Hangers

[CleoT]

This may seem like a silly question, but this is our first cruise and I'm wondering if there will be enough hangers to hang our clothes on. We're sailing on the Oct. 3rd NE/Canada CB cruise. Our cabin is A715, which is a balcony. We're trying to pack light, but it seems every time I stay at a hotel for more than three or four days, there's never enough hangers for my clothes. So, should we expect only, say, a half dozens hangers for the two of us? Should we pack more? Also, will there be an iron in the room?

 

I can't believe I'm thinking of such trivial things, but I'm so excited and I'm trying to think of all the things I'm ASSUMING, rather than everything I've read and know from the posts here on CC. I'm a little bit of a control freak, so there may be even stranger questions in the next couple weeks. :eek:

 

Also, I can't thank all of you enough for posting and answering questions on this forum. You're such a tight knit community which is more than happy to assist anyone and post your wonderful experiences. I only found CC about a month or two ago, but I feel so much more prepared for my cruise than I ever thought could have been. I know I would have had a great cruise regardless but you've all already made my upcoming cruise the best experience ever. ;)

 

Thanks! :)

[Druke I]

There should be enough hangars in the closet. If not, ask your cabin steward for more.

 

No irons in the room - a fire hazard. Irons are available in the self-serve laundries aboard ship.

[cruisemom42]

Seems like there has usually been a good amount of hangers in the closet, but once or twice I've asked for more....it's never been a problem.

 

As Druke says, irons are available in the laundry rooms only. Sometimes there is a bit of a line waiting to use them -- like on formal night -- so plan ahead. You can also send items to be pressed for a reasonable cost.

[paul929207]

Several times we have not had enough hangers. I just ask the cabin steward and we have more a little later.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes Stewart.

[TuxedoMan]

There should be enough hangars in the closet. If not, ask your cabin steward for more.

No problem to get more:cool:

[Toto2Kansas]

There are always hangers available. But after years of cruising, we found that the hangers they provide (usually the very nice wooden ones), that they take up far too much room in the closet for very many clothes.

 

And I hate having to hang everything when we unpack (it takes too long), and then refold them that last day to repack for the trip home (keeps me from enjoying the ship that final day spending hours repacking the luggage).

So, now what I do is to place our things on 'wire' hangers (I know Joan Crawford would absolutely cringe at the thought :)). I then place them in plastic suit bags, fold them over three times and put them in the suitcase. It doesn't take up any more room then folding when packing, and when I arrive, unpacking (and repacking that final day) is a snap. You just hang the clothes, already hung on hangers, in the closet and remove the suit bags. We have less wrinkles in the clothes, and I can have everything put away in less than 30 minutes. During the cruise, when there is something we aren't going to wear again, I just place it in the suit bag hung up, and when it's full, zip it up, ready to be folded three times that final day onboard and placed back in the suitcase.

It has worked like a charm the last dozen cruises, and sure cuts down on all that packing and repacking time. Enjoy your cruise!

[TwinCruiserMom]

There are probably about 20 wooden hangers in the closet when you get onboard. We always need more hangers and it is easy to get more from your room steward. I have even specified that I need ones with the clips on them for shorts or skirts and that has been no problem. I prefer to hang most things up including tshirts and shorts so I use a lot of hangers :)

 

You may not get all nice wooden hangers, but they do have plenty of wire or plastic hangers that are left over from past cruises. I once walked with our room steward to the utility room close by our cabin and there were tons of wire and plastic hangers on a rack in there.

 

The irons in the laundry room are all set up and ready to use. The washers and dryers are only $1 or so per load and doing a load or two of laundry can really save on the amount of clothes you need to pack.

 

I had a million questions before my first cruise and I am an over-organizer too :) I took tons of clothes on our first cruise (there are 5 of us!) and since then have packed less and less each cruise. I can't believe the amount of time I wasted packing and unpacking on those first cruises!

 

Cruising is a real easy vacation. Your room steward takes care of everything you need in your cabin, and there is food available all the time. You can do whatever the spirit moves you whether it is sitting on your balcony or taking in a show. Relax and have a wonderful cruise!

[CleoT]

Thanks, all, for your posts.

 

I hadn't thought about the iron being a fire hazard. Makes, sense, being on a ship and all. Toto, I like the idea of bringing your own wire hangers, and even the suit bags. Food for thought. And Twin, packing too heavy is exactly what I'm hoping to avoid. ;) It'll just be the two of us for this first cruise, but I've traveled enough to know I have to be conscious of how much I pack.

 

I'm planning on bringing some travel size laundry detergent. I've read pros and cons to this, but to know I can wash if need be to keep my luggage light is comforting. I'll just have to pay attention to non-peak laundry times.

[Putterdude]

We often bring some extra hangers with us as it just saves us having to bother our cabin steward on a busy day. That said it really isn't necessary.

[LindaandJeff]

Don't forget the quarters! I always remember the laundry detergent, but I always end up having to go to the Guest Services desk and stand in line to get quarters. Ugh!

 

Oh, and I always pack alot...but I use it all and I always have to ask for more hangars. Never a problem.

 

I also bring the XXL ziploc bags and we put it on the floor of the closet and keep adding our dirty clothes to it. If I don't feel like doing any laundry, then we just push all of the air out of the bag and seal it up. It packs really easily and if customs wants to go through it...more power to them:eek:.

 

And do remember...it is vacation...so you don't "have to" do laundry!

[Treven]

I simply take all my short-sleeved shirts out of my closet, hangers and all, and lay them in my luggage. Then when I'm packing the last night, I take all the metal hangers out of the closet and toss them back in my luggage.

[chubbypiggy]

Don't forget the quarters! I always remember the laundry detergent, but I always end up having to go to the Guest Services desk and stand in line to get quarters. Ugh!

 

Oh, and I always pack alot...but I use it all and I always have to ask for more hangars. Never a problem.

 

I also bring the XXL ziploc bags and we put it on the floor of the closet and keep adding our dirty clothes to it. If I don't feel like doing any laundry, then we just push all of the air out of the bag and seal it up. It packs really easily and if customs wants to go through it...more power to them:eek:.

 

And do remember...it is vacation...so you don't "have to" do laundry!

 

You can get your quarters at the casino cashier booth. I have never seen a line there.

[Seal]

There are always hangers available. But after years of cruising, we found that the hangers they provide (usually the very nice wooden ones), that they take up far too much room in the closet for very many clothes.

 

And I hate having to hang everything when we unpack (it takes too long), and then refold them that last day to repack for the trip home (keeps me from enjoying the ship that final day spending hours repacking the luggage).

So, now what I do is to place our things on 'wire' hangers (I know Joan Crawford would absolutely cringe at the thought :)). I then place them in plastic suit bags, fold them over three times and put them in the suitcase. It doesn't take up any more room then folding when packing, and when I arrive, unpacking (and repacking that final day) is a snap. You just hang the clothes, already hung on hangers, in the closet and remove the suit bags. We have less wrinkles in the clothes, and I can have everything put away in less than 30 minutes. During the cruise, when there is something we aren't going to wear again, I just place it in the suit bag hung up, and when it's full, zip it up, ready to be folded three times that final day onboard and placed back in the suitcase.

It has worked like a charm the last dozen cruises, and sure cuts down on all that packing and repacking time. Enjoy your cruise!

 

up until about 2 years ago I packed on wire hangers--but---not in the plastic/or whatever garament bags--I don't pack light--and I beg for about 40 more hangers when I first meet the Steward--anyway--I may try it again--I absolutely hate wire hangers and take my own to the cleaners for pants and tops and dresses--surprisingly I' found that there are others aas crazy as I am--I may try this with the suit bags this time--our things will be packed for more than a week before we reach the port for embarkation--only a small amount may be taken on Air Tahiti for Bora Bora--the rest stays with the flower ladies across from FAAA---I'm going to try that again--DH has the dry cleaners fold all shirts then cover with clear wrap an also the same for shorts--so he just picks up stacks of clothing--whil I go crazy with mine--I won't leave the room once we have the luggage until all of mine is hung up--sure takes a few glasses--not just one of bubbly.

 

Nancy

[regnig]

There are always hangers available. But after years of cruising, we found that the hangers they provide (usually the very nice wooden ones), that they take up far too much room in the closet for very many clothes.

 

And I hate having to hang everything when we unpack (it takes too long), and then refold them that last day to repack for the trip home (keeps me from enjoying the ship that final day spending hours repacking the luggage).

So, now what I do is to place our things on 'wire' hangers (I know Joan Crawford would absolutely cringe at the thought :)). I then place them in plastic suit bags, fold them over three times and put them in the suitcase. It doesn't take up any more room then folding when packing, and when I arrive, unpacking (and repacking that final day) is a snap. You just hang the clothes, already hung on hangers, in the closet and remove the suit bags. We have less wrinkles in the clothes, and I can have everything put away in less than 30 minutes. During the cruise, when there is something we aren't going to wear again, I just place it in the suit bag hung up, and when it's full, zip it up, ready to be folded three times that final day onboard and placed back in the suitcase.

It has worked like a charm the last dozen cruises, and sure cuts down on all that packing and repacking time. Enjoy your cruise!

 

I do pretty much the same thing. I started always asking to keep the hanger when I made a clothing purchase (far too many of those) and have my collection of dress/blouse and skirt/pant hangers stowed in what I fondly refer to as my "cruise closet". When I'm packing I group pieces together (blouse w/ pants) and then hook the pants hanger to the shirt one. By mixing the two together in that plastice bag it helps even more with the wrinkles or lack thereof and sure cuts down on my time deciding "just what will I wear tonight". The plastic dress bags I use are the one the department stores put the garments in when purchased and the added length also helps pad against wrinkles and weighs nothing.

[jdm]

As others have posted, we simply bring many of our things on the wire hangers, maybe triple layered. Makes unpacking very quick and simple. Also use the largest zip lock bags I could find and put underwear in one, t-shirts in another etc. I don't even remove the underwear from the bags - just put it on the shelf. Each cruise I am learning to take less and less - not an easy task, but I am getting better. Have a great cruise!

[Toto2Kansas]

jdm, Don't cha just love those extra large zipper plastic bags for the smaller items? I agree, just put them on the shelf and no need to even remove them.

We use the zippered suit/dress bags (reusable) for the hanging garments. It really does cut down on those wrinkles with only folding them over in the plastic.

Anything to lesson the time it takes to pack and unpack I am up for. Giving up hours when we arrive, and the last day onboard to re-pack I am just not willing to do. ;)

[irislady]

CleoT, Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

I pack our formal clothes on our own hangers and use the plastic bags as others have said they do. I agree that it helps with wrinkles. I've also gotten pretty good at doubling up the clothes I put on Princess hangers to save both space and hangers, and by color coordinating the clothes it makes it easier for DH to figure out what goes with what.. :-)

 

On our first cruise to Alaska DH threw 2 rolls of quarters in his luggage at the last minute. They got moved around during handling and ended up at an odd angle against each other. The guys working security apparently could not figure out what dense metal object they were looking at on the x-ray and had us open the suitcase so they could go through it by hand. They seemed a bit chagrinned when they found out it was just 2 rolls of quarters. I felt bad for the delay for the people in line behind us, but I was glad to see that security was doing its job. This was less than 2 years after 9/11, so they were being extra vigilant.

 

Enjoy your first cruise! We did Princess's Can/NE on the Grand in 04 and really enjoyed it. You may want to bring along some Bonine, ginger tablets or Sea Bands just in case you have a bit of rough seas outside Boston, especially being up on Aloha deck and this being your first cruise. The gale we sailed through there made that formal night quite memorable. We didn't get sick, but I found it nearly impossible to walk in my high heels.

Shae

[LV2KruzCats]

jdm, Don't cha just love those extra large zipper plastic bags for the smaller items? I agree, just put them on the shelf and no need to even remove them.

 

What a great idea ! What size and where can we buy them ? I only have the regular gallon zip size and that would not hold enough undies ! We'll be cruising for 14 days, so need a few !

Thanks !:D

[Toto2Kansas]

Our grocery stores and discount stores carry them. We use the 2 1/2 gallon size for small things mentioned.

 

I also always pick up those HUGE ones (can't remember the gallon size) that are large enough to fit a snorkel bag, or beach bag in and also zips closed. We take one of the XXL ones they came out with a couple of years ago to keep towels and other personal items dry when going ashore and expecting rain, or on an excursion that we know is going to be wet (boats/catamarans). Since they have a handle, it makes it very easy to seal everything inside and nothing gets wet that way. ;) We use them in the suit case going to keep things sealed just in case the luggage might get wet, as it keeps everything inside dry. Then when we arrive, we use the same bag to take onshore. ;)

[san diego sue]

Toto,

I pack the same way as you do. (everything on wire hangers). We use the plastic bags for small items but didn't know about the giant bags. thanks for the great packing tip. I am now on the alert for the big plastic bags.

San Diego Sue

[Toto2Kansas]

Toto,

but didn't know about the giant bags. San Diego Sue

 

There are several different sizes of the larger bags, here is a link to show you what they look like. http://doitbest.com/Main.aspx?PageID=64&SKU=629957&utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=FREECSE&utm_term=629957&utm_content=6790&utm_campaign=DATAFEED

[Seal]

There are several different sizes of the larger bags, here is a link to show you what they look like. http://doitbest.com/Main.aspx?PageID=64&SKU=629957&utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=FREECSE&utm_term=629957&utm_content=6790&utm_campaign=DATAFEED

 

Thanks--do you use the suit bags from the stores that have zippers--some are fairly light weight--I have to admit I will still have 2 cases--but that's me--and going to Bora Bora necessary--since you are VERY limited on weight by Air Tahiti

 

Nancy

[Toto2Kansas]

Seal, for the hanging garments, yes, I use the zippered dress and suit bags (I purchase these). They only weigh a few ounces and everything is then zipped up tight, even if the luggage got wet in the rain, the clothes would stay dry.

 

I know what you mean about checked bags. I always swear I will pack less, and still end up taking the maximum, guess it is just wanting to take along anything we 'might' need that does it to me. Especially when we sail places like Tahiti and Europe. ;)

[Seal]

Seal, for the hanging garments, yes, I use the zippered dress and suit bags (I purchase these). They only weigh a few ounces and everything is then zipped up tight, even if the luggage got wet in the rain, the clothes would stay dry.

 

I know what you mean about checked bags. I always swear I will pack less, and still end up taking the maximum, guess it is just wanting to take along anything we 'might' need that does it to me. Especially when we sail places like Tahiti and Europe. ;)

 

Thanks for the schooling--I sure need it--I've tried many things--not really successfully--but what you're doing is similar to me a few years ago--now--to pick your brain once again--where do you buy your zip-up light weight plastic or whatever it is bags--I did look at the large zip-lock that were in the picture--I toss all wire hangers and use the ones called huggable or the ones from Bed, Bath and beyond since they take a lot less space in the closet than plastic.--the ones I use have black fabric or something on them--holds everything on and don't take much space--more than wire but less than plastic or wood.

 

Thanking you so much for your help

 

Nancy:D:D

 

Not long before your leave on your next trip--staying in Hawaii before embarking ?????