Not so Normal Must Pack Items?

[Marian Paroo]

Sachets of Nescafé and a jar of marmite.

 

I ♥ me Marmite-Mymate, too, but I think I can do without it for a week!

 

But I don't see anything odd about bringing extra pair of glasses -- wouldn't want to end up like poor old Burgess Meredith on that classic Twilight Zone episode.

[Bill-Squared]

That is the reg price here in San Pedro, Belize....:mad:

 

OUCH! I'd go broke quickly. :(

[jaddsnana]

I found small 5" x 3" bins that suction to the shower wall to hold shampoo, razor, soap, etc., We don't go on a cruise without them.

[TexCruise371]

Small power strip.

 

Hey there guys! :)

 

FYI....our power strip was confiscated on our Allure cruise!

[Hiking Girl]

We take our backpacking headlamps. We either hang them from the bedside lamp or place them on the bedside tables. They are very useful for reading in bed or on the balcony at night, using to get to the bathroom bruise free at night and always nice to have in case of that rare emergency. I like the hands free aspect of them better than a flashlight.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

I always pack cozy bedroom slippers. My feet really need them after a long day of cruising.

[fvb-ny]

Here's a real odd one: Some large binder clips to hold the curtains together and keep the room dark. I also pack these for land trips when staying in a hotel.

 

Three-way plug also good.

 

We pack an alarm clock (plug in) so the SO can see the time when she wakes up in the middle of the night.:)

 

 

(Next cruise: May 17, Princess, Canada/New England. Then Alaska (again) on Celebrity in September.)

[hallk33]

Having a highlighter was handy on the last trip.

We would have been hurting if we didn't bring duct tape, hand sanitizer, and travel kleenex. It turns out that some of the public restrooms didn't have toilet paper or soap.

I would highly recommend bring more pharmaceutics then you think you need because it will be expensive and difficult to replace. Anything like Tylenol, sunscreen, antihistamine, etc. won't be in the shops around the dock or will be $20. Not to mention that the locals don't also have a need for items like this so there will be very little variety.

I'm so glad that we brought a small battery recharger. Buying replacement batteries or bringing extras would have been annoying.

I don't think I could travel without extra Ziplocks.

[binajack]

Great idea for a thread!! :D

 

Here's mine:

 

• 1 and 2 gallon zip bags (great for dirty/wet cloths) and any bottles you may have bought on board and have to put in your suitcase to fly home. That way if the bottles break, you cloths won't get all wet. And you can pack cloths in the 2 gal bags, squish out the air and get way more cloths in your bag!!!
  
• Lots of e-books (way easier to pack then the traditional books) and an mp3 player.
  
• OTC meds such as Tylenol, NyQuil, antihistamine, sea-sick pills, aloe, sunscreen, bandages of different sized, anti-biotic cream, nail clippers. Way cheaper at home then on-board.
  
• Like the headlamps idea a lot.
  
• Hard candy, like that for excursions. I drink a lot of water then I need a bathroom and sometimes there isn't one or if there is it is one I really, really don't wanna use it. Hard candy makes me less thirsty and less snacky when there are no snacks are around. And share it makes new friends sometimes!
  
• Probably more but that's it for now.
  

Bina!:p

[Langley Cruisers]

We pack an alarm clock (plug in) so the SO can see the time when she wakes up in the middle of the night.:)

 

We do not take electric clocks anymore because of the inconsistent current in the cabin - we found our clock was off by more than an hour in 24 hours. Way too unreliable. Battery-operated from now on.

[fvb-ny]

We do not take electric clocks anymore because of the inconsistent current in the cabin - we found our clock was off by more than an hour in 24 hours. Way too unreliable. Battery-operated from now on.

 

Yes, we know to reset to "ship's time" periodically...

[BenaBena]

Duct tape for emergency repairs of everything through suitcases, shoes, clothing, etc.

[Florida Cruisin' Couple]

I love this thread - what great ideas!

 

I always take my camera, an extra which my husband uses and 2 extra batteries for each.

 

I take both of our laptops and every night I take the pictures off the cameras and put them on my laptop. Also a 16 gig or mg or whatever it is - just know it says '16' on it flash drive to back up all photos. Takes me 10 minutes every night to move them from camera to computer and 1 minute to make a copy on the flash drive.

 

Highlighter - that is so much better for marking the Compass than a pen!

 

Purell sheets - They toss in the washer and contain the soap, then in the dryer and they are a softener sheet. You use it in both and they are so small and flat and smell wonderful. We just learned about those on the last cruise - no more powder detergents for us! (Okay, Royal Caribbean doesn't have laundry facilities but we need them when we do the laundry).

 

My favorite - we do a lot of tours which require standing and listening to tour guides. My legs can't do that - it hurts. Badly, and hurts my back too. I bought a portable stool from Walkstool - after shopping, definitely the best brand. I got the 22" stool because it is easiest on the back and I'm short (the 18" was too low to sit down because it is fabric, it is actually lower to bend). It weighs under 2 pounds and folds up like an umbrella in a case. I take it to ports and anywhere we go I always have a seat!

 

Complete line of over-the-counter and prescriptions meds. Even a round of antibiotics. I take them. We are on vacation now and my husband is taking them for a sinus infection.

 

In our computer bag I carry a long extention cord, a 3 prong outlet thing and in my suitcase a 6 prong outlet strip.

 

I always pack 2 converter kits to adapt to different power outlets.

 

2 small umbrellas.

 

Notepad that afits in my pocket to take notes about what we saw for my scrapbook journaling.

 

Water shoes - some beaches are rocky.

 

Dial or Safeguard anti-biotic soap - 2 bars, one for sink, one for shower. We have always gotten colds on cruises, like almsot everyone else. On the last cruise we were the only ones we knew who did not get sick. Not a sniffle and everyone else seemed to be very sick with a bug going around on the ship. Someone we know asked their doctor before a cruise they were on how to keep from getting sick. He said to take Dial or Safeguard and go to their cabin immediately after sauna, gym, hot tub, pool, or steam room as quickly as possible and shower in their cabin from head to toe. He said to skip all public showers and go to the cabin. And, it worked - we stayed healthy. The bug was going around so badly they told everyone they may have to get everyone off the ship at one of the ports and disenfect the entire ship! People were getting colds and the flu that abad, but not us.

 

Plenty of paperbooks and I donate them to the library.

[babybizliz]

Bring a medicine bag with pepto, ibuprophen, activated charcoal (for gas), laxative etc. I bring herbs and home remedies. The cruiselines may not want me to tell you this, but if you get sick on a cruise, you DO NOT want to go to the ship doctor and ask for medicine! There is a good chance you will be quarantined against your will with a guard placed at your door. My sister in law had this happen. She got diarrhea from something she ate. She went to the doc and asked for pepto and he quarantined her for 3 days, even though she was better in one day and was never contagious anyway. She was given only saltines to eat and told that she would be arrested if she left her room....not a fun vacation for her.

 

Yeah, bring your medicine and quarantine yourself.

[BC Canucks]

We bring Gatorade! and nose strips for the other light sleeper

[Lovesatq]

If you love good coffee for breakfast in your room just ask for hot water and bring packets of Starbucks Via instant coffee.

[flashncrash]

for those who regularly use the fitness center, i recommend taking a water bottle that has the top you can pull open with your teeth so you can keep running or pedaling and not have to use 2 hands to open it otherwise. when you pack it in your luggage and it has a wide mouth you can stuff socks/underwear in it so it doesn't take up really any additional space and it weighs next to nothing.

[Marian Paroo]

I hear people talking about "ship's time".

 

What is that as opposed to the time of the time zone that you are in?

[TV Dad]

Small tabletop fan

post-it notes to leave notes for cabin steward

can of spray air freshener

Highlighter - to mark things I don't want to miss in the Cruise Compass

 

Scentsy travel tin - fragrance for the room

 

Lysol wipes for cabin

king sized pillow cases

A dry erase marker to write messages to my DH on the mirror

4 inch magnifying mirror

WIPES a must to wipe down the cabin, body soap and DEFNITELY Bath & body works little room spray! FASHION TAPE, inflatable rafts or tubes for the beach, TOWELS

Powdered Gatorade. Add it to water after being in the sun all day to replenish the electrolytes.

We always take at least one pop up hamper

a very handy luggage scale that we can't do with out

a battery operated spray fan to use in between dips in the pool.

duct tape

My Pillows, small fan, small cooler

 

I'm with Don. You're on a cruise ship, not stranded on an island. There are dozens of threads on items to pack, most of them are ridiculous, in my opinion. You'd think that peoiple won't see civilization again. Wipe down the cabin? Really?

 

I don't understand why you guys feel the need to bash people for posting on this thread. If you don't find it interesting or informative, move on to another thread!

 

I happen to agree that some of the suggestions are a bit obtuse. . . BUT everyone is different! Some people appreciate these suggestions.

 

I've been on a cruise recently where I really wish I'd remembered my travel size clock, because I don't wear a watch and my cell phone (which I use for time) was turned off. I also recall wiashing I had speakers for the i-pod! AND some of those inside cabins do not have enough A/c power. You need extra outlets!

 

So ladies here's my tip. . . . Don't count on the blow dryer in your cabin. It's usually very low power. Bring one from home!

[glennarm]

several people said fold up hamper -- we just stick one of our smaller suitcases in the corner of the closet, zip up the side so only the top is open, and stuff our laundry into that during the cruise -- at the end, it's usually pretty full -nearly packed & ready to go, and can handle shoes or other such items if there is still space -- then at home, it goes directly to the laundry room.

[agg9900]

to take your spouse, or significant other. We take the farm it seems when it comes to clothes as well as the unforeseen items. We like to take travel sizes and if we need more we can get most everything at a port. Camera and binocs are very important. We save maps of our excursions to take pictures of the map to remind us where we were and to help identify our pictures. Ipad is very helpful for uploading our pictures to view.

[NotAGeek]

They confiscated my power strip last time. PITA to get it back at the end of the cruise.

[5326jan]

They confiscated my power strip last time. PITA to get it back at the end of the cruise.

 

Which cruise line?

[NotAGeek]

Celebrity confiscated my power strip. I only go on Royal or Celebrity. The rest of them suck. "Loyal to Royal!!!"

[amyarizona]

I bring a tiny tube of superglue for repairs. Also a measuring tape for changing metric to inches (I like to buy tablecloths). And an eyeglass string so I don't lose sunglasses.