Best & Worst Packing Tips

[Ziggy7]

OK I pinched this from another cruise line board but thought it was a good one to not only help new cruisers but anyone who travels.

What is the one packing tip you have received or learned that is the best and what is the worst..??

Mine...
Best tip: don't pack valuables into checked luggage... carry them with you.

Worst tip: Sorry I didnt have any, everyone I used was great :)

[tomc]

If you take life-sustaining meds, do not put them into your airplane carry-on. Keep them in your pocket. In case you need to go down the exit chute, the carry-on stays with the plane and you are up the creek.

[sail7seas]

Before packing a suitcase, line it with a dry cleaner bag (or two if needed to fully cover the bottom). When you are finished packing, place another dry cleaner bag on the top and tuck it down the sides of the bag. If the suitcase is left on the tarmac at the airport or on the dock at the ship in the pouring rain, the contents will remain dry.


Also.....if someone has packed a bottle of red wine in their suitcase and that suitcase is piled on top of yours......When that bottle of wine breaks and leaks all over the place, your clothes won't be "dyed red".

[Ziggy7]

Before packing a suitcase, line it with a dry cleaner bag (or two if needed to fully cover the bottom). When you are finished packing, place another dry cleaner bag on the top and tuck it down the sides of the bag. If the suitcase is left on the tarmac at the airport or on the dock at the ship in the pouring rain, the contents will remain dry.


Also.....if someone has packed a bottle of red wine in their suitcase and that suitcase is piled on top of yours......When that bottle of wine breaks and leaks all over the place, your clothes won't be "dyed red".I love this one thanks! :)

[Johanna7]

S7S:

I never realized that other people's wine and breakable bottles could cause mayhem to our luggage. Thank you for pointing it out.

[Leslieswiger]

So can mouthwash and anything that is in glass bottles. Makes one wonder what ever happen to good old common sense.:eek: Those who would bother taking wine will be taking GOOD wine. Put into wine boxes,given to porter then the ship steward takes over. Does NOT go up with the checked luggage.:eek: Happy Sailings...Leslie Swiger:)

[peaches from georgia]

Those who would bother taking wine will be taking GOOD wine. Put into wine boxes,given to porter then the ship steward takes over. Does NOT go up with the checked luggage.:eek: Happy Sailings...Leslie Swiger:)
Don't count on it. I've seen lots of wines mentioned here that I would never think anyone would bother taking with them, but they are afraid the ship won't have what they are used to drinking, I guess.

Even more common, people pack liquor in their checked luggage since it cannot be carried on.

[Leslieswiger]

Hello Peaches!

Very true in what your saying. I stay with my wine until it reaches the ship steward. Never but never have I had a problem with HAL and wine.
Now for those who pack these things into checked luggage...I say, what ever happen to good old common sense.:eek: Thanks Peaches and Happy Sailings...Leslie Swiger:)

[Ziggy7]

I pack all my liquids in plastic ziplock bags and never take glass bottles, if its something that comes only in glass I put it in my carry on or empty it into a plastic bottle :) And now with S7S's tip, my stuff wont get wet from others stuff or rain too :)

[bepsf]

I've packed all my toiletries in ziplocks ever since a business associate had a can of shaving creme explode in his luggage and was forced to wear his travel clothes for our business meetings that day:eek:

I also minimize the amount of glass bottles in luggage - only my cologne and then in a ziplock again.

I pick up the bubbly for the ship between the airport and the pier so breakage issues should be minimized.

Meds, eyeglasses and contact lenses go into my briefcase along w/ my laptop, cellphone, housekeys and tickets, so if there is an onboard emergency the most important things are readily accessable.
A packing tip from a friend who goes to Europe alot and loves to shop there: Bring your oldest underwear and socks with you - after you wear it once, throw it away and you'll have room of everything you've bought while abroad.

[anniecat]

a few years ago a teacher of mine at a quilt festival had her suitcase full of her prize quilts ruined by LEAKING FISH...those "carefully packed at the dock in dry ice" ones the fishermen send home.....think about that! gives me nightmares still :eek:

[kent4489]

<<<<A packing tip from a friend who goes to Europe alot and loves to shop there: Bring your oldest underwear and socks with you - after you wear it once, throw it away and you'll have room of everything you've bought while abroad.>>>>>


I always do this when I go to Europe. Same for washcloths...I always take my oldest and just throw them away after using.

Jayne

[Arubalisa]

Ah my favorite travel subject :eek:

DH never believed me until the night he was packing and could not fit everything that he wanted in his suitcase. After he emptied the suitcase, I rolled EVERYTHING and placed back into the bag. MHO cuts down on some wrinkles.

He never believed this worked until he saw it with his own eyes. Plenty of space with some to spare. After all, the space comes in handy for all those gifts he buys me while we are away which will not fit in my suitcase :D

Also, he never knew to put heavy items like books and shoes on the bottom of the suitcase. Place your socks into shoes to use up the space.

I have a tropical weather, casual (not complete for cruising, but good basics) vacation packing checklist (http://www.arubabound.com/packing/list.htm) if it helps anyone.

[the2ofus]

Place your undergarments, lingerie, etc. in ziploc bags so that when you are selected for a luggage search these items can be easily viewed and then repacked. Arubalisa mentioned stuffing socks into your shoes which not only saves space but also keeps the shoes in good shape. I then pack my shoes into shoe mittens or plastic grocery sacks to keep my clothes cleaner.

I always take a multi-pocket shoe/purse organizer along which I can hang from a rod in the closet or over the bathroom door. It helps to keep stray items organized. Doesn't take up much space in the suitcase and sure comes in handy.

Also, find a small plug-in night light and make it part of your permanent travel kit. Comes in very handy in those pitch dark cruise ship or hotel bathrooms. The ship hairdryers usually have an outlet for plugging in an electric razor which also can accommodate the night light.

[jazzsea]

We always bring an extension cord and a small roll of duct tape. Also a small can of lysol spray.

I liked the tip about dry cleaning bags from Sail7Seas. I usually use a green garbage bag. Dry cleaning bags will be easier.

Bring an assortment of sizes of zip lock bags. The ship does not have these items and they are helpful in so many ways. Many of us like to take a sandwich from the lido deli when we go on afternoon tours. The ship has nothing to wrap the sandwich in after it is made.

TomC, thanks for the tip about life saving meds. I often wondered how I would get to my blood pressure medication if I had to evacuate a plane.

I still use one of the oldest cruise packing tips. Pack everything that you think that you will wear. Then take half of it out.

[GirlInADaydream]

One that i found to be great is take a Glade PlugIn or another airfreshener with you to plug in your cabin.

If the rooms happens to have an "unpleasent" smell, it will help, but not only that but when you get home from the cruise, you can buy the same scent and every time you smell it, you will have wonderful memories of your cruise!

I also like to pack fabric softener sheets in between my clothes in my suitcase to keep them smelling fresh!

[rex523]

My father always says "take half the clothes you think you will need and twice the money!"

[Bones]

I have heard folks placing their favorite liquors in plastic baby bottles in a zip locked bag for that afternoon cocktail in the cabin.
Did you bring your hiking boots on an Alaskan cruise?

[rickdor]

When we travel, we pack clothes for each of us in every bag. Each bag contains underwear, casual shorts and t-shirts, dress pants and shirts, dresses and formal items. If one bag gets lost or delayed in transit, we each have a complete wardrobe to continue are trip. My wife used to think this was a little much until our Oosterdam cruise from Lisbon last year. One bag did not make it from London to Lisbon for several days. Fortunately it showed up before the cruise began.

[FoxyTerrier]

We always take a small first aid kit - with bandaids, antacids, Imodian AD, Alieve, etc.

When traveling abroad make a copy of your passport and keep it in a different place from the real passport. We also write down a few credit card numbers and 800# for them just incase the real ones get lost or stolen.

A journal is also nice for taking notes on the days activity and food/menu on ship. The small student essays journals are cheap and readily available.

As for clothes I always combine outfits together for easy grabbing from suitcase or dresser drawer.

My parents always bring a pillow case to use as a dirty laundry bag.

As others have said zip lock bags - they come in handy for lots of things - even if just combining things.

We also usually accumulate a lot of HAL logo items - things that are won at trivia and games. We have decided that we have enough of them at home so on the last night we go for a last drink at the crows nest and give them out to other PAX.

[mountainmare]

I use brightly colored plastic cable connectors(the zippy kind) to lock my luggage. If TSA needs to search the bags they can easily cut them off. Inside each bag I have an extra connector of a different color with a note thanking them for doing a good job., and asking them to please relock the bag. This way I know if my bag has been opened and I'm not forcing TSA to break a lock. Just remember not to put them on until you are ready to check your luggage. Last year we flew out of a local airport without screening tech. Every bag had to be hand searched and I had to break into all of my carefauuly colorcoded luggage.

[beargal]

Packing for both of us into each suitcase was a great idea I followed last year on our Transatlantic from Lisbon on the Oosterdsam. We also did not receive all of our luggage from London until late that night. Unfortunately I did not follow the thought through and pack some tolitries in each bag and the bag that was late had ALL of our tolitries, makeup etc in it. Now I pack some of the tolitries into all cases!
HTH, Rebecca

[PBLouise]

Since I seem to travel with lots of electronics (laptop, digital camera, cell phone, etc.), I have a 6 outlet surge suppressor that will plug into a standard double wall outlet, in my permanent travel kit. I also carry small straight and phillips screw driver. I often remove the outlet wall plate before plugging in the surge supressor to allow a better fit.

I use those packers where you folder clothes and group them together in a rectangular package. Makes finding things in the suitcase so easy. Example on a recent cruise I put clothes, underwear etc for the couple of Disney days in 2 packers and cruise items in 4 others. When we were at Disney World we only pulled the disney packers out of the suitcase. Others stayed in.

I also have several of the bags you roll the air out of after inserting clothes etc. Great way to carry underwear. And even better for making room for the trip momentos on the way home by compressing the laundry. I take a bright red beach towel so I can find it at the pool or beach when not wearing my glasses. I pack that in a one of the air removal bags as well.

Last tip - Pack clothes that are in a hanging baf or section of the suitcase in the plastic dry cleaner bags. Helps cut down on wrinkles.

[DJP]

I do not pack all my stuff in one suitcase and all my husband's in another, but divide it so that if one suitcase is lost, we will each still have clothing and other essentials. I also pack any liquids, such as shampoo, sunscreen, etc. in zip lock bags. I've always used tissue paper when packing clothes to help prevent wrinkles, but it does take up more room. We just bought some of the space saver bags where you roll them up to force the air out....a friend said they do not prevent wrinkles, though, as the packaging says. So, I've decided to put things in them like underwear that I don't care if they get wrinkled. Sailin' on the Zaandam on the 20th!

[lipoppop]

Put a piece of paper with your name, address, phone number and travel info IN the suitcase so if the tag gets lost it can be forwarded

[rdy2cruz]

Take a cloth hanging shoe hanger to put in the closet and put incidentals like cameras, flip flops, hats so you can grab and go and it takes up less space in the cabin. Its a great place to put your medicines too if you don't have enough room in the bathroom.

[cactuslady]

Bring your oldest underwear and socks with you - after you wear it once, throw it away and you'll have room of everything you've bought while abroad.
bepsf: I can't wait to see you on formal night all decked out in your finest tuxedo (or is it top hat and tails?) and have that mental picture of the dingy, holey, old underwear and socks beneath. :p

However, the worst packing tip I've seen mentioned on this thread is the one about packing raw fish. What we need now is a new blender thread featuring the Bassomatic.