pre-cruise checklist

Iv'e been trying to find a post that dealt with a checklist that someone had made for anyone cruising for the first time. Tried the search option with no luck. If anyone remembers who or where it is , I would appreciate it. Wish it a sticky.

cheers...the Ump...:D

Iv'e been trying to find a post that dealt with a checklist that someone had made for anyone cruising for the first time. Tried the search option with no luck. If anyone remembers who or where it is , I would appreciate it. Wish it a sticky.

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

Here is a start:

Carry on Bag--

Passport

Driver’s Licenses

Cash

Medicines, Tylenol, Pepcid

Digital Camera/Charger/lenses

Jewelry

Credit Cards

Cell Phones

Cell Phone Chargers

Royal Caribbean tickets Notebook

Cash - Small bills for tipping and exact change on the islands

MISCELLANEOUS

Pens

Highlighters

Ziplock Baggies

Clothes Pins

Alarm Clock

Thermos

Binoculars

Books

Magnetic hooks

To The Beach--

Mesh/Beach Bag

Bathing Suits/Coverups

Water Bottles

Sunblock / Lip Balm

Sunglasses

Rain Ponchos

Hats

Items

Tolietries--

Makeup Bag

Hand Sanitizer/Lysol

Brush

Toothbrushes

Razor/Shaving Creams

Deodorant

Hair Dryer

Curling Iron

Shampoo/Conditioner

Bath and Body Works

Soap

Moisturizer

Clothes--

PJs

Shirts

Pants

Shorts/Capri Pants

Underwear

Socks

Formal Wear

Shoes

For me personally packing and prepping for a cruise was no different to any other travel I had done.

You just need to think about the things that you often buy when you get somewhere and be sure to pack them as well, since there is little available once you get onboard and it can sometimes be at a premium.

Following are things we do BEFORE any trip or cruise.

Check credit card expiration dates to make sure they will be good until we are back home.

Check Driver's License expiration dates to make sure they will be good until we are back home.

Cancel the newspaper while we are away from home. Have it started day after we are back home.

Put in a stop mail delivery form with the Post Office to hold our mail until we are back home.

Arrange to have all due bills pre-paid or put bills on auto-pay while you are gone from your home.

Check Passport to make certain they will still be valid 6 months after you return to your final home airport.

Make sure you have enough current medication with you on your trip.

Charge all batteries we are taking on our trip days before we leave.

Make sure our cell phone can be used in cities we are visiting. May sometimes add coverage to cell phone plan and microchip to cell phone.

Things that we do prior to our trips.

carry your valuables, medications, jewelry, passport, wallet etc in your

"personal" carry-on and not your carry-on that can be 'gate checked' and sometimes there is no time or room to remove the valuables at the last minute.

also cross-pack with your spouse (if traveling together)....in each bag have some of your things and some of theirs-that way if one bag comes up missing you will both have clothes.--pack complete outfits and not just all of this or that in one....missing bag but the other one contains all shoes or underwear/lingere etc doesnt much help.

in your carry-on pack a few things to get you thru the first days in case your bag does come up missing.

take a look at all the lists but 'taylor' them for you and your vacation-packing style--there are alot of good lists with suggestions but it really comes down to what works for YOU!

ENJOY your cruise:)

Remember to call your credit card company (or companies) and get a "travel memo" put on your file or you could find your card being refused. :eek:

Great tips! Thanks!

Remember to call your credit card company (or companies) and get a "travel memo" put on your file or you could find your card being refused. :eek:

Great Advice!

:)

I like everyone's tips. Here's one that I like to do when packing/planning.

If you are staying at a hotel the night before your cruise, I like to use the spacebag (travel ones that you roll the air out). I put everything I will wear pre-cruise in that. That way I don't have to open up all my luggage for one outfit and pj's. The spacebag is nice too if you use your bathing suit at the hotel the night before the cruise. Chances are the bathing suit won't be dry by morning, so now you have a nice plastic bag to put your wet suit. Roll the air out and voila!

I take it a step further when packing (I am a control freak and it works for me to remain organized and in control :p). I put one pair of shorts/capri and 2 tops in each spacebag. If I take a 7 night cruise then I have 3 bags that contain 6 outfits--which prevents me from overpacking. I use another spacebag for unders and such. Formal night stuff is packed gently with tissue and sandwiched between the bags in the luggage. I could go on, but I think you prob get the picture.

I swear by those bags! Everyone has their own 'thing' that they like to do. I look forward to reading everyone's tips and tricks on here.

Hi

Coming from Australia, the most import pre-cruise check for us is to have had visas issued for foreign ports. For example, we would purchase a Chinese visa about 6 sweeks out from the cruise as it has a 6 month expiry date which begins at the time it was issued. Six weeks out gives time for processing and collection.

Cheers Armchair Cruiser

Hereare a few things you might want to add to your list, these I learned on my last cruise and with some help from previous cruisers

ROOM SPRAY- you are on a ship where all of the waste must be stored while at sea, if there is even a small chance of any of the O'de other passengers that could arise, this will be useful. Also for your own useage.;)

Outlet splitter (very few outlets in the room)

A really good conditioner- sea air and salt water pools is tourturous on your hair

A flashlight or night light~ for potty trips in the night so you do not have to illuminate the whole room.

An extra pair of flip flops- if you break a flop $2 at old navy is way better than the 10-15 you will pay on board.

A clock, my cell phone said 11pm on October 11th while we were in international waters and we sailed in July, but now Ot 11th at 11pm is our cruise time at home as a running joke.

And if you are one who likes to get the party started right away, arrive to port in your beach attire,your room won't be ready right away and your bags show up later.

Also, the hand sanitizer will probably not be necessary, cruise ship tend to sanitize your hands as you enter each room. All cruise we heard " washy washy smilie smilie". So bring hand lotion.

I've lately gotten in the habit of having several memory cards for my digital camera. And each is at least 1GB. Change them daily or frequently just in case something happens to the camera, then not all pictures from trip are lost.

Memory cards are cheap compared to the memories those pictures are worth!

I've lately gotten in the habit of having several memory cards for my digital camera. And each is at least 1GB. Change them daily or frequently just in case something happens to the camera, then not all pictures from trip are lost.

 

Memory cards are cheap compared to the memories those pictures are worth!

great ideas thanks!

Good use of the search function.

Keith

Some other things to think about if you don't have anyone staying at your house is to try to protect it from-

Fire- by unplugging coffee pots, electronics, etc... and decide wheather to turn off the gas.

Floods- Can the water be turned off.

Freezing- Again with the water.

Theft- Alarm system (even fake alarms or just signs). Hide stuff to make it harder for the smash and grab guys that won't stay in the house long.

You have to be clever though or it will be found in a hurry. Maybe the trunk of your car if it's in a garage. Ducting with hard to remove screws. Or take your most valuable stuff to a friends house.

Our police department will check on your home every day if you call the non emergency number and tell them you will be on vacation.

Same thing for a vacant property for sale. Call and ask, just a little extra reassurance.

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Iv'e been trying to find a post that dealt with a checklist that someone had made for anyone cruising for the first time. Tried the search option with no luck. If anyone remembers who or where it is , I would appreciate it. Wish it a sticky.

cheers...the Ump...:D

Bscan_001139.pdf

For me personally packing and prepping for a cruise was no different to any other travel I had done.

Remember to call your credit card company (or companies) and get a "travel memo" put on your file or you could find your card being refused. :eek:

Agree with both. No need to overthink packing IMO.

Remember to call your credit card company (or companies) and get a "travel memo" put on your file or you could find your card being refused. :eek:

Not all credit cards require that or even have a way of noting travel.

We also reset the thermostats in our house, and turn off the water to washing machine and any other device where the water is ALWAYS on..in case a hose breaks! Don't want to come home to a flood!

There is a very long thread on this topic. Search for: What's the most useful thing you pack

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Not all credit cards require that or even have a way of noting travel.

No but it is better safe than sorry for a very easy phone call. On the way to Kentucky for my mother's funeral, from only one state over in Tennessee, Discover card shut my card off and I was unable to use it for gas or a hotel room and it was the middle of the night by the time I arrived in my mother's Hometown! I will never make that mistake again. Although I find that to be an extreme situation and probably the person working the desk that got alerted to it was new and went a little overboard haha... it was a terrible inconvenience! Luckily the front desk guy let us stay anyway and clear it up the next morning. Thank goodness for small town hospitality. I couldn't believe they shut it off for being only one state over. We are only an hour from the state line to begin with.

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No but it is better safe than sorry for a very easy phone call. On the way to Kentucky for my mother's funeral, from only one state over in Tennessee, Discover card shut my card off and I was unable to use it for gas or a hotel room and it was the middle of the night by the time I arrived in my mother's Hometown! I will never make that mistake again. Although I find that to be an extreme situation and probably the person working the desk that got alerted to it was new and went a little overboard haha... it was a terrible inconvenience! Luckily the front desk guy let us stay anyway and clear it up the next morning. Thank goodness for small town hospitality. I couldn't believe they shut it off for being only one state over. We are only an hour from the state line to begin with.

 

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Ive had my credit card company block my card for a kinda big purchase on black friday an hr away and a different one block it 4 hours away in my own state

Not all credit cards require that or even have a way of noting travel.

I disagree in that I think most have ways of noting charges made when the user is traveling, which they may flag as unusual. As others have mentioned I still think it is a good idea to notify those that you intend to use on the cruise as many will suspend use if they see what they think are unusual - and in particular, out of country - spending that could indicate fraudulent use.

They will need confirmation from the user that the charges are valid in order to release the card. This has happened in the past with us when we have forgotten to make prior notification. IMO this is an excellent practice to protect themselves and the card holder from unauthorized or fraudulent use.

Reg: Notifying Bank/CC of travel.

When my daughter went to Peru, it was the banks suggestion to place a 'travel note' on her account. They also listed the cities where she would be traveling. Since then we have been doing this.

From past experiences, we had purchased a large dollar amount item, and we received a phone call asking if we made the purchase, within our own area.

There have been times when our card was charged in a different state (several states apart), a very low dollar amount and they did not question it, understandable but at the same time disappointing and the time it took to get the charge reversed. Once you have been hacked, it is miserable. Once they have your CC number, they will placed purchases (several) at a low dollar amount, below the radar.

Suggestions: You do not have to this, but when we travel a long distance, first we notify the bank and CC companies then when we arrive back home we change our passwords with the bank and have a new CC issued. I know overkill. But we have been hacked 3 times. We also set a dollar limit on our CC when we leave. If stolen, they can only charge so much. Talk to your bank or CC companies and have a password in case you need more funds. These are just suggestions and lessons learned. It may not even happen to you and I REALLY HOPE IT DOESN'T!!! Just letting you know what we do. Suggestions creates ideas.