What are your "must not forget" items??

[Sunshine101]

...when travelling with the kidlets? We're taking the girls on their first cruise (RCL Freedom) in 3 weeks (EEEEEK!!!!) and want to make sure we get all those essential handy items that people might suggest.

 

Many thanks!! :D

[Paumavista]

1. The camera

2. The laptop (for downloading the pictures each day & labeling the date/place.....after awhile these island beaches can look awfully alike :)

3. DH & I carry separate/different credit cards

4. Paperwork - tickets, passports, & my binder of info with pre/post hotel reservations; all booked tours; maps of each island & notes of "don't miss"

5. An extension cord for cabin

6. The shoe storage thing (a necessity for organization with 4 kids!)

 

.....alot of the other stuff I'm thinking of I can buy if I forget it or I can do without it for the week.

 

As for clothing items....I set the suitcases out at least a week before we travel and just kinda "throw" stuff in there as I think about it (then go through it and PACK the day before.

 

I'll probably think of other stuff as you receive other responses.......

[Warm Breezes]

Allergy medication, tums, immodium AD, cortizone cream, neosporin, tylenol, ginger tablets and bandaids.

[goldne]

Individually wrapped wet wipes, purell, sunscreen tube, bug spray with deet, snacks, swim shoes, warm pajamas (a/c gets cold at night)

 

That's all I can think of right now. :)

[MamaParrotHead]

sunscreen, Ginger Altoids, kids' tums, kids' ibuprofen, kids' Benadryl, band-aids, neosporin, solarcaine, goggles, long sleeved/pants PJ's (the AC does get cool, plus little sun-kissed appendages make it seem chillier) in MY luggage for them.

 

As for what THEY get in THEIR carry-ons (we have some wheeled backpacks for this purpose, and they're responsible for toting them the entire trip)... Nintendo DS, iPod, 1-2 books to read, cheapy photo albums with index cards to use as journals (we also pick up postcards to insert in them), I also let each of my kids bring ONE quart-sized ziploc full of little action figures/LPS for the little downtime we may have in the cabin, 1 favorite snuggly for bedtime, spiral notebook with a pen and/or markers, their cameras.

[TheCalicoCat]

On our first cruise - & I am an over packer. (Luckily our first stop was Canaveral - I shipped stuff home.)

 

Meanwhile in the practical arena, my GF told me this trick.

Put each outfit including socks & undies in a ziploc baggie. That way the blue shirt that goes with this and that does not mistakenly get worn with the wrong bottoms. (Also that way you have enough socks, etc.)

 

Also We cruise on Carnival & do laundry while my son naps, so we don't have to pack 7 days worth of stuff.

 

My son has a special friend - he stayed with him the terminal & everything. (The toy stayed in the cabin while eating & while he was in camp.) & a preferred blanket - "the red one."

[Warm Breezes]

On our first cruise - & I am an over packer. (Luckily our first stop was Canaveral - I shipped stuff home.)

 

Meanwhile in the practical arena, my GF told me this trick.

Put each outfit including socks & undies in a ziploc baggie. That way the blue shirt that goes with this and that does not mistakenly get worn with the wrong bottoms. (Also that way you have enough socks, etc.)

 

Also We cruise on Carnival & do laundry while my son naps, so we don't have to pack 7 days worth of stuff.

 

My son has a special friend - he stayed with him the terminal & everything. (The toy stayed in the cabin while eating & while he was in camp.) & a preferred blanket - "the red one."

 

My kids still have special "friends" that travel with us and my kids are now 14 and 17:eek:. These special "friends" have been on just as many cruises (8) as we have and they always need to have their picture taken with their new towel animal friends:D.

[Mom2B&Z]

Powdered version of pedialyte. Easy to pack and you have it on hand if the kids come down with diarrhea. I tend to pack a very complete first aid/medicine kit with pretty much everything people here have said, plus Gravol!

I'm not a fan of the outfits in a ziploc bag strategy, but I do pack 2 shirts for every pair of shorts. My boys tend to get shirts dirty faster than shorts, so I can stretch the shorts. Similarly, a small bottle of laundry detergent and good stain remover.

Our "stuffies" and comfort items are up for debate: DS2 has a favourite frog that stayed home last year because we were too afraid of leaving him somewhere. He brought a substitute and was fine, I was actually quite surprised at how well he managed it. He was 3 yrs old at the time.

A really good sense of humour, patience and a positive attitude!!!

[kayakstef]

I combined both ziploc strategies, I put 2 shirts for every one pair of shorts in a bag, this way the kids can pull a bag out of the drawer and still feel like they are making the choice of what to wear.

[Mack2]

Underwear... kids underwear.

Forgot that once... fortunately we were aboard a Disney ship, and they had Mickey tighty-whiteys for toddler boys... they dug up from storage.

 

It's hard to find kids underwear in Caribbean ports-of-call.

[mamabears]

Here are a few of my "musts" -

- good, insulated water bottle -ice cold water for the beach

- spray benedryl for bug bites

- something to wash out the swimsuits in the sink

- Tylenol for me and kid's tylenol for them

- Vit C tablets

-band-aids

[Colorado Kat]

Sunscreen, hats, aloe for sun-burns.

 

Also, for embarkation day, make sure you have their bathing suits with you in carry-on, so they can enjoy the pools right away.

[Sunshine101]

This is great, thanks everyone for the ideas!

[crusinmama06]

For younger ones - SIPPY CUPS - glass goblets and toddlers do not mix (on RCI ships like the Freedom class though, they did give us paper cups, on Carnival, they did not, so it depends on cruise line)

 

Baby Powder for getting sand off of their hands at the beach - one squirt and the sand sifts right off so they can eat snacks - no more sand in the mouth during snack time. :)

 

Small container of dish liquid to clean sippy cups and all.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Tape pen alarm clock

[lucigo]

You don't say how old your kidlets are, but we have sailed 11 times with our now 8yo so I'll see what I can remember in the "must have's". My son has autism so if my list seems a bit odd well thats ok...we come prepared.

 

1. His favorite foods. He is a picky eater so we bring some of his staples, granola bars, fruit snacks, etc.

2. The DVD player and a booklet of favorite videos. There really isn't much on ship TV, and sometimes its nice to have some quiet time in the cabin.

3. Game systems - gameboy, games that hook to the TV, you name it we have brought it.

4. A pad of paper and markers, crayons, etc. Every night at dinner we all draw pictures. They make a great addition to the scrapbook at the end of the cruise. Kids can draw what the did during the day :)

5. Table toys for dinner. Polly pocket type toys, cars, little figurines.

6. A small backpack to bring to dinner with said toys.

7. A thermos cup.

8. If your child is in diapers bring ziplock bags to put said diapers in so they don't stink up the cabin between cleanings.

9. Stroller. If you don't end up needing it at least you have it. Also good for barring the door if you have a runner who likes to escape while you are in the bathroom. Cabin doors are easy to open from the inside even when locked.

10. Over-door shoe holder to organize everything.

11. Extension cord - needed for DVD player among other things.

12. Something to decorate the cabin door so kids can easily remember which cabin is yours.

13. Kids sunglasses. Don't let those little eyes get damaged in the bright sun. Also hats, swim shirts, lotion.

14. Kids camera. My son loves having his Ipod to take his own pictures and videos on the cruise, and I love seeing things from his point of view...even if that means a month after the cruise you are laughing about the video of the sounds of cruise cabin toilets!

15. A word of advice...leave the sleeping stuffed animal IN THE CABIN. Not fun looking for "tails" at 9pm while distraught child cries. (It was in the dining room).

 

Hope this helps! My son has always been one to carry one certain toy (friend) around with him. Something different each cruise. A thomas the train, lightning mcqueen, yoshi, tails.

[tunseeker1]

Wow there are a lot of suggestions. We didn't do most of them :(

 

I brought small clear trash bags to use for laundry. One per day.

 

iPod with tv cable instead of DVD player.

 

Silky pillow cases to put on ship pillow.

 

Kids silverware

 

Sand toys

 

Beach bag with clear trash bag in it to keep sand out of luggage

 

Name tag stickies for small children then everyone knows their name and kiddo feels special.

[jam82]

Ziplocks and more ziplocks. They are good for everything.

[Sunshine101]

Great ideas folks, you guys rock!

 

Q on the extension cord that Tunseeker mentioned....are they allowed in cabins? I have read different things, from yes they are, to no they arent, to them being confiscated at security, ect. Any thoughts?

[tunseeker1]

Extension cord or iPod tv cable? I brought and used both with no problems

[cantw8togo]

It's become a bit of tradition for our boys that we stop off at a dept. store after arriving in the departure port city and pick up some snacks and a small toy (usually lego) that they get to play with during some downtime in the cabin in the afternoons. It's also a chance to pick up any extra things that we have forgotten.

 

We also take a couple of small books, especially bedtime stories. Just remember to not overpack. There is lots to see and do onboard and any toys you do bring should be small and have a lot of play value.

[Sunshine101]

I think extension cords were in question as being a fire hazard....not sure though, as we havent brought one on before. You just packed yours in your suitcase as normal?

[lucigo]

We always bring a power strip and have never had a problem.

[gelo7]

Still camera and video camera.

[lucigo]

I took my son for some last minute cruise shopping yesterday. He picked up some little dolphin toys in the dollar section at target that will be fun in the pool, some squinkies, and a blue yoshi. LOL Our last, last minute item that I have to get today is a box of fruit snacks.