Duct Tape, Collapsible Water Bottles, Hi-lite Pens, Anything Else?

[mslaabs]

would anyone bring there ownm beach towels, or just use the ships towels, and if so how many it does take up space,:confused:

 

We bring one of our own. We bought cheap beach towels at Walmart for $4 and they are made out of a thin material. Now ordinarily this is not the ideal beach towel, but for cruising its great. It doesn't take up much space in the suitcase, and it dries quicker than the fluffy ones. We usually spend our port days at the beach and we take a small duffle bag with us. We have found the beach towels that the ship gives you for your excursions (or whatever) are bulky and hard to pack in a small bag.

[Iggipolka]

http://*****.com/6yrdo

 

Magellans has a perfect little surf safe for beach and pool days.

[Darmok]

I love to take door dec. Remember all doors are metal on the ship, so I use magnet printer paper. ... In May I did a big sign that had my cruise critic names on it.. date and ship... Then I did a bunch of small cutie ones.. Like a cup of coffee, bottle of whine, waiter, Hamburger, french frys, Malt shake, all on one 8x10 and cut them out.. so they can be placed on differant areas of the door. Everyone who came by my cabin LOVED THEM.. and the last day a few of them came up missing.. That was ok with me.. ...

 

Just curious as to the purpose/intention of door decorations. Is it just for fun or intended to show your interests to meet others with similar interests or something else or all of the above?

:confused:

1st time cruiser - Voyager of the Seas, NCCL - 4/2

[Preacher's Kid]

Darmok -

 

There is a separate thread on door decorating. People do it for a variety of reasons. I'm taking my mom on a Mother's Day cruise and plan on decorating my door as a tribute to mothers. I have seen other doors decorated and there are groups of travelers that actually have door decorating competitions. Way too extreme for me. This will be my first time actually decorating a door and I'm having a lot of fun in the planning.

 

Most people decorate their doors using a theme - a group theme, like the Parrotheads and their Jimmy Buffett theme, something that indicates your interests or who the members of your party are. Like I said, it's just for fun - and makes it easier to find your cabin if you're coming home in the wee hours after a few too many frou frou drinks in the Navigator Club...

 

Karenlynne ;)

[kellig]

That list was very thourough, but ridiculously long. Who in the world would take that many bags? 2 fannies, 2camera cases, 3 carryons, 2 large suitcases, and a garment bag. I have generally found that less is more, and if I forgot something, it wasn't really that important in the first place. I suppose this is just a rebellion against my mothers need to overpack, and every time she forgot something, it was like the end of the world. Don't forget you are on vacation! Have a great trip.

[tt cruiser]

My best friend and I pack some of those nose strips for sleeping times because the more we drink and/or the more tired we are the more one or both of us snores and keeps the other awake (they really do work). We also take a white noise machine and one of those clip on 5" desk fans for the times in the caribbean when it is just too hot! Gotta LOVE those balcony cabins....no matter how hot it is we seem to need to have the balcony door open whenever we are in the cabin <G>

[mlantigua]

Got a good laugh out of that "lift and seperate" photo!

I have an issue with #23 "Toilet Paper" ouch...

[kg66]

Hey Anniecat,

 

We Use The Plastic Sleeves That You Put Your Insurance Cards In, To Hold Our Ship Cards And Photo Id All Together! And I Use A Fanny Pack On Shore Instead Of Purse(that Way Both Hands Are Free To Shop). The Insurance Sleeve Fits In The Fanny Pack With Lots Of Room To Spare...just What We Do!

Kathy

[musicmansmom]

this might have been mentioned already but i never go on a trip without an extra pair of eye glasses. i wear tri-focals and am blind without my glasses. the pair i have before the ones i wear now are the ones i put in my bag. i cant imagine not being to see anything on the cruise. especially the menu :D .

[japerki]

I take those removable wall hooks to use within the cabin and in the bathroom. These are the white ones that you "pull the strip" to remove them later, not the suction cup ones.

 

I also take a large skirt safety pin. This is the type of skirt pin that used to be used on scottish kilts. You can buy a pack of 2 pins at any JoAnn fabrics or other fabric store. I take my cruise card to the purser's office and have them punch a hole into my card. Then I safety pin it to whatever I'm wearing! Works great as I don't usually have pockets!

[ferretface]

Don't forget Dr. Scholls (sp?) moleskin. It really helps prevent blisters or protect blisters :)

[duphusdog]

you can take a hole punch and punch a hole in the corner of your room key to put it on a key chain.

[crzycick]

Instead of taking plastic hangers, take the wire ones. They aren't as big and then you can just throw them away at the end of the trip to make more room in your bag.

[MrsTffx]

Travelitis, why would you need Benadryl gel if you snorkel?

[adamsmom]

and thanks for all the great packing suggestions! I took along a hole punch, and punched a hole in our Sail & Sign cards, a hole in the blank end of the room key, and a hole in soda cards for those in our group that had them. Then we safety-pinned them together, and attached them to one of those badge clippy-thingies that we bought at the office supply store. Worked great!

 

I would suggest taking your own beach towels if there are more than 2 or 3 to a cabin. On the Holiday, they limited them to 3 per cabin, even though 2 families in our group had 5 people in their cabin. What were the other 2 people supposed to do? Drip dry? ;)

 

There were no blow dryers provided on this ship, so I would recommend checking on that before leaving it at home.

 

The post-its worked great for letting others know what we were doing and where to find us. Also worked nicely for notes to the cabin steward.

 

Here's another suggestion that I found helpful: Before the trip, I bought one of those file pocket thingies with 6 pockets in it. I put all our travel documents, maps, birth certificates, etc. in there so that they would be easy to find and protected. Then after the cruise, I put all our souvenir documents in there--Carnival Capers, Camp Carnival schedules, photos that we bought, maps, etc. I think I'll probably put small photo albums with our pics in there too, at least until I get them scrapbooked. I plan to buy one for every cruise.

[Katmarha]

In addition to dedicating a credit card with a low cash/credit available balance, I have opened a separate dedicated checking account with a VISA/DEBIT card access for the trip. These will be the only items I will be bringing for cash purposes (along with the singles -lol). I figure if my credit cards get lost or "mis-used" that the dent won't be too much and not too many accounts will be in jeopardy. And this way I have a budget and won't over spend (like I usually do on my vacations). :)

[njcruisingmom]

This is not so much a tip on what to bring but on how to bring something...

 

I can't travel without my itty bitty book light -- I like to read a bit after DH and DDs are in bed. More than once I arrived my destination with dead batteries because the on button had been accidentally pushed. So now I put my batteries in the wrong way -- facing the wrong direction -- whatever way they won't work. When I arrive, I put them right. This will work for little flashlights, the kids' CD players -- anything that runs on batteries.

 

And don't forget extra batteries too.

[jollyvagabond]

Well, I've spent all evening reading 14 pages of suggestions. Great lists from Mahreeya, MysteryGal and Crisnjohn!! I failed to find anyone mention address book with snail mail and e-mail addresses. Saw the stamps listed.

 

Can't wait for our Northbound Glacier Discovery cruise on HAL-Veendam July 17th!!

 

Cheryl

[celbercrz333]

Spl,

Don't pack the duct tape as it is. Here's what I do. Take an empty roll of toilet paper and fold it flat. Now take some duct tape from a roll and start rolling around it until you have a nice bundle. I know you'll lose some of the stickiness, but it will take up less room in your bags. I also like a camping catalog (not sure if I can mention the name here, but it starts with a "C"). I go through that because you will find all kinds of great items that will take up less room in your bags and come in handy. You should know what you can and cannot use. Just imagine what you'd need on a regular land trip, without the advantage of going to a grocery store. Stores on ships vary on what they carry. Tylenol might be available but for a couple of tablets you might pay $1.00. They don't carry much in the way of toiletries. The Celebrity ship we went on had more in their store than the 3 stores on our Carnival cruise. Both were filled more with touristy items. Some one on these boards said that duct tape is good if you have a room with a window and the drapes don't like to stay completely closed. They duct taped them closed overnight.

[Love Cruis'n]

At the risk of asking a foolish question -

Bungee cords to hold open the door to the patio?

OK - how long of a cord do I need? I've got a real short one, a medium one, and a longer one. Sounds like a great idea (I gues the sliding doors are spring loaded)

Help please?

Thanks.

[csquared]

This will be my first cruise but I do have some things I don't leave home without. Like, nail clippers and a nail file. I think I am going to bring a small thing of super glue for my nails. It would really suck to have one nail (or more :mad: ) to be broken.

 

 

Just a thought! :p

[boston Rocks]

Make sure they go in your “checked baggage”!

 

I had my best tweezers and clippers confiscated from my carry-on:(……….DUGH!!

[Mr. Tom]

Greatest thing ever !! Nobody thinks about it!

 

Bring Liquid spray on Bandaids! The new over the counter stuff doesnt sting, has a Antibiotic, is water proof, and stays on for 3 to 7 days!

 

If yer like me and sometimes trip, it can really be horrible walking around with a Bandaid on. This stuff is easy to use and very cruise friendly!

[NurseKnitWitch]

Don't throw them out! Leave them for the next passenger. If the cabin crew finds them and does not leave them in the closet, they can recycle them to the laundry room.

[NurseKnitWitch]

A small magnetic "Dry-Erase" board works well. They come w/ the marker- usually w/ a magnet attached to it also. (you can buy roles off magnet with a sticky back at craft stores if necessary) Good means of communication, portable, won't fall off like post-its, re-usable and saves trees!