What to put in your carry on?

Whenever I check a bag I pessimistically believe I will never see it again.

Passports, cruise docs, money, meds, camera equipment, laptop get carried on.

Clothes, I can replace easily.

I always pack valuables, phone charger, meds n bathing suit. I have learned after 30 + cruises to pack it instead of in a big purse ( tried the pull behind carry on type once, BIG mistake!!!) into a back pack ( stylish, of course ;) ) that way I can put it on my back and have both hands free, plus, I don't take up extra room in the wind jammer, or knock into anyone as the big purses seem to have a mind of their own!

Definitely female. I pretty much live in running shoes or flip flops (I do have a very flat pair of sandals in the bag)...barefoot in my apartment.

 

And yes, I have a skirt with some tops and a couple of dressed to dress for dinner. Plus stuff for 4 races. :) I am a packing ninja!

You're also my hero. I think you should be put in the Guinness Book of Cruise Records! Each cruise we tend to pack less and less but we still go with 2 suitcases and 2 carry ons. I think we got spoiled driving to the port instead of flying. I even take my own pillow :eek:

I couldn't do it either. If I could just pack swimsuits and sun dresses I could easily pack a carry on, but my toiletries bag and the extra shoes for dinner and formal night (oh and work out shoes and water shoes and snorkel/scuba fins), well, those take up the majority of my large suitcase :( My toiletries bag has all my shampoo, conditioner, body wash, day and nighttime face creams, hair gels, mousses and oils, combs, brushes, medicines, make up and make up brushes, etc etc. It takes up half a carry on bag. I prefer to be able to walk around in flip flops and a swimsuit all week, but because of the requirements for dressing for dinner, I have to bring all this stuff to look presentable enough to be allowed to eat, haha. I tried to convince my daughter that we should eat in the buffet for dinner this time around, or minimally skip formal night, but she refused (formal night is her favorite, go figure). So I'm doing it for the children :)

Luckily I'm pretty low-maintenance. Bar shampoo and conditioner from Lush. A hair brush and hair bands. Facial soap. Moisturizer. Lip Balm. Mascara for if I feel like it. Easy-peasy! :)

We have a carryon each. We always have to fly to our destination. Packed are a change of clothes each and all valuable items eg camera, electronics, jewellery, medications etc

Sandy in Spain

Don't over think it.

Take your medicines, your electronics,your cameras, and your documents.

If you feel like you have to lay out by the pool then throw in a bathing suit, other than that there is no need to haul a lot of stuff around. If your luggage doesn't arrive before dinner you can go in what you boarded the ship in, a lot of people do that the first night anyway.

Things we absolutely don't want to get lost go in ours!

We are in the no checked bag crowd. Carry on 22" bag (one each) and shoulder bag each- we are set for the cruise. We don't plan to arrive at the port until at least noon so we can usually drop our bags as we board. I know that this isn't for everyone but this makes us feel like we are on a relaxing vacation from the start.

How in the heck are people able to get their toiletries on carry on? I get it that not everyone has a ton of hair or insists on bringing expensive shampoo from home and will use the stuff in the showers on the boat, but at the very least I would assume everyone has at least one full bottle of sunscreen, and since that is over the 3 oz limit, how are you not checking at least one bag? I tried to get my stuff packed in one suitcase, but my toiletries bag is just too big :(

Luckily I'm pretty low-maintenance. Bar shampoo and conditioner from Lush. A hair brush and hair bands. Facial soap. Moisturizer. Lip Balm. Mascara for if I feel like it. Easy-peasy! :)

I love the solid shampoo and conditioner from Lush, it saves so much space and leaves your hair nice and soft(smells good too) my favorite is Godivia.

I love the solid shampoo and conditioner from Lush, it saves so much space and leaves your hair nice and soft(smells good too) my favorite is Godivia.

I'm familiar with Lush and have received some bath salts as a gift and loved them. I'm curious about the bars bamboo, is it an organic/sulfate and paraben free item? If so I would go buy some today and bring it; if not I'll have to stick with my liquid stuff I buy because I won't use chemical stuff in my hair, it dries it out and strips the color out :(

I'm familiar with Lush and have received some bath salts as a gift and loved them. I'm curious about the bars bamboo, is it an organic/sulfate and paraben free item? If so I would go buy some today and bring it; if not I'll have to stick with my liquid stuff I buy because I won't use chemical stuff in my hair, it dries it out and strips the color out :(

They do have SLS(sodium Lauryl sulfate) Ina few of the solid shampoos like Godiva and in others they use sodium coco-sulfate.

They do have SLS(sodium Lauryl sulfate) Ina few of the solid shampoos like Godiva and in others they use sodium coco-sulfate.

Bummer. Sounds like a cool product though, what a great idea for packing. Maybe I'll try it someday to see how it works with my hair and if it's not too drying I could suck it up and use a different shampoo than my usual for a week; but I don't want to test it out on my trip so I'll wait until I get back.

Yeah - sunscreen is the real problem with flying carry-on only. I try and buy it when I get to the area (I fly the night before). Worst case, I buy some on the ship - it's overpriced but not as overpriced as paying to check a bag (or having the bag lost even if it's free to check and then having to buy replacement everything).

But I don't carry my carry-on suitcase on to the ship usually, just my personal sized carry-on - backpack or giant purse depending on the trip. I also wear a swimsuit on to the ship under a sundress. I usually pack some undies in my carry-on in case my suitcase doesn't show up by dinner so I can still shower and change.

Bummer. Sounds like a cool product though, what a great idea for packing. Maybe I'll try it someday to see how it works with my hair and if it's not too drying I could suck it up and use a different shampoo than my usual for a week; but I don't want to test it out on my trip so I'll wait until I get back.

I'm with you. I can skimp on the make-up but when it comes to my hair, I must have my regular products. Spend way too much money on my color and keeping my hair healthy to risk crappy products :(.

We each take a small carry-on.

One has the medical bag with prescriptions. The other carry-on has a medical bag with over the counter medications.

Also in the carry-ons is my Concord case with travel documents (passports go in my purse), camera and equipment for it, snacks for time between flights, sunglasses and a few other odds and ends.