And the award for most organized cabin goes to…..

[loman]

We each bring a 26 inch piece of luggage and everything fits in the drawers and closet in a standard balcony cabin. We dont bring any of the accessories for extra storage . 

[poocher]

This will be 10 days for the 2 of us and guaranteed they will only be half full each. That’s a 25” & a 21”.

Edited August 12, 2022 by poocher

[John&LaLa]

20 minutes ago, BND said:

We've always had plenty of storage.  We work together.

 

My original comment was totally generic.

 

Once you cruise more, you'll find some cabins have very limited space

[Chicky2181]

I don’t have pics but we love the over door shoe holders to store toiletries and small things. Also, those magnetic hooks are a lifesaver.  They stick right to the wall and you can hang what ever you like….hats, sweaters, etc.  

[poocher]

Magnetic hooks didn’t stick to the walls of our OS on Harmony, only near the door.  Didn’t really need them but I had brought a few.

Edited August 12, 2022 by poocher

[rizkeeper]

Hands down this is the best thing I have ever done in a cabin. Buy one of these behind-the-door shoe hangers. They are plastic and very small in the suit case. Once in the cabin, hang it on The wall next to the tv. Misc items galore, fill the pockets, hold anything and easily assessable. Will never cruise with out one (or 2) again. 

[poocher]

I guess I just don’t bring a lot of stuff.  Everything always seems to fit in drawers/cabinets etc.  Never needed to bring extra storage items.  Hubby and I are pretty low maintenance.

[barbeyg]

2 hours ago, TexasRon said:

I toss crap everywhere.  The steward can do their best to work around the pigpen.

I think I’ve seen your cabin before, walking down the hall.  

Look familiar? 🤭

[poocher]

OH MY GOD!!!!!

[barbeyg]

I’m an ‘everything in its place’ person on a cruise. At home, I am more relaxed about some messiness, but in those small cabins (compared to home), I don’t want anything to trip over, and I don’t want the steward to have to spend extra time tidying up.

 

My sister and aunt cruised with us earlier this year, and just plopped their suitcases open and lived out of them for a week. 😳 I even offered to unpack for them, but they ran me off.  So, I had my husband put their open suitcases on the sofa, ‘so they wouldn’t trip over them.’  Our shared steward tried to tip ME for that.

[barbeyg]

1 minute ago, poocher said:

OH MY GOD!!!!!

Just grabbed off the internet, but I’ve SEEN a couple of cabins that bad. No kidding.

[poocher]

I hyperventilate just looking at it.  How can anyone live like that?!?!?

[barbeyg]

2 minutes ago, poocher said:

I hyperventilate just looking at it.  How can anyone live like that?!?!?

I know, right? I had the sweetest aunt whose whole house looked like that. Even as a kid, I would think “what a mess!”….then enjoy a fantastic meal at her table after shoving stuff out of the way to sit down. 😂 

[AlohaLivin]

31 minutes ago, barbeyg said:

I think I’ve seen your cabin before, walking down the hall.  

Look familiar? 🤭

😲

 

[long4acruise]

1 hour ago, barbeyg said:

I think I’ve seen your cabin before, walking down the hall.  

Look familiar? 🤭

😆 Sadly, have seen this and worse! And this may be the same cruiser who expects the cabin to be "cleaned" twice a day and would remove auto gratuities and/or not tip extra! You know the "me me" type who thinks it's the stateroom attendants job to clean up their mess and clean the cabin.

I'd be truly embarrassed.  😳 

[crystalspin]

3 hours ago, poocher said:

This will be 10 days for the 2 of us and guaranteed they will only be half full each. That’s a 25” & a 21”.

It's a nice set, but if only half full, why not get another 21" and be free to carry on almost everywhere? 

 

My aunt who has travelled and cruised lots of places, uses a 24" suitcase. She can handle it herself (but she cannot carry it on an airplane!), but that is the decision she has made. But it really sounds like you do not need that 25" bag and are just using it because is was part of the set. 

[brillohead]

I do a lot of B2B and S2S cruises (this fall is nine cruises in a row, with seven cycles of packing/unpacking).  I don't want to waste unnecessary time packing and unpacking over and over and over again.

I like packing cubes for items that would go on a closet shelf or drawer.  One cube for each type of clothing -- t-shirts, casual pants, underwear, socks, pajamas, swimwear, dressy wear, etc.  Unpacking involves unzipping the cube and setting it on a shelf / in a drawer.  (I put dirty clothes in an open suitcase under the bed; if I wash items, I put them back in their assigned cube.) At the end of the cruise, anything still in a cube is clean, and I just have to zip the cube and toss it into the suitcase.  

For anything smallish, I use a shoe organizer on the outside of the bathroom door.  I use it for all kinds of toiletries.... cotton swabs, hand lotion, phone charging cable, hair accessories, sunscreen, hats, deodorant, sunglasses, bandaids/antibiotic ointment, pens/notepad, lip balm, contact lenses, reading glasses, medications, auxiliary battery, etc.  

I go a step further and pre-pack the shoe organizer with the various items, then I roll/fold it up and place the whole thing into my suitcase.  Upon arrival to my room, all I have to do is hang it up, either over the top of the bathroom door, or off the wall/ceiling with heavy-duty magnetic hooks.  It's easy to find things, because everything is visible in the clear pockets -- you don't have to open up multiple cupboards and drawers trying to figure out which one has the item you're looking for.  Only downside is that the hanger itself can "look" cluttered, if that sort of thing bothers you.

Using this system, I can pack and unpack in just a few minutes every cruise.  

[poocher]

8 hours ago, crystalspin said:

It's a nice set, but if only half full, why not get another 21" and be free to carry on almost everywhere? 

 

My aunt who has travelled and cruised lots of places, uses a 24" suitcase. She can handle it herself (but she cannot carry it on an airplane!), but that is the decision she has made. But it really sounds like you do not need that 25" bag and are just using it because is was part of the set. 

Comped from SWA for damage to other bags.  I like them a lot!  I don’t bring a ton of stuff but, although I hate shopping at home, I love it on vacation so I really need the extra room on the way home!!  I will also put a small collapsible duffel in just for the breakables.  I dislike carrying bags through airports so we will check both of those bags & keep a small duffel with us.  I realize checked bags could be a problem right now but we are flying in a couple days early.  If there’s an issue, I have time to fix them.

Edited August 13, 2022 by poocher

[island lady]

15 hours ago, poocher said:

I can’t stand a messy cabin space.  Our room steward is supposed to clean the room not try to work around my crap!  Everything gets put away as soon as room/luggage is available.  Then each day, stuff is put back in its spot.  Pop up hamper for dirty clothes, suitcases under the bed, bathroom stuff in drawers or cabinets (please don’t make the steward work around/have to touch your toiletries).  

 

Totally agree...sometimes when we glance into a cabin with an open door...I have to say to myself "OMG!!  Wonder what their house looks like?".  

 

Looks like a bomb went off.....with everything all over the floor, suitcases half unpacked and sprawled everywhere.  I asked one cabin attendant once how he could possibly clean in there.  He sighed...and told me...yeah, very difficult, (though I am guessing those pax wouldn't know the difference if he cleaned in there or not).  😉 

[Markanddonna]

My DH and I are very well organized and tidy when it is just the two of us. Throw in an 8 year old grandchild, and the place is a mess.  

[billslowsky]

I live in older t shirts and shorts most of the cruise, bring one pair of dress pants and a couple of polos for MDR.  Two pairs of sneakers.  Sleep in t shirt, use it in the gym next morning - and for several, throw them away, clears out the inventory at home.

[poocher]

I do that with toiletries.  Whenever there’s a weeks worth of toothpaste, deodorant, my makeup, it gets thrown into the vacation bag.  Take a few every trip & throw them out there.  Same with my toothbrush. Put a new one in the holder at home, take the old one & then throw it out.

[LMaxwell]

One hack for a little bit more neatness is a couple of small magnet hooks. 

Perfect to hang hats over near the door and keep clutter off nightstands or desk.  

[zebra]

42 minutes ago, poocher said:

I do that with toiletries.  Whenever there’s a weeks worth of toothpaste, deodorant, my makeup, it gets thrown into the vacation bag.  Take a few every trip & throw them out there.  Same with my toothbrush. Put a new one in the holder at home, take the old one & then throw it out.

I do exactly the same!  We do such a lot of International travel, when not cruising then we are travelling to South Africa or on Safari so staying within our 50lb weigh limit is sometimes a challenge. Especially since we have family in SA and take over tons of gifts and also bring back lots of heavy grocery items. So I don't take full shampoo, body wash, hand soaps, toothpaste etc, I do what you do.

Both hubby and I are neatniks so even if in an inside cabin we don't have any clutter around. We do much of what everyone here says, cubes are perfect. I have to admit to being pretty OCD too, so hanging all kinds of crap from my cabin walls makes me feel as cluttered as leaving it lying around.  I do have a magnetic clip though for excursion tickets, invitations etc - just to keep this type of paperwork safe and easily accessible.

[island lady]

21 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

One hack for a little bit more neatness is a couple of small magnet hooks. 

Perfect to hang hats over near the door and keep clutter off nightstands or desk.  

 

I like the magnet clips as well, to hold reminders and invitations.  🙂