Packing Tips

[Logistigr8r]

I always say there are at least three things that are dang hard to replace on a trip (no matter what Rick Steves says): medications, eye glasses, and good comfy shoes.

[jkerr]

So does anyone currently on the Viking Star have anything to add to the packing list?? Anything the wish they had brought from home ??

[rjscott]

I usually bring a few dryer sheets containing fabric softener but for some reason forgot them this time, darn it. :rolleyes:

 

Becki

[amyr]

Me too Becki! I've been dragging around dryer sheets in a ziploc bag for YEARS in a luggage side pocket. This trip we have a new bag, and the ziploc didn't transfer somehow. I finally needed them while doing laundry on Viking Star, and they were nowhere to be found.

[algaes]

We brought hooks but they are not usable as the places we most want to use them have a slippery finish to surface. The magnets are not strong enough to hold the hook in place. Hang light clothing and the hook slides to the floor. So super extra strength or stay home.

 

So the only thing of that nature that worked were some magnetic clips to hold papers (a map of cruise and daily spreadsheet schedule).

[id4elizabeth]

Leo - totally agree - magnets are great for hanging up the daily schedule and our shore excursion tickets for the next day, but would not be strong enough to hold clothes or towels. Bathroom could use a few more hooks to hang up wet towels!

[AZMembergs]

Hi All,

 

Thanks for all the great tips; we've used a lot of them.

 

Check out Magellan's Retriever Luggage Tags:

"Help your lost bag find YOU. When your bag goes missing, this vinyl tag invites baggage agents (in eight languages) to read the itinerary you've placed inside and forward your bag to you en route. Set of two. Yellow or Red. (6 x 3 1/2")"

 

About $10 for a pair, but worth the peace of mind.;)

 

Since all cabins have metal walls, I'm going to start looking for magnetic hooks! thanks, Guys!

 

Nessa

[sitraveler]

If you bring a thermometer you can tell them how hot or cold. The water is.

[roothy123]

Leo - totally agree - magnets are great for hanging up the daily schedule and our shore excursion tickets for the next day, but would not be strong enough to hold clothes or towels. Bathroom could use a few more hooks to hang up wet towels!

 

Hi. Question: Is there one of those strings that you can pull across the shower to put wet things on?

 

My packing list has worked pretty well for me over the years, and I seldom have to add or subtract anything. This year, however, since we're going to Venice pre-cruise and it's not the easiest place to navigate with luggage, I added something. It's a swivel suitcase that's easier to drag around compared to the non-swivel type I've used in the past. I'm not sure it will make much of a difference in Venice on cobblestones, but it certainly can't be worse than what I had before, which was clumsy for making quick turns, getting on elevators, etc.

Edited April 19, 2015 by roothy123

[algaes]

Hi. Question: Is there one of those strings that you can pull across the shower to put wet things on?

 

My packing list has worked pretty well for me over the years, and I seldom have to add or subtract anything. This year, however, since we're going to Venice pre-cruise and it's not the easiest place to navigate with luggage, I added something. It's a swivel suitcase that's easier to drag around compared to the non-swivel type I've used in the past. I'm not sure it will make much of a difference in Venice on cobblestones, but it certainly can't be worse than what I had before, which was clumsy for making quick turns, getting on elevators, etc.

I'll answer this for Explorer Suite 2 bathrooms, there is a line to pull across for hanging things in the shower area. However rather than straight across to an opposite wall it pulls diagonally across a corner so the total length is 34".

 

For a hoot you can take a swimsuit or other small wet item to the spa and use the water extractor in the changing room. It is built into the counter and you stuff the item upside down into a cylinder with holes and pull down a lid to seal. It then evidently spins like mad.

Edited April 19, 2015 by algaes

[roothy123]

I'll answer this for Explorer Suite 2 bathrooms, there is a line to pull across for hanging things in the shower area. However rather than straight across to an opposite wall it pulls diagonally across a corner so the total length is 34".

 

For a hoot you can take a swimsuit or other small wet item to the spa and use the water extractor in the changing room. It is built into the counter and you stuff the item upside down into a cylinder with holes and pull down a lid to seal. It then evidently spins like mad.

Water extractor? That's different. I'll have to try that.

 

Thanks for info on pull cord or whatever it might be called.

[Vineyard View]

Those water extractors work well....we have on in the women's locker/shower area at the gym. Thanks for the tip!

[jkerr]

We pack small flashlights. The help negoiate your way back late at night when street lights are out. We were in a black out in Rome years ago, on the 7th floor... Now we never leave home without two.

[Ukalady]

We pack small flashlights.

 

Don't laugh, but we always make our small flashlights the LED headlamp kind. I figure if there's an emergency on the plane, on the ship or out and about, it's really nice to have your hands totally free yet still have plenty of light ahead of you. You can always simply carry the headlamp type in your hand, too, but having hands-free is a feature we really appreciate. I start every trip with one in my carry-on for my flight and then transfer it as the trip goes on to wherever I need it.

Edited April 22, 2015 by Ukalady

[id4elizabeth]

As you may have read on one of these threads, the water that you get in your cabins comes in a glass carafe. It's not hard to get a bottle of water in the gym, and they also hand them out in the assembly areas for any Viking tour, and I'm sure you can get them elsewhere if you ask. However, inevitably I'm in my room with only empty plastic bottles, so I picked up a small plastic funnel that I happened to run across in Dubrovnik and now it's easy to fill up my empty plastic bottles from the carafe. If I'd known it wouldn't be bottled water in my room I would have brought a small one from home.

 

For those who know my penchant for iced tea, it also works to fill up my empty plastic bottles with cold tea.