Need Great Ideas of clever things to bring

[Mizwoodym]

I am a newbie here but have read a few threads that state ideas for staff gifts. It has been mentioned that the crew has no room for things/gifts. Cash is what they can all use. A nice note with a tip seems to be the going gift. some people give them a candy bar wrapped in $, or a post card with a nice note. Its debatable about the idea of phone cards.

[ngl116]

This isn't really 'something to bring' but it's good food for thought. I have cruised only with carnival and our tips are $10/person/day. They are automatically added to the ship bill. I got friendly with one of the bartenders at the Martini bar and asked her how those tips are 'hashed out.' She told me that the basically go in a bucket and are divided among the room stewards and asst. stewards, your dining waiter and asst. waiter, and the buffet servers.

 

If you choose to adjust your tips up or down you are effecting more that just YOUR service peoples tips! I no longer will adjust my tips. If I receive exemplary service from one person I will personally give them an extra cash tip and I always write a letter to carnival giving them a kudos. If I receive less service than I expected (this only happened once :eek:) I go and see that persons supervisor on the ship.

[crazy cajun]

Nice list of stuff here.

we have started taking a couple of the large sham wows w/ us when we travel as its not allways sunny to dry swim suits and other wet clothes. just roll the clothes up tightly in a sham wow and it takes all the water out quickly.

may need to hit swim suit w/ blow dryer for a min. just to warm it up b4 wearing.

[erinmarie424]

Nice list of stuff here.

we have started taking a couple of the large sham wows w/ us when we travel as its not allways sunny to dry swim suits and other wet clothes. just roll the clothes up tightly in a sham wow and it takes all the water out quickly.

may need to hit swim suit w/ blow dryer for a min. just to warm it up b4 wearing.

Thank you - my co-workers thought I was crazy when I mentioned I was packing ours! :o

[rcprncss]

Great thread! I have noted some new stuff to bring. Now we have an excuse to buy the Sham Wow!

Edited April 11, 2009 by rcprncss

[uffdafla]

even though it is a vacation, i take a roll of quarters and one load detergent packs. (It is the only time i will do the laundry for the wife) we can pack lighter. still bringing home dirty clothes, but may toss older t shirts and others. one thing i do bring is golf towels.

they have a clip to hang up to dry. i put one in a gallon size ziplock baggie with ice and hang the dry one on the side of my softsided backback cooler. on hot days it feels so good to cool the neck and face.

[Ilivetogo]

Great thread! I have noted some new stuff to bring. Now we have an excuse to buy the Sham Wow!

 

I agree. We are heading to Alaska and even tho we won't be dealing with much in the way of bathing suits, I hear that rain could be an issue. So if we are to come back to the ship after having been rained on, we could potentially have wet/damp/drippy pants, socks, etc. It would be nice to get most of the water out before drip-drying otherwise it would take forever!!

SO glad I just saw the Sham Wow at Target this weekend!! I'll have to go get some.

Edited April 13, 2009 by Ilivetogo

[dazzlin_33]

Ok so the best thing that I ever brought on the cruise was the little glow sticks that kids play with they make bracelets and necklace's. I bought them at the dollar store:) They was the biggest hit in the disco. My husband and I had them on when we got in the nightclub, the crew was dancing, everyone came over to me and asked for them. I had to go back to my room for the rest of them. By the end of the night I looked around and everyone had them on including the Captain and his mates. We won the popularity contest that night :)

[dazzlin_33]

what are buba kegs?

[Ilivetogo]

what are buba kegs?

 

 

Check back on page 8 ... :D

 

http://www.getyourbubbakeg.com/

[newrosetravels]

Wow! This is the best, most complete list I have seen! Thank you for sharing with us. I am going to copy/paste this and use it!!

[francesam]

I can't believe all this.:confused: You are on holiday for gods sake. My head is spinning with all the things you all bring. I think i'd rather stay at home. :rolleyes: Giving gifts and photos and phone cards to staff seems to be a bit patronizing to me. Give them the money. Will be taking the shoe bag though

[francesam]

I can't believe all this.:confused: You are on holiday for gods sake. My head is spinning with all the things you all bring. I think i'd rather stay at home. :rolleyes: Giving gifts and photos and phone cards to staff seems to be a bit patronizing to me. Give them the money. Will be taking the shoe bag though

O dear, hope i didn't offend anybody. I seem to have put the kibosh on this forum. Sorrrrrrry:o

[tgptmp]

O dear, hope i didn't offend anybody. I seem to have put the kibosh on this forum. Sorrrrrrry:o

 

I wouldn't worry about it. Like any kind of a list like this, you pick out one or two items (like you have with the shoe rack thingy) that will improve your travel and go with it. There are probably routine things that you take when you travel that enhance your experience that the rest of us might say, " I have never thought about that" or "I'm not taking that". It is all personal preferences.

[WeTravelers2]

This was a very helpful thread for me. It gives you ideas or helps you think of other things you may need. I would rather take suggestions from others experiences and enhance the trip. I agree no one has to take everything. It depends on the location one is going to visit and what they plan to do, whether they are flying and limited on luggage or are driving and have plenty of room for whatever they want to bring. Personal preferences drive choices.

By the way- I found purse size bug repellant and sunscreen in the sports section of Walmart. Just the size we need!

[Mizwoodym]

im not so worried about bug repellant.... im bringing some of those hand warmers for my warm weather relatives coming along to Alaska.They are around $1 a pair... and last 8 hours or so. I use them at work.

[lavashine]

I'm going on my first cruise in September and I think the most important thing I'll take w/ me is my appetite...for food, adventure & new experiences!

 

I love ALL of the ideas too! ThAnKs!

Edited May 2, 2009 by lavashine

[JDinWA]

One good one for those of you visiting a beach. Bring an old sheet. It's so much smaller than a towel, and the sand shakes off it easily.

 

I have to ask -- what size bed do you have that your sheets are smaller than a towel?:confused:

[canadarocks]

I have to ask -- what size bed do you have that your sheets are smaller than a towel?:confused:

 

:D I'm pretty sure the poster meant smaller in terms of weight and the room it takes in a suitcase ;)

[JDinWA]

:D I'm pretty sure the poster meant smaller in terms of weight and the room it takes in a suitcase ;)

 

Oh duh...I didn't think of that. Thanks. :)

[sanuk4u]

Wow! I stumbled across this post by accident and am so happy I did! I didn't realize how much you don't get on a cruise becuase of the all in one pricing. You forget it's not like a resort where they will wait on you hand and foot with luxury.

 

My first ever cruise is coming up in a few weeks and all your ideas and tip are very useful. I think I have to rethink this "fitting everything" in one bag idea. I thought I could, almost, but not I definitely need one more little one!

 

Thanks for all your tips everyone! Does anyone know if RCCL has DVD players in their TV's?

 

There are plugs on the ships, right? We'll need to charge up the camera and phones and all. Thx

[augustvows]

My dad did something really cool for some of the dining room staff when he was on the Statendam recently. Apparently a lot of people take their picture with crew members they really like, and my dad did it one night. He (the crew) asked if it would be okay if he got a copy of the picture... that his family had never seen pictures of where he worked. So dad took the digital camera and spent half an hour or so with 5 or 6 of the kitchen crew members taking all sorts of photos and having some real fun with it! They goofed around a bit, and the pictures are fabulous. He spent about $25 getting copies developed, and they all got to send some home to their families. I thought it was a really nice thing for him to do, and they were very happy with it.

[HurleyD]

Wow! I stumbled across this post by accident and am so happy I did! I didn't realize how much you don't get on a cruise becuase of the all in one pricing. You forget it's not like a resort where they will wait on you hand and foot with luxury.

 

My first ever cruise is coming up in a few weeks and all your ideas and tip are very useful. I think I have to rethink this "fitting everything" in one bag idea. I thought I could, almost, but not I definitely need one more little one!

 

Thanks for all your tips everyone! Does anyone know if RCCL has DVD players in their TV's?

 

There are plugs on the ships, right? We'll need to charge up the camera and phones and all. Thx

Hey! I'm sure you'll enjoy your first cruise!!! I don't know if RCCL has DVD players but they do have plugs. Only like 2-3 outlets so bring a power bar/strip.

 

My dad did something really cool for some of the dining room staff when he was on the Statendam recently. Apparently a lot of people take their picture with crew members they really like, and my dad did it one night. He (the crew) asked if it would be okay if he got a copy of the picture... that his family had never seen pictures of where he worked. So dad took the digital camera and spent half an hour or so with 5 or 6 of the kitchen crew members taking all sorts of photos and having some real fun with it! They goofed around a bit, and the pictures are fabulous. He spent about $25 getting copies developed, and they all got to send some home to their families. I thought it was a really nice thing for him to do, and they were very happy with it.

That is really nice of him! My mom and I made gift bags for the steward/ waiters on our upcoming cruise.

[45014]

I have not read through all the pages, so I don't know if it has been suggested, but we always take an air freshener with us. Just makes the room a little more sweet smelling! I usually get one of the car mirror hangy thing, and then just leave it there when we leave.

[sanuk4u]

Someone had posted a full list of this in another chat, maybe it will help everyone? I'll repost it here:

 

SUGGESTIONS

FOR WHAT NOT TO FORGET TO TAKE WITH YOU ON YOUR CRUISE

 

 

CLOTHING, ETC.

 

Small tote umbrella

Extra pair of prescription glasses

Large metal paper clips for hanging up wet bathing suits

Sweater and/ or jacket for cool nights at sea or air conditioned areas that are quite cool

Over-the-door shoe holder

Cheap waterproof watch

 

LAUNDRY

 

Small containers of laundry detergent

Dryer sheets

Nylon mesh laundry bags

Pop-up laundry hamper

Stain remover pen

 

FOR STORING CLOTHING

 

A shoe rack which fits over the bathroom door

Extra hangers

 

AIR FRESHENERS, ETC.

 

Fabreeze air freshener (may be a problem if flying)

Airfreshener solid

 

TOILETRIES (PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS)

 

Shampoo

Hair conditioner

Disinfectant wipes

Travel roll of toilet paper

Purell or other waterless hand cleaner

Liquid hand soap

A small shower organizer to keep the soap and shampoo, razor, etc. (There is little enough room in the bathroom for storage)

 

FOR OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

 

Bug spray

Sunscreen

Waterproof (water resistant) shoes

Sunglasses

Suntan lotion

Plastic hair clips for holding down towels on your chair or holding wet things drying on the balcony

 

FOR ON-SHORE EXCURSIONS

 

A backpack or fammy pack for carrying things on shore excursions

Driver Licenses if needed

Your passports

Ship Cards

Credit Card

Cash

Tour Vouchers & Payment for Tours with tips

Waterproof Camera

Chair Clips

RainPonchos

Thermal Bag with drinks & ice

 

DRUGS, MEDICINES, ETC.

 

Headache medicine (aspirin, Tylenol, Advil, etc.)

Stomach ache medicine (Pepto Bismol tablets, etc)

Bonine or Dramamine

Band Aids

Antiseptic ointment

Extra prescription medications (extra 2-3 days’ supply

Benedryl

Neosporin

Calamine lotion

 

APPLIANCES AND ELECTRONICS

 

Nightlight (for the bathroom or elsewhere)

Alarm clock

Hair dryer

Flat Iron

Power bar/ power strip

Extra batteries for your digital camera

Rechargable batteries for your digital camera

Battery charger

Cell phone charger

Flashlight

Extra memory cards for your digital camera

 

CLEANERS

 

Clorox spray cleaner for disinfecting surfaces

 

LAUNDRY NEEDS

 

Fabric sheets

Pop-up hamper for dirty clothes

Trash bag for storing dirty clothes

Duffle bag for dirty laundry

 

SHOPPING

 

Empty duffle bag for carrying what you buy on shopping trips

Empty tote bag for carrying what you buy on shopping trips

 

IF YOU BRING A LAPTOP COMPUTER

 

Memory card reader and/ or cable to backup your photos to a flash drive or CD/ DVD

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

A highlighter for the newspaper or Patters

Bottle opener

Jigger

Small cocktail shaker

Single $$ for tips and misc. spending

Sewing kit

Bottle opener (“Church-key”)

Guidebooks for your cruise desitnations

Small roll of duct tape

Post-It notes to leave messages for the porter or those traveling with you

Cork screw

Addresses of all those that you want to write postcards and letters to while on your cruise.

Ziplock bags

Copies of passport, credit card & important numbers incase you lose it

A small pair of scissors

A bungie cord to hold open the sliding door to the balcony and/or hold the drapes open

Small pair of binoculars

Eyeglasses repair kit

Thank you cards to leave for waiters and stewards. (They really appreciate them!)