and Intel® Rapid Start Technology, the Dell XPS 13 boots from cold in mere seconds, and makes rebooting a snap!

Working from home, I go through phases where I feel unmotivated sitting at home all day and love spending the day working from a coffee shop to get a change of scenery. Unfortunately, it seems that a lot of other people have that same idea, and it’s always a pain in the you-know-what trying to get the table or chair closest to a power outlet. (And then once I get the seat, I’m afraid to leave it to go to the bathroom or order a drink!) But with my trusty old Macbook Pro, whose battery life leaves much to be desired, I really couldn’t be productive because the computer would die in the middle of a project if not plugged in somewhere. The Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook has an industry-leading battery life– over 15 hours on FHD and more than 11 hours on QHD+. The Dell Power Companion is also available to purchase and can provide an additional 7 hours of battery life. Needless to say, I was able to sit wherever I wanted to at the coffee shop without fear that I’d run out of juice.

Long battery life is an absolute must for a travel notebook. The Dell XPS 13 lasted through our car ride to Houston with enough battery left to take care of some last minute work details at the hotel. Out of Office messages officially set!! I can’t wait to bring this beauty on my cruise. Even though I’m technically going to be “unplugged” and staying off the internet this week, I have lots of fun “work” I’m looking forward to doing while on vacation– planning blog posts, building my photography brand, and editing travel photos! Stay tuned for another post about the amazing, category-killing features of the Dell XPS 13.

Do you need a new ultrabook for traveling? The Dell XPS 13 is available for purchase through Dell or Microsoft.