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Don't Forget ___ and Don't Bother With ____


senrab

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I really overpacked for this 4-day cruise. Geez. And I had to haul all that stuff onto and off of the ship.

 

Next time, I'll only take 2 pairs of shoes - good athletic shoes for walking and nice pumps for dressy affairs. I would say it's better to coordinate outfits to the shoes rather than the other way around.

 

If I'm travelling alone next time, I'm gonna find someone who can harshly critique any photos that I really feel I can't live without. I really need to spend lots less on photos next time. BUT I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF!!!!

 

Don't forget air freshener. I brought some Febreze Spicy Apple and Delight that I got at Christmastime. Wonderful!!

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I brought earplugs and never found a need to use them. My cabin was right near the staircases and elevators, so there were plenty of people passing by. However, it was very, very quiet in my cabin. I'm amazed at how soundproof it was.

 

My daughter, on the other hand, was in the adjacent cabin and she was able to hear someone coughing all night.

 

So, who knows? Guess it depends on the person.

 

That's why we don't go anywhere without them and put them on the nightstand (even when we stop for only one night on the road) because we don't want to get up in the middle of the night and start looking for them in our luggage. You never know when the noise will start.

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Don't forget ... a written copy of your budget (oh yea, that means you have to make one before you go :D ). I kept it in the nightstand drawer, and an occasional glance at it really helped me keep my impulse spending in check.

 

Don't bother with ... a different jewelry ensemble for every day of the cruise. A few versatile, well-chosen pieces will take you everywhere you want to go.

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Don't forget: sneakers, Ibuprofen, Band-Aids, lanyards if traveling with kids, bag for the beach, laundry bag, 100 $1's for tipping, cab fare in port, buying water in port, buying souvenirs.

 

Don't bother with: Duct tape (my grandmother would zap me from beyond the grave if she ever saw me carrying duct tape on a cruise ship), highlighters, pens!!! (who brings souvenirs ON a ship??), soda (!!), pillows (!!), a hamper (no room).

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Don't forget: sneakers, Ibuprofen, Band-Aids, lanyards if traveling with kids, bag for the beach, laundry bag, 100 $1's for tipping, cab fare in port, buying water in port, buying souvenirs.

 

Don't bother with: Duct tape (my grandmother would zap me from beyond the grave if she ever saw me carrying duct tape on a cruise ship), highlighters, pens!!! (who brings souvenirs ON a ship??), soda (!!), pillows (!!), a hamper (no room).

 

 

Carla: You made my day!!! I have a daughter who's a nervous nelly type and she won't go anywhere requiring an overnight stay without duct tape. Granted we were in a hotel and had to evacuate due to fire, but the duct tape really wouldn't have helped!!!! I love it, I thought I was the only one in the world. Sometimes I wonder what the housekeeping staff thinks when they see rolls of duct tape on the dresser!:D :D :D

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I just have to ask. What is the duct tape for?:)

 

Supposedly it's for a million useful things:

 

Taping up your broken luggage (Beverly Hillbillies? I think NOT. You can always go buy a softsided bag with the cruise ship logo for 20 bucks on the last day if yours breaks.)

 

Taping broken things in the cabin, such as the TV remote (not)

 

I can't even remember the 999,998 other things. People will post.

 

Hydrokitty: LOL

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I just have to ask. What is the duct tape for?:)

 

Years ago we were in a hotel that caught fire. It was very frightening. Soon thereafter we were watching a program on surviving hotel and airplane disasters. One of the suggestions was to always bring a roll of duct tape and in the event of a fire you would use the tape to seal around the door to your room, thereby buying a little time before you suffocated from the smoke. This impressed by then 16 year old a great deal and it was only very recently that she stopped traveling with a roll of duct tape in her suitcase! (I swear to God this is true!!) I never even though of the suitcase repair but in the vein of repairs, I imagine it would also work well on a hem of rip of any kind to your clothing, taping the wrong side of course!

 

so I think this is going to be fun!!

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  • Highlighters are great for highlighting the activites you want to do on board in your daily.
  • The pens in the cabins usually don't work worth a flip. We bring one to leave notes for the steward, eachother, filling out the customs declaration form and many other things
  • Soda is a must for us. We use it for our bar setup. Nothing better than a nice drink on the balcony before dinner. Easy to bring on. I just put soda bottles in my little rolling carry on, no hassle

One thing we will bring next time that we didn't is a bottle opener for the beer.

 

In my lifetime I think I have walked away with 100 NCL pens. I have made a game out of it: getting a pen to fill out comment cards, stopping by the desk, just using every excuse on Earth to get a pen. They actually do last a long time! White pen, blue tip. I have them everywhere. Makes me remember the good times!:) :) :)

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Got back today, so here are my thoughts:

 

Didn't use: the over-the-door shoe organizer--it sounded like a really good concept, and I'm sure it's great if you have small kids, but our cabin had more than enough space for stuff--2 compartments at the vanity & 1 in the bathroom. Also didn't use the bungee cord (the sliding door on the Voyager of the Seas balcony can stay put by moving the handle up & locking it). Didn't use the highlighter either.

 

Should have brought: botted water for taking with us on the excursions. Also, would have taken an additional set of casual pants for younger son. Should have taken a cheap watch for the beach--I kept having to bother strangers for the time. :o

 

Definitely will always take: Downy Wrinkle Reducer, Febreze spray , and the pop up hamper. The wrinkle reducer rocked, the Febreze spray helped immensely with 4 of us in the bathroom, and the hamper was very convenient.

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Every time I have taken the wrinkle release stuff it has either: opened in the Ziploc on the plane or managed to drip out of the nozzle all over my hand and/or dress. It has never released one wrinkle!

 

That's so funny because we've never had a leaking problem and it's always worked very well on our wrinkles :) . Maybe it depends on the material?

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I had the strangest experience on my cruise.

I brought too many clothes, so I had to pack very carefully. I placed my blouses flat on the bottom of the suitcase - hanging over the edge - then placed my slacks on top of that, then my shorts. Then, I folded the pants over the shorts, and topped that with the overhang parts of the blouses. Nothing got mussed.

 

However, after all that careful packing, I realized too late that I hadn't packed my formal. Frustrated, I just kinda scrunched it on top of everything else and figured I'd get it pressed onboard. Voila!!! To my surprise, there wasn't a single wrinkle or crease in my formal outfit. How do you figure???? LOLOL.

 

I really do have compassion for you folks who have problems. I had anticipated one, but luck was with me. Just thought you might find the story funny.

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What I learned about here and now will never sail without: GINGER! I've suffered from motion sickness all my life, and 3 of my 5 prior cruises had involved being seasick (but not to the extent I ever missed a meal ;) ). I started the ginger the morning prior to sailing (the day we flew to FLL), and took it every a.m. and p.m. I also started Bonine the morning of the cruise and felt so good I didn't even take it during the period of our 3 consecutive port days). We had choppy seas when we departed and had 9' swells on our final day at sea. I had absolutely NO problems.

 

What do you do with the ginger? Is it whole ginger? powdered ginger? ginger tea? Do you drink it or stick it in your bra?:D

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What do you do with the ginger? Is it whole ginger? powdered ginger? ginger tea? Do you drink it or stick it in your bra?:D

 

I think you DO stick it in your bra, come to think of it. I've always just rubbed it on my key card- no wonder it hasn't worked!;)

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What do you do with the ginger? Is it whole ginger? powdered ginger? ginger tea? Do you drink it or stick it in your bra?:D

 

All we did was take a container of the powdered ginger and place a teensy bit on the tip of one finger. That's plenty. And, IT WORKS!!

 

Take it from one who suffers from nausea as a result of nerve damage. I had been prescribed Phenergan by an ER doc and have taken it for years.

 

Since hearing about ginger here on the boards, I have used it instead of the med. Works FAR BETTER!!! No grogginess, no other medicinal side effects, and it starts working within 30 seconds. Another thing, I only need to take the ginger every few days, whereas I had taken the meds every single day.

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What do you do with the ginger? Is it whole ginger? powdered ginger? ginger tea? Do you drink it or stick it in your bra?:D

I bought chewable Ginger tablets, and they helped greatly. Never got seasick or anything. We did feel the rocking of the boat at times, but nothing prohibitive. For that matter, though, DH didn't take anything, and he was fine...go figure!

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For us it is:

 

Dont forget: Plastic clothes pins to hang up wet swimsuits

 

Dont bother with: Over the door organizer (there was plenty of storage and this item never made it out of the suitcase)

 

:)

 

This would be ours too, the clothes pins also came in handy to wedge between the panels that divide the balconies, ours had an awful rattle at night until I shoved a clothes pin in between the panels.

 

Also don't bother with a power strip or extension cord. We had lots of tech gagdets but did fine with the thiny that turns 1 outlet into 3. We never charged/plugged in more than 1 or 2 things at a time.

 

Brought bungee cords, they never made it out of the suitcase either.

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Most valuable was a magnetic door clips I just happened to grab off my home door on the way to cruise. I put one on the outside of our door (easier to find since all doors look alike) to clip a note to. The other I put inside the door to hang lanyards and clip essential don't forgets to. I to will leave behind the overdoor holder this trip.

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Keep the ideas coming! It's always fun to read ingeneous ideas that others have come up with to make cruising even easier.

 

One thing I didn't bring last time (5 years ago) was my own hair conditioner. Our cabin just provided 2-in-1 shampoo without separate conditioner, and this was definitely NOT enough for me, especially after swimming in salt water! I also like to bring my own separate travel hair dryer so that I can be drying my hair at the desk while DH is in the bathroom.

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That's so funny because we've never had a leaking problem and it's always worked very well on our wrinkles :) . Maybe it depends on the material?

 

I think it does. I've used the wrinkle releaser for over a year and it works wonders on tshirts (cotton), but have found it doesn't work as well with blue jeans or my husbands uniforms which are polyester. I will def. be bringing this on my cruise!!

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Hello!

 

I thought I should add a soft side collapsible cooler. Given the prices of the drinks on the ship we try to improvise every once in a while. hehe You can put alcohol on in your luggage at the port ( some ports have a liquor store right there) Fill with ice and you have beverages ( including soda) at a fraction of the cost. Our maid kept fresh ice at all times. :)

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