Easy storage

[jgryder]

My family of 5...2 adults, 3 kids will be cruising in 15 days:)! MyDH and I have done a few but this will be the 1st with kids..1 room! Any great tips on getting the most space in our room? Any must have's? We are driving so space is not an issue with luggage. Thanks

[Smitty74]

Get one of the over the door shoe organizers. preferably with clear pockets. We put this on the bathroom door, and this is where we store suntan lotion, sunglasses, etc... It will save you lots of space and it makes things easier to find.

 

Also pack more T-Shirts than you think you will need, and less shoes than you will think you will need.

[Ironmen]

Take half of what you think you will need! Also, our family of 4 takes 4 different sizes of suit cases that will all fit into one another and also a couple duffle bags that fit in there. That way you can just slide the one suitcase under the bed and they don't take up any room!

[oldrailfan]

Suitcases will fit under the bed(s) so you'll have a little more room to move around.

 

I'll second the idea of a shoe organizer for the bottles of suntan oil, etc. Put it on the outside of the bathroom door, so everyone else can get to it when someone's using the toilet.

 

Take half the clothes and twice the money you think you'll need. One outfit per day per person is plenty, plus a couple of bathing suits each and dressier clothes for formal night. If one person's clothes won't fit into a standard suitcase, you're bringing too much! (Including yours, mama) As far as the money goes, if you DON"T use it all, you can put it back in the bank after the cruise...

[MrPaulAR]

Bring some sort of power strip.

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[DobberDog]

We cruised on the Triumph 12/2012 with our family of 5 (12, 8, & 2yr old) in one room (OV). Make sure you unpack and then store suitcases. We bought one of the over the door shoe holders on our 2nd cruise (with 2 kids) but never used it. We took it this last cruise (with 3 kids) and didnt use it. I wont be taking it on this cruise. There was plenty of storage in our oceanview room (main -- deck 2). The worst part was having to share one bathroom. We had plenty of room for all of us for the time we were in the cabin.

 

We remedied that this upcoming cruise by getting connecting deluxe oceanview staterooms (each room has 2 bathrooms).

[Bibble]

I'm all about the organizer with clear pockets!

Brushes go in, hairspray bottles, my daughter's nintento... the list goes on. I don't use the over-the-door brackets though. I put plastic zip ties through the holes on top, and most of the cabins have a couple hooks against the wall where you can hang it up. That way it didn't bang each time the door closed.

 

I also bring a plastic basket (the white, handled kind you can get at Target) to put on the floor of the shower to keep everything from going all over the place.

I used to bring the same basket for the vanity counter to keep together my makeup, perfume and jewelry, but now I have a makeup bag that the top opens and I can see everything.

 

Lanyards for room keys so that when you get back in cabin you can hang them all up, and not go crazy lookiing for them all.

 

Depending on the ship and cabin, you might want to forego keeping your two beds together. You will have more space by keeping them apart and against the walls, under the upper bunks.

Again, depending on the ship and cabin, I'm guessing you will have a trundle or or rollaway - if you could manage, with the smallest child, to let her/him sleep with you, have the cabin steward keep the bed. (we once had an upper bunk that came down over the foot of our bed, so you couldn't walk around it . We had the steward keep it locked up and our daughter just climbed in bed with us).

 

Have a blast!

[Colsen0924]

I've recently fell in love with those packing cubes. I like to pack by the outfit so it's just grab and go - no hunting for the shirt that goes with those shorts. I use them for business and vaca travel. As I wear the clothing, I consolidate and use the empty ones for dirty clothes. Repacking to go home is a snap. They stack nicely in a drawer and on a shelf. Hubby and I have our own colors and that helps us stay organized.

[serene56]

We used 2 over the door shoe holders-- one on the inside AND outside of the bathroom door.

 

Do NOT live out of suitcases-- unpack everything- hang as much as possible.

Pack kids clothes in plastic bag for each day.

 

Store luggage under the bed-- dirty clothes go into the stored luggage.

NOTHING on the vanity.

 

Organization is key. once that gets away the cabin will close in on you.

[Warm Breezes]

My family of 5...2 adults, 3 kids will be cruising in 15 days:)! MyDH and I have done a few but this will be the 1st with kids..1 room! Any great tips on getting the most space in our room? Any must have's? We are driving so space is not an issue with luggage. Thanks

 

Over the door shoe holder. We use ours for all travel so we never unpack it. When not traveling it hangs in my closet to be replenished. It folds up and fits perfectly (fully loaded) in a rolling back pack with my curling iron and dh's shaver. When we get to our destination we just unroll and hang up and we are all organized, every thing is out of the way and we are ready to go.

 

Items we put in it include: tylenol, neosporin, cortizone, cold medicine, allergy medicine, tums, immodium AD, visine, bandaids, suntan lotion, aloe, travel size bug spray, small room air freshener (BBW), travel size lysol, travel size hand sanitizer, small sewing kit, safety pins, some clothes clips, double sided sticky tape for clothes, luggage scale, small flash light, 3 plug outlet/night light combo, playing cards, glasses repair kit, cork screw, glasses, contacts/solutions, toiletries in travel sizes, hair supplies (brush/pins, ponytail holders), make up, nail polish/remover, lanyards, hole punch, mini mini stapler, zip ties, sticky notes, hi-lighter, travel size downy wrinkle releaser and tide stick pen. We have been using ours for at least 8 years now. Many items were added to it as we found we needed them at one time or another during our travels and didn't have them....ie allergy medicine, visine, cortizone, eye glass repair kit (+++). IMHO it is one of the best travel investments we have made for our family.

 

We also use mesh laundry bags and throw the the full dirty bags in the suit cases under the bed as they fill up. We have mesh back packs to use for the beach/pool. Easy to pack and they hold 2 towels plus some extras. Sand doesn't collect them and they are light weight to use.

[Cricket63]

Bring a backpack when going into port. Keeps your hands free. Depending on what your doing, I carry: baby wipes, hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, sunscreen and a few snacks and water. Comes in VERY handy with kids!

Have a great cruise!

[aggie_gal]

Extra wire hangers because with 5 people, you won't have enough hangers. I'd also suggest bring a pop-up hamper for dirty clothes, or like someone mentioned, put items that won't be worn again (unmentionables, socks, sweaty t-shirts, etc) in the suitcases that are stored under the bed.

 

We only have 2 people and we use the over the door shoe organizer...love that thing!!

 

Magnets and highlighter pens - the highlighters for marking things on the Fun Times that you don't want to miss. The magnets are great because the wall or ceiling or door are magnetic and you can stick notes, tickets, etc on the wall where you won't miss them.

 

I like the idea of a shower basket to keep everything from falling all over the place. I tend to go to the spa to shower just because there's a lot more room and it's easier to shave my legs than in the tiny cabin shower.

 

A power strip is a must. There isn't a better feeling than sitting on the balcony late at night, enjoying a glass of wine and reading a great book on the iPad and breathing the salty air with the moon reflecting off the water...ahhh. Gotta keep those electronics charged to enjoy moments like that!

 

I take a spray bottle of water to spray my clothing. It helps the wrinkles fall out from being packed and then you don't have to iron. I mean, really...who wants to iron while on vacation?! :) I just mist down the clothes the night before that I plan on wearing the next day and let it hang overnight. I do this any time I travel, not just on a cruise. Heck, I do it at home too! Works like a charm.

 

Double duty clothing...I take cute, knit dresses that work as a swim coverup and will work for dinner in the evenings.

[rainbowflag]

For shower items we use a mesh clothes pin bag that comes with a small plastic hanger from the dollar store. We hang it from the shower head. We prefer to take personal shampoos and conditioners with us.

 

[WetToes]

I also use the over the door organizer. I don't have one that holds the bigger items like sunscreen. Mine has small pockets for those small things, Q-Tips, makeup, nail clippers, etc.

I wouldn't bring hangers. Ask the steward for them.

 

Rainbowflag - I like that bag. We bring our own shampoo/con. too. Would be great as there really isn't anywhere, other than the shower floor, to keep the bottles. I'd stick my lotion in there too. Thanks!

[rainbowflag]

 

Rainbowflag - I like that bag. We bring our own shampoo/con. too. Would be great as there really isn't anywhere, other than the shower floor, to keep the bottles. I'd stick my lotion in there too. Thanks!

 

You're welcome. Some people have said their dollar store doesn't have them but they are on eBay for under $5 which includes shipping. Hubs keeps his shave cream/razor in there as he prefers to shave in the shower on a cruise.

[ccruisequeen]

If you have twin beds, have them separated and placed against the walls. Gives more space in the middle of the room and you aren't climbing over each other to get to the loo.

[WetToes]

You're welcome. Some people have said their dollar store doesn't have them but they are on eBay for under $5 which includes shipping. Hubs keeps his shave cream/razor in there as he prefers to shave in the shower on a cruise.

 

I'll check my Dollar Tree. I'm also thing that those laundry bags (for delicate items) would work with a child's hanger placed inside.

Time to shop. ;)

[billys mom]

The over the door shoe holder is a plus. Also find out if the ship has self service laundry. We plan on packing less and washing mid way through the cruise.

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

I've recently fell in love with those packing cubes. I like to pack by the outfit so it's just grab and go - no hunting for the shirt that goes with those shorts. I use them for business and vaca travel. As I wear the clothing, I consolidate and use the empty ones for dirty clothes. Repacking to go home is a snap. They stack nicely in a drawer and on a shelf. Hubby and I have our own colors and that helps us stay organized.

 

Where did you buy them?

[roswellmom]

Any great tips on getting the most space in our room? Any must haves? We are driving so space is not an issue with luggage. Thanks

 

Without a doubt, my favorite tip is that the showers in the spa/gym area are free to use and much nicer than the showers in your own cabin. There's also a sauna and stream room up there and plenty of extra towers so no need to bring them from your cabin. Be sure to wear the plush bathrobe they provide so you can return from the spa back to your cabin in luxury. It's the only time you can wander around in your bathrobe in public. It's my favorite part of the ship and never crowded.

[PunkyH]

For shower items we use a mesh clothes pin bag that comes with a small plastic hanger from the dollar store. We hang it from the shower head. We prefer to take personal shampoos and conditioners with us.

 

Thanks..that is a great suggestion.

[rainbowflag]

Thanks..that is a great suggestion.

 

My pleasure. Travel tips and reviews are the two main reasons I enjoy CC.

[jsjjkelly]

One of the things I agree with is unpack!! We use those travel space bags. As clothes get dirty, it seems like there's no place to put them. Every night one of the adults rolls the clothes then seals the bag if its full. The bag gets thrown under the bed. Then when it's time to go home, we're already packed! In the event we do laundry, you can just grab the bags and head down to the laundry facilities. My kids will throw their dirties in a corner if you tell them, so the system seems to work for us.

 

We don't use the over the door thing. We've never really had the need for that.

 

We also have the kids pack their own backpacks with entertainment material that they are responsible for. My kids have learned the more they take, the less room they have to take stuff home!

 

Also make sure to take clothes pins for hanging up wet items. Works for hand washing items if need be, bathing suits, or rinsed out beach shoes.

 

The getting through the shower is the issue for my family. You're basically waiting while everyone showers. At home, you're used to getting up in the morning and showering, or showering before bed. On vacation, my whole family wants a shower after the beach... After excursions, etc. so we find ourselves showering mid afternoon up to before dinner. Thats our biggest challenge with 4 in the room and one bathroom.

 

I also buy my kids a travel game of some kind. Gives them something new to play while waiting for the shower.

 

Have fun!!

Shawn

[WetToes]

Jsjkelly - As was suggested in an earlier post use the spa showers.

[Colsen0924]

Where did you buy them?

 

Online - the brand I use most is Ebags. You can get them at amazon or ebags directly.

 

I'm going to look for the clothes pin bag - that's a great idea for all travel I think.