What to bring on board...

[pcakes2]

bungee cord (good for keeping balcony door open, or holding overstuffed luggage together)

 

travel clock

 

power strip (charging cameras, video cameras, cell phones)

[britishiles]

If you are traveling with a group, bring some walkie talkies.

 

I second the large thermo mug. The glasses for water and tea are way too small.

 

I also second the travel alarm clock. You DO NOT want to miss your shore excursions.

[caribbean dreams]

Bring your own blowdryer, you will have one in your cabin but it really sucks.

 

you can get a morning wakeup call if you don't want to pack your alarm clock.

No need to bring beach towels, the ship supplies them.

Just incase you have kids, you have to be 18 yr old to get the free lanyards from the casion.

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Listen to what everyone says and then leave 90% of the stuff at home.

First of all OP asked what extra to bring that they may not have thought of, not what not to pack...

 

Examples: Power strip/extension cord - are you bring any electrical devices or see a need to have more than one plugged in at a time, if the answer to either is no then don't bother.

Personally, I use this on every cruise. I have several things that this always comes in handy for.

 

Duct Tape - How often do you use it at home?

Half just kidding on this, but again read the OP.

And this also came in handy for emergencies on two seperate cruises...

Clothes pins - Do you use them at home?

Don't use them at home, but have used them on shower curtains, holding things on balcony to air dry and not blow away, holding towels on deck chairs when it's windy, etc. Bringing a few are lightweight, and barely take up any room.

 

Night light- just leave the light on in the bathroom, enough light shines from under the door to work perfectly.

Several people need more light than the under the door crack to see in the dark on inside cabins. Also, the bright light on in the bathroom, in case people need to wake up and use it in the middle of the night, is so bright that it tends to glaringly wake people up, so they can't go back to sleep.

 

Clock - if you don't want to use your watch I agree with this one, but a small flashlight and your watch work just as well and then you have a light you can use in an emergency or as a night light or to see your watch.

I always like to be able to see my clock during the night to see what time it is. Half awake, roll over, "Ooh I have 3 more hours to sleep", roll back over sleep soundly. If I had to find a flashlight, turn on that bright light, look at the watch, I'd be awake from the light and not be able to go back to sleep again.

 

Ones for tips - how many do your really need? The only tipping on the ship is for room service and you can always break some bigger bills at the pursers desk. Ten at most. Don't worry about in port you end up leaving either a five or ten with a cabbie after you add the tip and fare together anyway.

I didn't say a billion. I like to tip a lot, and Ten to Twenty $1 bills is more than I usually have on hand. I can always add then up to $5 if I need to, but I can't always break a $5 into $1s.

Insulated cup for the deck - I took one, never used it. I guess if you are going to sit still for a long time it would come in handy, but I never saw anyone with one.

Several people use these. It might be a good idea for some people.

 

Bottom line. Figure out what you think you need and then leave most of it at home, it will never come out of the suitcase, and if you are flying all the stuff does is add weight.

Again, if you read the OP, they were asking for ideas on things they may not have thought about. Nobody said pack all this stuff, they said, here are ideas.

Sorry if I sound defensive here, but I feel like you slammed me, and missed the entire point of the post.

If that was not your intention, then just be aware that I felt that you negated a lot of points that people made, and I just wanted to clear up the reasons for saying them.

No hard feelings:) , I have to run for the weekend now, so I won't get back to the board until later.

CJW

PS I also find it vitally important that I pack my mirrored sunglasses for when I go up to the Funnel Deck; and my "This Chair Reserved" sign to save my chair by the pool until I get back from the Funnel Deck.:eek:

"I keed, I keed".

Have a great weekend y'all!

PPS All of these statements, are not just my own personal experience, but also have been useful and helpful reported over and over by several people on these boards.

[curlydog]

This business about paying a locksmith is sooo not true. At least on RCCL anyway and I would imagine industry wide. I used a gift card once and it worked for a couple of days. When I had to call guest relations, when it wouldnt open, they sent 2 reps. One reset the safe by using just the keypad, and the other person was there for security reasons I imagine.

 

 

No kidding....if that was the case it woulkd be very expensive after each cruise to open all the safes locked "accidently"

[perkyblue]

Bring your own blowdryer, you will have one in your cabin but it really sucks.

 

I've read this in other threads too. I just hate to take up the extra room in my luggage if there's already a blowdryer there. Are the ones on the ship really that bad? (I'll be on Legend, if it matters.) Is there anywhere convenient (in the bathroom or near the vanity) to plug one in if I do decide to bring my own?

[LHARTWICK]

We will have a balcony on the Miracle in September. How does the bungee work with the balcony door?

[LHARTWICK]

We will have a balcony on the Miracle in September. How does the bungee work with the balcony door?

[Curt Jerome Wild]

If you need to use it...

check this link

http://community.webshots.com/photo/158982045/1159098574044717972rkoNas

Sometimes there is a hook (and I'm honestly not sure how it works on Legend), and sometimes there isn't. Just be aware that this is a picture of a Fantasy Class ship, not Spirit Class like Legend.

If there isn't it's good to have the bungee for backup.

It also can come in useful for other things like luggage, etc.

CJW

[texas greeneyes]

From a different perspective;

 

Listen to what everyone says and then leave 90% of the stuff at home.

Yet another perspective...mine! :D

Examples: Power strip/extension cord - are you bring any electrical devices or see a need to have more than one plugged in at a time, if the answer to either is no then don't bother. Cell phone, curling iron, garment steamer, cd player, laptop...and, er...blender, crockpot ;)

 

Duct Tape - How often do you use it at home? When I am at home with access to all my tools, not too often. However, duct tape, along with super glue, make up my travel tool kit.

 

Clothes pins - Do you use them at home? Nope, I have shower doors at home. But they work great on the shower curtain in the cabin bathroom...they weigh the curtain down to keep it hanging right.

 

Night light- just leave the light on in the bathroom, enough light shines from under the door to work perfectly. Applicable to inside cabins only.

 

Clock - if you don't want to use your watch I agree with this one, but a small flashlight and your watch work just as well and then you have a light you can use in an emergency or as a night light or to see your watch. Remember that a plug-in clock will run slow due to difference in the ship's electrical system. Battery operated clocks skirt this problem. Or, just pick up the in-cabin phone and dial the number for the current time.

 

Ones for tips - how many do your really need? The only tipping on the ship is for room service and you can always break some bigger bills at the pursers desk. I'd rather bring more ones and spend less time in the purser's line.Ten at most. Don't worry about in port you end up leaving either a five or ten with a cabbie after you add the tip and fare together anyway. My advice here is totally opposite. Lots of ones and fives are the way to go in port...the more cash/bigger bills the vendors see you with the less they are likely to bargain.

 

Insulated cup for the deck - I took one, never used it. I guess if you are going to sit still for a long time it would come in handy, but I never saw anyone with one. Again, gotta disagree...vehemently! I used mine all the time, at sea and in port. Several fellow pax commented that they wish they had thought to bring one.

 

Bottom line. Figure out what you think you need and then leave most of it at home, it will never come out of the suitcase, and if you are flying all the stuff does is add weight. My bottom line? Research, weigh advice from many sources, and use plain old common sense. Oh, and don't forget to pack an easygoing attitude. :) [/quote]

 

Happy Cruising!

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Texas Greeneyes!

Great minds think alike!

Check my post #29 above, we're totally agreeing (almost);) .

CJW

[texas greeneyes]

Texas Greeneyes!

Great minds think alike!

Check my post #29 above, we're totally agreeing (almost);) .

CJW

 

Hey There Fellow Great Mind,

 

I didn't read your post before I added mine...but boy it sure looks like I plagiarized you! LOL! :p It is obvious that we pretty much see eye to eye, at least on this subject.

 

BTW, I have noticed that your posts and replies are consistently well thought out and often contain valuable new information for me. Thank you, Curt!

 

Patty in Texas

[Curt Jerome Wild]

Hey There Fellow Great Mind,

I didn't read your post before I added mine...but boy it sure looks like I plagiarized you! LOL! :p It is obvious that we pretty much see eye to eye, at least on this subject.

BTW, I have noticed that your posts and replies are consistently well thought out and often contain valuable new information for me. Thank you, Curt!

Patty in Texas

 

Ha ha!:D

I didn't think you plagarized, but funny anyway. I thought it was cool though, how you agreed on a lot of the things but for different reasons.

And thanks for thinking I'm well thought out (how's that for a well thought out sentence?). I'm generally pretty good, except when I'm CruiseCriticing, working on the computer, and talking on the phone at the same time (I've mistakenly typed a couple of doozies in the past and hopefully learned my lesson to not multi-task so much).

CJW:rolleyes:

[seamama1]

I don't take bungee cord (pull balcony chair over and prop door), clothes pins, power strip, nor most of the stuff listed. For spring, summer and fall cruises, however, I do bring a small "spritz" bottle to spray the bod/face in the heat and humidity at the pool or ashore. It feels sooooooooo good......

 

I always order room service for breakfast; that is my wake-up call, coffee, croissant and juice. More pleasant than an alarm clock. I don't really care what time it is when I'm on the ship. I do have a small Timex that attaches to the strap on my purse to make sure I am back on the ship before she sails.

 

There is enough residual light under the cabin door. I personally don't need the nightlight. I never took duct tape (I'm a very light packer). I needed it once, last year, when the zipper on my grandsons suitcase broke. I was able to get it from the pursers desk.

 

I'm never in one place long enough to warrant using an insulated cup. That might be a good idea though, for coffe in the morning. Will have to think on that one. I pack everything into a 24 inch roll-aboard suitcase and a well-planned Travelpro carry-on so am real picky about what I take.

 

Have a great time!

[basketlover]

airfreshner for the bathroom.