What I Learned

[My335iTT]

Thats a ton of stuff lol, my wife and I can fit everything in one suitcase and a carry on. The other carry on is for things bought and to make a hole in the main suitcase for alcohol :D

[grrl2grrl]

Welcome to the wonderful addiction of cruising! I also took too much I didn't use on my 1st cruise! Ahh who am I kidding, every cruise I have stuff I don't use. But I suppose the one time I would need it it would't be there.

 

Of course I'm of the mind set All I NEED to get on a ship to anywhere is my passport and some cash. All the rest I take because I enjoy.

 

I'm often organized chaos, and when I'm tired I will drop stuff and clothes and fall in bed. In the morning I will have lost my stuff, so I've found the over the door shoe organizer to save me time, and I've only been in a cabin occupied by two... So I bring it for myself as one of my "needs".

 

I also bring the clothes pins and put them on the bottom of the shower curtain. That extra weight keeps the curtain from coming to assault me during the shower. Is it necessary? Maybe not, but I sure missed them the cruise I forgot them - to the point I was considering going to the spa to shower.

 

Though I've never used the duct tape, I do still always bring it - though I will incorporate the users tip to wrap it around the expired credit card to take less and save space!

 

So need is a relative word, and over-packing is a constant :) though I'd rather be on the ship with nothing than at home with everything!

[attilamom1217]

When we have cruised the caribbean, i have overpacked. mostly i overpack daytime clothes. I find on sea days that I wear a bathing suit with a cover up or shorts most of the day and don't put on real clothes until we get ready for dinner.

 

I also tend to overpack shoes. I'm down to six pairs and can't seem to cut that any further (dressy shoes for formal nights; flip flops to wear to the pool and around the cabin; sandals in at least two colors for day wear; sneakers for the gym - okay - five pairs!!! :rolleyes: )

 

The other thing i tend to overpack are tops - mostly because I end up in bathing suit and cover up on the sea days. I'm always afraid if I bring 'just enough' and plan on wearing tops more than once, the tops will get dirty and I won't have enough to wear. :eek:

 

DH and I do manage to pack everything in one air regulation suitcase and a carryon for meds, etc., so I guess I'm not as overpacked as some!

[weltek]

I wish I still had my original packing list before I went and deleted a bunch of items off it. Here's some of the things I'll be leaving at home:

 

Water shoes, a bunch of zip lock bags, a laundry bag, tide to go pen, bug repellant, binoculars, travel sized tide, duct tape, downy wrinkle release, clothes pins, the majority of the OTC meds and first aide kit stuff, extra batteries for my fan and clock, the over-the-door shoe holder, the extra bottle of sunscreen, air freshener, clorox wipes, water bottle, hangers, waterproof watch and snacks.

 

If I could edit my previous post, I'd have put these things you reminded me of:

 

No longer bringing: travel laundry detergent, air freshner, thermal coffee mug

Considering no longer bringing: water bottle

Still bring: wrinkle release, stain remover pen, anitbac wipes

Only bring if I need based on our shore excursions: water shoes

[Calkacky]

I would like to think that I'm going to pack light on clothes, but somehow I just don't think that will happen. I'm 46 and it hasn't happened yet no matter how hard I try! :D

 

I do know though that alot of that "extra stuff" will be left at home. Last cruise I had this huge cruise bin overfull of extra stuff. This time, I only have a little pile of that kind of stuff. It feels so liberating!

 

Having never cruised prior to June of this year, I really didn't know what I would think I would need. What one person feels is a necessity another may not. I just wanted to make sure I had it all. Now that I have a cruise under my belt and know what it is like, I can better make decisions of what goes with me and what stays at home.

[TravelinGert]

Shoes are a big concern for me on this trip. Glad someone mentioned them. Shoes just take up so much space!

 

We'll be doing the tourist shuffle around I'm not sure where yet in Europe for at least a week prior to our cruise. I've got a pair of comfortable, low-heeled walking shoes that suit most touristing and even a nice dinner out. They might even do for formal wear night on the cruise if I choose my dress carefully, but I know I would prefer heels. Our cruise is transatlantic, but will still involve a lot of swimming for me, hopefully. Think I will want a pair of waterproof sandals for that. Hopefully I can cross-pollinate a pair of shoes into hubby's bag. We're renting his formal wear, but he'll still have a pair of dress shoes to carry, so I'll have to be slick to get that done. :p

 

Anyone have any recommendations on a nice choice for some wrinkle-proof ladies khaki's? I've been loosing a lot of weight and now my favorite brand doesn't come in my size.

[donaldsc]

I use the many "must have" lists as a list of what not to bring. Most of the items on the "must have" lists are totally unnecessary.

 

DON

[Calkacky]

Anyone have any recommendations on a nice choice for some wrinkle-proof ladies khaki's? I've been loosing a lot of weight and now my favorite brand doesn't come in my size.

 

First of all, congrats on your weight loss! I too have lost a lot if weight (100+ and counting) and have just recently switched from plus sizes to misses sizes and shopping is a whole new experience. I don't necessarily have any recommendations on experience as to where to buy wrinkle free khaki's, but wanted to tell you if you iron your pants then put them in one of those clear, plastic dry cleaning bags, that will help with them not being wrinkled.

[Calkacky]

I use the many "must have" lists as a list of what not to bring. Most of the items on the "must have" lists are totally unnecessary.

 

DON

 

 

Couldn't have said it better Don!

[tinykygal]

Our Nov cruise on the Legend will be our 6th. I also packed far too much on prev cruises. DH packs more clothes than I do.

There is an item that I take and it just makes me feel better. It is a little plastic toothbrush/cup holder with suction cups.

I stick it to the mirror toward the edge. I just don't like my toothbrush on the countertop and I like for it to dry between use.

Picked this little jewel up at the $1 store years ago. I also have a suction cup holder for the shower, has drain holes and comes in handy for the shower things.

I guess they take up essential room but I also stick toiletries inside them when traveling.

[simplelife]

I DO bring the tide-to-go pen, as DH usually spills. I do bring a few clothes pins as they are multiuse ( one good use is to secure towel to chair) and take up little room. I bring band aids, pain meds, and immodium. These things take up very little room in the suitcase, and I would not want to do without these if the need for them arose. I do bring Crystal Lite singles and a refillable plastic closed water/beverage bottle that I can carry on excursions.

 

I bring as few electronics as possible and hence do not need a power strip, but if you have a lot of things that need plugging in, it might come in handy. If I had more than two in a cabin I would consider an overdoor organizer. Most of the other things mentioned I haven't ever needed.

 

One useful item I found at Dollar Tree is reading glasses that are also sunglasses.

[TravelinGert]

I DO bring the tide-to-go pen, as DH usually spills. I do bring a few clothes pins as they are multiuse ( one good use is to secure towel to chair) and take up little room. I bring band aids, pain meds, and immodium. These things take up very little room in the suitcase, and I would not want to do without these if the need for them arose. I do bring Crystal Lite singles and a refillable plastic closed water/beverage bottle that I can carry on excursions.

 

I bring as few electronics as possible and hence do not need a power strip, but if you have a lot of things that need plugging in, it might come in handy. If I had more than two in a cabin I would consider an overdoor organizer. Most of the other things mentioned I haven't ever needed.

 

One useful item I found at Dollar Tree is reading glasses that are also sunglasses.

 

 

If we were just cruising in and out of a port near my home, I'd leave the electronics home. Since we're going to Europe first, I'm sure we'll have both our phones and my mini-netbook. I hadn't thought of reading glasses, but I already plan to carry both my old and new eyeglasses which have sunglasses that magnet on.

 

I also carry immodium and pain meds in my first aid kit. When I travel locally, I have three of those purse tubes from

Advil. I carry one full of Advil, one full of Immodium, and one full of Allegra. I believe I've read you have to carry medications you carry on the airplane in the original pack, though. I was planning to see if I could find purse packs of both of these medications for the trip. I also take a prescription medication. My pharmacy was happy to label a small purse-sized pill package for me for a previous trip to Europe and I don't expect they'll mind updating the label for my next trip.

[grrl2grrl]

I also take a prescription medication. My pharmacy was happy to label a small purse-sized pill package for me for a previous trip to Europe and I don't expect they'll mind updating the label for my next trip.

 

Ohh... This will be my first trip needing my prescriptions. This is a fantastic tip! Thank you for sharing!

[Sandy Sails]

The one cruise I decided to really pare down the packing, I was sorry (I still don't pack that much).

 

1) I forgot to bring daytime clothes - when getting back from a beach excursion and it's too early for dinner, we just want to wander the ship...yikes.

 

2) I forgot to bring an extra pair of contacts, and sure enough, Day 3 - lost one. Thank goodness I brought a small roll of duct tape - my glasses broke on Day 4.

 

3) I only brought shoes (sandals) with the toe thing - immediately got a blister between the toes and had to buy a pair of Crocs in the gift shop for the rest of the cruise.

 

What a fun cruise that was!!!

 

Things I bring on my cruises and actually use: The Tide pen, small highlighter pen, sewing kit (my formal top ripped once), duct tape, ziplock bags (they don't take up much space - I just stuff a bunch in the suitcase pocket).

[6timer]

Sandy Sails, I loved your post! Sounds like something I'd do if I pared back too much, especially the casual clothes and sandals. I am going to get a Tide Pen today. There's always the ships laundry service except I hear they can shrink clothes - especially after a week of eating desserts 3 times a day ;-)

[grrl2grrl]

There's always the ships laundry service except I hear they can shrink clothes - especially after a week of eating desserts 3 times a day ;-)

 

This is one of my favorite statements to have ever read on CC!

[wassup4565]

Things I would never travel without (including on our 23-day canoe trip on the Nahanni River in the North West Territory):

- clothespins (used em on every trip)

- small pair of scissors

- sewing kit (little pkg they sometimes give away in hotels with a needle, thread, button)

- Meds: prescriptions, and immodium, Gravol, analgesic (Tylenol or aspirin), decongestant (like Sudafed), super pain killer (222s or Tylenol 3 hoarded from previous high-pain experiences), bandaids, Polysporin, heartburn remedy. I don't bring many of any of these things, and it's a challenge bringing only a few of each along with dosage info. But we've used them all and been happy to share them with others.

- cotton neckerchief (can be used as a head covering, sling, bandage wrap with sanitary pad, hobo-bag with corners tied together, face cloth, napkin, hanky - the uses are endless.) Wash it out in the washbasin and hang to dry.

- 8 feet of one-quarter inch cord, acts as clothesline, tie-up for busted suitcase, emergency handle for busted knapsack strap or purse handle.

- Few zip ties, various sizes, many uses.

 

All of this packs up into less space than one pair of shoes.