GRRRRR.....I wish I had packed....

[laumicmah]

My first Carnival cruise the thing I didn't bring was a hairdryer as the Sensation didn't have them in the cabins...which I wasn't aware of and also didn't know I could request one from our steward. Thankfully, it was only a 3 day cruise with very frizzy hair. Now I always check to see if the ship I'm on has them in the cabins or not.

 

The things I've packed that I didn't need were my DD's and DH's gloves and a softball for DD to work on pitching...we thought she could go up on basketball court and pitch to her dad or on the beach at HMC...but it never happened.

 

By the way, something that I bring that is a little odd is a sound machine. It is my alarm clock and can be used to drown out any noise (I am a light sleeper). It REALLY came in handy on our Canada cruise when the fog horn blew all through the night on 2 nights.

[Disneycruisers]

I always bring more clothes than I wear, ... but I'd rather have the choices than not

 

Exactly!

 

Everyone is different, and I'm one who NEVER advises 'take half of what you think you'll need." I'd rather have it and not use it, than NOT have it and wished I'd brought it. I also will not do laundry while on a cruise. (We take advantage of Carnival's wash and fold.) We did laundry on our first two (Disney) cruises, and I wasted fun vacation time waiting for washers and dryers. Never again. We also take almost everything in our medicine cabinet. (We didn't need band-aids for one cruise, but did another. Same with Advil, immodium, antacid, etc.) In fact, we cruised with a neighbor family of ours, and a few times they came knocking on our door.."did you bring any...?":p I learned this from my mother. There's nothing she didn't take with her when on a vacation.

 

That said, I've forgotten to pack aloe vera gel for sunburns (I paid a small fortune on board.) And, what an earlier poster said about wishing they'd brought sweatshirts...I learned that one the hard way too. (Ended up buying one when we were on Disney.) These are the first two items I pack now.:)

[Butterbean1000]

This is a more of what I forgot to bring....all my hang up clothes. I had no dresses or blouses which were almost half my traveling clothes. I had them hanging in my closet waiting to be put in my garment bag along with my elegant night dress. I shopped at every port for a decent sun dress but most were tacky cheap dresses or not for anyone over 21. I won't make that mistake again!

 

Enjoy your cruise:cool:

[adriennerm]

1. Power strip....my last cabin had one outlet. Trying to curl my hair and charge a camera was not fun. Plus I use 3 different sizes of curling irons. So plug one in, do bottom layer of hair. Plug next one in, do middle layer of hair. Plug last one in do top layer.

 

2. Two bathing suits instead of one. Sometimes my bathing suit wasn't completely dry by the morning

 

3. Poncho. We were rained on and buying a poncho in port was $8. Next time i'll grab a few from the local dollar store.

[rex00111]

Great tips and ideas so far....thank you everyone!!!

[cruiser-007]

This past time I can't think of anything I wish I would've had, but as far as stuff I didn't need I can think of 2 things: Heavy winter coat (should've ditched it in the car at the terminal) and a pair of binoculars (never felt like dragging them around the ship).:D

[Minoushka]

The way I pack I use everything and do not wash although on LONG cruises 15+ days I do laundry

I plan an outfit per day for day and 1 for night Sandals VERY comfy for day 1 pair dressy shoes ..goes with every night outfit

1 sweater or jacket for MDR or show even pashmina

1 jogging suit ...just in case -pjs-bathing suits and covers

1warm sweatshirt with rainproof jacket hat,

I travel in the jacket,jeans shirt sweatshirt and running shoes

Toiletries are what is heavy plus all kinds of over the counter stuff .from tummy aches,to colds and sore throat ,to painkillers plus anti bacterial ointments and bandaids

I carry a SMALL hairdryer and rollers and at times heated rollers

I'm always near 50 lbs I think my clothes are heavy!!!!I try to take less NEVER WORKS I'm always stuck with 1 large suitcase and a big bag If we go snorkeling I put all our stuff in there I wish I could pack lighter I have yet to succeed

 

Depending where we are going I either bring very warm clothing ...like for Alaska or Arctic or light stuff for Caribbean

 

Michele

[Baylee]

A watch! I don't normally wear one and bought 2 cheapo ones for the cruise ... aaannnndddd... left them both at home. Ended up buying another $10 cheapo in the gift shop.

 

I also missed the over-the-door shoe holder I usually take. It really helps keep our little things organized.

[Room Service!]

I too have a packing list so don't often forget stuff. But a couple of cruises ago I was in terrible pain from a soft-tissue back injury and had to wait to the last minute to throw stuff into the suitcase. I forgot our power strip and with 3 people in a cabin it was very inconvenient. I also forgot to bring my extra thin wire hangers and that was also inconvenient. However, none of this, including the back pain ruined my cruise. :D

 

I rarely take anything that I don't need or use. I'm not a light (just a carry-on) packer. I like to have choices and even if I might not wear something, I've never regretted taking a couple of extra things.

 

Have a great cruise!.:D

 

They will bring you extra hangers if you need them.

[TexasRain]

On my very first cruise on the Freedom, I packed and repacked and repacked for days before heading out. I "thought" I had it down to fine science. There was NO WAY I had left anything out. I had my list and I checked and tweeked it a thousand times. This was going to the PERFECT VACATION with no flaws or snafus..........Very first shower I took and went to put my panties on and........yep, you guessed it! Packed the entire house including the kitchen sink, but not one pair of panties, except the ones I wore on the ship.

 

My husband did volunteer to let me wear his boxer briefs (which I had packed FOR HIM), but I politely declined. Since the ship store does not have panties for sale, I washed the same pair over and over and then went commando the rest of the time! :eek:

[JeanieTheMom]

I usually make lists and stick to them, so I don't over-pack, and use most of what I take, except "just in case" items, like band-aids. However, I have gotten on the ship and realized I forgot things I couldn't easily do without, and bought the items on the ship:

 

One cruise was over Halloween. Now in Colorado, we have long ago packed away our shorts and capri pants by the end of October. So while I intended to pack a couple pairs of each, they were in an out-of-the-way drawer, and I didn't remember to get them. I bought one pair of shorts and one pair of capris from the Fun Shops. They were "on sale" ( yeah, right!) for $25 each. But I would have had to wear the jeans I came in if I hadn't bought them. Also, they are good quality, and I still wear them.

 

On another cruise, I forgot to bring hair spray. I bought some White Rain on the ship for $3.99. When I got back home and checked at Wal-Mart, it was 94 cents. I try not to forget that anymore!

[Lyncoya]

On my very first cruise on the Freedom, I packed and repacked and repacked for days before heading out. I "thought" I had it down to fine science. There was NO WAY I had left anything out. I had my list and I checked and tweeked it a thousand times. This was going to the PERFECT VACATION with no flaws or snafus..........Very first shower I took and went to put my panties on and........yep, you guessed it! Packed the entire house including the kitchen sink, but not one pair of panties, except the ones I wore on the ship.

 

My husband did volunteer to let me wear his boxer briefs (which I had packed FOR HIM), but I politely declined. Since the ship store does not have panties for sale, I washed the same pair over and over and then went commando the rest of the time! :eek:

 

LMAO, OMG...hilarious!!!!!

[teddybarehead]

probably condoms, buying them in the shop onboard is embarrassing, because then everyone knows what might be happening in your stateroom. One of my friends met a girl and before breakfast the next day the entire crew was giving him knowing smiles and leers. I think her parents found out that way too.

[divngmedic]

probably condoms, buying them in the shop onboard is embarrassing, because then everyone knows what might be happening in your stateroom. One of my friends met a girl and before breakfast the next day the entire crew was giving him knowing smiles and leers. I think her parents found out that way too.

LMAO, I have been married nearly 20 years, I need to do that, just so that people think I am getting some.:p;)

[overeasy]

Extra memory card for the camera. They were for sale on the ship, reasonably priced, but they ran out.

[desertskies]

Downey wrinkle spray. DH's shirts got wrinkled in the suitcase. Couldn't find any on the ship or on Key West.

[4hunters]

Gum. Couldn't buy any on the ship.

[ferfoodle]

Forgot to add Visine to my med list. Yeah that was a $12.50 err on my part.

 

Might as well have left the umbrella at home because I never used it and it rained at all our ports. I just kept forgeting to bring it.

[kcdancerkc]

you can quickly google packing lists for cruise to see if anything applies

 

This time we are bringing our own snorkel equipment! guaranteed fit and sanitary!

[cojuqui]

One thing I wished I packed were HIGHLIGHTERS! Yes, I kept reading packing lists and people specifically say, "bring highlighters to highlight things you want to do in the FunTimes". Well, I forgot my highlighter and every night we anxiously awaited the Fun Times for the next day and it was difficult to remember the next day what we wanted to do without having to reread the entire Fun Times! Now, if I had my highlighter I could just skim the pages fast and find what we wanted to do!

 

I bring one yellow and one blue and only pay attention to the items that are green that both of us want to do.

 

Also I bring suction cup hooks to put up in the shower so that swim suits and whatnot have an extra place to hang and dry overnight.

 

PAST CRUISES:

 

Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean

Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean

[zqvol]

Ok cruisers, tell me something you wish you had packed on your last cruise...you know the thing that you didn't realize you needed till you got on board, but will take with you next trip....and on the opposite, tell me what you packed that you wish you had left at home, and just didn't need????

 

 

Only ever forgot two things. My fix a dive kit when we broke a fin strap and a flashlight, to look at my watch in the dark cabin without disturbing the wife.

[gilmorefan]

I keep a spreadsheet with a column for each person in my family and also one for general stuff. When I travel, I always bring plenty of Ziploc bags for snacks and to pack all of my bottles of lotion, shampoo, etc. Thankfully, I also packed the bottles of hot sauce that I bought in Jamaica on our last trip because even with clothes packed around them, the TSA managed to break one.

 

Oh, and ever since my ex-husband was stranded on the Splendor, we've started bringing a flashlight. :)

[CourtneyLovesCruising]

Let me hurry and answer you because you are ready to go!! Have a great time. I would say the thing I use the most and will take extra of this time is ziplock bags I use them for everything take a box you will be glad you brought them . I like the gallon size. Also don't forget a light weight jacket it gets cold at night.

 

I bring zip lock bags too, as I have always found them to be very handy while traveling.

 

I wish would have taken somethings as comfortable as jammies but appropriate enough to wear at night walking around the ship. I also wish I would have brought another sweater, I only had one along with a few shawls.

[cdamion]

Less.

 

This was going to be my answer.

[IreneCat]

I forgot conditioner for my hair once. I doesn't seem like a big deal but the ship's water had a weird effect on my hair and brushing it to blow dry it with no conditioner was torture. I'll never make that mistake again!