What to Pack-New 2 Cruising

Hi All. Very excited for our first cruise - FOS April 10-17 - and have read a lot of good info on here. Was hoping to get some additional tips on what to pack that a 1st timer might not think of. I've heard close pins, which makes sense, but also bungee cords, which we would never have thought of. I'm assuming to keep doors tight in rougher water???

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

also bungee cords, which we would never have thought of. I'm assuming to keep doors tight in rougher water???

Actually I believe people use them to keep the balcony door open. Never tried it myself but sounds a good idea because the door closes on its own, although I have read on here that if you do keep the door open it affects the a/c in nearby cabins.

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks...

Hi All. Very excited for our first cruise - FOS April 10-17 - and have read a lot of good info on here. Was hoping to get some additional tips on what to pack that a 1st timer might not think of. I've heard close pins, which makes sense, but also bungee cords, which we would never have thought of. I'm assuming to keep doors tight in rougher water???

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

If you have a smart phone, bring it; if not bring a hi-lighter

Google "cruise packing list" for many ideas/sites. Including:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.thecruisinginsider.com/cruisepackinglistpdf.pdf&embedded=true&chrome=true

You truly won't need all the "extras"...if it's THAT rough, you don't want to be on the balcony, anyway! You do NOT need "bungies" on RCI ships.

Bring whatever you'd pack for any vacation in the climate to which you're going....you don't need a bunch of "stuff" for 7 days. Really!

i am a chronic overpacker and cruises are my downfall. When we go to a land destination, I always know I can run into a pharmacy and get anything i might need. But not on a ship - they overcharge for everything in the shops. So I basically bring a small pharmacy.

We also like to use walkie talkies - that way we can go off on our own and buzz in and talk when we are ready to meet up again.

We definitely did not need a bungee for FOS. We brought one and didn't need it at all.

I second the highlighter suggestion - very helpful for us when figuring out what we wanted to do each day... just highlighted it on the Cruise Compass.

We brought small scissors (DD's old ones from elementary school which are ok w/ airport security) and I cannot believe how many things we ended up using them for.

We also brought post-its which came in handy, but you could get by without them.

Water shoes if you're going W. Caribbean (for Labadee).

We brought a small thing of thank you cards to write personal thank yous for our suite attendant, dining room staff, and concierge (I was really glad we brought those!).

We brought mini kit-kats to pass out in addition to $ when we tipped room service and just around the ship. I read this on a CC post and was so glad we did this - it really brought a smile to the faces of people when we gave them out.

Go through your daily routine and take the toiletries for your own needs. Do not read any other persons list, make your own.

Take your clothes, shoes, bathing suits, etc... Make sure you pack for both day and evening.

A good camera, a small first aid kit (not a whole pharmacy, just a sampling of typical meds, plus a few bandaids) and anything else you cannot live without for a week. We typically count the days and deduct 2 days worth of clothing. You can send things out for laundry plus the vast majority of people only wear half of what they packed anyway.

When reading the packing lists on this and other sites, just remember you are not going camping. We find no need for things like hampers, over the door shoe holders, extra cups, paper, bungee cords, 3 ring binders...the list goes on and on. I've even read where people took a table for the balcony :eek: (the balcony already has a table). We prefer to pack smarter and lighten the load. I'm not saying we pack light and only use carry ons, haven't figured out how to do that yet and don't want to. But we prefer to only take as much luggage as we can comfortably handle on our own.

Bring a power strip. Simply not enough outlets for all the electronics.

Another thing to remember, you won't need say 5 differant slacks for the evening, you can get by with 3 and switch blouses. Evening shoes, I try and get by with as few as possible which may sound strange coming from a woman.:D. find 1 or 2 pair that can go with all evening wear including a dress, Tennies & flip flops and good pair of walking shoes.

Before our cruise, I will decide what I will wear in the evening incl a dress and mix & match blouses, same with the daytime, which would be mostly shorts for the Caribbean.

I liked Cruisingbeamers suggestion of Thank You notes. If you ever go on a 2 week cruise, you might consider the collapsable hamper.

Binoculars.

Power strip

Flashlight

A watch

Alarm clock

Baby powder. Use it at the beach before you put your shoes back on. The sand just falls off when the baby powder absorbs the moister in the sand.

A battery powered alarm clock as the ship most likely will not have a clock and a power outlet might be hard to come by. Plus, if you use their outlet, the frequency on the ship might not be 60hz and it will make your clock either very fast or very slow.

I also bring a large coffee mug. I take it to breakfast and have them fill it up all the way since the coffee cups they have are very small.

Flashlight.

If your staying in a inside cabin or even a outside cabin... Bring a Nightlight (Get very dark when you have no windows) and a plug in that will give you a few more power outlets to plug in chargers, Hair Irons, Etc.. Trust me the NIGHT light is wonderful in the middle of the night if you need to get up!

First timers always overpack there clothes. Best way to pack them is lay out what you think you will need for the 7 days and then put half of them back up and pack the other half. You will be surprised at who many items you will wear more than once. Wear the same thing on both formal nights, who will know but you?

Don't forget your RumRunners !!! :D

Use "cruisediva dot com" for both a general list, along with separate ones for women and men.

suntan lotion- forgot ours last trip- cost 14.00 in the ship

power strip- only one plug in the cabin

If your staying in a inside cabin or even a outside cabin... Bring a Nightlight (Get very dark when you have no windows) and a plug in that will give you a few more power outlets to plug in chargers, Hair Irons, Etc.. Trust me the NIGHT light is wonderful in the middle of the night if you need to get up!

To save on packing, the nightlight can be left at home. Keep the bathroom light on; just a bit of it will shine out from under the door. By leaving the light on it serves two purposes....nightlight and aids in drying any clothes/swimwear which is hanging in the shower to dry (at least that's what I've read).

All good info! Thanks!

Bags....kitchen trash bags for laundry (keep the bags either in the bottom of your closet or in your suitcases and sort your laundry as you go; this helps in doing laundry when you return home); gallon size ziplock bags for keeping things dry at the beach or around the pool, such as books, camera (even in the case), identification cards and money (also makes it easier to find down in a larger beach bag or backpack; small ziplock bags for sea shells or other small treasures you might find.

I don't like having dirty shoes mixed with my clean clothes when packing for a cruise, so I usually place each pair of shoes in a plastic shopping bag when packing them in the suitcase (various sizes depending on the size of shoes--men's shoes are always bigger and need a bigger bag). These bags can always be used in other ways on the return trip home. At that point, I don't care if my dirty shoes are in with my dirty laundry.

As mentioned, a small battery operated alarm clock is great to have. Also, a compact lightweight umbrella and a small ziplock bag of first aid items and various medications to take with you when you get off the ship for excursions. This last trip, we found menthol pepto bismol tablets work great for upset stomach and indigestion, which are much lighter to pack than liquid pepto.

Bonine is great for warding off sea sickness. One nondrowsie, chewable tablet a day prevents the possibility of getting sick. If you wait until you start to feel sick...most likely it's too late. With really no side effects, we start taking it a day before, during and for two days following the cruise. Seems we mind it the most AFTER we end the cruise.

Good luck on your first cruise...first cruises are always the best!

We have never needed clothespins, bungee cords, duct tape, over the door organizers, or extra hangers. I suppose I can see the usefulness of a power strip, but we have never taken one and never really needed one. If we are getting dressed and using the hair dryer and my curling iron, the outlet is fine for those 2 items. Whenever we leave the cabin, we make sure both outlets are utilized, charging laptops/phones/ipods. That way they are always fully charged and don't have to be plugged in to be used.

We also never take alarm clocks or flashlight... our iphones work fine as both. And we skip the nightlight as well, and just leave the bathroom light on.

A few things we do bring that prove useful:

Post-its: handy for leaving messages for each other if one of us takes off to the spa or gym on our own, leaving notes on the door for friends, or notes with special requests for our cabin steward

A ziploc bag or two: We stick the phone and ipod in them inside the pool bag, in case the pool bag gets wet.

Tervis tumblers: (or anything similar) We enjoy having these large, insulated, lidded cups for coffee or cocktails. Much less easy to spill, especially when taking a walk around the ship. :)

Some people are used to sleeping with a fan on. Take a small travel sized fan with you if you can. The rooms are very quite, and if you are used to sleeping with a fan running you may have a hard time sleeping without one.

The only real must-haves for us:

• Power strip - can't go without one. Electrical outlets are at a premium!
  
• A good digital camera - we use a Canon Powershot S90
  
• Sunscreen - kinda goes without saying, but you'd be surprised.
  

We also bring walkie talkies, but if you plan on using them, be sure to invest in a good set of them. The $10 cheapo blister pack of pink princess walkie talkies will probably work if both of them are on the same deck, if that. The more watts of power they put out, the better of a chance that they will work. We use Midland GXT-series two-way radios, and they worked pretty well on our last cruise on Navigator OTS.

If you carry a smart phone on board (iPhone, Android, Blackberry, etc.) you can use that as your alarm clock on the ship. Other phones probably have that feature too.

Have fun!

Baby powder. Use it at the beach before you put your shoes back on. The sand just falls off when the baby powder absorbs the moister in the sand.

 

A battery powered alarm clock as the ship most likely will not have a clock and a power outlet might be hard to come by. Plus, if you use their outlet, the frequency on the ship might not be 60hz and it will make your clock either very fast or very slow.

 

I also bring a large coffee mug. I take it to breakfast and have them fill it up all the way since the coffee cups they have are very small.

 

Flashlight.

If you drink coffee, this is a great tip. Bring a large travel coffee mug. The cups in the windjammer are small, and don't have lids. Bring a large mug for both having breakfast, and when you head out after breakfast if you want to bring a to-go cup with you. Or you can head out in the morning, grab a cup in your travel mug, and take it back to your balcony and enjoy your coffee there.