Cruise Vets - What are some items to pack you would NEVER leave home without???

[SbbquilterUT]

We travel carry on only so minimal packing - multi plug for power and USB, magnet hooks to keep things tidy, and multi-country adapter if doing land travel.  My only other thing is a refillable bottle.  

[ldubs]

7 hours ago, kelkel2 said:

The other thing I remember to do before going is notify your credit card company that you’ll be out of the country. I’m not sure if people still do this, but whatever card you plan on using make sure to tell the bank. Our bank flags any out of the country purchase and will call/text you and expect a reply if you don’t notify them. I don’t really want to to deal with that out of the country. 

 

Boy, I sure agree with you.  One of my CC companies said they no longer do the international travel notifications.  Sure enough, standing in a Starbucks in Madrid, they want me to log in with the two-step verification thing.   Wonderful!  

[BallFour4]

On 6/29/2022 at 2:34 PM, rkacruiser said:

manicure set...

Some variables: if you are cruising Carnival now make sure to remove the scissors. They are on the prohibited list.
 I also gave up a trusty $12 tiny Swiss Army knife from my key ring to cruise on the Breeze.

[hallux]

31 minutes ago, BallFour4 said:

I also gave up a trusty $12 tiny Swiss Army knife from my key ring to cruise on the Breeze.

I have a small Leatherman that's part of my EDC at home, it stays home when I travel.

[poolbar4me]

I always bring a highlighter pen to highlight things on the daily activity  sheet that I would want to do. sometimes its only 2 things in a day but If I get too many things going on I can forget easily . 

 

[unrealHeather]

Go bag for embarkation day (pack swimsuit and coverup, sunscreen), can use this for daypack on shore excursions

Light sweater or jacket for cold aircon
 

Comfortable dress up shoes 

Pedometer or fitbit, watch for everyone (for meetups)

Charging cables and extensions cords, travel adaptors

Hair conditioner and deodorant of choice 

Refillable water bottle

Lanyard for cruise card

Alarm clock (for DIY wakeup calls)



 

[unrealHeather]

Men need long pants for dinner.  Make sure you pack at least jeans or you will be confined to the buffet.  Which might not be a bad thing depending on your style.

[unrealHeather]

Men need long pants for dinner.  Make sure you pack at least jeans or you will be confined to the buffet.  Which might not be a bad thing depending on your style.

[Mum2Mercury]

On 7/2/2022 at 6:25 AM, WxNerd said:

When we cruise I bring an extra toothbrush for everyone.

Okay, that was a big "ick" story, and I get that once something odd like that happens to you, you're paranoid about it -- but why not bring just one new toothbrush?  Surely such an oddity wouldn't happen to multiple family members on the same trip.  

On 7/2/2022 at 8:47 AM, Slugsta said:

However, I do take a small tube of laundry detergent whilst other people are horrified at the thought of washing clothes on holiday.

I don't mind washing out a blouse here and there, but I don't bring detergent -- that's what hotel shampoo is for!  

On 7/3/2022 at 1:01 AM, KKB said:

For us...NOTHING. 

We are minimalists. There is PLENTY of room for EVERYTHING in EVERY stateroom (even our 135 sq. ft. NCL interior room)

Good answer.  We take very little "extra stuff".  

On 7/5/2022 at 2:24 AM, Crew News said:

Some $1 bills for Room Service and bartender tips.

Yes, that's a good idea.  

A note of warning:  Years ago -- might've been our second or third cruise -- I went to the the bank and picked up a bunch of gold Sacagawea dollars, and I set them aside for tips.  Crew members were visibly disappointed at receiving them, and I realized too late that they mistook them for quarters.  

Take-away:  If you're doing something unusual, be sure it's OBVIOUS to the staff.  Now we like to wrap our tips around bite-sized candy bars.  Everyone knows chocolate.  

On 7/5/2022 at 6:54 AM, kelkel2 said:

The other thing I remember to do before going is notify your credit card company that you’ll be out of the country. I’m not sure if people still do this, but whatever card you plan on using make sure to tell the bank. Our bank flags any out of the country purchase and will call/text you and expect a reply if you don’t notify them. I don’t really want to to deal with that out of the country. 

Very good idea. 

I got into trouble a couple years ago:  My husband went on a business trip to Florida, and my youngest daughter and I went along.  On the first night we all went to a grocery store.  He needed to buy some candies to give out as a part of the conference, while I picked up sodas, beer and snacks for family use.  He needed a receipt for reimbursement, so he went through one line and I went through another to pay for our personal items.  He checked out first using our Discover card, and I checked out within minutes with the same Discover card.  I was declined /our card was locked.

It wasn't hard to fix:  Discover texted me, saying they thought my card was being mis-used /instructing me to call a number.  I called, answered the security questions, explained our situation, and my card was "up and running" again in minutes.  BUT I was in America and had use of a cell phone.  This could be different on a ship or an island.  

Edited July 11, 2022 by Mum2Mercury

[WxNerd]

18 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Okay, that was a big "ick" story, and I get that once something odd like that happens to you, you're paranoid about it -- but why not bring just one new toothbrush?  Surely such an oddity wouldn't happen to multiple family members on the same trip.  

I would like to think that it wouldn’t happen ever again, period. We pack pretty light and a pack of 4 extra toothbrushes doesn’t take up much space. If we were over a weight limit or needed that little bit of extra space for something we absolutely had to have I would leave the extra toothbrushes home. 

[cruiseny4life]

On 6/29/2022 at 11:02 AM, Woody14 said:

I agree on number 1 but have never found the need for number 2

I think the biggest change in 6 years is now you need your smart phone.  it seems everyone is now using apps for everything.   The days of locking the phone in the safe seem to be gone, which is so sad.

When I cruised NCL in April the only reason I had my phone is due to my home's house inspection, so we had to talk with the inspector after the inspection. Otherwise, my phone could have stayed in a drawer. Obviously I used it for photos and since we had upgraded to the streaming WiFi I watched YouTube. 

 

I'm cruising NCL in August and will have a whopping 75 minutes of internet which I might not even use - the phone will be put away as there's no need for it. 

[cruiseny4life]

On 7/10/2022 at 6:37 AM, unrealHeather said:

Go bag for embarkation day (pack swimsuit and coverup, sunscreen), can use this for daypack on shore excursions

Light sweater or jacket for cold aircon
 

Comfortable dress up shoes 

Pedometer or fitbit, watch for everyone (for meetups)

Charging cables and extensions cords, travel adaptors

Hair conditioner and deodorant of choice 

Refillable water bottle

Lanyard for cruise card

Alarm clock (for DIY wakeup calls)



 

Cold air conditioning doesn't exist - it's never cold enough, ever!

Go bag....this is my luggage bag too. 

Dressing up doesn't happen on a cruise, ever!

Pedometer? I'm a fat a$$ and don't care about health, especially on a cruise - that's just dumb

Meh to charging cables - the rooms I've been in have all had one. It's just my husband's phone and mine.

You know you pay for shampoo and conditioner, right? 

Ok I'll give ya the water bottle

Definitely not the lanyard - unless you like looking like an 80 year old 

Phones have alarm clocks...

Yea - I'd hate to see your luggage...actually, I'd probably laugh as you struggle with it on the escalators.

[cruiseny4life]

On 7/10/2022 at 6:38 AM, unrealHeather said:

Men need long pants for dinner.  Make sure you pack at least jeans or you will be confined to the buffet.  Which might not be a bad thing depending on your style.

Nope - cruise NCL you don't need pants. Shorts are fine and yes that includes the Haven.

[cruiseny4life]

20 hours ago, WxNerd said:

I would like to think that it wouldn’t happen ever again, period. We pack pretty light and a pack of 4 extra toothbrushes doesn’t take up much space. If we were over a weight limit or needed that little bit of extra space for something we absolutely had to have I would leave the extra toothbrushes home. 

Couldn't you just not brush your teeth for a few days? I don't even take a toothbrush when I cruise, because it's one extra thing to lose (I have one of those fancy battery powered toothbrushes, because my husband bought it for me). 

[donaldsc]

26 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Cold air conditioning doesn't exist - it's never cold enough, ever!

Go bag....this is my luggage bag too. 

Dressing up doesn't happen on a cruise, ever!

Pedometer? I'm a fat a$$ and don't care about health, especially on a cruise - that's just dumb

Meh to charging cables - the rooms I've been in have all had one. It's just my husband's phone and mine.

You know you pay for shampoo and conditioner, right? 

Ok I'll give ya the water bottle

Definitely not the lanyard - unless you like looking like an 80 year old 

Phones have alarm clocks...

Yea - I'd hate to see your luggage...actually, I'd probably laugh as you struggle with it on the escalators.

 

Phones can have difficulties w time zone changes especially if you leave it in airplane mode.  A small battery operated  alarm clock is easy to reset for time zone changes.

 

DON

[cruiseny4life]

2 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

Phones can have difficulties w time zone changes especially if you leave it in airplane mode.  A small battery operated  alarm clock is easy to reset for time zone changes.

 

DON

You could just manually change it. Then again, who the heck needs an alarm on a cruise anyway. It's vacation!

[donaldsc]

Just now, cruiseny4life said:

You could just manually change it. Then again, who the heck needs an alarm on a cruise anyway. It's vacation!

 

Want to bet that at least 87% of the people who have smart phones have no idea how to manually change the time or even know that it can be done.

 

DON

[cruiseny4life]

1 minute ago, donaldsc said:

 

Want to bet that at least 87% of the people who have smart phones have no idea how to manually change the time or even know that it can be done.

 

DON

I like keeping my money DON haha...and I'd almost guarantee you'd win that bet. I would have better luck with the slots. 🙂

[ldubs]

10 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

You could just manually change it. Then again, who the heck needs an alarm on a cruise anyway. It's vacation!

 

Or/and, just have the phone show each of the multiple time zones you need. 

[unrealHeather]

10 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

You could just manually change it. Then again, who the heck needs an alarm on a cruise anyway. It's vacation!

Because you need to wakeup in time to make your paid for shore excursion and might be in your normal time zone to wakeup naturally, or stayed up late the night before. 

 

[unrealHeather]

10 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Cold air conditioning doesn't exist - it's never cold enough, ever!

Go bag....this is my luggage bag too. 

Dressing up doesn't happen on a cruise, ever!

Pedometer? I'm a fat a$$ and don't care about health, especially on a cruise - that's just dumb

Meh to charging cables - the rooms I've been in have all had one. It's just my husband's phone and mine.

You know you pay for shampoo and conditioner, right? 

Ok I'll give ya the water bottle

Definitely not the lanyard - unless you like looking like an 80 year old 

Phones have alarm clocks...

Yea - I'd hate to see your luggage...actually, I'd probably laugh as you struggle with it on the escalators.

To each their own but my hair would look like the Bride of Frankenstein and full of tangles if I didn't bring sufficient conditioner to tame it.  I'm glad you've found a packing system that works for you but everyone has different priorities.  

[unrealHeather]

On 7/11/2022 at 9:28 AM, Mum2Mercury said:

Okay, that was a big "ick" story, and I get that once something odd like that happens to you, you're paranoid about it -- but why not bring just one new toothbrush?  Surely such an oddity wouldn't happen to multiple family members on the same trip.  

I don't mind washing out a blouse here and there, but I don't bring detergent -- that's what hotel shampoo is for!  

Good answer.  We take very little "extra stuff".  

Yes, that's a good idea.  

A note of warning:  Years ago -- might've been our second or third cruise -- I went to the the bank and picked up a bunch of gold Sacagawea dollars, and I set them aside for tips.  Crew members were visibly disappointed at receiving them, and I realized too late that they mistook them for quarters.  

Take-away:  If you're doing something unusual, be sure it's OBVIOUS to the staff.  Now we like to wrap our tips around bite-sized candy bars.  Everyone knows chocolate.  

Very good idea. 

I got into trouble a couple years ago:  My husband went on a business trip to Florida, and my youngest daughter and I went along.  On the first night we all went to a grocery store.  He needed to buy some candies to give out as a part of the conference, while I picked up sodas, beer and snacks for family use.  He needed a receipt for reimbursement, so he went through one line and I went through another to pay for our personal items.  He checked out first using our Discover card, and I checked out within minutes with the same Discover card.  I was declined /our card was locked.

It wasn't hard to fix:  Discover texted me, saying they thought my card was being mis-used /instructing me to call a number.  I called, answered the security questions, explained our situation, and my card was "up and running" again in minutes.  BUT I was in America and had use of a cell phone.  This could be different on a ship or an island.  

Note on the Sacagawea coins.  Most staff on the cruise ships are not American and unless you're cruising in and out of USA, they will need to exchange this money to their home currency. It is difficult to exchange coins into another currency.  I would stick to USD or Euro bills.  It's a lovely idea but it may make not be as received as warmly as you think given the extra work it will take the recipient to undertake.  

[Mum2Mercury]

10 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

You could just manually change it. Then again, who the heck needs an alarm on a cruise anyway. It's vacation!

Maybe people in inside rooms who can't see the sun /don't know it's morning. 

[Mum2Mercury]

11 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

I'm a fat a$$ and don't care about health, especially on a cruise - that's just dumb

Well, I'm dumb. 

[Mum2Mercury]

26 minutes ago, unrealHeather said:

Note on the Sacagawea coins.  Most staff on the cruise ships are not American and unless you're cruising in and out of USA, they will need to exchange this money to their home currency. It is difficult to exchange coins into another currency.  I would stick to USD or Euro bills.  It's a lovely idea but it may make not be as received as warmly as you think given the extra work it will take the recipient to undertake.  

Yeah -- I realized that too late.  I won't make that (or similar) mistake again.