Nifty & Thrifty Find's

[uscgwife]

I have a list started! We are not cruising until December so I am hoping to find some good stuff on clearance at the end of the summer. I just love the $ store. You never know what you will find there.

[t60]

I would order apple juice and iced tea in the Dining Room or get them on the Lido and you have a delicious drink by mixing them together! You can also do this with Lemonade and iced tea! No extra charges and it was as good as my usual soda I would normally drink!

 

Thanks for that tip

 

Sandy in Spain

[DoubleAA]

Iced Tea and Lemonade is called an "Arnold Palmer" in some parts of the US!

[maggy387]

Be sure to take a power strip...only one plug in per cabin....in addition to over the door shoe bag, they have an over the door hook that can be used for towels, robes and wet bathing suits there is one on each door but I would take three or four more (just $4 and well worth it)

Dollar Tree also has plastic containers with lids that work well to put toiltries in...lay them down and cover to travel then when on board stand them up - this keeps them organized and you can just pic up the container and move from wherever to the bathroom etc. If you take on a lot of soda (you can take 12/person, carry on the 12x12x12 cooler allowed (I use a hard sided one for this and take it to pool etc. I also put a soft sided one in my luggage folded up. Most room stewards are glad to keep them filled with ice especially if you tip them a little early on. Also for the 12 carry on sodas per person, put them in a duffle bag or small suit case.. You will drink the soda on board and have an empty case or bag for dirty clothes etc. I am waiting for my eleventh cruise in May so you probably know I love it. As I think of more tips, I will post them.:):o:cool:

[uscgwife]

Be sure to take a power strip...only one plug in per cabin....in addition to over the door shoe bag, they have an over the door hook that can be used for towels, robes and wet bathing suits there is one on each door but I would take three or four more (just $4 and well worth it)

Dollar Tree also has plastic containers with lids that work well to put toiltries in...lay them down and cover to travel then when on board stand them up - this keeps them organized and you can just pic up the container and move from wherever to the bathroom etc. If you take on a lot of soda (you can take 12/person, carry on the 12x12x12 cooler allowed (I use a hard sided one for this and take it to pool etc. I also put a soft sided one in my luggage folded up. Most room stewards are glad to keep them filled with ice especially if you tip them a little early on. Also for the 12 carry on sodas per person, put them in a duffle bag or small suit case.. You will drink the soda on board and have an empty case or bag for dirty clothes etc. I am waiting for my eleventh cruise in May so you probably know I love it. As I think of more tips, I will post them.:):o:cool:

 

As for a power strip I was told about this one on another site. It is on sale for $11 and it is small and easy to pack. I bought one about a week ago and it was $14 then. I am excited to have it for our upcoming cruise.

Edited March 11, 2013 by uscgwife

[mamkmm2]

After reading another thread about ideas for celebrating an anniversary on-board' date=' I decided to try and find some "flameless" LED candles for our upcoming anniversary cruise. Today I found 3" wax LED candles for $3 each at our local Big Lots store. I bought three, figuring I'd use one as a bathroom night light and the other two in the cabin or maybe on the balcony.[/quote']

 

As you can tell I'm reading, reading, reading a bunch of threads for ideas and this is definitely a fun idea. We are doing a 25th Anniversary cruise (our first cruise) to Alaska this coming May. We never go over the top but for a 25th you just gotta at least get close. LOL! I was wondering about surprising hubby with a little decoration thing and this would actually be perfect.

 

You can find those flameless candles by the bucket full at the party stores, usually over in the bridal shower area.

[momthecruisedirector]

My great deal of the week. Went to the consignment shop and found two dresses for formal nights - both beaded, sequins, very pretty. One black just below the knee, the other long flowy skirt. Which one, which one, when I noticed the tag on the long dress was the 'color of the day' - so 75% off! Needless to say I bought both!

[Indy_Cindy]

 

Does anyone else have any nifty & thrifty finds that are related to cruising that you may want to share?

 

Until next time........ Have a nifty day. Cari & Rick

 

 

Usually thrift stores here in Indiana have absolutely nothing that interests me but today I scored a very nice Pierre Cardin garment bag in great shape for $5.99! :D

[Balcony beauty]

Dollar tree also has battery operated 'candles' that I used on my last cruise celebrating our 25th anniversary...and they make great night lights for trips to the bathroom:D. I also found tiny suction hooks to hold stuff, bathroom stuff/camera up and handy [you just never know what they can be used for...and they are so small they take up no room at all]. I also found downey wrinkle releaser in a pump spray bottle [samlple size] so I don't have to worry about irons that they wont let you bring on board.

Small cans of lysol for bathrooms [i like to sanitize everything...no norovirus to ruin my trip] And of course those cute tropical themed decorations for the room and door. I used a cute colorful wind sock on our balcony the last cruise and it was cool to be able to spot our cabin when we were in port, and our kids could spot us on the port webcams as we set sail...without them! lol!!!:eek:

 

Are there rules about hanging the wind sox...love this idea, my husband will love it more as he gets annoyed trying to explain where our room is, that I now just say "oh yeah, I see! "

[Balcony beauty]

Great find!

 

 

Nicci

 

Jealous...we paid $8 for a set in saint martens! Great find.

[Balcony beauty]

Our Dollar store is having a sale on summer items. Got a set of child's arm-band style watter wiggles for half off- .50 cents. Put them around your wine bottles, blow them up and they will be good to go in your luggage or roll behind to bring on the ship. ( I do slip them in a 2.5 gal zippy bag too. Our cruise line allows one bottle of wine so that will work for us plus we buy a bottle of Amarula on board to bring home, so the water wiggles will serve double duty. Well worth the .50 cents.

 

:D

 

Awesome!!!

[Scrapnana]

My great deal of the week. Went to the consignment shop and found two dresses for formal nights - both beaded, sequins, very pretty. One black just below the knee, the other long flowy skirt. Which one, which one, when I noticed the tag on the long dress was the 'color of the day' - so 75% off! Needless to say I bought both!

 

Don't you just love when that happens! I was in a store and they had very little in my size but they did have a long black skirt with a little ruffle around the bottom. It had started at $40 and was marked down to $1.99. Needless to say it is residing in my cruise closet right now!

[travelingirl]

With my cruise a few months out I have been getting a lot of free samples of beauty products. I keep a basket under the bathroom sink for travel of all the free sample offers you can find online. Shampoo, soap, conditioner, lotion, etc. I shouldn't have to take many if any of my large bottles and my suitcase will be a little lighter on the way home since these samples will be empty and thrown away. Until I go shopping anyway. :D

 

I read a great tip recently to save your empty vitamin bottles (with screw lids) fill them with shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. Take them for refilling the trial or travel sized bottles. On longer cruises (we will be on a B2B for 22 days) the little bottles just don't cut it, and the small trial size and vitamin bottles can all be tossed before heading home.

[Happy ks]

I read a great tip recently to save your empty vitamin bottles (with screw lids) fill them with shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. Take them for refilling the trial or travel sized bottles. On longer cruises (we will be on a B2B for 22 days) the little bottles just don't cut it, and the small trial size and vitamin bottles can all be tossed before heading home.

 

I would be afraid that any bottle not designed to hold liquids would leak all over the place. Paying for all that laundry would negate any savings, not to mention having to search and pay for new toiletries (I just don't care for mystery products in hotels or on cruise ships).

 

I use refillable, leak proof bottles. I don't toss them at the end of the cruise and have used the same bottles a number of times. My refillable bottles are 3 oz., a lot larger than sample sized, or the travel size you can purchase in drug stores (most of those are only 1 oz.). A 3 oz. bottle of shampoo, conditioner or body wash will last me 3 weeks. My husband and I use different products, so he has his own 3 oz. bottles.

[cfuller510]

So I have been looking for an Over the Door Hanger. I found some at the dollar tree, but wasn't sure if the hooks would hold up. Where has everyone else bought theirs?

[Nightengale212]

I read a great tip recently to save your empty vitamin bottles (with screw lids) fill them with shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. Take them for refilling the trial or travel sized bottles. On longer cruises (we will be on a B2B for 22 days) the little bottles just don't cut it, and the small trial size and vitamin bottles can all be tossed before heading home.

 

I am big on liquids that come in tubes which I find tubes much easier to pack that bottles. My favorites are Nexxus shampoo and conditioner that come in 5oz tubes which I can usually get for a decent price at Walmart and sometimes even find them at the dollar store. My best recent tube find was at a local Big Lots which was Mary Kay shower gel in a tube which is very concentrated, smells great, and a dab gives great lather. I think one tube of each of these products would definitely last through your long cruise.

[NeoVega]

I see recommendations for powers strips, but I have a silly question to ask.

 

Do RCI ships (specifically the Vision of the Seas) continue to offer standard US 110V 3 prong outlets when they sail in Europe (Baltic).

 

I need to take Voltage conversion stuff for before and after the cruise, but I was just wondering...

[sneffles]

So I have been looking for an Over the Door Hanger. I found some at the dollar tree, but wasn't sure if the hooks would hold up. Where has everyone else bought theirs?

 

Wamart, for about $6.

[snuggles]

So I have been looking for an Over the Door Hanger. I found some at the dollar tree, but wasn't sure if the hooks would hold up. Where has everyone else bought theirs?

I got mine at the $ tree and have taken it on 3 cruises with no problems!

[5326jan]

So I have been looking for an Over the Door Hanger. I found some at the dollar tree, but wasn't sure if the hooks would hold up. Where has everyone else bought theirs?

 

Target for about $8, but I cut the bottom half of it off. I found that we don't need that many pockets.

[skoeper]

I bought mine at the Dollar Tree, too. I bought it based on the suggestions here, but I've never used one and now that I think about it.....I'm not sure what to put in it! Make up and hair stuff go on the stateroom desk since I'm doing that while DH is in the bathroom taking a shower. I can't think of what else I'd need to use it for. Can some of you give me examples of what you keep in it?

[5326jan]

I bought mine at the Dollar Tree, too. I bought it based on the suggestions here, but I've never used one and now that I think about it.....I'm not sure what to put in it! Make up and hair stuff go on the stateroom desk since I'm doing that while DH is in the bathroom taking a shower. I can't think of what else I'd need to use it for. Can some of you give me examples of what you keep in it?

 

As I said in previous post, I cut mine in half so I only have about 12 pockets. I hang it on the outside of the bathroom door b/c there's enough room in the bathroom for everything we need.

Here's what I keep in the slots:

dollar bills for room service tips, playing cards, sunscreen, sunglasses, first aid kit, rain ponchos (we stick them in our day pack for excursions just in case... about the size of a deck of cards...haven't needed yet), boca clips (for keeping towels from blowing off chairs), charging cords when not in use, crystal light/propel single use packets, wine opener, extra ziplock bags, ziplock with a couple of sheets of detergent. I put the things on the top row that I'll use the least, like the rain ponchos, detergent and first aid kit.

 

I'm sure everyone has their own system and stuff, but this works for us. Little stuff that would get messy if put in a drawer. I don't like clutter. :)

[snuggles]

As I said in previous post, I cut mine in half so I only have about 12 pockets. I hang it on the outside of the bathroom door b/c there's enough room in the bathroom for everything we need.

Here's what I keep in the slots:

dollar bills for room service tips, playing cards, sunscreen, sunglasses, first aid kit, rain ponchos (we stick them in our day pack for excursions just in case... about the size of a deck of cards...haven't needed yet), boca clips (for keeping towels from blowing off chairs), charging cords when not in use, crystal light/propel single use packets, wine opener, extra ziplock bags, ziplock with a couple of sheets of detergent. I put the things on the top row that I'll use the least, like the rain ponchos, detergent and first aid kit.

 

I'm sure everyone has their own system and stuff, but this works for us. Little stuff that would get messy if put in a drawer. I don't like clutter. :)

Yep, all those things and more, although I can't remember them all at this point. Ours also goes on the outside of the bathroom door:

These things come to mind right now: sunscreen, small first aid kit, small sewing kit, small flashilight, rain ponchos, bocca clips, treats for stewards & DH, note pad, markers, reading book, sunglasses, camera, extra batteries, sani-wipes & bottles, clorox wipes, 1$ bills for room service, sea passes which go in a pocket as we come in the door and need to grab on way out door, anything we need when we leave the room goes in a pocket -saves time searching for stuff. Playing cards, small games, any little extra things. Take it and hang it the next time. You'd be suprised what you'll put in those pockets and how neat your cabin is with these things. Nothing is left on the vanity, or open surfaces other than paper. I was hesitant at first and now won't leave home without it!

Edited April 22, 2013 by snuggles

[5326jan]

Yep, all those things and more, although I can't remember them all at this point. Ours also goes on the outside of the bathroom door:

These things come to mind right now: sunscreen, small first aid kit, small sewing kit, small flashilight, rain ponchos, bocca clips, treats for stewards & DH, note pad, markers, reading book, sunglasses, camera, extra batteries, sani-wipes & bottles, clorox wipes, 1$ bills for room service, sea passes which go in a pocket as we come in the door and need to grab on way out door, anything we need when we leave the room goes in a pocket -saves time searching for stuff. Playing cards, small games, any little extra things. Take it and hang it the next time. You'd be suprised what you'll put in those pockets and how neat your cabin is with these things. Nothing is left on the vanity, or open surfaces other than paper. I was hesitant at first and now won't leave home without it!

 

For paper we take a couple of strong magnetics to hang on the wall. They clip the Princess Patter of the day and excursion information/tickets. We put past patters into a manila envelope in a desk drawer for reviewing later.

 

You're right about never leaving it behind. The more we cruise the more streamlined we get.

[StarSong]

Wow! Great thread. I must admit that I've never been to a Dollar Tree. :o I'm sorta hooked on the 99 Cents Only Store, but now that I read most of this thread I am anxious to go check one out. (Googled it and there's one about 5 miles from my house... who knew? ;))

The only original tip I can offer came about because I hate, hate, hate the terrible free "orange juice" that most cruise lines provide. The fresh squeezed stuff is out of my price range, but the free stuff tastes like a lousy imitation of Tang and gives me heartburn.

Last cruise I brought a couple of cans of good quality frozen OJ concentrate (inside ziplock bags, of course), and kept them in the refrigerator. When we wanted juice it was a simple matter of adding a spoonful or so to a glass of water. Voila!