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Our Wal-Mart here also has a section where all the medications are 88 cents, but the section is in the medication aisle instead of the check-outs. I hadn't' thought about stocking up for the cruise there, that's a great idea. I do grab medications from there to keep handy in my purse.

 

In my Walmart, these items are right next to the name brands. Just look for the .88 price. Example: Allergy Relief (cetirizine hydrochloride) Same ingredients as name brand Zyrtec. Except for .88 you get 14 tablets. (two week supply) For my family, works just as well. Compare price $34.99. You make the choice. Have also tried the ibuprofen, mucus relief and many others. Definitely great prices for travel, but why save just for travel?l

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I love my Travalo perfume sprays. Each one costs about £10, but I can load my favourite spray perfumes into these small containers, with a different colour for each perfume. The inner container is about the size of a lipstick and the window ensures I see when they a low and need topping up before we go. The out plastic container protects them. My husband has one in black for his aftershave.

No more carrying 3-5 fancy weighty bottles which I am always concerned may break in the suitcase.

Although they sound expensive they save so much weight, and they make great gifts - giving or receiving.

I gave those to a friend, my SIL and niece a couple Christmas' ago. They love them. I keep forgeting to get myself one.

 

When we cruise I don't pack any. Instead I test drive a different perfume sample spray from the shop every night on the way to dinner.

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  • 4 weeks later...

On a trip to England my sister and l went to thrift stores and loved it, we shipped items home to U.S. that we couldn't' live without...husbands couldn't' believe we would do such a thing.

We still talk about it with fond memories. Our cruise coming up in Dec

 

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When we have a balcony, I take battery operated electric “candles” and tape them to the railing. (Duck Tape)

These can usually be found in the $ store.

 

They give a nice glow at night.

When we have friends in adjoining cabins, we bring enough for them & then open the door between the balconies.

 

Judy

Edited by Travel Junkie Judy
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  • 3 months later...
I am fascinated by all of the tips found on this site. My only question is, how do you pack all of the extras?

 

We have learned to pack fewer clothes.

And, I also think about what will be most useful.

We have a magnetic sign that we put of our door - from VistaPrint dot com.

It is a sunny scene and has our first names and hometown.

I also bring a dry erase board sometimes and we leave messages for each other and for people we meet or who are traveling with us. People will write notes to us also - even folks we do not know. It's fun.

These are my favorite bring alongs and go with us all of the time.

Both are flat and don't weight much.

It makes finding our door easier too.

Some ships don't have magnetic doors, so I take some strong tape if I, not sure about the doors.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Dollar tree has sets of little rectangular plastic bins - 4 per set. I just recently started using them for other trips and will do the same on my upcoming cruise. I pack different categories of things in them then slide them in a quart size plastic storage bag. When we get to the destination I just take the bins out of the bag and put in in a drawer or on the bathroom vanity. I just need to stand a few things up that I had to lay flat to pack but it is so easy! And when I come home I replenish anything that got used up and we are ready to go for next time. Right now I have one with beauty/personal care items, one with Meds/first aid items, and one with sewing/laundry supplies.

 

Also I have several of the little foldable shopping bags from ikea that I got for 49cents a few years back (a quick check on ikea shows they are now a buck) and use them when packing to keep items for different days separate. Reusable grocery bags would work too. I do a bag for the overnight before which includes everything I need before we get on the ship - pjs, change of clothes, etc, and a bag for each port day which includes maps, excursion info, cash, and any other necessary items - snorkel, bug repellent, etc. I have much more success making sure I have everything we need if I do it before we leave, then I also have more time to enjoy breakfast on port days.

 

Both these ideas take up a little more room in the suitcase but since some items get used and I unpack the bags as they are used you end up with some extra space for the way home for souvenirs! Total cost so far for these items is under five bucks and I've used them all several times on land and/or on sea!

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We carry dh's meds mixed in the mini travel boxes by day but I always have a printout from the pharmacy of what they are.

If we ever have a problem I'll get the pharmacy to do his pills in the mixed blister packs to take after that.

I can see original bottles being more important for strong painkillers like oxycotin and other types of drugs because they want to know that you are not bringing them to sell.

 

I have mine in the weekly pill boxes with a spreadsheet (drug, dose, purpose, doctor and time of day) taped to the back of the box. I also take a picture of each prescription bottle with the pill next to it. I keep these pictures in my phone, and print them all on one page to keep in my carry-on in case there are any questions. I have never been questioned.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Those soft side tissue packs make great packing "cubes" for socks and undies. When i travel for work I pack a day's needs in each one, but on my upcoming cruise i'll use one for each different item. Of course ziploc bags work just as well. :) I just needed to figure out a way to repurpose the tissue packs. :rolleyes:

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"The Tree" (that's what we call Dollar Tree) has sun hats - not fancy ones but you could easily trim it with a piece of ribbon if you wanted to. They roll up for easy packing. I like to take one of these on excursions or to the beach instead of one of my "good" hats if it is breezy outside, I would rather lose the one that cost only a dollar.

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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.

 

 

I cut a small piece of plastic and place it on the bottle top then re screw the top back on.

Edited by love2cruise56
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  • 4 months later...
  • 10 months later...

Dollar tree has had 2.0 oz toothpaste for a while now - much larger than a normal travel size tube, and good brands. Also those plastic tumblers with lids and straws, not as insulated as a Tervis, but also not as big a deal if you lose it or don't want to pack it on the trip home.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Dollar tree has had 2.0 oz toothpaste for a while now - much larger than a normal travel size tube, and good brands. Also those plastic tumblers with lids and straws, not as insulated as a Tervis, but also not as big a deal if you lose it or don't want to pack it on the trip home.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Check to see where the toothpaste is made.

Dollar stores sometimes sell toothpaste made in Mexico - I've heard bad things about it.

 

Judy

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Check to see where the toothpaste is made.

 

Dollar stores sometimes sell toothpaste made in Mexico - I've heard bad things about it.

 

 

 

Judy

 

 

 

Will do... I stick to Colgate total or enamel health but I'll compare the label against the larger tube that I get at Kroger.

 

 

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