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Little Things You Wished You Brought


jan can

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For those experienced folks, are there little items that you wished you brought along? Any tips.

 

This might be especially handy for those spending a few days extra at one or both ends of the trip.

 

For an example, I was told that face clothes aren't common in Europe.

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Just bring a scissor and you can cut up one of the towels into face clothes. (just joking)

 

I think the "no washcloth" thing may be a French idiosyncrasy. Where ya traveling?

 

And try not to sweat the small things. Didn't somebody write a book about that?

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I always bring along a short (24 inch) extension cord. I found that most of the river cruises have a 110 outlet but most of the time it is in the bathroom. Without the extension cord my electric razor hang down free. But make sure you put it in your checked luggage. TSA might think it's a "weapon". A small folding umbrella is helpful. Most ships have large ones but never enough to go around. Now here's something weird. On all of our river boat trips we always do our Christmas card photo. We pack two Santa hats for a photo of us wearing them. These hats have been at the Parthenon atop the Acropolis in Greece, on the Great Wall in China, In Rudesheim, Germany standing next to a 7 foot nutcracker. Also with us standing next to a statue of Dracula in Transylvania. End of this month we will be in South Africa and plan to ride an elephant on a safari....Photo of us wearing the Santa hats on the elephant for this years Christmas card. Crazy but fun. Willard

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I posted this on the Money Savings Tips thread. I bought a $0.99 app for my iPhone that has a currency converter & flashlight, and some other stuff. I was looking for an easy currency converter, and the flashlight was a bonus! Someone mentioned that it is a good idea to have a flashlight when finding your way back to the ship at nignt. It's called ToolKit, and the flashlight is really bright.

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Just bring a scissor and you can cut up one of the towels into face clothes. (just joking)

 

I think the "no washcloth" thing may be a French idiosyncrasy. Where ya traveling?

 

Starting in Budapest and ending with three days in Amsterdam and three in Paris.

 

I will be cutting up some washcloths in half, the disposable kind. :D

 

In case the hotel doesn't like their towels leaving the room, I'm thinking of putting a microfibres washcloth in to sub as a towel for the Baths in Budapest. I've had to dry with one of these at the gym when I've forgotten my towel. It worked in a pinch. Doing carry on only, I have no spare room for anything else.

 

It is strange what the security folks check, not that I'm blaming them. I had a compact curling iron. The two guys held it up and studied it for a minute before laughing when I told them what it was. Obviously they weren't married.

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For those experienced folks, are there little items that you wished you brought along? Any tips.

 

This might be especially handy for those spending a few days extra at one or both ends of the trip.

 

For an example, I was told that face clothes aren't common in Europe.

 

Take a face cloth if you are staying in a hotel before or after the cruise as a lot of places don't have them.

I didn't know some places don't have them and was so surprised there weren't any the first time I went to Cuba. I always take a small one now just in case..

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Wash cloths were provided in our hotel in Vienna (Hotel Das Tyrol) and Budapest (Sofitel).

 

In Prague (Hotel Savic) they did not have wash cloths. I saw 2 housekeeping girls and attempted to ask them. Neither could speak English, so I did my best with pointing and hand motions. It was funny because they thought I was asking for more soap.

 

I realized I had my iPhone in my pocket, so I used the translator app. I typed in "Wash Cloth", and the translator spelled out the Czech word, "hadr". They looked at me like I was crazy, then brought me a piece of fabric.

 

Later that day, I shared with our tour guide what happened. She said, "the word "hadr" translates to "cleaning rag" like something you would wash the floor with!" No wonder the housekeepers looked at me so funny!

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Not that you have to download the app, but we use the clock in my iPad while on vacations. Most cabins don't have a clock, so we use it as not only a clock, but a night light as well!

 

One thing that we did have to do is to keep my iPad plugged in as having the app "open" all the time ran down the battery!

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Bobolink you're story made me LOL!! I went to K-Mart and bought two washcloths, one hot pink and other electric blue so we notice them in the bathroom and don't leave them behind! I paid $1 for both of them and keep them in my suitcase all the time.

 

I also never leave home without a night light and I pack my clothes in jumbo zip lock bags...keeps them from wrinkling and makes it easy for TSA to see what's in the bags without unpacking my suitcase! AND you never know when you might really need the bag.

 

Only thing I can add would apply to Egypt and China and that would be disposable face masks because of sand and air pollution.

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I bring an adapter that allows me to plug three devices into one outlet. I take this with me whenever I travel, even in the US. As has been mentioned, there is often limited outlets that are easily accessible in hotel rooms or cruise cabins. With the adapter, I only need 1 adapter for the European to US plug.

 

I also take wash cloths whenever I go to Europe. You never know what country / hotel has them.

 

Since I don't pay for a data plan for my phone when travelling internationally, I just put together a very basic currency conversion chart that I tuck in my wallet.

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When I'm traveling in countries where I don't speak the language, I try to have a list of basic words & phrases loaded into my kindle. (I also have language lessons on my mp3 player but those I try to do before the trip:p)

 

I have various apps on my phone but I don't use data overseas so unless I have wifi access....If it's something I'll need - I try to have it in an accessible location (my laptop if I'm bringing it but I usually only do that for work trips -so my kindle is easy)

 

I carry a microfiber towel for my hair (any trip) and don't worry about washcloths - I carry makeup remover wipes for my face and I can wash my body with my hands.

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There are numerous language translation apps that are both free and have a downloadable database so that Internet access is not required. My favorite is dict.cc. I am studying German, so I use the app daily. For our river cruise, I added the databases for Czech and Hungarian. I have it on my iPhone, but I believe there is also an android version.

 

There are also several free currency conversion apps. I like Converter+, which requires no Internet connection. It does all sorts of other conversions, Celsius to Fahrenheit, etc.

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I always bring disposable washcloths when I travel. You can get packages of really cheap washcloths for this - cut them into 4 pieces, and then use once and throw away. I even do this when travelling state side. I also travel with my own pillow.

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There are numerous language translation apps that are both free and have a downloadable database so that Internet access is not required. My favorite is dict.cc. I am studying German, so I use the app daily. For our river cruise, I added the databases for Czech and Hungarian. I have it on my iPhone, but I believe there is also an android version.

 

There are also several free currency conversion apps. I like Converter+, which requires no Internet connection. It does all sorts of other conversions, Celsius to Fahrenheit, etc.

 

What is the name of your language translation app? I cannot find dict.cc.

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I try to pack a couple of sheets of tissue paper and/or bubble wrap. That way I have something to wrap my breakables in if I can't get everything in my carry on.

 

Brought some this time to wrap jars of mustard in. Will most likely have to pack them as they will be over 100 ml (i.e.: too big for carry on).

 

Fran

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I always bring a couple of space bags and a kitchen trash bag. The dirty clothes get put in the trash bag and then into the space bag which gets squeezed down to make more room in our suitcase. You know how clothes needing to be washed take

up more room than clean, freshly folded clothes.

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That is true about worn clothes taking more space on the way home. I pack those space bags too.

 

Are there clothes lines in our showers on the new Viking boats. I've seen suggestions to purchase these for travel but can't find them where I live and it's too late to order them from the US.

 

It's a little off my own topic but the one thing I wanted to bring was a jacket/vest with interior pockets, preferably with zippers. I was expecting the fall clothing styles to have something like this. Again too late to order and I hate the currency conversion and taxes for something that may not fit.

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I try to pack a couple of sheets of tissue paper and/or bubble wrap. That way I have something to wrap my breakables in if I can't get everything in my carry on.

 

Brought some this time to wrap jars of mustard in. Will most likely have to pack them as they will be over 100 ml (i.e.: too big for carry on).

 

Fran

 

I always wrapped breakables in my dirty laundry or inside my shoes if small, but I LOVE the bubble wrap idea and will bring a sheet on our next trip!! I've taken to packing my clothes in matching bottom and top in jumbo zip lock bags that I partially zip then roll all the air out and zip shut. It's amazing how much more room I have in my suitcase and on flight days (we usually go a day early) I have one outfit and pajamas in a single bag that I can just pull out without destroying my whole suitcase. Also keeps things from wrinkling.

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A Smart Phone can be loaded with all kinds of useful stuff. Converters, translators, Weather and Maps. Call your provider and insure that you are set up for international calls, text & data. Pay the extra fees for the services, they're worth it. Especially the maps.

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I take along a small roll of scotch tape. When I wrap my treasurers in bubble wrap I always tape it so it does not fall apart. We have never had anything broken upon returning home!

 

Another good idea! I also just received a new travel scale. I have one at home to weigh my bags but problem was always returning home with a suitcase full of dirty laundry and new "stuff":D I found a tiny travel scale that weighs ounces and fits inside a shoe. Now I can weigh my luggage before I go to the airport for the return trip.

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