Vista question - What did you bring that was most helpful?

[BlessedAZWife]

I always bring a pop-up hamper from Dollar Tree. (I hate putting dirty clothes in luggage to sit there all week!)

A power strip (NOT a surge protector, that will be confiscated).

Heavy duty magnetic clips (Office supply shelves at WalMart)

Small tea lights as night lights.

Clothes pins (great for clipping things to clothesline or on balcony, also to weight the shower curtain down).

Poo-Pourri (because...well...small cabin, 2 people, rich food...yeah!)

A few large plastic bags (great for wet stuff or whatever)

A can of Lysol with which I spray everything in the cabin

5 or 6 plastic hangers (I hate the wire hangers, and if you ask your steward, that is usually what you get)

Luggage scale

Liquid soap for the bathroom (I don't like bar soap, it collects germs.) It is cheap enough that I leave the remainder for the Steward.

I also bring my own shampoo and conditioner as I have very long hair and their products are crummy.

First aid kit containing the essentials: band-aids, Neosporin, pain reliever, at least double the amount of required med's in a weekly pill case, along with pictures on my phone of each med bottle.

At least 40 $1.00 bills, and 10 $5.00 bills.

 

We always completely unpack as soon as possible. That way, we feel as though we are "home" for the week. It also means that any clothes that have gotten wrinkled in the suitcase, will likely "hang out" the wrinkles quickly. We use at least one magnetic clip for the daily newsletter, and one for our clothing list (I make a list of all itineraries/activities and the corresponding clothing we will each wear for that activity).

[LHARTWICK]

We've been on the Vista and the one thing I won't leave without are the collapsible bins I got at the dollar store. There is less drawer space but there are shelves along side of the mirror. One bin for me, one for hubby and our junk drawer bin, cards,pens, ... They're cloth and are light weight. I can't stand clutter so a place for everything.

 

Just returned from our most recent cruise on Sunday and this little box was a GREAT IDEA! We used it to hold sunglasses, phone charger, candy, meds, eye glasses, etc. Just a great little catch-all that kept the area tidy and was in a handy spot as we went out the door! I even stenciled some cruise art onto it like anchors, ship's wheel, seahorse, etc. My husband was most impressed! And it folds flat in the suitcase so it takes up almost zero space and weighs almost nothing. How have I been on so many cruises without this!!!

[sweets2323]

Can someone explain why duck is needed also why do we need plastic cards with a magnetic strip?

 

Thanks

 

 

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[beerman2]

Can someone explain why duck is needed also why do we need plastic cards with a magnetic strip?

 

Thanks

 

 

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Magnetic cards (need to put in the slot to keep electricity on! Use old gift card or equivalent.

 

 

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[Sophia67]

I am a bit of a "what if?" packer due to have been in some rather touchy situations in the past (eg. tropical storms, heavily damaged luggage, respiratory infections due to second-hand smoke, etc), but after about 15 cruises, here are my suggestions... take 'em or leave 'em (beginning with the ones you mentioned).

 

 

Magnetic hooks - never brought them before, but due to reduced storage areas in cabins, I plan to this March

Powerstrip - Definitely. For charging cell phone (to use HUB app), cameras, e-readers, power a CPap Machine

Masking tape / duck tape - I have had luggage nearly destroyed twice by baggage handlers, and you'd be surprised how hard it is to find duct tape when you need it

Pen, Highlighter, Sticky notes, pad of paper - Pens, Highlighter and Post-its. I often travel with a group of friends, and the post-its are a great way to leave a note on a friend's cabin door

Over the door shoe holder - Haven't ever used one and don't plan too

 

Other items -

Nylon/Net Laundry Bag - for your dirty clothes

Lanyard for your Sail and Sign Card

Small Flashlight - for emergencies, also carry on the airplane for the same purpose

Insulated Water Bottle/Cup - for carrying cold water ashore or drinks aboard ship

Towel Clips - for pool and beach

Hand Sanitizer

Various over the counter meds - Cold medicine, ibuprofin, cough drops, band aids, Tums, Imodium

Disposable Rain Poncho (like from the dollar store)

Travel umbrella

Binoculars

Extra Camera memory cards - Put in a fresh one after a day or too so that if you lose your camera or the card, all of your trip photos aren't on a single card.

Aloe Gel for sunburn

Water Shoes if you are going to any rocky beaches

Photocopy of your passport

Bring a bottle of wine and a 12 pack of Soda per person

Pre-order bottled water for your cabin

Powdered individual-sized gatorade mix (to mix with bottled water to stay hydrated)

Bottle opener and corkscrew (to enjoy your wine in your cabin and avoid corkage fees)

Ear plugs

Variety of different sizes of ziploc bags - they keep things dry and sand-free. great for packing damp bathing suits too

[bUU]

We're back from our November cruise but I haven't yet followed-up on my guesses from earlier in this thread...

We'll be bringing magnetic hooks this time; we've needed such things in the past, in an effort to keep the cabin tidier.

And we will never be without them again. They were so helpful!

 

A powerstrip is essential for anyone who relies on Kindles for reading material, smartphones for photographs, etc.

It wasn't only just a matter of having more sockets, but also the ability to put some sockets at the far end of the credenza, so that all the electronic devices don't have to all be piled on top of each other.

 

The most critical need for duct tape is to repair damage to luggage caused by careless and negligent airline baggage handlers.

Our luggage was brand new, we drove to the port, and self-disembarked, so we had no need this time.

 

• Pen, Highlighter, Sticky notes, pad of paper (I can imagine using some of this, like if I wanted to leave a note for our room steward for example)
  
• Over the door shoe holder (we are only two people so I have decided to forgo this - it looks like there is a lot of shelves in the bathroom for toiletries)
  

I think the rest would be unnecessary for us.

With the Hub application, we didn't regret not having a highlighter. I actually printed up a note for our stateroom attendant before we left. We did bring sticky notes and a pen, but didn't need them. There was loads of room for shoes on the bottom of the closets.

 

Summing up: Here's a full list of the miscellany we brought (so excluding clothing and toiletries), and an assessment of how useful they each were. (Please feel free to ask what we used any of them for if it is not clear.)

 

These items were all ESSENTIAL:

- Flashlights

- Contigo tumblers (empty)

- Passport

- Spare eyeglasses (even though I ended up not needing them)

- Umbrella

- Kindle

- USB hub

- Camera

- AA batteries for camera

- Spare SD card for camera (even though we ended up not needing it)

- Power Strips*

- Portable Power Chargers**

 

These items were VERY USEFUL:

- Walking Sticks (ESSENTIAL for my spouse, though)

- Lanyards

- Eyeglass cleaner and cloths

- Magnetic hooks

- Backpack

- Plastic bags

- Collapsible hamper

- HooToo

- Tablets

 

We brought but DIDN'T USE the following items:

- Stadium seats (but we should have used them in a couple of places... we just forgot)

- Portable temperature and humidity gauge (interesting though)

- Duct Tape

- Calling (networking) cards

- Selfie Stick

- Earbuds and/or headphones

 

 

* Power strips were ESSENTIAL, but we didn't need ALL we brought. We over-brought specifically to ensure that if one or two items were confiscated we would still have enough left to manage:

- Extension cord (white two-pronged)

- Extension cord (black squid)

- US/Euro Adapters

 

 

** Portable USB device power chargers were also ESSENTIAL to keep phone, tablets, kindles, and the HooToo, charged, even after a full day of touring, but we didn't need all three devices. The Power Bank is incredibly heavy, and we only exhausted the two pocket power chargers once, so it makes me wonder if we needed to bring the Power Bank. However, I don't remember, though, if there were other days when the pocket power chargers weren't exhausted; perhaps that was because I used the Power Bank a bit as well. Needless to say, everyone's need for mAh will vary; I think if we had another 2,500 mAh charger we probably wouldn't need the behemoth with us.

- Pocket Power Chargers (2 x 2,500 mAh each)

- Backup Battery Pack Power Bank Charger (18,000 mAh)