gift welcome bags for our friends first time cruise - suggestions

[bluesplayer]

Magnet hooks to hang lanyard, hats.   Eraseable magnetic white board.

[Hobcat]

Small clothes pins for hanging items on the retractable clothesline.  I have found them in “dollar” type stores, I think. 

[sevenseasnomad]

13 hours ago, geocruiser said:

Deck of cards, if they play.  I also bring a small soft soap to use at the bathroom sink.  I don't like bar soap!🛀

Oh-h-h, may I have the Elemis bar you're not using?  Pretty please!

[sevenseasnomad]

6 hours ago, kazu said:

Lots of good ideas being offered.

 

Just one point/question - have your friends been quizzing you about what to pack or possibly reading CC?  If they have they might well bring their own items and not need any of your thoughtful gifts?

What about treating them to a Pinnacle Lunch (put a little card in their bag) on a sea day or a specialty dinner?  PG Lunch is quite reasonable at $10 pp (before Mariner discounts) and a nice experience.  Just another option, in case.

Oh, Kazu, I really, really like this idea.  I vote for this one.  So easy to do and very special.  Lunch at PG is wonderful.  Great burgers.  Fabulous desserts.  OP, definitely go with this one, unless your friends don't like to eat.  LOL.

[bEwAbG]

I second the suggestion to pay for an experience like lunch or dinner on the ship.  Personally, I'd never use many of these suggestions because I'd have already done the research & brought whatever I might need.  Also, some of these are definitely geared to personal preferences rather than actual need.  For example, having a cell phone has replaced the need to pack a separate flashlight and alarm clock for most people.  I'd spend that money on food or drink or a trinket from the gift shop instead.

[dot73]

23 hours ago, canadianbear said:

OBC!  I loved when our kids surprised us with OBC years ago to use how we wanted.  The gift card showing it would be in their cabin for them from you.  

That's exactly what we did for our parents as my father was tight with the money. We also told him that if the OBC  wasn't spent, it would revert back to HAL. There was no way he was going to let HAL get his children's hard earned money.  My father died one year after their last cruise.  Now, when my mother and I cruise together, my brother still makes sure that there is a generous OBC waiting in our cabin.

[sevenseasnomad]

22 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

I second the suggestion to pay for an experience like lunch or dinner on the ship.  Personally, I'd never use many of these suggestions because I'd have already done the research & brought whatever I might need.  Also, some of these are definitely geared to personal preferences rather than actual need.  For example, having a cell phone has replaced the need to pack a separate flashlight and alarm clock for most people.  I'd spend that money on food or drink or a trinket from the gift shop instead.

If the ship loses power for days on end, as a Carnival ship did several years ago, you'll be thankful for that flashlight.  Plus when we go to sleep, we generally charge our phones, so if we want a quick light to get to the bathroom, the flashlight is handier on the bedside table than the phone, which is plugged into the outlet on the desk.  But I understand what you're saying.  Someday, they're going to invent a phone that needs charging only once a month or twice a year or maybe never!  Technology advances while we marvel.

Edited September 21, 2019 by sevenseasnomad

[bEwAbG]

5 minutes ago, sevenseasnomad said:

If the ship loses power for days on end, as a Carnival ship did several years ago, you'll be thankful for that flashlight.  Plus when we go to sleep, we generally charge our phones, so if we want a quick light to get to the bathroom, the flashlight is handier on the bedside table than the phone, which is plugged into the outlet on the desk.  But I understand what you're saying.  Someday, they're going to invent a phone that needs charging only once a month or twice a year or maybe never!  Technology advances while we marvel.

 

The chances of that happening are very rare, though, and in that situation I don't know that having a flashlight to see the chaos would make the experience much better.  I fully understand why people bring them but for most people in most situations, they're no longer as necessary as they were even just 10 years ago.  I used to over-pack but now enjoy bringing just the essentials after realizing that a lot of what I had in my bag never got any use + if you find yourself missing something in particular, it is often not that hard to source locally.  A lot of "stuff" isn't always necessary, especially if you're only on a 7- or 10-day trip.  I also haven't used the alarm on my alarm clock at home in almost a decade, either.

[ger_77]

4 hours ago, knittinggirl said:

Always nice to have a second clock.  Our travel alarm died on the last cruise.

Unless you're in a Neptune or Pinnacle Suite, there aren't clocks in the cabins.  We always bring a battery operated travel/alarm clock; if it's been a while between trips, I make sure to put new batteries in before leaving home.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[kazu]

11 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

Unless you're in a Neptune or Pinnacle Suite, there aren't clocks in the cabins.  We always bring a battery operated travel/alarm clock; if it's been a while between trips, I make sure to put new batteries in before leaving home.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

 

You’re correct - No there aren’t - but the time shows on the phones and wake up calls are available.  We use them all the time 😉 

 

Since I take my IPad, as long as I change where we are geographically, I also have a clock and alarm there as well.

 

That being said, DH loves his little alarm clock and is always thinking we need it.  I have to remind him we really don’t need it but now and then, it mysteriously appears on a trip 😅🤣

[northernphoenix]

How about an-over-the-door shoe hanger...we use ours on every cruise, takes over some of the clutter

[jb008]

On 9/20/2019 at 2:27 PM, oaktreerb said:

small battery operated candle to use as nightlight in the bathroom

 

-Or just a nightlight from the dollar store

 

-Another vote for post-it notes.

-sunscreen & lip balm

-another vote for disposable rain poncho (available at dollar store)

 

[Holidaycraze]

Thanks everyone,

Two gift bags ready!  One for my partner - with a couple of goodies for him and the other for our friend's cabin.

Wow - great suggestions, and I'm up early packing now as I was lost in shopping yesterday for the items.  Fun.

My friends, they haven't been on this forum - so busy, they haven't thought much about cruising, speaking with them last night - they were just throwing together a suitcase.  I bought one set of sea bands too - hopefully, they won't be needed but my friend is unsure how she would be in high seas.  I know she didn't buy any as she was asking if gravol best to take.  Does anyone know best over the counter sea sickness pills and can they get on board?  Luckily, we don't get sea sick and have been in big seas, around cape horn and also Austraila crossing and the worst once leaving Vancouver going south to LA.  HAL wouldnt sail out because of the storm, and we were on NCL and they decided to leave and get ahead of it.  Well we were in the storm for two days.  Luckily, we had fun rocking and rollin. Not everyone did.

Thanks again, great input

I will send a review when we are back.

The worst for submitting reviews

Pouring rain in Vancouver.

 

 

[puppycanducruise]

You can get sea sickness medication from Guest Services, just ask.

[geocruiser]

On 9/21/2019 at 5:51 AM, CM1984 said:

 

Once on the ship, you can get a free deck of cards at Guest Services!

They are not as good (the coating) as the ones  I bring with me.   But in a pinch for us they work.  Plus we play pinochle different type of deck of cards.. 

[knittinggirl]

58 minutes ago, puppycanducruise said:

You can get sea sickness medication from Guest Services, just ask.

Kept trying multiple quotes, but couldn't get it to work.

 

So, here goes from memory.

 

Lanyards - I hang mine on the door handle when not in use.

Post-its - While handy, I've also been known to use the back side of several flyers we get daily.

Extra pens/pencils - picked up this habit on Royal Caribbean when they stopped providing free pens in the rooms.  Besides, I'm always misplacing these.

Manila Folders - Use these for medical claims, post cruise information, etc.

Antibacterial Wipes - for doorknobs, etc.  Also wondering about using one for the railing  when walking down the corridor.

 

We save those nice bright pink envelopes for holding local currency.

[sevenseasnomad]

21 hours ago, bEwAbG said:

 

The chances of that happening are very rare, though, and in that situation I don't know that having a flashlight to see the chaos would make the experience much better.  I fully understand why people bring them but for most people in most situations, they're no longer as necessary as they were even just 10 years ago.  I used to over-pack but now enjoy bringing just the essentials after realizing that a lot of what I had in my bag never got any use + if you find yourself missing something in particular, it is often not that hard to source locally.  A lot of "stuff" isn't always necessary, especially if you're only on a 7- or 10-day trip.  I also haven't used the alarm on my alarm clock at home in almost a decade, either.

Yes, I understand, but it's hard to let go of my "safety net," which includes that flashlight.  LOL.  BTW, for a 14-day cruise, I use only a carry-on, so I'm packing light and continue to pack less and less.  Each cruise, I seem to downsize more, especially after earning 4* status, with the free laundry.  It makes traveling with HAL so much easier.  I used to haul 3 pieces of luggage for a 7-day!  Can't believe I ever did that, but my son reminds me that we boarded the Zuiderdam once in our early cruising days with 7 pieces of luggage for 3 people on a 10-day Panama cruise.  We didn't wear half the clothes I brought as you can imagine.  Plus, it took me forever to pack and unpack.  No joy in that.  In those early years, my son compared me to Rose and her mother in the Titanic movie with all their trunks!

[knittinggirl]

Forgot to mention.  I have international charging kits for both the Ipad and the Kindle. 

 

We like to be able to utilize all available outlets.

[sail7seas]

On 9/21/2019 at 2:18 PM, sevenseasnomad said:

If the ship loses power for days on end, as a Carnival ship did several years ago, you'll be thankful for that flashlight.  Plus when we go to sleep, we generally charge our phones, so if we want a quick light to get to the bathroom, the flashlight is handier on the bedside table than the phone, which is plugged into the outlet on the desk.  But I understand what you're saying.  Someday, they're going to invent a phone that needs charging only once a month or twice a year or maybe never!  Technology advances while we marvel.

 I  started bringing AAA and AA  batteries.   Without fail,  it seems by day 2 of my cruises, the batteries in tv remote die and I am so happy to have new ones at my fingertips and not bother steward or  con cierge to replace them, why wait until they have a chance to deal with it and miss the rest of the news I

 

 

likely was watching.

 

sail.noordam@aol.com

 

 

[TiogaCruiser]

For seasickness try sniffing rubbing alcohol. The dose is 3 whiffs every 15 minutes. Seriously. This was in Medscape some months back and DH tested it it in June on the North Sea. Now I keep a few alcohol pads in my carry on.

[Essiesmom]

Multi port USB plug adapter

 

 

Also agree with taking one for the EU outlets:

 

[palolake]

12 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

For seasickness try sniffing rubbing alcohol. The dose is 3 whiffs every 15 minutes. Seriously. This was in Medscape some months back and DH tested it it in June on the North Sea. Now I keep a few alcohol pads in my carry on.

 

Thanks for this!

[jb008]

15 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

For seasickness try sniffing rubbing alcohol. The dose is 3 whiffs every 15 minutes. Seriously. This was in Medscape some months back and DH tested it it in June on the North Sea. Now I keep a few alcohol pads in my carry on.

 

Vodka work for this?  Maybe you could pack a few minis and call it medicinal 😉