Best tip used?

[rgwiazdzinski]

we always bring a portable cloths line to hang our wet beach stuff on to dry

[patrice1]

we always bring a portable cloths line to hang our wet beach stuff on to dry

 

We use the one in the shower.

Must haves: power strip, alarm clock, insulated glass - good for hot drinks or ice water, plenty of singles for tipping, soda and books. I'm coveting a Kindle, as well.:D

[A&Jfamily]

We use the one in the shower.

 

Must haves: power strip, alarm clock, insulated glass - good for hot drinks or ice water, plenty of singles for tipping, soda and books. I'm coveting a Kindle, as well.:D

 

If memory serves, both the Valor and the Legend had a clothes line already in the shower - that reminds of another tip! Clothes pins!

[Martini Mom]

We took a pop up mesh hamper on our last cruise for dirty clothes. We also put all of our used towels in a pile in the bathroom, to make it easier for the cabin steward. I also bring a trial size spray bottle of Clorox. I clean the telephone and vanity when we get there. I am trying to cut down on my risk of getting sick (and I don't use the hand rails). We ran into him in the hall one night and he thanked us. He said we had one of the cleanest cabins he's ever seen. Dh think's I'm nuts, so I just smiled at him when the man said that.

[Foo7595]

A hi-lighter and a pad of sticky notes - BY FAR!:D Soooo easy to pack away, and soooo useful. Can't travel without them now, especially when cruising.

[sam1148]

I saw on another thread a suggestion will be our must have this year.

 

A small battery LED motion activated 'night light' for the bathroom. I think they said wal-mart has them and they're on amazon.

 

Why have this? When you use the bathroom at night you won't wake up your cabin mate or have to fumble with the switch or blind yourself when it comes on.

 

My other must haves:

Ipod dock and power cord. (we like audio books for bedtime stories).

Small 6pack cooler for ice. (their buckets are tiny and don't last long).

Swimmers Ear drops.

 

And if you want to sleep in..a sleep mask and ear plugs.

Ear Plugs are a must have if you like to nap....it can get noisy with all the cruise director announcements. (Emergency announcements are piped into the cabin..even with plugs you won't miss those). Sleep masks: Look for ones with flat bands..the ones with shoelace type elastic bands will leave a mark on your face.

 

 

My other favorite unknown tip is the elevators: They ring twice for 'going--down' and once for 'up'..handy so you don't queue up in a crowd for a elevator that's not going your way.

[Boozebabe]

May I preface this by saying I AM NOT A GERMAPHOBE. But I dont want any part of being ill on a cruise so I bring folded up paper towels sprayed with Clorox Cleanup in a zip lock bag. First thing in the room I wipe the phone, door handles etc. Anywhere I think there might be a lingering norovirus hangin round. So far... so good. I bring enough to wipe the doorhandles every day after the cabin steward has been there. Takes up almost no room.

[ukbballfan]

1. Walkie talkies for communication

2. motion activated clock ...works great in an inside cabin so when you wake up and have no idea if its 6 A.M. or noon you just wave you hand over it and it lights up for 5 seconds. You don't disturb anyone else in the room this way. Got mine at Brookstone.

3. and by far the MOST important...You can order as many entree's, desserts, or appetizers as you wish while dining!

[cathyoo]

For me it is special thank you cards for the staff. I like to get a bunch of musical ones for those who give extra special treatment. Also some type of room freshner. The car jars from Yankee work well. My next cruise I think I'll take one of those flameless candles. You can get ones with a nice scent and use as a night light in the bathroom.

[gail811]

I get the big clips (about 2", with a magnet on the back) from the dollar store to hold the shower curtain in place. Magnets do not serve any purpose, but they are the biggest/heaviest I have found. Clip on the bottom of each corner of the curtain and it keeps it from floating outside the rim of the shower basin and soaking the floor. Also, I found that by putting a towel on the toilet seat, sitting down and using the handheld shower head, it is much easier to shave my legs!

[gail811]

I get the big clips (about 2", with a magnet on the back) from the dollar store to hold the shower curtain in place. Magnets do not serve any purpose, but they are the biggest/heaviest plastic clips I have found. Clip on the bottom of each corner of the curtain and it keeps it from floating outside the rim of the shower basin and soaking the floor. Also, I found that by putting a towel on the toilet seat, sitting down and using the handheld shower head, it is much easier to shave my legs!

[Catrin]

After 8 Cruises, I can't travel without:

Mesh Pop Up Hamper

Power Strip

Alarm Clock

Thermal Mug for Lemonade

Old Navy Lanyard

Mesh Bag (Or this cruise, I will be using one of those Supermarket Reusable Bags!) - for beach stuff, towels, reading material on deck etc.

 

Thinking of all the tips received here over the years.... hmmmm....

>>> The Carribbean sun is "A Different Sun" than we are used to!! Use Sunscreen. Even if you don't think you need it. Even if it is a cloudy day. Sunburn can ruin even the best cruise!!

 

Catrin

[sappygirl]

May I preface this by saying I AM NOT A GERMAPHOBE. But I dont want any part of being ill on a cruise so I bring folded up paper towels sprayed with Clorox Cleanup in a zip lock bag. First thing in the room I wipe the phone, door handles etc. Anywhere I think there might be a lingering norovirus hangin round. So far... so good. I bring enough to wipe the doorhandles every day after the cabin steward has been there. Takes up almost no room.

You know you can purchase those in a travel pack.:) I pack those and germx travel wipes.

[Froufie]

May I preface this by saying I AM NOT A GERMAPHOBE. But I dont want any part of being ill on a cruise so I bring folded up paper towels sprayed with Clorox Cleanup in a zip lock bag. First thing in the room I wipe the phone, door handles etc. Anywhere I think there might be a lingering norovirus hangin round. So far... so good. I bring enough to wipe the doorhandles every day after the cabin steward has been there. Takes up almost no room.

 

Why not just bring a travel pack of Lysol wipes? Less than $2 and very portable and easy to use - I keep it in my carryon and wipe down the 'culprits' (e.g. tv remote, phone, knobs, etc)when I get to the cabin.

 

As for a motion sensor bathroom night light - that will only turn on when you GET into the bathroom - how about getting there in the dark? I usually use my booklight - when finished reading at night I generally put book and booklight on night table and if I have to visit washroom at night I use the teeny tiny booklight to light my path and in the bathroom - works great.

 

I think I have also seen some travel alarms that can double as a night light....

 

I also take a nice carryon that doubles as my beachbag in ports - saves on packing another 'thing' to use.....

[LanaJae]

If you're bringing wine, bring a corkscrew and open it in your room.

[katiel53]

My tip is about packing for the trip. I put each outfit on hangers and then put 2 outfits in a dry cleaner bag. The outfits don't get wrinkled and when we get our luggage onboard, it is so easy to just take the outfits out of the suitcase and hang them up.

 

As we use them, we put them into the pop-up hamper we bring with us. All our dirty clothes go into the hamper. When it comes time to pack up to go home, all the clean clothes (I always pack too much) are still on hangers and they go into one suitcase along with my husbands dress clothes. The dirty clothes from the hamper all go into the other suitcase.

 

It's so easy again to unpack as the one suitcase can go right into the laundry room to be opened and the other to the bedroom for hanging things up in the closet. All our toiletries that go with us on a cruise remain in the suitcase along with the pop-up hamper.

[Kaboochi]

My hubby wanted to put in his 2 cents: a bungie cord to hold the balcony door open.

good one, I'm going to get it now and put it in the packing pile. What do you attach it to on the balcony to hold it open? Thanks

[Kaboochi]

Bring a used up gift card (Walmart or the like) with a magnetic strip to use for opening & closing the in-room safe. Don't use your S&S card or credit card in case the card becomes demagnetized. (I learned this one the hard way).

Will a card from a hotel room work too? Thanks

[Kaboochi]

May I preface this by saying I AM NOT A GERMAPHOBE. But I dont want any part of being ill on a cruise so I bring folded up paper towels sprayed with Clorox Cleanup in a zip lock bag. First thing in the room I wipe the phone, door handles etc. Anywhere I think there might be a lingering norovirus hangin round. So far... so good. I bring enough to wipe the doorhandles every day after the cabin steward has been there. Takes up almost no room.

From what I have read, only hand washing with soap and water prevents NORO germs. Lysol wipes and clorox kill germs but not the virus. They don't hurt and I do use the Lysol wipes but I use my elbow to press elevator buttons, use a tissue to open door handles and never touch the hand railings. I do however touch every button on a slot machine with my bare hands:eek::D Go figure! Kaboochi

[cdn seeking heat]

We had the same experience, except we gave him $50. Never again.

I think that's great advise and it seems not to be an isolated incident. Thanks for giving us a heads up.

Maybe he was thinking "Well, I already got their tip, no need to try to impress them." :confused:

[cruiserlovr]

This is going to sound incredibly simple, but having left bags at the terminal, it's a lifesaver. If you aren't doing self-assist, bring a marker so you can mark your luggage tags 1/#, 2/# and so on and so forth so that you *know* you have all of the bags you put out the night before. Trust me, it's not fun to get to the car/house and find out your stuff decided to extend it's vacation.

 

Excellent idea. Our last cruise we almost left a bag behind. My DH and I were traveling with my Sister, Niece and a Girfriend and we were losing track of the number of bags. I've got to have a flashlight (keep it on the night stand) and I bring the wind-up type. They are light weight (no batteries) and I've got to have a night light in the bathroom.

 

A lot of great ideas here even for us past cruisers.

[extcat]

If you have a balcony....as soon as you get to your room meet your room steward captain and ask him for a lounge chair (or two) from the Lido decks for your balcony. Way better than the chairs they give you for the balcony.

 

Will these fit comfortably in a standard balcony?

[iwannacruznow]

Will these fit comfortably in a standard balcony?

I don't think they would fit.Pastorfrank may have had a aft suite.

[Cruiser23490578]

I think that's great advise and it seems not to be an isolated incident. Thanks for giving us a heads up.

Maybe he was thinking "Well, I already got their tip, no need to try to impress them." :confused:

 

That's what was really sad...there was more money to come and he blew it (we left the prepaid gratuities for him and that was it).

 

My husband and I were both in the service industry (waitress,bartender) before we became old people and there is a special place in our heart for those folks who are currently in the industry trying to make ends meet. We have never stiffed anyone, even when service was bad because we figure everyone has a bad day, but this guy seemed to really not care all week long. There were three days our room wasn't even cleaned but we just decided to grin and bear it and chalk it up to experience.

 

Currently, we let our room steward know that they will be tipped two ways...by our on board account PLUS add an additional amount in cash at the end of the cruise. I also tip anyone who brings anything to our room (food, blanket, etc.) a few bucks each trip. This seems to be the best bet for having everything run smoothly.

[Luv2Crews2]

For those of you who like battery alarm clocks, I found one at Eddie Bauer that has relaxing sounds such as rain, thunder, waves, etc. that come along with it. Neat idea if you need "white noise" to go to sleep. Sounds pretty good too!

 

My personal favorite is a bottle of Downy Wrinkle Releaser Spray - quick spray, goodbye wrinkles and off you go.