What 1 unique item do you pack for you 're cruise ?

[JamesEM]

Duck tape, and post-it-notes for leaving messages.

[HWY 101]

And texting friends/relatives or emailing, cellphones, etc... This site is always around.

 

Happy Sailings...:)

 

http://www.worldtimezone.com/

[iriemon]

Those bendable hangers they sell at Magellen's, and more hangers, hangers, and hangers. I never have enough and doubt if the ship will give me as many in the types I want if I asked for more.

 

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I send my shirts to the cleaners and start about a couple of months before the cruise and save the hangers and the plastic bags. After we are done with the cruise, we leave the hangers behind and not have to worry about packing them. With the plastic bags they are great for packing things in that you don't want to get wrinkled. Not sure why they don't wrinke but they work.

[SwissMyst]

Bump - this is such a good thread and takes a while to scroll through it all. Deserves to be put in focus for a while.

[0verboard]

I really like the automotive GPS idea that someone else mentioned. (I have the Garmin Nuvi.) It is unlikely to have the road maps of where you are going, but you can still see exactly where you are on a world map, current speed, direction and probably get some extra info like miles traveled, average speed, etc.

 

An automotive GPS is also likely to have several more important features for land travel, even without roads:

 

1] You can (ahead of time, preferably), input Latitude/Longitude coordinates for any place you want to visit.

 

2] You can always store the current location (like when you get off of the ship) as a location, so you can always know which way to go back. Or mark some place you know you want to revisit.

 

3] Even if there isn't any overseas road information in your GPS, they often have a pedestrian mode which simply points which direction to travel, and distance.

 

I don't know how useful it would be, but if you're trying to get somewhere in a taxi, it might better illustrate where you want to go, and the output could potentially be switched to a different language.

 

Some models (like the Garmin Nuvi) will store a constant log of your travels (regular time and location measurements) while it is on. When you get back to a computer, you can download the information into something like Google Earth, and then have a timed map of your entire trip that you can go over and see exactly where you were down to the area of 10-40ft or so.

 

If you're a real geek, you could also do other things, such as geocode your photographs with the exact location they were taken. (Or find photos that other people have taken at the same location... to add to your own travel photos!)

 

I heard that when people go for a US government security clearance, they get a lot of scrutiny on their overseas travel and where they've been. I wonder if some hard documentation like this would be useful?

 

Anyhow, a standard automotive GPS might provide a lot more functionality on a cruise than you'd first suspect. Just be sure to bring a charger.

[bbwex]

While the ship may not have some special type of hangars, I have never had a problem getting extra hangars from my cabin steward (though I have not travelled on HAL yet).

 

This is one great list. If there is one thing I like best, it is the shoe bag for the back of the door of the head (bathroom).

[iancal]

My $10. waterproof plastic watch that I wear poolside and on shore excursions to the beach etc. Darn thing never misses a beat and the battery seems to last for 2-3 years....thats lots of travel and lots of exposure to salt water.

[Coastalbreezes]

I have a favorite 16 oz travel coffee mug that has been on many cruises with me. I am an early riser (usually by 6:00 a.m.) and need coffee first. I run up to Lido and fill my mug and sit on my balcony and enjoy my caffeine.

 

Also take a notebook, crossword book, and lots of good books to read.

Tracy

[RVRCLC]

I really like the automotive GPS idea that someone else mentioned. (I have the Garmin Nuvi.) It is unlikely to have the road maps of where you are going, but you can still see exactly where you are on a world map, current speed, direction and probably get some extra info like miles traveled, average speed, etc.

 

An automotive GPS is also likely to have several more important features for land travel, even without roads:

 

1] You can (ahead of time, preferably), input Latitude/Longitude coordinates for any place you want to visit.

 

2] You can always store the current location (like when you get off of the ship) as a location, so you can always know which way to go back. Or mark some place you know you want to revisit.

 

3] Even if there isn't any overseas road information in your GPS, they often have a pedestrian mode which simply points which direction to travel, and distance.

 

I don't know how useful it would be, but if you're trying to get somewhere in a taxi, it might better illustrate where you want to go, and the output could potentially be switched to a different language.

 

Some models (like the Garmin Nuvi) will store a constant log of your travels (regular time and location measurements) while it is on. When you get back to a computer, you can download the information into something like Google Earth, and then have a timed map of your entire trip that you can go over and see exactly where you were down to the area of 10-40ft or so.

 

If you're a real geek, you could also do other things, such as geocode your photographs with the exact location they were taken. (Or find photos that other people have taken at the same location... to add to your own travel photos!)

 

I heard that when people go for a US government security clearance, they get a lot of scrutiny on their overseas travel and where they've been. I wonder if some hard documentation like this would be useful?

 

Anyhow, a standard automotive GPS might provide a lot more functionality on a cruise than you'd first suspect. Just be sure to bring a charger.

 

Best idea of the whole bunch.

These things can be a real life saver in addition to being fun.

An electric charger is available for many automotive models. (Search Google!)

My greatest concern is how to carry a Nuvi without danger of dropping it!