My experience as a First Time Cruiser

Hey all. As I just got back from our first cruise last week I thought I would put together my thoughts on what I found useful and what I found I didn't really need to bring. These of course are only my opinions. That's what I love about cruise critic that we all have opinions and things that work for US. I like many of you scoured the boards before taking our first cruise and I found so much good information and things I would have never known or even thought to ask. So thank you all!!

One of the first things I read to bring is on over the door shoe type organizer. I think there was a discussion somewhere about if these are being banned by the cruiselines but I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, I did purchase one but at the last second decided not to bring it. I'm glad I didn't. We had a JS and there was so much counterspace and closet space that I would have never used it had I brought it. So based on that I think this might be one of those things if you are in a smaller cabin would be useful. In the bigger cabins and suites, it is not necessary.

Towel clips for holding towels down on chairs: I purchased two sets of these one for me and one for my husband. I did bring them but never used them. I found it really wasn't very windy at all on deck or on our balcony. An alternative to the deck chairs is using these to clip your wet swimsuits to the clothes line in the shower/bath. If you don't have one of those in your cabin, you could use these to clip your clothes to the chairs on your balcony to dry quicker. Even tho we didn't use them this time I think I will still throw them in my bag next cruise just in case.

Highlighters & Magnets: I actually was going to bring these and I forgot to pack them. No worries, we would not have needed them at all. There was so much counterspace, and a table in our suite that there was more than enough room to hold all our papers, cruise catalogs, cups and room service plates plus that hanging anything on the walls would have been useless. I'm not sure about the smaller cabins tho so this might help some in those rooms. The highlighters for marking your agenda in the cruise compass? I always carry a pen in my purse and that worked just fine.

Outlet/plug strip: I went around and around with this one and finally decided against bringing this and I'm glad I did. It would have taken extra space in luggage and we only brought one carry on each. There was only one outlet in our cabin but we found that once we put our phones and tablets on airplane mode they stayed charged our entire cruise. I did have to unplug and plug in our coffee machine and hair straightener if I was charging the cable for my camera battery but it wasn't a big deal at all.

Sound machine/small fan: I sleep with a fan every single night. So I was really worried I wouldn't be able to sleep onboard. I downloaded a sleep app before we left but I never once used it. We slept with the balcony doors open every night and the waves put us right to sleep. Yes we did hear an occasional noise but quickly fell right back to sleep. ( also yes I know the cruiselines suggest not doing this. We still did. If they would have directly asked us not to we would have stopped).

Alarm clock: I think this one is totally unnecessary. JMO. We simply set an alarm on our phone. If you turn your phones off during cruising, there is a wake up call option on your in cabin phone.

Taplights/Old cc's to keep lights in bathroom on: Maybe our cabin was different but we had a push button to turn the light on and it stayed on until we pushed it on again to turn it off.

Water shoes for excursions: This I thought was a great idea! DH and I both brought some and they worked great for the beach that was a little rocky by the shore. The one mistake we made was wearing these on excursion day. Next time they will be packed in my bag and put on as needed. We had sore feet by the end of the day and we had good shoes. I have Sperrys and he has Adidas. Was actually surprised our feet hurt so much.

Waterproof money case like this: https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/tradeshow-promotions/waterproof-storage-case.htm?variant=BLANK&imageID=19637&gclid=CP6f4JGutsoCFdgHgQodGJYDmg

We brought two of these one for each of us for our shore excursion. I never used mine because I had a bag but DH used his and he loved it. Kept his seapass card, id, cc's and cash in them and never worried about losing it. They work. Water did not get in at all.

Now to the things I read about and DID NOT bring. And wished that I HAD:

Refillable water bottles: Ugh. It would have been so nice to have these. We mostly drank the free tea, water and flavored waters and it was a PITA to carry these cups around because the ice would melt immediately. I don't like lukewarm drinks so I was constantly trekking back to the refill stations to get new drinks.

BACKPACK: O how I envied all the people that were smart enough to bring one of these. I went for fashion over function. Baad idea. After cramming our two towels we carried off ship on top of an already packed Michael Kors shoulder bag, I thought my shoulder and arm were going to break off. Never ever again. Its my Hurley backpack from now on. Sturdy, reliable and wont give me pains after an hour.

Small first aid kit and Tylenol, Aleve, etc.: I got blisters on the back of my foot from our water shoes and had to go get bandaids from the cruise shop. I also ended up with a headache after falling asleep in the sun and had to buy Tylenol from the ship. $20 later I had both but if I would have just brought them with me I could have saved this money. Next time for sure.

Small crossbody purse: We did not use lanyards to carry our seapass cards. DH put his in his wallet and I carried mine in a very small Coach wristlet. I realized veery fast that trying to carry the wristlet, my phone ( so I could take pictures), a drink and a plate of food was not easy. You can take your food and drinks anywhere on the ship so trekking from one side to another on certain occasions was not easy. Next time I will be bringing a crossbody purse. Just big enough to hold seapass card, id, phone, lip gloss, etc.

Snorkel gear: This one of course is optional. I wish we would have brought it for our snorkeling excursion in Cozumel because even tho we would have had to lug it around all day. It would have been nice to be able to use on our beach day. Next time for sure!

Hope this helps some of you. These of course are just what worked for me. I am still looking over the boards because I cant get enough information! Its an addiction lol.

Thanks for your comments

Hey all. As I just got back from our first cruise last week I thought I would put together my thoughts on what I found useful and what I found I didn't really need to bring. These of course are only my opinions. That's what I love about cruise critic that we all have opinions and things that work for US. I like many of you scoured the boards before taking our first cruise and I found so much good information and things I would have never known or even thought to ask. So thank you all!!

 

One of the first things I read to bring is on over the door shoe type organizer. I think there was a discussion somewhere about if these are being banned by the cruiselines but I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, I did purchase one but at the last second decided not to bring it. I'm glad I didn't. We had a JS and there was so much counterspace and closet space that I would have never used it had I brought it. So based on that I think this might be one of those things if you are in a smaller cabin would be useful. In the bigger cabins and suites, it is not necessary. Have never taken a shoe type organizer for anything.

 

Towel clips for holding towels down on chairs: I purchased two sets of these one for me and one for my husband. I did bring them but never used them. I found it really wasn't very windy at all on deck or on our balcony. An alternative to the deck chairs is using these to clip your wet swimsuits to the clothes line in the shower/bath. If you don't have one of those in your cabin, you could use these to clip your clothes to the chairs on your balcony to dry quicker. Even tho we didn't use them this time I think I will still throw them in my bag next cruise just in case. Have never taken towel clips. Some cruise lines do not allow you to hang clothes on the balcony chairs -- especially overnight.

 

Highlighters & Magnets: I actually was going to bring these and I forgot to pack them. No worries, we would not have needed them at all. There was so much counterspace, and a table in our suite that there was more than enough room to hold all our papers, cruise catalogs, cups and room service plates plus that hanging anything on the walls would have been useless. I'm not sure about the smaller cabins tho so this might help some in those rooms. The highlighters for marking your agenda in the cruise compass? I always carry a pen in my purse and that worked just fine. Have never brought them.

 

Outlet/plug strip: I went around and around with this one and finally decided against bringing this and I'm glad I did. It would have taken extra space in luggage and we only brought one carry on each. There was only one outlet in our cabin but we found that once we put our phones and tablets on airplane mode they stayed charged our entire cruise. I did have to unplug and plug in our coffee machine and hair straightener if I was charging the cable for my camera battery but it wasn't a big deal at all. Have never brought a power strip onto a ship.

 

Sound machine/small fan: I sleep with a fan every single night. So I was really worried I wouldn't be able to sleep onboard. I downloaded a sleep app before we left but I never once used it. We slept with the balcony doors open every night and the waves put us right to sleep. Yes we did hear an occasional noise but quickly fell right back to sleep. ( also yes I know the cruiselines suggest not doing this. We still did. If they would have directly asked us not to we would have stopped). We like a cool cabin and since your leaving your balcony doors open at night -- we would have been calling the front desk to have them find out who was doing this. Leaving the balcony doors open does affect other cabins air conditioning. Please don't do that any more.

 

Alarm clock: I think this one is totally unnecessary. JMO. We simply set an alarm on our phone. If you turn your phones off during cruising, there is a wake up call option on your in cabin phone. We each have a travel alarm clock on the bed stands -- like to see the time in the middle of the night.

 

Taplights/Old cc's to keep lights in bathroom on: Maybe our cabin was different but we had a push button to turn the light on and it stayed on until we pushed it on again to turn it off. We leave the bathroom light on -- enough light comes under the door for us to see to get around the cabin.

 

Water shoes for excursions: This I thought was a great idea! DH and I both brought some and they worked great for the beach that was a little rocky by the shore. The one mistake we made was wearing these on excursion day. Next time they will be packed in my bag and put on as needed. We had sore feet by the end of the day and we had good shoes. I have Sperrys and he has Adidas. Was actually surprised our feet hurt so much. We always wear sturdy shoes on excursions.

 

Waterproof money case like this: https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/tradeshow-promotions/waterproof-storage-case.htm?variant=BLANK&imageID=19637&gclid=CP6f4JGutsoCFdgHgQodGJYDmg When we used to do beach excursions, there were at least 4 of us and we took turns watching items on the beach. No need for waterproof money case.

 

We brought two of these one for each of us for our shore excursion. I never used mine because I had a bag but DH used his and he loved it. Kept his seapass card, id, cc's and cash in them and never worried about losing it. They work. Water did not get in at all.

 

Now to the things I read about and DID NOT bring. And wished that I HAD:

 

Refillable water bottles: Ugh. It would have been so nice to have these. We mostly drank the free tea, water and flavored waters and it was a PITA to carry these cups around because the ice would melt immediately. I don't like lukewarm drinks so I was constantly trekking back to the refill stations to get new drinks. Always had refillable bottles.

 

BACKPACK: O how I envied all the people that were smart enough to bring one of these. I went for fashion over function. Baad idea. After cramming our two towels we carried off ship on top of an already packed Michael Kors shoulder bag, I thought my shoulder and arm were going to break off. Never ever again. Its my Hurley backpack from now on. Sturdy, reliable and wont give me pains after an hour. DH always wore the back pack -- even back when we did land tours before we started cruising.

 

Small first aid kit and Tylenol, Aleve, etc.: I got blisters on the back of my foot from our water shoes and had to go get bandaids from the cruise shop. I also ended up with a headache after falling asleep in the sun and had to buy Tylenol from the ship. $20 later I had both but if I would have just brought them with me I could have saved this money. Next time for sure. Have always taken 2 small medical bags -- one for prescription medicines which are kept locked in the safe and one for bandaids, Tylenol, Aleve, etc.

 

Small crossbody purse: We did not use lanyards to carry our seapass cards. DH put his in his wallet and I carried mine in a very small Coach wristlet. I realized veery fast that trying to carry the wristlet, my phone ( so I could take pictures), a drink and a plate of food was not easy. You can take your food and drinks anywhere on the ship so trekking from one side to another on certain occasions was not easy. Next time I will be bringing a crossbody purse. Just big enough to hold seapass card, id, phone, lip gloss, etc. DH keeps his ID card in a pocket, I keep mine in my tiny purse that goes over my shoulder. Never had a problem with it. Now that I use a Rollator, it goes in the basket when we are on the ship and still over my shoulder for when we are off the ship.

 

Snorkel gear: This one of course is optional. I wish we would have brought it for our snorkeling excursion in Cozumel because even tho we would have had to lug it around all day. It would have been nice to be able to use on our beach day. Next time for sure! No use for those items as we don't snorkel.

 

Hope this helps some of you. These of course are just what worked for me. I am still looking over the boards because I cant get enough information! Its an addiction lol.

Good list -- I enjoyed comparing what you took and did and what we take and do.

When we started to cruise, CC didn't exist and I just had to make lists of what we needed. Much of the lists were very similar for when we traveled to Europe and etc.

Thanks for taking the time to post this. It's VERY helpful!

I think it's really good for first-timers to hear about the experiences of other first-timers! Great post! I didn't find CC until we were going on our third cruise, and it completely changed the quality of our cruises because I went better armed with information and it's incredibly rare I ever book a tour through the ship now (that alone has exponentially increased our enjoyment!). But, since I didn't find CC until our third cruise, I didn't have a long list of things to bring with me that I wouldn't have thought of and sometimes I'm amazed at the things people bring with them! I have to fly to port and would need an second bag just for all those extras!

over the door shoe type organizer. I brought one once. Never again. There was no need and it just took up space! Every cabi I've been in has been really well designed and I've never needed something like this.

 

Towel clips. I've been in a balcony on all but two or three of my cruises and have never needed these.

 

Highlighters & Magnets Early on I brought a couple highlighters but I don't participate in many of the ship's activities so don't need one.

Outlet/plug strip: I have a small plug I take with me into which I can plug three things. I don't bring an extension cord or power strip--too bulky.

 

Sound machine/small fan I always travel with a small fan. I found one that makes more noise than it looks like it does. It's perfect. :)

 

Alarm clock: That's the only thing I use my cell phone for when I'm on a ship. LOL

 

Taplights/Old cc's to keep lights in bathroom on: It depends on the cruise line (and age/design of the ship) how the lights work. I'm on NCL Epic next and I understand the lights in the cabin remain on only with a card in the slot so I'll use one of my grocery cards that's in my wallet if I need it.

Water shoes for excursions: Definitely if you're doing water activities and usually use them.

 

Waterproof money case like this: Always (on Caribbean cruises)

 

Refillable water bottles: Always!

 

BACKPACK: Yep. Always!

 

Small first aid kit and Tylenol, Aleve, etc.: I keep one in my work bag so just transfer it to my suitcase for traveling.

 

Small crossbody purse: I have one specifically for cruises--surprisingly it's fashionable while being water resistant. LOL.

 

Snorkel gear: When we did a few Caribbean cruises we brought our own--just didn't like the idea of using the "public" ones. :o

I think it's really good for first-timers to hear about the experiences of other first-timers! Great post! I didn't find CC until we were going on our third cruise, and it completely changed the quality of our cruises because I went better armed with information and it's incredibly rare I ever book a tour through the ship now (that alone has exponentially increased our enjoyment!). But, since I didn't find CC until our third cruise, I didn't have a long list of things to bring with me that I wouldn't have thought of and sometimes I'm amazed at the things people bring with them! I have to fly to port and would need an second bag just for all those extras!

Could you give a little more information on the waterproof, crossbody bag that you own? I would love to get something similar. Thank you.

Hey all. As I just got back from our first cruise last week I thought I would put together my thoughts on what I found useful and what I found I didn't really need to bring. These of course are only my opinions. That's what I love about cruise critic that we all have opinions and things that work for US. I like many of you scoured the boards before taking our first cruise and I found so much good information and things I would have never known or even thought to ask. So thank you all!!

Thank you so much for all the great information. I will be going on my first cruise this May.

Thank you so much for all the great information. I will be going on my first cruise this May.

It's a Dooney & Burke --they have an extensive selection of crossbody bags. I'm a bit bag-obsessed, so I spent more than most people probably would. :o I just looked on their site and it's not there, so i assume they aren't making it anymore. But there are lots to choose from. You can often find them on ebay or other places for less rather than buying directly from D&B.

...

One of the first things I read to bring is on over the door shoe type organizer. I think there was a discussion somewhere about if these are being banned by the cruiselines but I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, I did purchase one but at the last second decided not to bring it. I'm glad I didn't. We had a JS and there was so much counterspace and closet space that I would have never used it had I brought it. So based on that I think this might be one of those things if you are in a smaller cabin would be useful. In the bigger cabins and suites, it is not necessary.

 

Many of the "must brings" that people mention on this site, I don't bother with and find I don't miss at all. We have never brought a door organizer, power strip towel clips... Actually have been on eight cruises before joining CC and glad I figured out my own packing list and modify it over the years based on where we're going and how long a cruise.

 

We have always booked an inside or OV cabin and find plenty of drawer and shelf space for storage...not a problem. And we're talking about three persons in our cabin.

 

...

 

 

Outlet/plug strip: I went around and around with this one and finally decided against bringing this and I'm glad I did. It would have taken extra space in luggage and we only brought one carry on each. There was only one outlet in our cabin but we found that once we put our phones and tablets on airplane mode they stayed charged our entire cruise. I did have to unplug and plug in our coffee machine and hair straightener if I was charging the cable for my camera battery but it wasn't a big deal at all.

 

We've managed to figure out how to use existing outlets without a power strip. My phone gets put into the drawer, turned off, until we get to a port. If it's losing it's charge, I'll put it into airplane mode and charge it before a port. My camera takes batteries so it's my hubby's camera that might need to be plugged in, but not all the time. On some ships, you won't be allowed to have a coffee maker in your room (and remember, all your luggage and carry ons will be x-rayed).

 

Sound machine/small fan: I sleep with a fan every single night. So I was really worried I wouldn't be able to sleep onboard. I downloaded a sleep app before we left but I never once used it. We slept with the balcony doors open every night and the waves put us right to sleep. Yes we did hear an occasional noise but quickly fell right back to sleep. ( also yes I know the cruiselines suggest not doing this. We still did. If they would have directly asked us not to we would have stopped).

 

When you keep your balcony door open, you are screwing up the climate control for the section your cabin is in. There's often a notice in your room that will mention this. So knowing you're not to do this, why would you continue to do so.

 

 

Small first aid kit and Tylenol, Aleve, etc.: I got blisters on the back of my foot from our water shoes and had to go get bandaids from the cruise shop. I also ended up with a headache after falling asleep in the sun and had to buy Tylenol from the ship. $20 later I had both but if I would have just brought them with me I could have saved this money. Next time for sure.

 

I do tend to throw many of the items from my medicine chest into a big ziplock bag and put in my carry on. On my last cruise, I somehow didn't bring enough bandaids and Sudafed...and it turned out I needed more of both. I had hurt my toe and ran out of bandaids so I ended up buying a 5-pack of bandaids in the ship's store. I developed a sinus condition early on in that cruise, but managed to have just enough Sudafed to last our first five days (all sea days). The next day we had our first port and we were planning to shop anyway. The items in ship's stores tend to be overpriced and you rarely have a good selection of brands. Also, the stores aren't open at night so you can't depend on getting what you want when you need it.

 

...

Just giving my perspective.

Just giving my perspective.

Everyones opinion is welcome! Thank you for your reply.

When I read the sign about the air conditioning for keeping the balcony closed I assumed it was for our room only. Not that I am disagreeing with you, but there must have been ALOT of first time cruisers or those like me on board our cruise because everywhere we went people were talking about how great they slept w/their balcony doors open all night. Either way we will NOT be doing this again as I want everyones cruise to be the best and def don't want this to affect anyone elses time! ( I'm always freezing and would rather have no air conditioning ever, but my DH tells me all the time that I'm not normal lol )

Happy cruising and thank you all for your replies :)

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Keith

Thank you!!!

Everyones opinion is welcome! Thank you for your reply.

 

 

 

( I'm always freezing and would rather have no air conditioning ever, but my DH tells me all the time that I'm not normal lol )

 

 

 

Happy cruising and thank you all for your replies :)

Lol, I'm the same, not a fan of AC.

I've never understood the shoe organizer. As said, we have always had enough storage space between the bathroom, desk, nightstands, below the counter, closet and safe cupboards.

One of the first things I read to bring is on over the door shoe type organizer. I think there was a discussion somewhere about if these are being banned by the cruiselines but I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, I did purchase one but at the last second decided not to bring it. I'm glad I didn't. We had a JS and there was so much counterspace and closet space that I would have never used it had I brought it. So based on that I think this might be one of those things if you are in a smaller cabin would be useful. In the bigger cabins and suites, it is not necessary.

I am a fan of the shoe organizer! I use it for toiletries,etc

Towel clips for holding towels down on chairs: I purchased two sets of these one for me and one for my husband. I did bring them but never used them. I found it really wasn't very windy at all on deck or on our balcony. An alternative to the deck chairs is using these to clip your wet swimsuits to the clothes line in the shower/bath. If you don't have one of those in your cabin, you could use these to clip your clothes to the chairs on your balcony to dry quicker. Even tho we didn't use them this time I think I will still throw them in my bag next cruise just in case.

I also use the clips. Have cruised with some very windy days.

Highlighters & Magnets: I actually was going to bring these and I forgot to pack them. No worries, we would not have needed them at all. There was so much counterspace, and a table in our suite that there was more than enough room to hold all our papers, cruise catalogs, cups and room service plates plus that hanging anything on the walls would have been useless. I'm not sure about the smaller cabins tho so this might help some in those rooms. The highlighters for marking your agenda in the cruise compass? I always carry a pen in my purse and that worked just fine.

I have never used these

Outlet/plug strip: I went around and around with this one and finally decided against bringing this and I'm glad I did. It would have taken extra space in luggage and we only brought one carry on each. There was only one outlet in our cabin but we found that once we put our phones and tablets on airplane mode they stayed charged our entire cruise. I did have to unplug and plug in our coffee machine and hair straightener if I was charging the cable for my camera battery but it wasn't a big deal at all.

I do carry a small outlet.

Sound machine/small fan: I sleep with a fan every single night. So I was really worried I wouldn't be able to sleep onboard. I downloaded a sleep app before we left but I never once used it. We slept with the balcony doors open every night and the waves put us right to sleep. Yes we did hear an occasional noise but quickly fell right back to sleep. ( also yes I know the cruiselines suggest not doing this. We still did. If they would have directly asked us not to we would have stopped).

Have not done this yet, but my DH loves his fan and will be purchasing a small travel fan for our next cruise.

Alarm clock: I think this one is totally unnecessary. JMO. We simply set an alarm on our phone. If you turn your phones off during cruising, there is a wake up call option on your in cabin phone.

My favorite alarm clock is room service! Just put out my order the night before.

Taplights/Old cc's to keep lights in bathroom on: Maybe our cabin was different but we had a push button to turn the light on and it stayed on until we pushed it on again to turn it off.

Never needed these.

Water shoes for excursions: This I thought was a great idea! DH and I both brought some and they worked great for the beach that was a little rocky by the shore. The one mistake we made was wearing these on excursion day. Next time they will be packed in my bag and put on as needed. We had sore feet by the end of the day and we had good shoes. I have Sperrys and he has Adidas. Was actually surprised our feet hurt so much.

I just got mine for our upcoming cave tubing in Belize!

Waterproof money case like this: https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/tradeshow-promotions/waterproof-storage-case.htm?variant=BLANK&imageID=19637&gclid=CP6f4JGutsoCFdgHgQodGJYDmg

I bring ziplock bags.

We brought two of these one for each of us for our shore excursion. I never used mine because I had a bag but DH used his and he loved it. Kept his seapass card, id, cc's and cash in them and never worried about losing it. They work. Water did not get in at all.

Now to the things I read about and DID NOT bring. And wished that I HAD:

Refillable water bottles: Ugh. It would have been so nice to have these. We mostly drank the free tea, water and flavored waters and it was a PITA to carry these cups around because the ice would melt immediately. I don't like lukewarm drinks so I was constantly trekking back to the refill stations to get new drinks.

Huge fan of refillable water bottles

BACKPACK: O how I envied all the people that were smart enough to bring one of these. I went for fashion over function. Baad idea. After cramming our two towels we carried off ship on top of an already packed Michael Kors shoulder bag, I thought my shoulder and arm were going to break off. Never ever again. Its my Hurley backpack from now on. Sturdy, reliable and wont give me pains after an hour.

Love my backpack.

Small first aid kit and Tylenol, Aleve, etc.: I got blisters on the back of my foot from our water shoes and had to go get bandaids from the cruise shop. I also ended up with a headache after falling asleep in the sun and had to buy Tylenol from the ship. $20 later I had both but if I would have just brought them with me I could have saved this money. Next time for sure.

Always travel with the basics.

Small crossbody purse: We did not use lanyards to carry our seapass cards. DH put his in his wallet and I carried mine in a very small Coach wristlet. I realized veery fast that trying to carry the wristlet, my phone ( so I could take pictures), a drink and a plate of food was not easy. You can take your food and drinks anywhere on the ship so trekking from one side to another on certain occasions was not easy. Next time I will be bringing a crossbody purse. Just big enough to hold seapass card, id, phone, lip gloss, etc.

A lady is always prepared!

Snorkel gear: This one of course is optional. I wish we would have brought it for our snorkeling excursion in Cozumel because even tho we would have had to lug it around all day. It would have been nice to be able to use on our beach day. Next time for sure!

Have not done this yet, am looking into it.

Hope this helps some of you. These of course are just what worked for me. I am still looking over the boards because I cant get enough information! Its an addiction lol.

Congratulations on your first cruise

Thanks for your thoughts, I agree with most of it.

I do like a highlighter it makes it harder to miss something you want to see or do, but a pen will work fine if you don't have one.

Thanks for your thoughts. I took highlighters and did find them useful. I was also very glad we took our basic meds and band aids!

The item I found most useful was a pack of sticky notes to leave messages for our teens. Just stuck them to their cabin door or mirror and we knew where we all were[emoji4]

Thanks for the report!

Hey all. As I just got back from our first cruise last week I thought I would put together my thoughts on what I found useful and what I found I didn't really need to bring. These of course are only my opinions. That's what I love about cruise critic that we all have opinions and things that work for US. I like many of you scoured the boards before taking our first cruise and I found so much good information and things I would have never known or even thought to ask. So thank you all!!

 

One of the first things I read to bring is on over the door shoe type organizer. I think there was a discussion somewhere about if these are being banned by the cruiselines but I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, I did purchase one but at the last second decided not to bring it. I'm glad I didn't. We had a JS and there was so much counterspace and closet space that I would have never used it had I brought it. So based on that I think this might be one of those things if you are in a smaller cabin would be useful. In the bigger cabins and suites, it is not necessary.

 

Towel clips for holding towels down on chairs: I purchased two sets of these one for me and one for my husband. I did bring them but never used them. I found it really wasn't very windy at all on deck or on our balcony. An alternative to the deck chairs is using these to clip your wet swimsuits to the clothes line in the shower/bath. If you don't have one of those in your cabin, you could use these to clip your clothes to the chairs on your balcony to dry quicker. Even tho we didn't use them this time I think I will still throw them in my bag next cruise just in case.

 

Highlighters & Magnets: I actually was going to bring these and I forgot to pack them. No worries, we would not have needed them at all. There was so much counterspace, and a table in our suite that there was more than enough room to hold all our papers, cruise catalogs, cups and room service plates plus that hanging anything on the walls would have been useless. I'm not sure about the smaller cabins tho so this might help some in those rooms. The highlighters for marking your agenda in the cruise compass? I always carry a pen in my purse and that worked just fine.

 

Outlet/plug strip: I went around and around with this one and finally decided against bringing this and I'm glad I did. It would have taken extra space in luggage and we only brought one carry on each. There was only one outlet in our cabin but we found that once we put our phones and tablets on airplane mode they stayed charged our entire cruise. I did have to unplug and plug in our coffee machine and hair straightener if I was charging the cable for my camera battery but it wasn't a big deal at all.

 

Sound machine/small fan: I sleep with a fan every single night. So I was really worried I wouldn't be able to sleep onboard. I downloaded a sleep app before we left but I never once used it. We slept with the balcony doors open every night and the waves put us right to sleep. Yes we did hear an occasional noise but quickly fell right back to sleep. ( also yes I know the cruiselines suggest not doing this. We still did. If they would have directly asked us not to we would have stopped).

 

Alarm clock: I think this one is totally unnecessary. JMO. We simply set an alarm on our phone. If you turn your phones off during cruising, there is a wake up call option on your in cabin phone.

 

Taplights/Old cc's to keep lights in bathroom on: Maybe our cabin was different but we had a push button to turn the light on and it stayed on until we pushed it on again to turn it off.

 

Water shoes for excursions: This I thought was a great idea! DH and I both brought some and they worked great for the beach that was a little rocky by the shore. The one mistake we made was wearing these on excursion day. Next time they will be packed in my bag and put on as needed. We had sore feet by the end of the day and we had good shoes. I have Sperrys and he has Adidas. Was actually surprised our feet hurt so much.

 

Waterproof money case like this: https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/tradeshow-promotions/waterproof-storage-case.htm?variant=BLANK&imageID=19637&gclid=CP6f4JGutsoCFdgHgQodGJYDmg

 

We brought two of these one for each of us for our shore excursion. I never used mine because I had a bag but DH used his and he loved it. Kept his seapass card, id, cc's and cash in them and never worried about losing it. They work. Water did not get in at all.

 

Now to the things I read about and DID NOT bring. And wished that I HAD:

 

Refillable water bottles: Ugh. It would have been so nice to have these. We mostly drank the free tea, water and flavored waters and it was a PITA to carry these cups around because the ice would melt immediately. I don't like lukewarm drinks so I was constantly trekking back to the refill stations to get new drinks.

 

BACKPACK: O how I envied all the people that were smart enough to bring one of these. I went for fashion over function. Baad idea. After cramming our two towels we carried off ship on top of an already packed Michael Kors shoulder bag, I thought my shoulder and arm were going to break off. Never ever again. Its my Hurley backpack from now on. Sturdy, reliable and wont give me pains after an hour.

 

Small first aid kit and Tylenol, Aleve, etc.: I got blisters on the back of my foot from our water shoes and had to go get bandaids from the cruise shop. I also ended up with a headache after falling asleep in the sun and had to buy Tylenol from the ship. $20 later I had both but if I would have just brought them with me I could have saved this money. Next time for sure.

 

Small crossbody purse: We did not use lanyards to carry our seapass cards. DH put his in his wallet and I carried mine in a very small Coach wristlet. I realized veery fast that trying to carry the wristlet, my phone ( so I could take pictures), a drink and a plate of food was not easy. You can take your food and drinks anywhere on the ship so trekking from one side to another on certain occasions was not easy. Next time I will be bringing a crossbody purse. Just big enough to hold seapass card, id, phone, lip gloss, etc.

 

Snorkel gear: This one of course is optional. I wish we would have brought it for our snorkeling excursion in Cozumel because even tho we would have had to lug it around all day. It would have been nice to be able to use on our beach day. Next time for sure!

 

Hope this helps some of you. These of course are just what worked for me. I am still looking over the boards because I cant get enough information! Its an addiction lol.

Thanks I found this quite helpful ! Going on our first cruise this summer on the carnival vista round Europe - I was debating about water bottles will def take some now ! I know some ships don't allow extension plugs anymore I will look in to carnivals policy on this as we all have I pads / phones etc ! I have booked two interconnecting cabins travelling with my husband and 16 and 19 year olds ! I'm sure we will be better pre pared after our first cruise !

Thanks for taking the time to write your list. Lots of useful info.

We use a power strip on our Princess cruises. With 2 kindles and 2 cameras and the placement of outlet son Princess sort of a necessity. we do use magnets to put the ships map up on the wall. Will do that especially in April when we will be on the Regal for the first time.