What is your favorite cruise "hack"?

[Anyislandwilldo]

On 5/13/2019 at 6:43 PM, naylum said:

Great tips and hacks, thanks everyone for contributing. My tip is to get a soup cup from the buffet and use this for a tea/coffee cup, easy to take to your cabin - Easy- No spills

Are the soup cups only available during lunch and dinner?

[Anyislandwilldo]

On 5/14/2019 at 12:53 PM, mrsv41605 said:

I love to wear the Carnival robe after a shower, but I turn it inside-out so the softer side is against my skin and the rougher side is out.  Feels much better, especially if you get a little sunburned.

Great idea!  Thanks.

[Anyislandwilldo]

10 hours ago, Noledad77 said:

Is there a "cruise bingo" card set somewhere? Might give my kids something to do when they're not in their various clubs or doing other activities. I'm sure we'll spend lots of time at the various pools and slides, but maybe I can motivate them to keep their eyes peeled for odd things that they may see while on board (hopefully not things that will scar them for life lol).

I created one on a spread sheet.  You can create your own and customize for the kids.

[Organized Chaos]

5 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

You would then have to pay a corkage fee, correct? Or do you actually mean pouring wine out into a wine glass in your stateroom and then bringing it to the dining room?

 

If you just bring a glass of wine to the MDR (from your own bottle), there won’t be a corkage fee. 

 

Despite what some say, the corkage fee is not assessed for simply opening or pouring your wine. It’s a fee put in place for drinking wine in the MDR that wasn’t purchased from Carnival, whether it’s already opened or not. If the waiter chooses not to charge the fee, that is the exception, not the rule. 

Edited May 17, 2019 by Organized Chaos

[Organized Chaos]

3 hours ago, Anyislandwilldo said:

I created one on a spread sheet.  You can create your own and customize for the kids.

 

You’ve got some good categories there. I might have to steal that for our cruise next year. Our boy will be the youngest at 19, but I think everyone would still have fun with it.

 

We were supposed to go with another family last year. Eight of us, including 4 teens. I was going to make a scavenger hunt for everyone, but the other family cancelled, so I didn’t do it. I had planned to make the winning prize a Carnival gift card to spend on board.

[Noledad77]

13 hours ago, Anyislandwilldo said:

I created one on a spread sheet.  You can create your own and customize for the kids.

This. Is. Amazing. I can already see this being completed by lunch time on the second day. First thing that caught my eye was the toupee one haha. I have teenagers, so they'll probably be able to pick one out fairly quickly.

 

Thank you for this. I'm going to print it and then tweak it so that my kids won't all have the same one. I'll also make sure that they know "family members don't count" when filling their cards out lol.

[ciera123]

14 hours ago, NauticalNeophyte said:

 (good grief my panties are on the Internet 🙄)

🤣😂🤣 I love the packing cubes, too! 

[TG6]

On 5/2/2019 at 6:28 PM, Organized Chaos said:

 

I roll all of my T-shirts when packing. Believe it or not, rolling them takes up less space than folding. I actually took the time to test it. I needed to know...FOR SCIENCE! I'll even roll jean shorts and khaki shorts, but those are a little harder to do. Other things, like button up/collared shirts, jeans & khaki pants, can be difficult to roll, so I'll usually just fold those. I'm very careful when rolling my T-shirts, making sure to smooth out any wrinkles as I roll them. It's a bit tedious, but in doing this, I've been able to leave the shirts rolled up for an entire week and not have any wrinkles when they're unrolled.

 

I did this on our first cruise last December.  Like you said it took a while, but little to no wrinkles.  I was able to pack more in a smaller suitcase.  LOVE this tip (not hack). 😉

[Shaded Lady]

On our upcoming cruise, we have 2 cabins side by side, DH & me in one, my daughter, SIL and grandson in the other. I am arranging with my daughter what items not to duplicate so we can save space... things like:

• sunscreen
• bug spray (for our excursion in Cozumel)
• Pepto Bismal
• first aid kit
• binoculars
• baby powder (for the beach- really helps get the sand off quickly!)

We'll make sure we have our individual stuff, but if it's stuff we're doing together, why duplicate?

 

I also save my toiletries from hotels when travelling, and will bring them along- shampoo, conditioner, lotion, body wash, mouthwash, makeup cleanser towelettes- normally I save them up and donate to a local woman's shelter, but for cruises, I save some of the best for us to use on the cruise. One hotel I frequent has the BEST body soap, so I make sure I have a couple of bars of that on the cruise. I don't like the body wash or shampoo they provide on the ship.

 

Also, since the rest of the family are cruising neophytes, I'm putting together a little toiletries gift bag for them each- the stuff I mentioned above, plus travel-size toothpaste, a new toothbrush, hand sanitizers, a lanyard for each of them... I'll give it to them the day before we leave so they will know what not to pack!

[Psweets]

The baby powder  is a good suggestion, I will be adding that to my list.

 

[Shaded Lady]

1 hour ago, Psweets said:

The baby powder  is a good suggestion, I will be adding that to my list.

 

Just another little tidbit I learned a few years ago from our fellow cruisers here!

[jbethel11]

23 hours ago, ArmchairQB said:

TIP: Bring an envelope or a card/envelope to tip the waiters - a lot more classy than handing them cash.

This is a great tip from @ArmchairQB

[dgreeney]

On 5/17/2019 at 12:27 PM, TG6 said:

I did this on our first cruise last December.  Like you said it took a while, but little to no wrinkles.  I was able to pack more in a smaller suitcase.  LOVE this tip (not hack). 😉

That method of packing clothes is called "ranger roll".  Look it up on Youtube and there are films that show how to properly ranger roll any item of clothing.  Saves a lot of space and doesn't cause wrinkles.

[IGGY63]

I have a travel Iron, and put it inside my insulated 'Bubba' in my checked bag.  I don't think the X-rays or scanners (or whatever) pick it up.  Works every time....

 

https://www.bubbabrands.com/mugs/

 

My daughter took the same iron in her checked bag, and it was confiscated.

 

[willde]

5 hours ago, IGGY63 said:

I have a travel Iron, and put it inside my insulated 'Bubba' in my checked bag.  I don't think the X-rays or scanners (or whatever) pick it up.  Works every time....

 

https://www.bubbabrands.com/mugs/

 

My daughter took the same iron in her checked bag, and it was confiscated.

 

 

There is nothing inherently dangerous about traveling with an iron.

Assuming the intent is to use it at your destination, and if your destination is a cruse ship, you may be unaware that they are prohibited:

 

https://help.goccl.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4090/~/carnival-cruise-line-prohibited-items%2C-exemptions-and-other-considerations

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/prohibited-items-onboard-policy

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by willde

[cheermomof2girls]

we use packing cubes and can get a lot into a carry on, but my struggle is always packing to come home. I dont want to spend time rolling dirty clothes... we always struggled with having enough room to bring it off the boat. Last cruise we brought these laundry bags from columbia outlet that are water tight.  we were able to hang them in the closet, then compress down to fit back in the luggage when we packed up.  

 

Webtravel with a carryon/backpack from ebags that really holds just as much as my large suitcase since there are no wasted spaces from the wheels. 

[willde]

29 minutes ago, TG6 said:

I'm not going to get into right or wrong on either subject, but I will point out that a flat/curling iron that produces heat, even with auto shut off, is a bit more dangerous to the whole cruise ship than a extra card in the slot for electricity. 

 

Actually, curling irons and flat irons are permitted, clothes irons are not.  Likely due to differences in the rates of heat production and temperature limits.  From the link in post #517:

 

Prohibited Items

• Electrical and household appliances containing any kind of heating element, such as irons, clothes steamers, immersion heaters, heating blankets, water heaters, coffee machines, hot plates, toasters, heating pads, humidifier, etc. (All Carnival ships provide facilities with ironing boards and irons; fleet-wide valet laundry service is also available for a nominal fee.)

 

Exemptions and other considerations

• Personal grooming devices such as hair dryers, flat irons, curling irons, shavers, and other electrical devices, such as fans, power strips, multi plug box outlets/adaptors, and extension cords (without surge protectors) are allowed when used with proper caution.  However, if such devices are determined to pose a hazard, they will be removed and returned on debarkation morning

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by willde

[Chrystine5]

🙄Unfollowing this thread! It has ceased to be about useful hints and become a petty argument.👋🏼