Toiletry Bag

[TerryLev]

Hi Cruisers:

 

I am going on my very first in February and am curious ...

 

What your go to toiletry bag is? Do you carry full size products, or go trial size? Do you opt for the hanging style? Do you check it with your luggage?

 

Help please and thank you! :D

[Doug R.]

We go trial as much as possible. We have a hanging bag but recently have been using a smaller bag.

[Philob]

If you are flying to your port, be wary of the TSA carry-on restrictions for liquids. If you are placing your stuff in check-in then you can use full size bottles, just be mindful of leakage and their weight.

[sail7seas]

I always keep my toiletries in my carryon on and am careful all liquids are TSA approved size. I won't put the rtoiletries in my checked suitcase. If the suitcase is lost, I would not have the baisic things I need daily. I pack some larger size extra supply in the suitcase but I keedp my valuables and basic toilet articles with me..

[Wayfairers]

If we fly....We don't check luggage so non liquid toiletries are in our carry on in a zipped rectangular bag. We typically will arrive to the port city a day early and buy liquids at a local store before boarding.

 

 

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[TerryLev]

We are driving to port, so TSA isn't an issue. I'm just conflicted on this issue, as I don't want to have too much to carry around once we board ... lol

[cruisemom42]

I am more of a minimalist, so I nearly always travel with smaller sized toiletry items whether driving, flying or taking a train. I just don't like lugging a lot of stuff!

 

Some things come in travel sizes, which is nice. Other things I just decant myself.

[ksqueak]

I'm a trial size person and usually just toss the container at the end of my trip. I pack everything is at least 1 baggy and sometimes double bag. Last trip was the first time I'd had anything leak out of the container. It was in the baggy not over my clothes!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Our cruises are 14 days and longer plus we arrive 3 or 4 days ahead of the cruise and stay 1 or 2 days afterwards. Thus we are gone a long time and trial size shampoos, etc. does not work for us.

We also do not like the shampoos, soaps, etc. provided by the cruise lines. DH had a very bad rash when HAL changed to Elemis products.

So I pack full size of everything in the luggage. If something happens, since we arrive early to the embarkation port, we can always replace items.

[Floridiana]

I decant full size bottles into smaller bottles. Bought small bottles in ALDI and the local drugstore. Trial sizes tend to be too small for longer trips.

[calliopecruiser]

Hi Cruisers:

 

I am going on my very first in February and am curious ...

 

What your go to toiletry bag is? Do you carry full size products, or go trial size? Do you opt for the hanging style? Do you check it with your luggage?

 

Help please and thank you! :D

 

My absolute favourite (after trying many) is the hanging bag from LL Bean. In fact, I liked my medium sized one so much, I bought a smaller size too for shorter trips. https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/73882?feat=507361-GN3&page=personal-organizer-toiletry-bag-medium&csp=f

 

I pack it, and only carry the bare minimum on board (my contact lens stuff and some toothpaste). Whether I take full sizes or not depends on how large those are and how long I'll be gone. Usually most of my stuff is regular (full size) except for shampoo, conditioner, and facial scrub.

Edited September 27, 2017 by calliopecruiser

[ronrick1943]

We always carry reg size products and check them with luggage. If something happens the airline will always give you a kit for a few days.

[easyboy]

We bring small sized toiletries only and pack them in our check-in luggage.

 

 

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[luvscruising2007]

I second the L L Bean hanging toiletry organizer. They have 3 or 4 different sizes.

We usually drive to port so we don't need to worry about size of containers. I always bring my shampoo, conditioner, body wash and hair spray in full size. We are usually gone about 2 weeks.

[crystalspin]

Thanks to TSA and international equivalents, our toiletry bags are qt-size zippies, with a gallon-size (not full, but easier to rummage in) for non-liquid items. It's really quite amazing what you can fit in a quart bag! Not everything has to be 3-oz just because that's the limit. We have short no-fuss hair cuts, and were able to sail a 26-day transAtlantic plus travel days with just the 3-1-1 bags. (We also do not check bags.) I also take on cruises and longer land-based trips, an all-dry OTC and first-aid kit that hangs on the back of the bathroom door, like this except the large pocket is also clear: It's fairly bulky but rolled, fits exactly in the bottom of one of the daypacks that are our "personal items". Not everything is used every trip, but SOMETHING has been essential, every trip!

 

I have itemized lists of what goes in each bag.

[payitforward]

I generally pack small, or travel sized EVERYTHING in my carry-on. I even have tiny little jars for things like foundation and face powder so I don't have to take the full-size container. For things like conditioner (when my hair is long) or body lotion (which I use a lot of), I pack an extra container in my checked luggage.

 

I have one of the hanging bags with four removable pouches that Velcro on. It's great because I can move the pouches around between checked and carry-on bags as needed. If I'm traveling alone and don't need the space, I don't worry about hanging toiletries.

[ultrafighter]

How worried should I be about security confiscating our legit mouthwash? We wouldn't be bringing the industrial sized bottle or anything, but if I can avoid packing multiple travel size bottles that would be great.

[calliopecruiser]

How worried should I be about security confiscating our legit mouthwash? We wouldn't be bringing the industrial sized bottle or anything, but if I can avoid packing multiple travel size bottles that would be great.

If you're carrying it on the plane and it's more than 3 oz/100 mL, you should be very concerned.......I'd say there's a 90% chance you'll either have it confiscated or have to empty the bottle.

[ultrafighter]

We drive to port. I meant port security since people try to smuggle alcohol as mouthwash. Or at least used to.

[57redbird]

clear: It's fairly bulky but rolled, fits exactly in the bottom of one of the daypacks that are our "personal items". Not everything is used every trip, but SOMETHING has been essential, every trip!

 

I have itemized lists of what goes in each bag.

 

Where did you get this? I <3 it!

[SadieN]

How worried should I be about security confiscating our legit mouthwash? We wouldn't be bringing the industrial sized bottle or anything, but if I can avoid packing multiple travel size bottles that would be great.

 

 

 

Long Beach security shook the heck out of a fellow pax's Listerine. If it bubbles correctly, it'll be allowed onboard.

 

****

We bring just enough and then add a few days worth more of prescription meds.

Over the years we've discovered how many uses we can get from an ounce of toothpaste (14 uses) or one side of a contact lens case full of hair gel (10 uses). At home I've either weighed or actually counted how many uses or amount of product will be consumed during a time period.

 

Ladylighttravel.com has a few excellent blogs about bringing 'just enough'.

[BigSeaMonster]

This is my go-to I've had for years. I've put this thing through some stuff and it's still in pretty good shape. I like it because it's simpler than the 100-pocket toiletry bags where you can't find anything.

 

I just checked Amazon and it's still up there where I bought it: http://amzn.to/2y9PLTn

 

[mom says]

Long Beach security shook the heck out of a fellow pax's Listerine. If it bubbles correctly, it'll be allowed onboard.

 

OR just open it and take a whiff.

 

Anything that is regular size but under 3-4 Oz is packed in my checked bag. Anything in larger containers gets transferred into smaller plastic bottles I bought in the travel section at Walmart. My dentist gives out small tubes of toothpaste and floss along with the requisite toothbrush, so those go into the toiletry bag. The only thing that I buy specifically in travel size is hairspray. Except for a small bottle of hand sanitizer and a hotel bottle of lotion, it all goes into the checked bag. If the airline misplaced the bag, I'll have bigger things to worry about than toiletries. They can be replaced in no time at the nearest drug store.

[Hey Tina]

I've mentioned The Wirecutter here multiple times and I bet it sounds like I work for them but really I just trust their reviews. In any case, their top pick is actually the LL Bean toiletry bag people mentioned but I personally have the Eagle Creek Pack-It Original Wallaby which was their previous top pick. I do agree that it's sort of floppy and bulky, so I think i'm gonna get a different one, either the same model in "small" or possibly something else they recommend or tested and don't recommend. I think a hanging bag is absolutely essential and a MUST (using vertical space frees up counter space) and I don't necessarily take 100mL but I also don't do full sizes. Right now I'm testing travel deodorant to see how many uses I get and I plan to do the same with toothpaste to see if it's viable to take small sizes of those also.

 

Here's the review at The Wirecutter

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-toiletry-bags/

[new_cruiser]

I use a medium size toiletry bag that hangs. It has two sections. Liquids or gels are kept in a quart zip-lock bag for 3-1-1 because I rarely check luggage. The hanging bag holds the rest of my toiletry items including stick deodorant plus miscellaneous stuff like bandaids, flashlight.

 

Crest has toothpaste in a 2.7 oz size - small enough for TSA carry-on but big enough for most trips. I get a flavor that has a screw-on cap because I don't trust the flip caps to stay closed. I prefer that to carrying a bunch of the teeny 0.7 oz. I'll take a couple of the tiny ones from the dentist or hotels just in case the big one runs out. Neutrogena sunscreen often is in a 3 oz tube so that's what I take. I use the shampoo and conditioner that the hotel or ship provides.

 

My husband uses mouthwash and puts that into enough travel size bottles to cover the trip.