What do you wish you'd left at home?

[ngl116]

My husband and I are scuba divers and we bring most of our own gear, so that is one BIG bag right there that we bring on each cruise. After the first cruise I learned not to pack so much clothing! And my husband was already good at it. So we're down to the dive gear and one medium suitcase to check. And 1 carryon each with toiletires, cameral etc! I guess one thing that we do bring on that most wouldn't is our laptop. We take a lot of digital photos when we dive, and on our first cruise we lost all of the pictures because the card had a major malfunction. And that was the cruise that we got engaged on!!!! So now after we take pictures each day we download them onto the computer and burn them onto CD.

[Jeanie821]

What would I have left at home if I could?... My health troubles.:)

[Nliedel]

Sometimes my husband and one time my oldest son when he "forgot" his birthday at US Customs. That was a fun time. Since he is obviously Hispanic, and we are not, questions were asked.

 

My hairdryer. I can get away with the one on the ship if push comes to shove. The whole three minutes I save is not really worth the struggle to haul it along.

[sweetpea-2]

well less clothes for sure since DH took 4 swim trunks and wore only 1....etc. but he also took snorkel equipment and didn't use it at all....and that was one whole duffle bag for that....so will have to think allot B-4 we do that again....and will not take books to read since I didn't even open one and they did have a library on the Dawn and had shampoo & bodywash in shower so less of that.....we are going to pack less under clothes since we do use the guest launderette....less means less to lugg and more room for shopping sprees :D

[craftinmom]

I am a collector of quotes...

 

"When preparing to travel, lay out all your planned clothes and money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money." - Susan Heller

 

I think it's so hard though... :) I don't get to dress up a lot in "everyday life," so I really enjoy bringing a lot fun new clothes!

 

Your last line describes me EXACTLY!!!

[seamama1]

I had been told in the past to pack an extra suitcase inside my large suitcase so i would have a place to pack souvinirs with out taking up my luggage room. I did this on my last cruise and it was a pain in the arse. I didnt buy enough to justify using the extra case, so i had to pack in every thing i had around, in, and underneith it. I would have had to carry around and extra empty suitcase if i had taken it out. What a dumb idea. I guess its only good for big spenders!

 

TOTE makes a wonderful extra bag - it is made from heavy-duty nylon and folds and zips into a little package about 4 inches square which takes no space at all. When you open it, it is a large soft carryall with handles. I always tuck that in the suitcase for packing up "stuff" needed for a beach excursion. And - if you do find a nice sale somewhere, it is big enough to bring home almost anything! Check it out.

[keysguy]

I once made notes of everything I used on the cruise, so I would know exactly what to pack the next time. Unfortunately I left the list on the ship (see prior post) lol

[lmondrop]

Half the clothes and stuff that I packed and didn't use!

[seamama1]

DO you only wear the top half or bottom half?:eek:

I wish I had left the wife off the last one. She didn't drink and would not tolerate me drinking!!!!

We ended up divorced.

 

THE wife????? No wonder you're divorced...Let's see; THE dog, THE house, THE car, THE wife.

 

Sheesh

[seamama1]

I don't take extra cups, pens and paper, extension cords, clocks, bungie cords, coolers, water wallets, nightlights, clotheslines. I think I'm rare in that I'm female and don't take a different pair of shoes for every outfit. I've done it before and find I only wear the comfortable ones. I gave up the idea of postcards years ago, just never had the time for it, so I leave home my address book (or labels). I take my cell, but leave the charger at home, the phone stays off except for emergency calls. We no longer take the camcorder, we found we would watch the tape once and never again. The digital and maybe one waterproof disposable is all we really ever need.

 

We make sure our clothing is in good repair, cross the mending kit off the list. Wax, tweeze, manicure the day before leaving, all that paraphernalia stays at home.

 

I do take a small first aid kit, with a small amount of meds for different ailments, don't forget a few bandaids! My own hair dryer, never have found one yet to work as well as mine. My own toiletries, the soap and shampoo onboard is horrid. I keep our toiletry kit packed up and ready to go all year long, replenishing it when we return. I find this is the most time consuming part of packing and we take several small weekend trips a year, so it just makes sense. Always take a corkscrew (in your checked luggage!).

 

Every trip we take (not just cruises) I try my best to whittle down the list. We aren't going camping, we will be in places we can get things in case there is a minor emergency.

 

Good on ya, girl! No matter how long I am going to be away, I pack what I need in a 22 inch roll-aboard and a nice, well planned Travelpro carry-on. Because I go frequently, I know what I am going to wear and take and only takes about 15 minutes to throw it all together. My little travel "ditty" bag holds a couple of band-aids, a tube of neosporin and the travel-size q-tips, couple of immodium, an antihistamine, small container of baby powder (feels nice and cool when it is so humid), travel size shampoo, lotion, conditioner. I don't wear that much make up so only need mascara, eyebrow pencil, some powdered blush, small tube of toothpaste, toothbrush and one wooden clothespin (alright, ya never know).

 

My travel clothes are mix and match/jeans/capri's etc are sturdy and I plan to get two days out of them. Couple of shirts. I wear the same "formal outfit" both nights (NOBODY cares or notices what you are wearing on which night), cotton tops (nothing requires ironing or steaming), minimal undies - they can always be handwashed in the shower.

 

I hate to drag luggage around. I don't like to carry on my bags. It takes me about 5 minutes to unpack in the room because nothing needs to be hung up!

 

After you have a couple of trips under your belt, you quickly realize it is all about the journey, not about the clothes......

 

Also - I never have a problem holding open the balcony door. I just drag one of the balcony chairs over to hold the door open....

[cruizinrican]

Wow, you are my hero! I wish I could pack like that but I do hate to wear things twice (especially tops). Do you not hang your formal wear? After 18 cruises. I still manage to bring tons of crap and the kitchen sink! :eek:

 

My motto is "If it fits in the suitcase, it goes!" I am just so afraid to get some place and not have what I need.:p

[JXOPF]

I didn't use the extension cord or power strip. Didn't wear 1/2 the clothes or shoes. Days at sea: swimsuit/coverup only! 3 females in one room (me and my 2 teen daughters). We brought one hair dryer, but I am okay using the in-room one and leaving the other home. Teens insisted on bringing their own shampoo/conditioners/body wash stuff but they only brought enough for the cruise and threw away the empty bottles at the end. The suction hooks worked so well that I could've left the hanging shoe holder (for toiletries) at home.

[faithpath]

For sure...half of our clothes & shoes.

 

A definate item to take is our over the door shoe holder. Keeps our cabin so much neater. We hang ours over the outside of the bathroom door. No wasting precious cruise time searching for lost items. Just grab & go...