PACKING for a Cruise: Your Best & Worst Packed Items

[spdwain]

Worst thing I ever brought was 2 bottles of wine on a cruise where we had a beverage package.  What were we thinking? (Drink before dinner or on balcony?)  We never opened them (drinks were easy to get and bring back to room) and carried them off the ship at the end.

[Mommawo]

On 10/27/2018 at 2:20 PM, LynnTTT said:

Bring Poo-pourri. Hi-liter to mark off on your daily the activities you are interested in .  Batteries and extra cables/plugs for cameras and devices. Sweater for chilly decks.  Pare down dressy clothes- I have on pair of dressy black pants and just bring a few blouses that dress it up. Lots to read.  No umbrella-you can usually get a cheap one if it rains.I like to have binoculars.  

 

That is a lot of good advice

[crystalspin]

Unlike @Beachdude, it seems we rarely if ever use binoculars, and love to take my mom along. I've booked our fourth cruise to Alaska, all with her along, as well as a Chile-to-Argentina Cape Horn cruise.

 

Took his mom a couple of times too -- she was seasick most of the time, but she still wanted to go, power to her.

[calliopecruiser]

On 10/29/2018 at 8:45 PM, 2cruiseluvrs said:

Iron at home and then carefully fold.

Actually, rolling your clothes is better at avoiding wrinkles than folding.  Or just do what I do and go for the rumpled and casual look, LOL.   Actually, a trick my mother taught me if you've got slightly wrinkled clothes is just to put them on and wear them for 45 minutes or so, while the heat of your body and the pull of gravity work to unwrinkle them.  That's for *slightly wrinkled*, not pressed in wrinkles. 

[Mommawo]

1 hour ago, crystalspin said:

Unlike @Beachdude, it seems we rarely if ever use binoculars, and love to take my mom along. I've booked our fourth cruise to Alaska, all with her along, as well as a Chile-to-Argentina Cape Horn cruise.

 

Took his mom a couple of times too -- she was seasick most of the time, but she still wanted to go, power to her.

Lol noooooo way I’m taking my mother with me on vacation again ever nope never.  Be glad you can lol not all of us can 

[GUT2407]

8 minutes ago, Mommawo said:

Lol noooooo way I’m taking my mother with me on vacation again ever nope never.  Be glad you can lol not all of us can 

Or be glad you still have the option f taking mum.

[Mommawo]

3 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Or be glad you still have the option f taking mum.

Aannnd that is correct. My mom is kinda like the everybody loves Raymond mom.  People would be glad she is at home lol. However I get your point there and thanks for the reminder 

[1964IceCreamLady]

Worst thing: only one credit card!  On our drive to Fort Lauderdale, my husband left his credit card at the liquor store.  By the time he realized it, they were closed.  We only use the one credit card, though we have 2 other debit cards. It's a long story, but we ended up ok and getting the card back.   Next time we travel,  we will each have our own credit card and on SEPARATE and INDEPENDENT accounts.

 

Best items:

1) an over the door shoe holder.  We were 5 in a cabin and that was one of the only things keeping me sane.  I played shoe wrangler a LOT, but it kept all the flip flops and sneakers out of the hallway and off the floor.

 

2) A mesh laundry hanger thing.  See photo.  That kept all the bathing suits off the floor and partially dried them for the next day.

 

 

[cruiselover**]

As 'Icecream1964' stated above - it is best to always have more than one credit card.  My husband and I each carry a credit card but with different account numbers.  If one of us were to happen to lose our wallet, we would have the other person's credit card to rely on.  We just increased the limit on each card too.  We have friends who cruised and had a medical emergency.  They had travel insurance, but needed to pay upfront for expenses first.  It was very, very costly and they had to use several credit cards to cover the expenses.  I learned from that and have planned accordingly.

[brillohead]

I really like these magnets -- one magnet will hold a wet swimsuit on a hanger from the ceiling.  I like to place them near the air vent, and it really does a remarkable job of drying, even in the humid air of the Caribbean.  Takes up basically no room in the suitcase, and gets used every single cruise.  Can also be used on the wall to hold hats, lanyards, etc.

A fun thing I like to bring is glow-bracelets or necklaces for the nightclub.  I hand them out to people, and their faces light up like a glowstick -- it's just a fun, carefree thing to do.  Plus, that leaves a bit of room in my bag for souvenirs on the way home.  

Another fun thing is bubbles to blow on the pool deck (just don't get the floor soapy and slippery!).  

Caribbean cruises generally consist of me living in a bathing suit with a cover-up most days, so I pack fewer clothes than I would for a land vacation.  



 

[cruisemom42]

Best thing ever for travel is my Kindle. I am a reader and a researcher of places, so having a tiny device on which I can have guidebooks, reference books, reading materials related to ports, history, and novels in one compact bundle is life-changing for me.

 

Worst thing I ever brought was a white linen two-piece outfit (skirt and top). This was many years ago. It looked so cruise-like that I had to bring it -- but when I took it out of the suitcase it looked more like a crumpled-up kleenex than anything else. Paid to have it pressed and then after wearing it for 5 minutes it looked just as wrinkled.  Some can pull off that rumpled look. Me, not so much.

 

[cruzin4us]

I am glad I brought my lanyard and I should have left my purse at home!