Complimentary and For-Purchase toiletries on ship

[Cyn874]

As I'm putting together my packing list, I'm trying to figure out what items I can leave behind if I can get them on board. I know there is already shampoo, conditioner and soap provided in the room. (I know it's not high quality, but I don't mind using what's provided for the sake of saving room in my suitcase.) 

 

Other items I'm wondering about, though: Sunscreen (highest SPF possible), hand lotion, toothpaste, mouthwash.. things like that. Is there a a shop onboard where you can buy essentials like that, that you may have forgotten or run out of during the cruise? And roughly how expensive are they? I'm not looking for a $15 bottle of lotion like you might give someone as a gift. Although I do understand there will be markup on these items, much like buying them in a sundry shop at a hotel, which is fine.

[1025cruise]

I would bring whatever you think you need. While the shops onboard will have some essentials, it will be marked up.

[Colo Cruiser]

The shop items are mostly travel size. I agree bring what you can.

[voljeep]

we would definitely bring our own sunscreen - brands that we know and have used before for sensitive skin

[Greg4502]

Yes the shampoo/conditioner combo and soap. There are items to buy at the gift shop. Better to bring you own. They might not have the brand you use, plus you will pay more. I needed a band aid a few cruises back. Had to get a gift shop. I think it had five it the box, for $5. Now I carry a small first aid kit. There are items I take, that I may not need. Better to have, than not. Yes they take a little more space. But on my last cruise, something effect some people aboard and the gift shop ran out cold medicines.

 

Make a checklist for the things you want to take, so nothing is forgotten.

[CruisinFinsUp]

There is a sundry shop - actually it is usually one revolving rack or one small wall section, with an assortment of "travel branded" items - smaller than travel sized from Walmart, and triple the price.   Selection varies depending on what is left in stock.  I don't recall ever seeing shampoo or conditioner or lotion in the sundry store.   I would not depend on this at all. 

 

They sell sunscreen - usually Australian Gold brand - spf depends on what is left in stock.  They don't restock every cruise.   

 

I don't recommend the in cabin conditioning shampoo at all - its horrid unless you have barely any hair.   At the very least, take along a good conditioner if you intend on using this stuff.  

 

The in cabin tubes of lotion are decent in my opinion.  You can ask your steward for more if you need it.  

 

We have a number of travel size bottles that we refil at home so we arent taking full size bottles along.  We can either pitch them or bring home and reuse.   

 

Or, you can shop at your departure destination before you get on board.  

 Or even at one of your ports - there is usually some sort of grocery or pharmacy within walking distance of the ship ( for crew more than passengers) and more stores "in town".  

[Cyn874]

Thanks everyone, I was hoping for full size items and not the tiny travel size, so yes I'll look into bringing from home. There are 3 of us traveling so maybe we can split the items between our bags to lighten the load. We are going on a 2 week cruise, so bringing travel size items for 3 people isn't going to work. We are flying in and staying at the Double Tree in San Pedro the night before the cruise, so there are no stores in walking distance. But shopping in our first port in Hawaii is a great idea! 

[Potstech]

Things in Hawaii are not as cheap as on the mainland. Recommend you bring what you think you will need with you. We have found out the hard way on prices.nItems near ports are priced like gasoline on the Interstates.

[JF - retired RRT]

45 minutes ago, Cyn874 said:

Thanks everyone, I was hoping for full size items and not the tiny travel size, so yes I'll look into bringing from home. There are 3 of us traveling so maybe we can split the items between our bags to lighten the load. We are going on a 2 week cruise, so bringing travel size items for 3 people isn't going to work. We are flying in and staying at the Double Tree in San Pedro the night before the cruise, so there are no stores in walking distance. But shopping in our first port in Hawaii is a great idea! 

Double Tree will take you to a store. I think they limit to something like a 6 mile radius. There are stores close enough for that.

[JF - retired RRT]

20 minutes ago, Potstech said:

Things in Hawaii are not as cheap as on the mainland. Recommend you bring what you think you will need with you. We have found out the hard way on prices.nItems near ports are priced like gasoline on the Interstates.

Walmart prices aren't that bad. Most of the HI ports have a free shuttle to the Walmart.

[cheeseclan]

I would get items here on mainland before you go.  Like others have said things are expensive at port stops.  On our last cruise we stopped in St Thomas and paid $14 for   Afrin.  Expensive for sure but needed it!!

Edited February 24, 2019 by cheeseclan

[pris993]

If I am flying to a port, usually go a day ahead and shop for toothpaste, sun screen, mouth wash, air freshner, hair spray and anything else we might want for the cabin and taken on board.  Agree buying on board is too expensive and for small sizes... we simply toss what is left at the end of the cruise. 

[BabySarge]

DoubleTree shuttle will absolutely take you to either Walmart or Target for free.  Just schedule at the front desk.  They also have shuttle to the port in the am that you will need to sign up for when you check-in.

[Thrak]

Buy yourself a set of travel containers. They are larger by far than the "sample" or "travel" size shampoo, etc. and can hold plenty for your cruise while taking up far less space than the full-sized items. I agree about the shampoo they provide. I have very little hair left and I still won't use that garbage. My wife and I managed a 28 day cruise without having to take full-sized bottles of stuff. For sunscreen definitely take your own.

[Tickled2Trvl]

3 hours ago, Cyn874 said:

Thanks everyone, I was hoping for full size items and not the tiny travel size, so yes I'll look into bringing from home. There are 3 of us traveling so maybe we can split the items between our bags to lighten the load. We are going on a 2 week cruise, so bringing travel size items for 3 people isn't going to work. We are flying in and staying at the Double Tree in San Pedro the night before the cruise, so there are no stores in walking distance. But shopping in our first port in Hawaii is a great idea! 

We also always pack our favorite soaps and such, but shopping at the Wal-Mart in HI was great!   We got Kona Coffee for a great price and Hawaiian shirts even better... my DH caught a cold and the cold meds were no more expensive than our local Walgreens.  I loved this cruise and hope you have a great one.  

[crochetcruise]

13 hours ago, Cyn874 said:

Thanks everyone, I was hoping for full size items and not the tiny travel size, so yes I'll look into bringing from home. There are 3 of us traveling so maybe we can split the items between our bags to lighten the load. We are going on a 2 week cruise, so bringing travel size items for 3 people isn't going to work. We are flying in and staying at the Double Tree in San Pedro the night before the cruise, so there are no stores in walking distance. But shopping in our first port in Hawaii is a great idea! 

 

If you are flying-even within the USA-you may need to consider the Liquids" rule, don't know what it's called Stateside, basically you're allowed 1litre (unsure of US equivalent) of liquids with each being 100ml or less-think 3.4oz US carried in a Ziploc bag. I use travel sized toiletries for travelling, and decant my sunscreen into a 100ml bottle for flying, with the rest of the bottle being in a Ziploc bag in my checked case.

 

[Belmont Babe]

3 hours ago, crochetcruise said:

 

If you are flying-even within the USA-you may need to consider the Liquids" rule, don't know what it's called Stateside, basically you're allowed 1litre (unsure of US equivalent) of liquids with each being 100ml or less-think 3.4oz US carried in a Ziploc bag. I use travel sized toiletries for travelling, and decant my sunscreen into a 100ml bottle for flying, with the rest of the bottle being in a Ziploc bag in my checked case.

 

You are correct that  this applies only to "carry-on" luggage and not "checked -in" luggage. You can carry whatever size liquids you want in checked in luggage.

[matamanoa]

If your cruise to Hawaii has you in port for more than one day in a specific city, it would be beneficial to shop in the local Walmart when you get there.  However, as on our cruise last year, we had only one day in each of four ports and there is no way that I would spend valuable sightseeing time in a Walmart.  Bring what you need from home in manageable size containers.

[Reina del Mar]

Take what you need or buy in port before sailing. Extortionate ship board prices!

 

Look at shampoo/ conditioner bars from Lush or similar..possibly more expensive but less and lighter to carry.

Ship's combo ok ish for few days but definitely need strong conditioner.

 

P20 or similar all day sunscreen is useful but don't forget you need AfterSun/ Aloe ..lots of wind across decks..

(know to or cost as we hunted After Sun some in South America.)

[Pickels]

On ‎2‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 10:59 AM, Cyn874 said:

As I'm putting together my packing list, I'm trying to figure out what items I can leave behind if I can get them on board. I know there is already shampoo, conditioner and soap provided in the room. (I know it's not high quality, but I don't mind using what's provided for the sake of saving room in my suitcase.) 

 

Other items I'm wondering about, though: Sunscreen (highest SPF possible), hand lotion, toothpaste, mouthwash.. things like that. Is there a a shop onboard where you can buy essentials like that, that you may have forgotten or run out of during the cruise? And roughly how expensive are they? I'm not looking for a $15 bottle of lotion like you might give someone as a gift. Although I do understand there will be markup on these items, much like buying them in a sundry shop at a hotel, which is fine.

Yes, you will save some space in your luggage but, this saving of space will cost you ($) on the ship.  Also, you may prefer to have essentials that you are use to at home.  IMHO--bring your own!

[MaineCruiser243]

Agree with everything here. Buy before the cruise and bring with you. We forgot sunscreen and had to pay $20 for a spray can of some weird stuff that smelled like a popsicle from a store on Princess Cays 😞

[4cats4me]

On 2/24/2019 at 8:25 AM, Cyn874 said:

Thanks everyone, I was hoping for full size items and not the tiny travel size, so yes I'll look into bringing from home. There are 3 of us traveling so maybe we can split the items between our bags to lighten the load. We are going on a 2 week cruise, so bringing travel size items for 3 people isn't going to work. We are flying in and staying at the Double Tree in San Pedro the night before the cruise, so there are no stores in walking distance. But shopping in our first port in Hawaii is a great idea! 

The Doubletree has a free shuttle and will take you places.  Pretty sure somebody recently mentioned that they had the shuttle drive them to a nearby CVS or Target in San Pedro. I know for a fact that there is a CVS within 2-3 miles from year. Call the hotel and ask them.  Even if you arrive in late evening, what yiu could do is get up early and plan to shuttle there in the morning and call for a pickup and then plan on shuttling to the ship later, like 1 pm, to give yourself time to go shopping.  The items for sale onboard are tiny and ridiculously priced, like at an airport gift shop.  The items are more for if you forget a little something.  Tiny tube of tooth paste I think is $3.25? Small bottle of Robitussen, around $16. 

 they do carry lots of items in case you actually do forget something. They have cotton balls, emery boards, can’t recall the brand shampoo, but probably Prell or VO5 or Clairol Herbalessence, or something that nobody likes. LOL 

We always go shopping at a store near the port before boarding any ship, and we always choose a hotel location with plenty of stores nearby just for this purpose.  We never bring all the toiletries with us when we fly due to weight restrictions and find it much easier to walk on with our grocery bags as well as our carry-on. 😺

 

 

[Qcruise]

We paid $13.50 two weeks ago aboard the Ruby for sunscreen as we had unexpected sunshine which we were quite happy about.  I no sooner put on the sunscreen when it started to rain again......the phrase of the day was "wait ten minutes" the weather will change......lol

[crochetcruise]

On ‎2‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 7:19 PM, Belmont Babe said:

You are correct that  this applies only to "carry-on" luggage and not "checked -in" luggage. You can carry whatever size liquids you want in checked in luggage.

 

THANK YOU! Great help to be able to bring additional supplies of my preferred brands of sunscreen and moisturiser. I've only travelled locally, but the hints I learned on Cruise Critic made my 1st cruise EVER so much easier!

[suzyed]

On 2/24/2019 at 10:59 AM, Cyn874 said:

As I'm putting together my packing list, I'm trying to figure out what items I can leave behind if I can get them on board. I know there is already shampoo, conditioner and soap provided in the room. (I know it's not high quality, but I don't mind using what's provided for the sake of saving room in my suitcase.) 

 

Other items I'm wondering about, though: Sunscreen (highest SPF possible), hand lotion, toothpaste, mouthwash.. things like that. Is there a a shop onboard where you can buy essentials like that, that you may have forgotten or run out of during the cruise? And roughly how expensive are they? I'm not looking for a $15 bottle of lotion like you might give someone as a gift. Although I do understand there will be markup on these items, much like buying them in a sundry shop at a hotel, which is fine.

Expensive in the shops!  I would bring what you think you will need regardless of space.
On our last 25 day sailing we ran out of toothpaste a few days before the TA part of our sailing.  We ended up going to a pharmacy in the Azores and spending roughly $8.50 for a large tube!  On the ship, a small tube would be about $5-6.