Question: what do you wish you had packed/left at home?

[Emmie]

This is partially for information, but also out of curiosity. If you had it all to do all over again, what do you wish you had brought with you on your Med cruise (or any cruise, for that matter)? Did you sigh and wish you had more ties for your suit, extra sneakers, a pillow for the plane, Maalox, more money, a good book?

What took up too much room in your bag and made you wish you had left it at home (or that you could toss it overboard without anyone catching you)? Did you grumble as you lugged around a floppy hat you never wore, too many pairs of heels, a camera that wouldn't fit into your fanny pack, or that huge book your sister-in-law gave you that you never cracked open once?

My DH and I will be cruising from Venice to Lisbon in October on the Rotterdam. I would just love to hear everyone's thoughts and experiences on this!:D

[Globaliser]

Almost always I find myself wishing I'd left behind half of the clothes I brought, and three quarters of the reading material.

It's one thing to go home with clean clothes because I got the ship to wash or dry clean them while I was on board; it's quite another to go home with half a suitcase worth of clothes which are clean because I never wore them.

[Himself]

I bring reading material I never get to and I always bring too many sports shirts.

[Bookish Angel]

I am a voracious reader and ran out of stuff to read on my last cruise. That won't happen again!

[lgt]

Too many shorts and shirts (Caribbean). Things I won't leave behind - sticky notes for the door, fold flat hamper (loaned it out & didn't get it back) and collaspible cooler, and clothespins.

[Sueseb]

We now take a basic medicine chest after being charged $14.00 for a small bottle of Nyquil on the Mercury several years ago -- and hopefully will learn eventually to leave home the clothes we never wear.

[Renorita]

Cat hair! Didn't notice the darn cat snuck into the suitcase before I closed it up! :D

[jhannah]

Cat hair! Didn't notice the darn cat snuck into the suitcase before I closed it up! :D
At least you didn't open your suitcase on board to find the cat was in there!

I always take a power converter. It's helpful not only in the foreign hotels but onboard as well. Often you will find the European recepticles at the dressing table.

[localady]

Half the clothes I took! You think you might need this and that, find you really don't and end up lugging it all over the airports etc! Next time I will leave the kitchen sink home too:rolleyes: :cool:

[ekerr19]

I'm with Jim on the power converter... we forgot ours and I couldn't do my hair properly - and I didn't like the way it looked for embarkation. :(

I would also bring along a couple more lightweight outfits - nice slacks and jackets for shore excursions. It was pretty cool in some of the places we stopped, also Europeans dress a lot nicer than Americans (please don't flame me, it's true imo) and unless you want to be running around a Cathedral in your Nikes, Levi's and HAL T-shirt - some nice quality sportswear is a must.

[dakrewser]

Don't listen to these people - you can never bring too many clothes! Why should you limit your choices on the ship?


The better way is to pack smart - a little bit of everything (OK, so you won't need mittens in the Caribbean - but the scarf could keep your neck warm when you're seated in te DR in direct line with the A/C!) - and use the on-board laundry facilities. If you're not in an S or PS, then first thing you do is to buy the unlimited laundry package, you won't regret it.

Cold & flu medications - you will, most likely, acquire at least a sniffle. Finding Robitussin in a foreign country is an adventure in itself!

Money - just enough for your needs until you're aboard. But do bring an ATM card - it's the best way to get foreign currency.

Maps. Get a good, detailed map of each city you'll visit.

Guidebooks are good, but heavy & bulky. Use a razor blade to remove those pages covering the places you're actually going and leave the rest at home.

Bon Voyage!

[adamken]

here's something not to forget, it was a great help on our last cruise, we took one of those over the door plastic shoe compartments, we put it over the bathroom door on the inside. Since there is not a lot of counter space or shelf space on most ships, this comes in real handy for everything, each little pocket held something differnet like, toothpaste, suntan lotions, razors, q-tips, hair products, whatever will fit...comes in real handy and doesn't take up any space in the suitcase, folds flat, cost at target was like $5.99, I have heard people getting them at the dollar store too.

And I am taking less clothes next time...dont wear half the stuff.

[momqat]

Really wish I had packed earplugs this last trip -- I usually throw them in, but left them home this time since I never had to use them before. :rolleyes: This time the air vent in our cabin was very noisy and annoying for the first couple of days (till I got used to it and it became just another backround noise). It was difficult to get to sleep those first couple of days.

BTW, the others in our group (2 other cabins) did NOT have noisy cabins, so I guess it's just the luck of the draw... I will, however, remember the ear plugs from now on. ;)

[JDee]

Extra pairs of glasses and sunglasses......or at least your last eye glass lens prescription.....

[AmyinVail]

Do people still wear fanny packs? On a serious note, I always bring a cheap drapery rod to put high on my balcony door so my children can't open it.

[RuthC]

After years of cruising, taking long-ish cruises, and "lug"ging my own bags I've learned to leave most of my things at home. It's amazing how little you can get away with packing, and still be comfortable all day and dressed up all night.

Only thing I usually forget that I wish I hadn't is dog biscuits. :rolleyes: Never know when you're going to run into a dog you feel a need to make friends with quickly. ;) (They're on my packing list now.)

[tomc]

Here's something I would never forget to bring along:

I like to eat lunch alone in the Lido. When people want to join me, I slip a whoopie cushion onto my chair as I rise to greet them. Then, as I sit down and it goes off, I excuse myself and mention that I have this chronic gastric problem and I hope it won't bother them while we are eating. Never fails.

[Orcrone]

Here's something I would never forget to bring along:

I like to eat lunch alone in the Lido. When people want to join me, I slip a whoopie cushion onto my chair as I rise to greet them. Then, as I sit down and it goes off, I excuse myself and mention that I have this chronic gastric problem and I hope it won't bother them while we are eating. Never fails.One day you'll get someone who says "Great, I have trouble keeping tablemates as I suffer from the same problem. I guess you won't mind me joining you."

[Orcrone]

DW asked me to check on what toiletries were supplied. I found out on this board that they supply shampoo and conditioner. Turns out it's an all in one that she hated. So we stopped at a drugstore in Antigua to get conditioner. It is much more enjoyable having a wife who is not suffering from a bad hair day.;)

[Randyk47]

On my second cruise.....my ex. Really ruined the whole experience. :(

[ekerr19]

Randy-

Ruined it by taking her or leaving her...

[Randyk47]

Taking her......I would have had more fun by myself! :rolleyes:

[dakrewser]

Here's something I would never forget to bring along:

I like to eat lunch alone in the Lido. When people want to join me, I slip a whoopie cushion onto my chair as I rise to greet them. Then, as I sit down and it goes off, I excuse myself and mention that I have this chronic gastric problem and I hope it won't bother them while we are eating. Never fails.

When I'm eating by myself I don't mind if someone wants to share the table so long as they realize that sharing the table doesn't include my entertaining them. I've got my book which I'd like to continue to read, they can can what they like.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Do people still wear fanny packs?

Amy, I always bring my Fanny Pack. When traveling and lugging around luggage I need that extra hand. My Fanny pack holds my wallet, cell phone, passport, reading glasses and sun glasses and a good book to read. I don't bother with a purse. As a matter of fact I quit bringing my evening bags. I now just have DH hold on to my Ship Board Card and the rest gets locked up in the safe in the cabin.

As far as what I should or should not bring , our last cruise I wore everything I packed and can't think of a thing we needed to bring and didn't. I can say that after taking several cruises you soon learn the best way to pack. Our next cruise I am bringing my new Lap Top so we will see if I think that is too much of a pain to drag around thru the airport.

[ColoradoJuli]

Lisa - You will love having your laptop. We just returned Sunday from a cruise and took ours. It was great for making notes, changing my packing list (for the next cruise) and downloading our pictures. If we weren't so cheap, we also could have used it to access the internet. Maybe next time.

The most useful thing I have found to take with me is a mesh shoe holder that goes over a door. It is a life saver on space. I put everything in it from my hair products to the blow dryer. It holds my sunscreen and all the 'what if' medicines. It is wonderful to have along. I will never go without one. The mesh style folds down real easily and takes up hardly any space in the suitcase. I found my at Target for $13 The other item that I love is the collasable clothes hamper. Walgreens carries the hamper and it is about $5. It is wonderful!

What I will leave behind in May will be all the shorts and shirts. I brought WAAAY too many this time. Not sure what I was thinking because I know better. Hopefully I can get things down to one suitcase if I can just remember to pack correctly.

[whenzuc]

i always bring along an extension cord with a loght weight power strip. Otherwise, you have to plug and unplug hairblower, charger for camera, telephone, etc. it packs small, and is really necessary when the hairblower is not in a convenient place.
also, duct tape- if your drapes don't quite stayed closed at night, if something rattles, or to wrap around items that might spill when repacking- you can just wind some around a pencil as it takes up no room or weight to pack

[ColoradoJuli]

Wrap duct tape around a pencil! What a great idea. Before my cruise I was hunting all over the city looking for the 'flat' duct tape. I never thought of using a pencil. Problem solved! Thanks.

I also bring a power strip. It does help to 'multiply' the outlets.

[Linda&Vern]

Ok - first time cruisers on the Maasdam Holiday Cruise have to confess ... we took SEVEN (7) suitcases! Big ones! Do you have any idea what our nicely sized room looked like when we walked in and saw those 7 cases sitting in the middle of the floor? (And it was close to midnight when the bags arrived, because of the late departure circumstances of that cruise!) Thankfully HAL's rooms have enough space for all the clothes and all the cases fit under the bed! But DW knew she was in trouble on the second informal night when she couldn't remember what she wore for the first informal night! We are looking at cruising again as soon as possible ... just to prove to ourselves that "this time we can do it in 3!"

[serendipity1499]

also, duct tape- if your drapes don't quite stayed closed at night, if something rattles, or to wrap around items that might spill when repacking- you can just wind some around a pencil as it takes up no room or weight to pack
Thanks to these boards I learned that there is such a thing as Flat duct tape...No need to wind it around a pencil.. It's called ''FLAT PACK DUCK TAPE" ( Yes, there's a funny little duck on the package)...Purchased it last year at "Walmart"..It came in handy when we were on our South American Cruise...Just before checking out of our Santiago hotel we discovered a six inch rip in one of our bags..The duct tape saved the day....Our suitcase stayed together & our clothes were fine..Never leave home without it..

Also take a tiny roll (about the size of a quarter) of scotch tape, string, post it notes, & tiny stapler...I carry a lanyard for my cabin key, which I have hole punched by the purser...It hangs around my neck & I'm not fumbling around looking for it when I need it..We take a small flashlight, in case of a power failure but next time will take a small dollar store nightlight to put in the bathroom. Don't like leaving the big light on in the bath at night..

Also next time I'll pack LESS clothes & LESS shoes...Peaches says you learn to pack, but I still haven't learned & take too many pairs of shoes & more clothes than we'll ever wear..LOL

Happy cruising!
..

[ekerr19]

We always bring 6-7 suitcases with us.. don't skimp on clothes, especially in the Med or Baltic. We just bought our new car based on our cruise luggage - don't under-pack... if you don't have it - you'll regret it. :)

[RevNeal]

I've surprised myself by not having enough underwear thanks to having to change more times than expected (due to weather). Also, I perspire a lot, so that means I sometimes change casual day-time clothing mid-day. This is ALWAYS true if I've been ashore for an excursion. Hence, washing is a MUST.

I should learn to leave the jeans at home ... I never wear them and they're bulky and weigh more than slacks.

I should remember to bring TWO swim suits.

I should always triple check to make sure I have (1) sinus medications, (2) cold medications, (3) headache medications, (4) Tums.

"How are you fixed for blades?"

More money ... more money. I always run short of currency. I should learn to carry at least $500 more in travelers checks than my reasonable expectation.