Life hacks on board

[Fixit2010]

I was thinking, what life hacks have you used on board your cruise.  For example I have seen posts where people take curtains and magnets and make their own divider or curtain.

We take a small paddling pool to put in the shower to make a bath for our DD.

Has anyone else any good tips?

[wwcruisers]

On our first cruise on a Solstice Class ship, we really missed the retractable line in the shower. So, before our next one, we ordered a travel clothesline from REI. Easy to pack and it doesn't require clothespins.

[Tao Diva]

The entire cabin is magnetic, not just the doors. Since table top space is always at a premium in a cruise cabin. I use magnetic shelves designed as refrigerator spice ricks and bins designed to decorate school lockers to make room for odds and ends. 

[guy999]

I like the over the door hangers especially in the bathroom.

 

[Raella B]

I like the over the door hangers too, great for keeping camera, charging cords, all kinds of things handy but out of the way.

 

On Equinox the soap tray in the shower is wire, I like to place a washcloth in the bottom to keep my razor from slipping through.

 

Magnetic hooks are great for everything, especially hanging your seapass inside the door.

[cheeseclan]

So we have cruised on many other lines and have had plenty of storage.

I have been seeing that the Reflection does not have much at all.  A few drawers and the overhead area above the bed plus the closet.

I purchased 4 of the cubes for the overhead space.  2 for me and 2 for DH.  Guess I should get some strong magnets but not sure about the magnetic shelf.  Not sure how I am going to pack all of this stuff.

Do most people bring their own clothes line?  Where do you hook it up in the cabin?

 

What kind of over the door hangars do you recommend and is this used on the main door or bathroom door?

 

Any pics to see all of this ingenious stuff?

Are there enough hangars in the closet?

thanks

Edited April 27, 2019 by cheeseclan

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, cheeseclan said:

 

Are there enough hangars in the closet?

thanks

 

You can ask the cabin attendant for extra metal hangers.  We use the. In place of the wood for many things as they take up less space.

[Raella B]

I have one that is soft material, with mesh, see through pockets, I think it was originally made for shoes.  It has maybe 24 pockets.  I hang it on the bathroom door but on the cabin side so it's handy to grab what I want to take with me (or put away), going in\out of the cabin.

 

It folds up and easily fits into the bottom of my suitcase, almost perfectly into that dip between the handle rails that run across the bottom inside of my case, so it really takes up very little space.

[cheeseclan]

10 hours ago, wwcruisers said:

On our first cruise on a Solstice Class ship, we really missed the retractable line in the shower. So, before our next one, we ordered a travel clothesline from REI. Easy to pack and it doesn't require clothespins.

So where do you set this up and how do you attach to walls etc?   I found a site that has a travelon one that has giant suction cups but not sure it will work in the cabin.  TIA

[Muffinz]

we too bought a magnetic hook, that normally sits on our fridge at home...  We'd put our seapass cards and camera on the hook 

We also bought some singular clothes pegs that are attached to a plastic loop and we put them around the back of the chairs on our balcony to have socks / underpants / bras on after we'd washed them in the bathroom sink

[Cobeck1234]

8 hours ago, cheeseclan said:

So where do you set this up and how do you attach to walls etc?   I found a site that has a travelon one that has giant suction cups but not sure it will work in the cabin.  TIA

We have used the suction cups in the shower and they work fine but I wonder if magnetic hooks would work too?  I may take a package of those next time.  I have a little bag that I take on every cruise.  It has a PostIt note pad for leaving notes for room attendant and each other, hilighter to mark the activities in the daily we want to do, a wide rubber band to help hold the hair dryer button on, Tide Pen, lint roller, small sewing kit, and a package of Thank you notes.

[chicagopaul]

We always bring Downy Wrinkle Releaser. As we unpack and hang up shirts, pants, etc. we spray everything as we hang it in the closet. That way when it comes time to wear the items they usually only need a light spray or a quick hang in the bathroom (steam from the shower). 

 

Dryer Sheets! I notice sometimes if I'm wearing a blazer, etc. for a long period at night it might not smell perfect the next day, especially under the arms. An easy way to keep the coat smelling fresh is to place a couple dryer sheets in the jacket arms. 

 

Also like Cobeck1234 said above we bring a package of stationary for writing thank you notes or other notes throughout the cruise. The staff really seems to appreciate it and it makes us feel good too. 

 

 

[paulh84]

16 hours ago, cheeseclan said:

So we have cruised on many other lines and have had plenty of storage.

I have been seeing that the Reflection does not have much at all.  A few drawers and the overhead area above the bed plus the closet.

I purchased 4 of the cubes for the overhead space.  2 for me and 2 for DH.  Guess I should get some strong magnets but not sure about the magnetic shelf.  Not sure how I am going to pack all of this stuff.

Do most people bring their own clothes line?  Where do you hook it up in the cabin?

 

What kind of over the door hangars do you recommend and is this used on the main door or bathroom door?

 

Any pics to see all of this ingenious stuff?

Are there enough hangars in the closet?

thanks

 

All of the S class cabins are identical. They have plenty of storage. It may be hard to gauge from looking at pictures, but there is plenty of room. What would make the cabin feel cluttered and cramped to me is if I had stuff hanging from the ceiling, walls and doors. 

[wwcruisers]

10 hours ago, cheeseclan said:

So where do you set this up and how do you attach to walls etc?   I found a site that has a travelon one that has giant suction cups but not sure it will work in the cabin.  TIA

The one I got from REI is stretchable, so it can fit in either a shower or tub enclosure. It has both suction cups and small velcro straps, for attachment. I can't remember which we used, last time we were on a Solstice-Class ship -- but it did work very nicely.

[awhfy]

Invaluable to us are 4-6 40lb magnetic hooks (hang bathing suits from ceiling in front of vent...they dry very quickly)  magnetic hooks by door for hats. Magnetic clips to hang paper on walls. These items are stored in my suitcase in their own little drawstring bag. 

[marshacruises]

20 hours ago, cheeseclan said:

 

Any pics to see all of this ingenious stuff?

 

Here is what our cabin looked like when we used magnetic hooks.  Things were out of the way but easy to grab on the way out the door.  

[cheeseclan]

Thanks everyone for all the tips.  All info is great!

Paulh my husband agrees with you completely.  Says I need to chill!!

[Raella B]

13 hours ago, Cobeck1234 said:

 a wide rubber band to help hold the hair dryer button on

 

This is brilliant!!  I always forget how frustrating that darn hair dryer button is...

[hvbaskey]

Magnetic hooks and dry erase magnetic white board are always pack.

[Luvcrusn]

On 4/27/2019 at 7:08 PM, cheeseclan said:

So we have cruised on many other lines and have had plenty of storage.

I have been seeing that the Reflection does not have much at all.  A few drawers and the overhead area above the bed plus the closet.

I purchased 4 of the cubes for the overhead space.  2 for me and 2 for DH.  Guess I should get some strong magnets but not sure about the magnetic shelf.  Not sure how I am going to pack all of this stuff.

Do most people bring their own clothes line?  Where do you hook it up in the cabin?

 

What kind of over the door hangars do you recommend and is this used on the main door or bathroom door?

 

Any pics to see all of this ingenious stuff?

Are there enough hangars in the closet?

thanks

I purchased a set of super strong magnetic hooks from Amazon. I hang two in the shower and pack a piece of twine that I tie onto them for wet bathing suits and hand washables. The others I attach to the cabin walls for all that paper, to hang purses, ties (DH did stop bringing those...but that's another topic), hats etc.

[Luvcrusn]

19 hours ago, Raella B said:

 

This is brilliant!!  I always forget how frustrating that darn hair dryer button is...

A strip of duct tape works also.

[guy999]

23 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

I purchased a set of super strong magnetic hooks from Amazon. I hang two in the shower and pack a piece of twine that I tie onto them for wet bathing suits and hand washables. The others I attach to the cabin walls for all that paper, to hang purses, ties (DH did stop bringing those...but that's another topic), hats etc.

 

I had 6 of the hooks last time and used them all, i will have double that number this cruise.

 

Also coffee mug to keep my coffee warm for long periods of time.

[cheeseclan]

I hear we have to get pretty heavy duty hooks to have them stay on the walls.  Any recommendations? 

Sorry to ask but the shower walls are metal too?  Not on Princess. 

[Luvcrusn]

1 hour ago, cheeseclan said:

I hear we have to get pretty heavy duty hooks to have them stay on the walls.  Any recommendations? 

Sorry to ask but the shower walls are metal too?  Not on Princess. 

The magnetic hooks can be used in the showers on the S-class ships. I use heavy duty magnetic hooks purchased on Amazon. Here's a link:

https://www.amazon.com/L-Fine-Magnetic-Refrigerator-Neodymium-Magnets/dp/B01L75YPRA/ref=sr_1_16?crid=3BQ4DW5SU77EJ&keywords=magnetic+hooks+40lb&qid=1556593377&s=gateway&sprefix=magnetic+hooks+%2Caps%2C409&sr=8-16

[cheeseclan]

1 minute ago, Luvcrusn said:

The magnetic hooks can be used in the showers on the S-class ships. I use heavy duty magnetic hooks purchased on Amazon. Here's a link:

https://www.amazon.com/L-Fine-Magnetic-Refrigerator-Neodymium-Magnets/dp/B01L75YPRA/ref=sr_1_16?crid=3BQ4DW5SU77EJ&keywords=magnetic+hooks+40lb&qid=1556593377&s=gateway&sprefix=magnetic+hooks+%2Caps%2C409&sr=8-16

Thanks for the info.  Love amazon prime!