Ultimate Packing List for the Newbies....

[Folk Singer]

Janet - I am enjoying your posts on this thread.

You mention several times about reading your review...where is it located?

 

 

Thanks!

 

I have been looking as well.:)

[paulh84]

I shared this in another post, but I stumbled on a good item on accident. Rather than those $12-15 towel clips you can order, I used large binder clips and they worked perfectly fine. On a windy sea day our towels were blowing everywhere and I lucked into having a few binder clips in my carry on. They fit perfectly on the slats on the chairs and they're very inexpensive.

[Phoebe Flyaway]

Great list! Don't bring too much, you have to take all that back with you.

 

Thanks, this is very helpful!!!

[Folk Singer]

Thanks, this is very helpful!!!

 

Your welcome have fun.

[apmecruise]

I was asked to share a list, so here is my list.

 

Besides the list and talking about my list below, I have also attached a file that you can print and save to help you.

 

It is never too early to start gathering things up. I have started with a few things and just add to it as time goes by. Besides the obvious clothing items here are a few things I just can’t leave home without.

 

First, we have a clear over the door shoe organizer. I say clear because you would want to be able to see inside each of the pockets. This we would hang on the back of the bathroom door and place all of your little items in it to keep your counters free of clutter. This idea was passed down to me from another fellow cruiser so I don’t take the credit for it but I certainly think it is a great idea. I got mine online from Finger Hut.

 

http://www.fingerhut.com/ProductGroup.aspx?offergroupxid=92929&cmCategoryID =search

 

One of the first things we do when we get in the cabin is wipe down all the door knobs, handles, phone and remote control with those Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. If you think about it, but the time you get in your cabin, another couple or family has been living in it for a week and has touched everything. The cabin has been cleaned but who knows if they wipe every little thing down. This is for my own piece of mind. So I would add that to your shopping list. I carry my Clorox Wipes in my purse because once I get to the cabin I do it right away as the luggage won't appear for a couple of hours.

 

Other things I bring:

 

Ø Zip-lock bags – different sizes for many different things

Ø Hangers – I think you can ask your room attendant for extra but I always bring mine own. The room attendant may not get the hangers to you fast enough because they are generally still delivering things to the cabins, introducing themself and then they have to go to the life boat drill.

Ø Clothes Pins

Ø Power Strip – not many outlets in the room.

Ø Extension Cord - I will run an extension cord if I need to.

Ø Alarm Clock – Some people just use their cell phones.

Ø Night Light – Cabin is dark, if you don’t use your cell phone for light then bring one.

Ø Bathroom Spray –

Ø Landyards – these are those things you wear around your neck and attach your Sea Pass card to it. Front desk will hole punch your card or bring your own hole puncher.

Ø Bar Soap – I like to bring my own instead of using the small bars they give.

Ø Portable Ipod Speakers- so you can enjoy your downloaded Caribbean music as you sail.

Ø Motion Sickness Medicine – if you think you need it, some you need a written RX.

Ø Prescriptions and Medicine – the over the counter, Tums, Imodium, Pepto Bismol, aspirin

Ø Sudafed, tooth ache gel, band-aids, mole skin, aloe vera lotion for sunburns

 

Ø Cell Phone charger – you will need to charge up before we get home!

Ø Extra Camera Memory Card - Last thing you want to do is run out of memory!!!

 

Ø Extra camera batteries or rechargeable batteries and charger.

Ø Small roll of duct tape – many uses. One is we tape our luggage tags on our cases of water, soda or whatever else we bring that we buy at the store before we go to port. Duct tape has many uses.

Ø Small spray bottle.. use this up by the pool to spray myself when it is hot

Ø Walkie Talkies- we always bring them, keep the volume low.. Traveling with large groups on a large ship we sometimes need to find someone. Or if you need to find your kids. Please note this can be disturbing to other travelers so we really keep the volume very low!

Ø Binoculars –

Ø Rum Runners –

Ø Hand sanitizers – small kind to put in pocket purse or clip on landyards

Ø Sports Bottles – We use these at the pool and around the ship for “special drinks”

Ø Snack Items We have cocktail parties in our cabins with our friends so we munch on snack or salty items. We buy these at the store before we go to the port.

o Ritz Crackers

o Cheese in Can

o Nuts

o Cookies

o Candy

o Plastic Glasses as the ones in the cabin are too small.

o Powdered Crystal Light – for our bottled water

 

Ø Small Rolling Ice Chest – We bring this to keep our drinks really cold in our room. The room attendant will fill it with ice daily for us. Got mine on ebay.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/52-Can-Collapsible-Rolling-Cooler-Orange-Grey-W-Tags_W0QQitemZ140292469301QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_De faultDomain_0?hash=item140292469301&_trksid=p3286. c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39 %3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

 

Ø Suitcase Scale – We bring one of those luggage weight scales to we can make sure we are within our weight limits as we fly.

 

v We bring lots of one dollar bills for tipping.

v We tie bright colored ribbon on our suitcases to help us identify them.

v Bungee Cord - Brought a bungee cord to secure a door that we wanted to keep open from banging. We once had all of our cabins next to each other and had the doors to the balconies opened up all the way. Our door kept banging.. so this helped it to stop.

 

They say that the cabins have hair dryers and robes in (some) them. AND get some water (aqua) shoes for going on shore, you will want them in the water. I think this is about all I have unless I forgot something. And I know that if you pack your clothes in dry cleaner bags that they will not wrinkle. Tips for packing: http://www.fodors.com/news/story_1449.html

 

Besides the copies of the passports I also call our credit card companies and give them the dates we will be traveling so they will not lock down our account thinking the card was stolen. If they tried to call us, we would not be home to answer the phone!! Sooooooo call your credit card companies and let them know.

 

Here is my packing list you can print....

[ATTACH]117538[/ATTACH]

 

Here is my review...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=985034

 

and FINALLY....

 

Don't go on your cruise without hearing from the CRUISE DIVA... I find all my best stuff here!!!

 

On the web you search for "cruisediva dot com".

 

 

Janet thanks for the list, I read one of your reviews out of Miami, loved the theme parties! Did you review your cruise to Alaska?

[mncrusin]

This list help me so thought I'd offer post cruise opinion...

Loved the small battery "candles" for night lights in the bathroom. Brought two, two inch high ones. Ran both each night all week. If the bath outlet doesn't work without the light on, this was a great alternative.

I couldn't find the Palmolive dish wipes so made my own, handi wipe cut into 4, add a small swirl of dish soap and let dry. Great to washout nasty thermo mugs and Tervis.

Used the bungee for secure clothes line on the deck. Didn't use the clothes pins.

Have a great time everyone!

[Lutèce]

I read this with interest and some trepidation as this was to be our very first cruise. As we had spent several months in Europe prior to said cruise, much of this did not apply. And you know what - we didn't take one single thing from this list and didn't notice the lack thereof. 99.99% of stuff on this list is superfluous- so newbies (like we were) just ignore it!

[Lutèce]

P.S.

I would imagine that a great deal of what is deemed necessary on this list is only relevant to the cruise line you are on. If you are sailing with one of the more upmarket lines, this is another reason to ignore this type of list - which had me really worried.:)

[mncrusin]

I agree. The only things that are necessary are passport, money, prescriptions, glasses, and a great attitude. The rest is just stuff that might make it a tad more pleasant or fun. Plus getting ready is part of the joy of traveling, don't let stress wreck that fun.

[sbbquilter]

I always read these lists with interest - I travel 40 weeks of the year for work and 4 more on vacation so have learned what I truly need. DH and I can travel with two 22" carry one and a personal bag each for a 10 day cruise and am awed at what some people find necessary for a cruise. Have fun and enjoy whatever makes you comfortable.

[duegwb]

I always read these lists with interest - I travel 40 weeks of the year for work and 4 more on vacation so have learned what I truly need. DH and I can travel with two 22" carry one and a personal bag each for a 10 day cruise and am awed at what some people find necessary for a cruise. Have fun and enjoy whatever makes you comfortable.

 

What are some things you've seen that can be seen as unnecessary? I only as because I am also trying to travel with only a 22" carry on.

[s1amblue]

What are some things you've seen that can be seen as unnecessary? I only as because I am also trying to travel with only a 22" carry on.

 

 

I think what you should focus on is what is necessary! Passports, cruise boarding pass & luggage tags & tour documents, plus mix/match layered clothing that can do double duty! things you use/do everyday (meds, glasses, etc.) rest is pretty much personal choice! We travel with one 22" Carry on & one personal item each & have been gone 6 weeks. Of course we hand wash & use laundry services!

 

That said, I've been on two of 20 cruises where bathroom didn't have a night light so I pack a tiny flashlight 'just in case' as well as packable rain jacket & umbrella. The other stuff is just stuff! Essential for some folks on a cruise - others, not so much...... M

 

 

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[amie9769]

The most important things I pack are SUNBLOCK, water shoes and swimsuits!! [emoji4][emoji4][emoji4][emoji4] and a good attitude #yolo

[duegwb]

I think what you should focus on is what is necessary! Passports, cruise boarding pass & luggage tags & tour documents, plus mix/match layered clothing that can do double duty! things you use/do everyday (meds, glasses, etc.) rest is pretty much personal choice! We travel with one 22" Carry on & one personal item each & have been gone 6 weeks. Of course we hand wash & use laundry services!

 

That said, I've been on two of 20 cruises where bathroom didn't have a night light so I pack a tiny flashlight 'just in case' as well as packable rain jacket & umbrella. The other stuff is just stuff! Essential for some folks on a cruise - others, not so much...... M

 

 

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How does one pack a suit for formal night in a carry on?

[amie9769]

I'm wondering the same thing?

[s1amblue]

If you're a light packer, you pick dress slacks that match a nice sport coat & wear the sport coat on your travel day - hopefully with jeans! Achieve two great looks! :)

 

 

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[April7901]

If you're a light packer, you pick dress slacks that match a nice sport coat & wear the sport coat on your travel day - hopefully with jeans! Achieve two great looks! :)

 

 

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Or... you skip formal night!

[s1amblue]

Or... you skip formal night!

 

 

Ooohhhh but then you skip the lobster! DH has some travel dress pants that are super lightweight, never wrinkle & look stunning with his black Magellan's travel sport (suit!) jacket! Got em at Costco - worked so well her has 4 pairs!

 

 

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[April7901]

Ooohhhh but then you skip the lobster! DH has some travel dress pants that are super lightweight, never wrinkle & look stunning with his black Magellan's travel sport (suit!) jacket! Got em at Costco - worked so well her has 4 pairs!

 

 

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haha. well. That's not a bad thing either, IMO. :)

[s1amblue]

[emoji41]

 

 

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[amie9769]

My husband can literally pack a backpack full of everything he will ever need for two weeks. We recently went to visit my son in the Air Force, I had 2 large bags, a Ned bag of shoes and a bag of snacks to his 1 backpack.

[amie9769]

For a weekend!

[cebee123]

Since I had some extra suitcase space, I brought along a lot of the suggested stuff just to see what I really used... ( skipped the over the door shoe thingy since I was not going to spend the $$ just to see if I used it... and never missed it. There are lots of cubbies and spaces in the cabins, you just have to remember where you put stuff!) Used the highlighter, definitely used the little battery tea light thing for the bathroom. Was just enough light in there. A CLOCK. ABSOLUTELY A CLOCK. Table mates said the first morning on board they relied on their phone... but somehow it was set to a different time zone and they were up at 3am wondering where everyone was! Brought meds but did not need them... but was glad we had them. If you are going to the beach, the phone bags that float are great. Mine was cheap, and I could still take excellent pictures with it. And not worry about losing my camera. Or getting it wet.

Those are probably the most important things I was glad I had. The room had tons of hangers, I never needed magnets.

OH.. and cash! Even the merchants that take credit cards prefer cash. And alot of them on Costa Maya and Cozumel did not charge you tax if you paid cash... and the tax was like 20%... so worth paying cash!!

[MNCruizer1]

Ooohhhh but then you skip the lobster! DH has some travel dress pants that are super lightweight, never wrinkle & look stunning with his black Magellan's travel sport (suit!) jacket! Got em at Costco - worked so well her has 4 pairs!

 

 

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Lobster is only available on formal night? Is there a formal night for your time dining too? Sorry..off topic,:o

[s1amblue]

Lobster is only available on formal night? Is there a formal night for your time dining too? Sorry..off topic,:o

 

 

Yes.... Lobster is usually the last formal night.... :)

 

 

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