Help! What did I forget??

[donna travels]

I tell all of my clients, just because you go on vacation don't forget your common sense, if you wouldn't leave a $500 camera out in a NYC Hotel room don't do it anywhere else either. Remember to have FUN, LAUGH and enjoy whoever you are traveling with, you are making memories, don't fret it will ruin your vacation.

[Wandalust725]

DH wouldn't leave home without duct tape and bubble wrap.

 

We forgot the binoculars once and haven't since.

 

Linda

[tcdcruiser]

small night light for the bath - easier on me and my sleeping spouse.

[blindrid]

I refuse to pack excess junk and figure if I have cash, CC and passport, the rest I can handle or buy if needed.

 

The only excess thing I bring is a larger travel coffee mug so I don't have to mess with the small coffee cups.

 

As to travel alarm clocks: wake up calls work fine and there is a clock on the phone - don't need.

 

Laundry stuff: try not to do laundryas I'm on vacation - don't need

 

Duct tape: if I need something like that, I'll buy or ask steward for some tape. Have never needed it.

 

Medications: I do pack minimal amounts of Tylenol, band-aids and a lot of sunscreen. Again, if you forget, you can always buy it.

 

Moral of my story is - quit worrying and don't overpack (easier said than done as my wife has yet to learn that). The ship is pretty much a small town and you can get anything you forget. Have fun and enjoy.

[pokey's mom]

I know a couple of you have mentioned plastic bags, but I pack all of my clothes in the large size space bags. Two will fit side by side in my suitcase. One side for day clothes and one for evening. This is an old boy scout trick . It will keep your clothes dry in case of rain or spillage. It will also keep them in orderly fashion when your case is being rifled thru by homeland security. It also kept my clothes from being drenched with a smashed bottle of perfume and broken glass on a recent flight from Puerto Rico. They don't give a damn at the San Juan airport.

[DonnaK]

I know a couple of you have mentioned plastic bags' date=' but I pack all of my clothes in the large size space bags. Two will fit side by side in my suitcase. One side for day clothes and one for evening. This is an old boy scout trick . It will keep your clothes dry in case of rain or spillage. It will also keep them in orderly fashion when your case is being rifled thru by homeland security. It also kept my clothes from being drenched with a smashed bottle of perfume and broken glass on a recent flight from Puerto Rico. They don't give a damn at the San Juan airport.[/quote']

 

Where did you get your space bags from? Are they the type that work with the vacuum, because I often wonder how people use those vacuum bags for the trip home - do you borrow the steward's vacuum to reseal the bags.

[karmacruiser]

I always laughed at the folks that packed the over the door clear plastic shoe holder until I tried it on the last cruise and loved having it. I picked up a cheap one that weighed hardly anything and it was great having everything neatly tucked away yet easy to find.

[Murphey]

Regarding travel alarm clock...almost everyone has a cell phone...that's what we use. It's good for a clock and an alarm, and we have it with us anyway....just remember the charger!

[sharonmae]

Last year when we cruised on the Emerald, I spent countless hours on CC trying to decide what we needed to to make our 19 day Med-TA perfect. After a year of reading every one's hints and clues of must haves, I had spent a fortune and could have filled two very heavy suitcases with STUFF, (minus clothes). I had no choice but to leave a lot of these must haves at home, so I went through every item and made what I thought were smart choices. I did not miss one item I left behind, and after lugging heavy suitcases on and off trains in Europe and on and off the vaporettos in Venice, I wished I had left even more at home (or hadn't wasted my money to buy them in the first place) and so did my husband.

One item we did use was a small electric extension cord purchased at Radio Shack. We used it when we wanted, or needed, to use or charge multiple items at one time like my electric curlers, DH's elecric razor, camera batteries, computer batteries, ipod batteries, speaker cube for ipod, cell phones (as we approached FLL.)

My DH brought our travel binoculars and as someone else said they were wonderful not only for sightseeing from our balcony, but in art galleries and museums. Without those binoculars it would not have been easy to see the intricate work of the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo's Pieta, as well as other works of art.

Another poster mentioned that the bathrooms are very dark, especially at night, but there are no outlets in the bathrooms (at least not on the Emerald in a regular stateroom) so a regular night light I believe is useless. I purchased some cheap battery operated tea lights and kept them on all night. I went through three of them on our 19 day cruise. When one died I tossed it and used another.

I did bring detergent, coins and dryer sheets, but way too many. How many loads of wash did I think I would do???? After all I was on vacation.

Make a list of everyone's ideas and then go over it carefully. What one man can't live without, the next man wouldn't dream of buying and owning. You know yourself so be selective, because every gadget and sundry takes up space and some weigh a lot more than you think.

Sharon

[kaykay51]

I type out all of the customer service phone #'s for my credit cards and place one in each piece of luggage. I don't put the account #'s on these sheets, just the toll free #'s. I leave my account numers posted at home and with my son. That way if we lose our cc we can call the company to cancel. These also contain our medical insurance company's #'s.

[rjrice1]

If anyone takes insulin please bring a proper container to dispose your use needles. Wouldn't want anyone to get stuck by a used needle. A very scary thing.

[jagsfan]

the aforementioned over the door shoe holder is a godsend......especially when 2 women

travel together.

I also take a few clothes pins for the shower curtain.....attached to the bottom they

keep the shower curtain from sticking to you.

small Crystal Light packages and an empty water bottle. You can have a tasty beverage

any time night or day.

Don't take your straw hat for sitting by the pool unless you want to see it swimming

in the ocean.......a sudden gust and it's gone.

Remember, no one will notice if you wear the same t-shirt more than once or even twice.

Same with shoes.....try to coordinate so you only need one pair dressy and one or two

comfortable.

Paperback books to read and leave in the library. Makes room for souvenirs on the

return home.

[UT-Volsfan]

If anyone takes insulin please bring a proper container to dispose your use needles. Wouldn't want anyone to get stuck by a used needle. A very scary thing.

 

You should be able to get a container from your cabin steward. I ask for one when we first meet the steward and it's been there in the bathroom before dinner time. I used to take my own until I found out that Princess provides them on request.

 

For things we always try to remember to take with us:

 

• Post it notes - great for leaving notes on friends doors.
  
• Over-the-counter medications - it's better to have some medications with you than having to see the ship's doctor.
  
• Extra of all prescription medication - remember you can't always get the same brand medications overseas or even get a prescription for it easily if you need some.
  
• Extension cord or power strip - definitely needed for our electronics.
  
• Either plenty of extra memory for your digital camera or take your laptop to download your pictures to. And if you download pictures, make sure they are on your computer before deleting off of the memory card (and you might want to use a thumbdrive to make a backup copy). Some friends used the ship's service to download pictures, and when they got home, they had lost all of their pictures from 2 ports (the CD was blank) - and the ship doesn't save copies of your digital pictures.
  
• Extra rechargeable batteries and a quick charger.
  
• Local currency to use in ports. We usually get local currency from AAA (they don't charge members a fee and you can exchange paper currency back after you get home). On board it costs I believe $3.50 each time you change currency on-board. On our recent Baltic cruise, every country used a different currency (only one was on the euro). If you don't take local currency, take extra $US or euros (many cab drivers and shops near the dock are used to cruisers having these to spend - can save currency conversion fees that major credit cards have recently added).
  

[Kaylas Mom]

Dont't let Tallysmom fool you! She says she takes a roll of quarters for the wash, but we know she spends them on the slot machines!!!!!!:D

 

Have a great cruise, Helen and Frank and everyone aboard. Our Baltics cruise aboard Princess was our favorite ever cruise. You'll have a wonderful time!

[Mimi39]

We're going to take a couple of the new Purex Complete 3-in-1 laundry sheets. Last time we cruised the laundry room was out of deterent in the machine.

[tallysmom]

You know me tooooooo well - love that Irish Pot o' gold , the Kiltie boy and the Italian chef!

 

:p;):D

[Mrs RH]

OK, I will share the worst thing I have forgotten. Picture the scene, going on first cruise to the Caribbean (very excited), put clothes etc in piles and ticked them off (I'm very organized).

 

Flew to Barbados, lovely ship and started to unpack, that's when I realized ALL hubbys trousers, dinner suit, ties were in fact hanging on the door in our spare bedroom at home in the UK!!!! Now to say my husband was not happy was an understatement due mainly to the fact he ONLY had shorts (well he was lucky to get them!!). Do you know how hard it is to buy long pants for a tall man in the Caribbean? Anyway we could not do the formal nights and did not eat in the restaurant for the 1st two nights.:rolleyes:

 

Oh on the bright side I looked lovely in my dresses which I packed:p

 

So my top tip is check the spare room before you leave:D

[PescadoAmarillo]

These are all great ideas. At this point, we have cruise packing down to a science, and have several items that remain packed in our largest suitcase in the basement between cruises. When we bring it up to pack, voila, there is a lot of the packing list, already in one place. (Over the door shoe rack, power strip, stretchable closeline and small container of laundry detergent, sticky notes, etc.). DH actually has clothes he wears only for cruises...just opens the drawers, gets them and they go right in the suitcase. Very simple. I'm not that organized or predictable.

 

We take far fewer clothes and shoes than we did on our first cruise, more things we didn't take then (such as above). If I had to pick our top two items, I would say our lanyards (for our key cards) and two different credit cards, two ATM cards (in case one gets eaten by the ATM), but NOT the credit card we have our autocharges go to. In the event one credit card is stolen, we can cancel and use the other, but we're not faced with changing over all those autocharges (i.e. cable, cell phone, insurance, utilities, newspaper) to a new credit card when we return home.

[CaribbeanLVR]

Probably 1/4 of what I pack now is because at one time or another, I didn't realize I would need it. ;) The list is very long. Enjoy!

 

 

Are you distantly related to my wife?

 

Man does she pack. I keep telling her " Its a VACATION, and we ar NOT MOVING"

 

Our cruise is still 9 months away, but I am already getting kind of tired of hearing " Babe their is a sale @ Kohls" AGAIN!:D

[Northender]

Tim, you still have that great sense of humor going. Hey, I thought you were going to do the Ruby with us on April 9, 2010.:D

 

Hi to the family:)

[carribeancruzr]

Sorry, I have to disagree w/ this one.....(walkie talkies)They are annoying as H..L to everyone else.

 

Annoying is spending countless hours throughout the course of our "relaxing" week with me and my DH trying to find each other!

[carribeancruzr]

OK, I will share the worst thing I have forgotten. Picture the scene, going on first cruise to the Caribbean (very excited), put clothes etc in piles and ticked them off (I'm very organized).

 

Flew to Barbados, lovely ship and started to unpack, that's when I realized ALL hubbys trousers, dinner suit, ties were in fact hanging on the door in our spare bedroom at home in the UK!!!! Now to say my husband was not happy was an understatement due mainly to the fact he ONLY had shorts (well he was lucky to get them!!). Do you know how hard it is to buy long pants for a tall man in the Caribbean? Anyway we could not do the formal nights and did not eat in the restaurant for the 1st two nights.:rolleyes:

 

Oh on the bright side I looked lovely in my dresses which I packed:p

 

So my top tip is check the spare room before you leave:D

 

Got tired of being blamed for stuff like that and have it ruin the first night of the cruise ! It's every man (or woman) for him/herself now! You don't have it...it's your own fault so don't blame me!

[dcarrubba]

If anyone takes insulin please bring a proper container to dispose your use needles. Wouldn't want anyone to get stuck by a used needle. A very scary thing.

 

My daughter requires growth hormone and uses insulin needles to inject it. I always request through princess that a sharps container be left in the room. There is a downloadable medical form on their web site that will allow you to ask for this (or you can just call Princess and ask). No need to bring a container onboard.

[citygal17]

There are lots of good suggestions here. You know what makes sense for you. My only addition is that I always bring a small magnifying mirror. It has suction cups to stick it on the mirror. My DH wears contacts and it's a great help.

[wizard-of-roz]

There are lots of good suggestions here. You know what makes sense for you. My only addition is that I always bring a small magnifying mirror. It has suction cups to stick it on the mirror. My DH wears contacts and it's a great help.

 

Where did you find this mirror? I want one!