What do you wish you had left at home?

[flagger]

I am a planner by nature with almost military precision and frankly it is stressing me out. Between airline weight limits, packing in layers for Alaska (shorts or jeans, coats or shirt sleeves) and packing all the accountrements necessary for traveling with a 15 month old toddler, I have begun to lose site of the fact that this is SUPPOSED to be relaxing.

 

I have scanned all of the various lists, made several trips to Sprawl-mart, Target, the dollar store and finally said enough is enough with all of this $*%T!!! (Ok maybe the locks or zip ties before turning them into the porters is a good idea, what is one more trip), but I digress.

 

Whether you are a first time cruiser having recently gone on that first ship or someone who has quite a few days at sea under their belt, what are the items that you never used, wished you had left at home or said "Now why on earth did I bring that?"

 

Please share your tips on what should just stay home.

[trcori]

Half the clothes.

I don't know why I insist on overpacking. I am not fashionable. But everywhere we go, I totally freak out thinking I'm not going to bring ENOUGH clothes, and pack too many. Whomever once said "pack your clothes - and then unpack half of them" was right. The only specific items I really didn't need were the very heavy clothes for Alaska last summer. Never needed a coat except out on deck on Hubbard Glacier day ... the rest of the time, rain jacket was more than enough.

 

TR

next overpacking opportunity: Millennium EC 12/12/04

****

Mercury CA/MX 4/04, Infinity AK 8/03, Century WC 3/03 & EC 9/02

[Putz]

Reading material. I always have great intentions of doing a lot of reading on a cruise and after six cruises, I've only managed to read one book. Even when relaxing by the pool or on the promenade deck, it's so much more enjoyable just to sit and watch the world go by.

 

Hair dryer. The dryers on board aren't as powerful...so it takes a few minutes longer to dry your hair...still better than lugging around the dryer.

 

Toiletries. Took my own the first cruise, but never again. So the shampoo on board isn't your favourite, who cares, it still gets the job done.

[JNLROSE]

Flag,

 

I will agree with the poster above---take out 1/2 the clothes! Last cruise, we took nice golf-type shorts & shirts & neither one of us wore them except the day we boarded! T-shirts & our water-type shorts were all we ever wore--did some ships laundry twice & we were good. NOW---we weren't in Alaska, but...... I also take a couple of plastic clothes pins so I can rinse things & clip to balcony chairs overnight to dry! The ships laundry does a GREAT job, plan to use it! Pack lighter & RELAX & ENJOY!! :D :D :D :D :D

[JNLROSE]

PS, to Putz--have you ever tried listening to books on portable CD players???? That's what we do & you can lay at the pool all day & see everything while "reading" your fave book! ;)

[42trvl]

I always take way too much for the kids, thinking they will get clothes dirty - esp. my son. In fact, the laundry on the ship is very reasonably priced, and they did a pretty good job. Also, for the kids, esp. when they were younger, thinking they would get bored, I would pack way too many books/toys, etc. No matter where we are they end up finding ways to amuse themselves, even at times in the most mundane way.

 

Also, the reading materials. I find that once we're off the plane, very little "real" reading happens.

 

We were also recently on an Alaska trip and had way too many warm clothes. Unfortunately, there is no way to predict the weather. As warm and dry as we were druing most of our trip we had friends who went last year that couldn't tell us enough times how cold and wet it was and to make sure we take enough warm clothes. But, we had put all that kind of stuff into a duffel bag which was pretty light and easy to toss around and keep separate.

 

Lastly, I had kept reading on these boards about the lack of outlets and clocks in the cabins, so we took our own plug in/lighted alarm clock. Well, there is something odd about the electric current on the ship, because every night the clock time would get pushed forward by some odd amount of time.(It works fine now that we're back home, so it wasn't the clock). That was a waste to take. Our small battery operated travel clock (would light with a push of a button) was more than sufficient. And we did not need power strips or extension cords. With a little forethought, you can charge up all cell phones, rechargable batteries, use hairdryer, etc. with the available outlets.

[flagger]

Speaking of that powerstrip, are the outlets in the cabin by the vanity equipped for a grounded plug (3 prong)?

[JNLROSE]

Yes they are!

[Happy ks]

Leave all the little pieces of junk at home, many of the items you read about on the packing lists you find here, you can really get by without it. We never need post it notes, highlighter pens, extension cords, bungee cords insulated mugs etc... you know what I mean.

 

A good pair of binoculars, a digital camera with plenty of memory, or 35mm with lots of film. Your re-chargers and extra batteries. We sort of used the plug adapter, but we could have gotten by without it, it depends on how many items you want plugged in at the same time.

 

It's a judgement call on the toiletries, I'm very picky about what I use. I have colored hair and do not want to use a different product than what I already use. DH is more picky than I am. The shampoo (no conditioner) on Infinity smelled like what we call Herbal Bubble, probably a generic drug store shampoo, I would not even use it as a hand wash. However, DH and I have been in the hair styling industry for more than 20 years, our opinion is slanted. There were cotton swabs and cotton balls, I used their cotton balls, but the swabs were of inferior quality (told you I was picky). I haven't used bar soap in 30 years, there was no shower gel available at the hotel or in our cabin on the ship. My kids actually asked me a few years ago what the wrapped up stuff in a hotel bathroom was, they had never seen a bar of soap before.

 

 

DH took 2 pair of jeans, wore them both twice, laundered them and wore them again twice. We took two pair of walking shoes each, only needed one pair each. No one will notice if you wear the same shirt to dinner twice, we would also wear the casual shirts the next day after wearing them to dinner the night before. Ditto for your wife, I highly doubt that anyone would notice if she wore the same clothes multiple times.

 

There is a library, so leave your books at home. I only took travel guides, never took them out of the case, perhaps I should have just copied the pages I needed.

 

I think you're staying at the Residence Inn, right? There is a laundry room on the 2nd floor, we did a load of laundry the morning before our cruise, as we were there 2 days ahead. That way, we could pack a few less t-shirts and undies. $1.50 per wash, $1.50 per dry, they sell small boxes of Tide for $1.00 and Bounce dryer sheets, I think for $1.00 (didn't buy any).

 

It's a little harder to pack light for Alaska than any other trip I've been on before. Even cutting back as much as possible, 2 of our bags were slightly over weight, fortunately, the gate agent let us go through with a warning. We reconfigured our bags on the way home and they were all fine. Celebrity provides you with a roomy carry bag you can pack any little last minute stuff, so you can leave the extra bag for souvenirs at home.

 

I know this was long winded, but hope I have helped a bit.

[Happy ks]

I know a lot of people here swear by them, but we would just leave each other messages on the phone if we were in separate areas. If we did not see our room steward in person to request an item, we would just call them.

[DUCK33]

i have been on many cruises before joining these boards and never took a power strip. never was looking for one never needed one but many of you say its a must have. i dont see it. also i never, while cruising, uttered the words " i wish i had duct tape"

[Mysteryreader]

We returned from an AK cruisetour this wk. I am an avid reader, and my standard practice is to take one book more than the days I'm going to be gone. Our cruisetour was to be 11 nts plus the nt before. I took 13 bks and returned with only one unread! (Of course, the cross-continental flights and time spent waiting in airports provided hours and hours and hours of valuable reading time.)

 

What did I take that went unused? I took 3 prs of shorts in hopes I'd need them and wore one in Vancouver but should have worn a second in Skagway. I took 4 long-sleeved turtlenecks and a fleece scarf and hat and wore one turtleneck but not b/c it was cold but b/c it helps to make the neck of a rubber dry suit less irritating. My dh took a rain suit--jacket and pants. We had record heat and only drizzle one evening the whole vacation. The rain gear is now gaining family joke status.

 

I had taken one skirt/sweater outfit that I thought could do double duty as either casual or informal. There was some question prior to the cruise as to whether there would be one or two informal evenings. There was only one. Formal nights are still formal, but informal are withering away. I saw very few tuxes, however; most men wore suits.

 

We could have used surgical face masks to protect against the heavy smoke in some areas of interior AK. This is no joke: I read in the Fairbanks newspaper that hazardous area conditions start at 250 ppmg; the measurement was 357 ppmg!!! It literally hurt to breathe. Fortunately, we only did an overnight in Fairbanks. It made it a lot easier to get on the plane and fly home.

 

M/R

[Putz]

Hey, don't knock duct tape:D...I never travel anywhere without a roll! My main concern is for a fire...if you're stuck in your room you can put a damp cloth across the bottom of the door, but not around the other three edges or over the vent in the bathroom to keep the smoke out...that's where the tape comes in. I've used it to quiet rattling air conditioners. On our cruise last year, somewhere between putting our luggage out in the hall at night and collecting on the pier, one of the bags was sliced open with a foot long gash. Whipped out my duct tape and repaired it on the spot. At least I'm not as bad as Red Green, although he is VERY resourceful (perhaps only our Canadian readers will understand this).

[plvogel]

I wish I had left the Visa card at home...

[robsvacation]

Cruises are a little tuffer than most vacations to pack for since you have day and night wear, but people always seem to overpack.

 

1/2 the clothes, twice the money and your toothbrush: there's never been better advice than that!

 

11 cruises later I think I've got it down to an art. For myself I take a small suit bag, one roll aboard with detachable day pack, and a smallish duffel. There's extra room in the duffel. My personal goal is to go home with clean clothes on my back and a suitcase with nothing but laundry. Taking clean clothing home constitutes failure in my books.

 

Make sure you have extra room in your suitcases when you leave home: Dirty clothes are bigger than clean clothes, I don't know why.

 

Go to your favorite off-price store and look at the luggage. Find the size you want, now find the cheapest piece in this category. Do not buy this luggage, the wheels will break. Buy the next piece up in price. When the airline tears this luggage you will not cry. The airline will tear your bag, do not complain unless it's ripped open and everyone can see your husband's "hot stuff" underwear.

 

Expensive clothing is for the vane. In port it's even better than screaming "hey, local thug, victim here!" Also, that which is cheap is not morned when it is stained or damaged. Old Navy look like Gap before the first couple of washes, need I say more. Actually, I love Old Navy anyways.

 

Since there are 3 of you, make sure you mix all your clothing amoungst your various pieces of luggage. If a bag doesn't show up one of you won't need to wear cruise line logo-wear for the enitre week.

 

Check in your bags, roll aboards all suck when their stuffed with, well, everything you own. Your husband will insist he only needs the one roll aboard bag. Laugh at him when he throws out his back in the plane throwing it into the overhead bin. 3 people = 6 checked in bags. No excuses. Curbside checkin is your friend. If you need to get into the terminal will all your stuff, use a redcap. You just paid $1000's of dollars for your vacation, pay someone $10-20 to lug your bags. Also, you'll look really rich as you check-in at the Southwest counter.

 

All your baggage should be similarly sized upright rolling cases. Put one behind the other and hook them together by the top straps using the top handles. Raise the handle on the first bag, tip if forward, the rest will follow like dominos. It forms a train a bags, looks absolutely rediculous, and works surprisingly well. Let your toddler ride on top, they'll giggle wildly.

 

Pack a change of clothing and bathing suit in your carry aboard-the-ship bag, you don't know when your luggage will show up.

 

Think neutrals and mix and match. No one will notice the pants you are wearing are the same as the previous night with another top. The sunburn you get on the first day will invariably will detract all attention from your clothing anyways.

 

You can never have enough sun-screen. That said sun-screen is impossible to get out of your luggage when it explodes (voice of experience). Put it in your child's diaper bag. You do not need spf 8-15-30-45, you need spf 30 sport (so it doesn't get in your eyes) There is virtually no difference between spf 30 and higher numbers, if you burn that easy you should be in the shade anyways. For the baby spf 1,000,000,000 or higher is recommended.

 

Small children are dirty percisely 23 minutes after being dressed, give up now, bring 1/2 of what you think need. Little children dressed to nines for formal night are cute for percisely 12 minutes, then they begin to scream and tear the every-so-adorable bow tie/ruffles from their bodies. Screaming children are not cute, dress them comfortably instead.

 

Instead of the power bar take a short extension cord with the 3 outlets in the end, $1 store should have them if you don't.

 

Forget bringing alcohol and soda onboard, it's heavy, big, and much easier to buy duty free at your first port of call, throw into your day pack and walk right by the "turn in your alcohol here" table after you board. No one is going to chase you.

 

Bring at least 2 bathing suits, 3 is even better (nothing worse than getting into a cold, wet bathing suit) Alternate.

 

2 pairs of shorts at the most, you can wash 1 pair if one gets dirty.

 

For guys, 1 suit, 2 dress shirts for the suit, 2 ties, 1 pair kakies or casual slacks and 5 button down/polo shirts. Socks, belt, shoes. You're set for the evening. Women, well, you're on your own for the evenings.

 

Souvenirs? just say no! Go online and order them now, they'll be at the post office when you get home. I recommend rum-cakes from grand caymen, looks like you cared and it's a wonderfully evil gift for everyone on low-carb diets. No one likes crappy stuff, and the "St Thomas" tee-shirts (even the 3/$10 ones) just look like you're bragging. Jewlery and watches are surprisingly lightweight, small and about the only bargain left in the caribbean.

 

No bottle of alcohol is cheap enough to warrent lugging it and a 15 month toddler through and airport only to have it make the wonderful "smash glug glug" sound as it lands in the baggage area. Go right now, pick up your child, throw all your laundry in your child's wagon and pick up a bag with 3 large soda bottles in it. Now run around the block 5 times (roughly the distance from the check-in counter to your gate when you're late for your flight) Qwik-ee discount booze stores down the street from your home will order anything you want for about $5/bottle more than "duty free"

 

Freezer size zip-locks are the perfect accessory. They're fairly water-tight, hold your shampoo just as well as those expensive leather bags (better actually) are great for the 6 wet bathing suits you have on the last night. They're clear and therefore match everything.

 

Do not take your 1/2 finished shampoo bottles to take home. Your dirty clothing will have expanded anyways and they'll be no room for it anyways.

 

Pack a good attitude, it makes your shoulders lighter.

 

Rob

[CaribbeanBound]

My in-laws!

[dmarch@islc.net]

kitchen sink

[Cruisin'Nurse]

Robsvacation - can I hire you to pack for me? :D

[Happy ks]

Mostly good advice, but he's going to Alaska!

[PeggySand]

Rob, I really enjoyed your post, thanks for the giggles. Our upcoming cruise will be our sixth, and each time we get better at packing. By better, I mean that we overpack less and less each time. I agree, bringing home unused clothing is failure!! Unfortunately, this time, we will be driving to the port in San Diego, not flying. That MAY tempt us to bring too much!!

 

We always bring Ziplock bags for wet bathing suits, lotions and anything else liquid that might spill. Also, we used them for sneaking cheese off the ship for our snorkling adventures..... the fish go crazy for cheese. Also, we always wrap a bottle or two of wine or champagne in bubble wrap inside our luggage to enjoy in our room. Our room stewards have always kept our collapsible cooler filled with ice to keep our bottles chilled. Another thing that we have used a lot is a clothesline that we attach in the shower to hang our wet bathing suits on each evening.

 

Right now, I can't think of something that I wished we had left at home...... although I am also guilty of bringing too much reading material that I never seem to get to. I do enjoy the opportunity to read, but when I'm out at the pool area, I get caught up in "People Watching" along with my reading. We are having our first veranda cabin on this cruise, so I'm sure that I will enjoy some reading time on the veranda.

 

Oh, I know, I ALWAYS bring too many shoes!!! Now I know better.... One pair each of flip-flops, tennis shoes, dressy sandals and dress up shoes. That's ALL from now on.

 

Peggy

[Randyk47]

My ex on my first cruise. :D

[janjay]

Everybody sing!

 

"Pack up all your cares and woes, there you go, singing low bye bye black bird" Then leave them home!!!

[janjay]

oh yeah....my debit card...ouch!

[flagger]

Mostly good advice, but he's going to Alaska!

We do plan to get wet in the T-pool. No skinny dipping for us.

[JNLROSE]

Just remember, the T pool will fade your suits, take old & worn ones for that!!! Also take a warm coverup to get back to your cabin when you're wet! ;)

 

Also, 13 books???? :eek: :eek: :eek: Books on CD are much more "compact", easier to pack, carry & use!!! Get a CD player! :D