Cabin Hacks

[Lady Chew]

We don't like to put our suitcases under the bed (unless there is so much clearance they slide in & out very easily)

 

We pull the couch out from the wall and place the suitcases behind it. It is very easy to drop things in (usually souvenirs) and it gives us an extra surface for hats, bags, etc ...

[knittinggirl]

We attached the luggage tags to our cameras, and also reduced them and printed them to Post Card Size and inserted them into our Kindles. So, hopefully, they'd make it back to us.

 

On a previous roll call, someone mentioned forgetting her bag in a taxi, and it arrived in her room since she'd attached a luggage tag.

[joand452]

I've never added info to my phone, camera or Kindle, but will now. What I do do is type out a detailed itinerary, including flights, pre-cruise hotel and ship information and our cell numbers. I make numerous copies and put them on top of the inside of all our bags. Actually all our luggage has a mesh zip pocket on the underside of the lid, so I zip it in there. That way if anything is opened at the airport, the sheet doesn't blow away.

 

 

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[pcur]

That is a pet peeve of mine too. I've realized that, at least in the area I live, kids are no longer being taught sentence structure so they write what they hear instead of realizing that "of" is incorrect because its a preposition, not a verb such as the proper word "have". After reading and grading the umpteenth college freshman paper with this mistake, I sometimes want to pull my hair out (or have a strong drink:))

 

I will use "ve" for "I've", but in most/all other cases I spell out "should have" or "could have". I don't like most "ve" words. I write like I talk, so if I pronounce it all out, then I write it all out.

[DKane]

Why not just pack the dirty clothes as they come off? Makes it sooooooo much easier on the last night if you've been packing along the way.

 

We each bring a white scented kitchen trash bag for our dirty clothes and we leave it in the closet. It doesn't take up as much space as a pop-up hamper does.

[DKane]

When we're cruising, we love returning to our cabin and seeing space that isn't covered with shoes or clothes. Sometimes famlies cannot help to do this because they have 3 or 4 people in one cabin, but when there's just two of us, it's easy to take an extra minute to put our stuff away.

[joand452]

In case anyone is interested, The Container Store is having a sale on their travel products (e.g., packing cubes, etc.). They have an online store (containerstore.com) as well.

 

 

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[tlatrice]

Because, if they're under the bed, they don't take up room in the closet. Are you saving all the under-bed room for something else?

 

Of course, if you have four suitcases each, you probably need to nest them together, no matter where you store them. :eek:

 

Yeah, we totally overpacked for our first 2 cruises. :D

 

But I still don't see the problem with the suitcases in the closet. They're sitting on the floor. What room are they taking up?

 

I've only ever sailed in a balcony on Voyager class but there was plenty of room to hang all our clothes and still put the luggage in the closet. Our shoes went on the shelves.

 

Honestly I just wouldn't have thought to put anything under the bed. :p

[Gretel1128]

Unless you are in the location we were in on our last cruise because we did not have anyone walking by our door. :)

 

As you can see in the first 10 seconds of my video.

 

 

Direct link:

 

 

I'll make sure never to book that stateroom!

[LuvBNatC]

I pack toiletries and cosmetics in a large cube-shaped zippered bag. Inside, I stack 2 plastic bins from Dollar Tree of roughly the same length and width. They take up almost no space. Then I put all my stuff in the trays or tuck it around the edges.

 

Once onboard, I put all bathroom toiletries in one tray, and cosmetics and hair styling stuff in the other. Everything I need stays together, where I need it. Deodorant, moisturizer, mouthwash, toothpaste, etc., in the bathroom tray.

 

Makeup and hair items go in the other tray on the cabin vanity, where I dry my hair and primp. :D

 

Keeps my stuff out of the steward's way, and leaves more room for a cabinmate to spread out their stuff.

[Summersemester]

When there were four of us, we used the over the door holder-I bought a clear one the second time. Don't know why it didn't occur to me that a fabric one wouldn't do any good. With three adult women in one cabin, we needed a space for the little things.

 

Also, I love the collapsible cubes we use on our own small boat, and they were great as extra storage. They function as drawers on the floor of the closet or under the desk. We can have them horizontal stacked on top of one another, too.We ask the steward to take the coffee table and desk chair out. I relax better with a clean space and everything organized.

 

Now with just the two of us, there is enough storage. We also now know the suitcases fit under the bed and that we do not need one outfit every day and one new dinner outfit every night!That was a huge step forward in having enough room.

[mominva]

I just got back from our cruise and wanted to pass along information.

 

I bought magnets from our home depot. There was a $10 Super magnet that had a hook on it. It says on the packaging that it will hold 65 pounds. It worked great, but we only hung our straw hats on it.

 

I also bought a package of 10 small Super Magnets for $10. These didn't hold much, but you could hang up papers like the cruise compass or invitations. We had a graduation garland that the magnets could hold up to decorate my daughter's room.

 

I also bought flexible 4 x 6 magnet frames from Michaels. On our road trip down to Florida, one of my daughters made small signs (Class of 2015, Mom and Dad, etc) to slip in the frames. We put those on the cabin door.

[Semi Retired]

I buy Magnet Sheets from a stationary store (or even the bargain department stores have them). I make my own design on the computer, then print on the sheets. I've done family door signs on a 4x6 magnet photo sheet, and have done business card size fridge magnets for a roll call group (which was made on the 8x11 sheet).

[Queen of Oakville]

I just got back from our cruise and wanted to pass along information.

 

I bought magnets from our home depot. There was a $10 Super magnet that had a hook on it. It says on the packaging that it will hold 65 pounds. It worked great, but we only hung our straw hats on it.

 

I also bought a package of 10 small Super Magnets for $10. These didn't hold much, but you could hang up papers like the cruise compass or invitations. We had a graduation garland that the magnets could hold up to decorate my daughter's room.

 

I also bought flexible 4 x 6 magnet frames from Michaels. On our road trip down to Florida, one of my daughters made small signs (Class of 2015, Mom and Dad, etc) to slip in the frames. We put those on the cabin door.

 

 

Thanks, I've been looking for magnet hooks. Checked at the dollar store with no luck. What section of home depot did you find this in?

[BLAMBKY]

We are traveling in connecting rooms with 3 teenagers so anything that can make it a little simpler will help. Does anyone know if the walls on the Enchantment are magnetic? I've read that some aren't so the wall clips won't do any good. Thanks for all the good ideas! Keep em coming :D

 

We do the side by side cabins with our kids, not connecting. (This is said just for different way of looking at future bookings) we do not do connecting for two reasons 1) extra privacy 2) the connecting door changes your couch (I believe, correct me if I am wrong) into a chair. I would rather have the couch. 3) they are old enough that I can trust them behind a closed door.

 

Now MY past experience....my DD (love her but goodness!) did not unpack and lived out of her suitcase. Ugh, why?! Takes so much longer to find what you need and your clothes do not lose their wrinkles. Why didn't she? Too busy trying to get the party started. :D So I would suggest checking the ship out but then everyone goes back to UNPACK. I know that I can unpack so much faster and I tend to pop in to hurry the process along for my teens. We put the luggage under the bed to pack up dirty clothes as they go, unless items are wet. It gives them more time on that last night for enjoying new friends, instead of packing.

I remind my kids that these people work hard and not to make extra work for them. Along with if I think their room is a disaster, then they are required to match the tip I leave for them.:o So far so good! We have found that there is plenty of room for everything and I tend to be a heavy packer. :p

Edited July 16, 2015 by BLAMBKY

[ZoeyVictoria]

I like the little Ikea Skubb boxes for small things. Sunglasses, pens, my camera when I'm not using it, etc etc. Containment. If everything goes in those boxes, then I don't have to search for things when it comes time to use them or pack them up. (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50300275/#/70300279) And they are zippered on the bottom, so they fold flat for packing then cube-up easily for using.

 

This was a great tip. I bought a set of the IKEA boxes and used them in our 114 square foot cabin on the Majesty. They took up almost no room in the luggage. I used the large one (approx 11" x 11") for all of the paperwork that accumulates, the rectangular one (approx 11" x 5.5") for my makeup, sunglasses, etc. and gave the 5.5" x 5.5" box to my SO for his wallet, watch, card, etc. He did not use it 100% of the time, but I could quickly and easily scoop things into his box and move all of them to the side to access the desktop for hair drying and makeup application.

[Dinkachu]

Back when I was in 6th grade and we took a cruise on the SS Emerald Seas (they had a kids sail free special or something - and we were in a porthole cabin with my parents on the bottom twin beds and my sister and I on the pull-down bunks), we went to dinner the first night and came back to find three of our beds turned down. Dad's was not - he had left his socks on the bed, and the steward left his bed as-was. We still tease him about that - but he never made that mistake again!

I remember cruising on the Emerald Seas in the 1970's. Those porthole cabins were small for our family of 4. We stayed out of the cabin most of the time. That was back in the day when there was a midnight buffet every night and the room steward made fresh coffee for us when requested. Fun at Sea.

[cymru cruiser]

I picked some great tips on this thread for our recent explorer cruise so thanks everyone.

[SRV FAN]

Thanks, I've been looking for magnet hooks. Checked at the dollar store with no luck. What section of home depot did you find this in?

 

 

I ordered mine from Amazon.... They are super strong!

[Chip and Dale]

In our JS on the ROS last year, the cabinet above the TV housed the safe. Generally with DH & I we have no problem with our clothes and storage, but with a 3rd person, the daughter & I maybe sharing drawers and know I can keep small things in a packing cube and put in the drawer. The end tables are very small however. I also utilize the shelf under the sink. Shoes aren't a big problem because I don't take many, maybe 2 pair of evening shoes, rest are tennies or couple pair of sandels. Melissa, I use the cubbies in the closet more then my husband.

 

I found an amazing lightweight hanger with many pockets on each side on clearance one year at Walmart and have starting bringing that to store things like shoes (I am a shoe and evening bag addict!!!!), evening bags and shawls. We always clear out the desk drawer and put the stuff somewhere out of the way like in with the lifejackets or on the floor in the closet. It is usually divided, so I keep our glasses, my hair clips, whatever will fit since it is not very high. If you have the glass table in the cabin with the shelf underneath, you can store books, magazines etc under the table and use the top as well. Perhaps one of you could use one bank of the drawers and the other could use the cubbies in the closet. We usually clean whatever we can out of the closet and use the top shelf as well. We leave one suitcase designated as the laundry bag at the side of the room or behind the curtain (hump cabin) and toss the laundry in as we go which gradually creates space. You are so organized I'm sure that you will figure it all out! :)

Dee

[ccotting]

For any travel I bring an empty (cloth) laundry bag. Then we all throw our dirty stuff in it and we easily know what is clean and what is dirty.

 

Us too. In addition, our extra suitcase is an LLBean big duffle bag. Sailing out we pack that smushed flat in the outside pocket of one of our regular suitcases. Going home, all the laundry goes in that and there is room in a regular suitcase for all the souvenirs.

 

I sit on those chairs and the sofa, I don't want to sit on dirty laundry. We often just park the laundry bag behind a chair or in the corner of the closet space depending but it keeps things generally orderly without fuss and takes no real space when you pack it.

 

I think too that when you go for a longer time as we do you need to have a system because you bring more, have larger sizes of personal care products etc. We go for a month at a time generally. For a quick Caribbean cruise, you wouldn't feel the need to bring much in the way of organizers I think.

[cruiselife4me]

Loving this thread!! Thanks for the hints everyone. I did order he boxes from Ikea...I'll use them at home then on the cruise!

 

If you're in an inside room, it can get super dark and it's hard to see but easy to oversleep. However, set your television to the bridge channel and when it gets light in the morning so will your cabin.

 

I bring a scented plug in or body lotion or cologne but I DON'T use it until I'm on the cruise. After you get home and use it, it brings you right back to that cruise. Happy memories!

 

I bring little goodies from home to give to staff. We're from Michigan so I bring polished Petoskey stones. You don't see them anywhere else (mostly) so they're a cute gift. Also chocolates help.

 

Remember that there are camera's on your balcony in case you want to get frisky out there. **don't ask**!

Mary