Long cruise - any tips to share?

[mrsgoggins]

We're shortly going on a P&O 35 night Caribbean cruise on Ventura and I'm busy making a list of extras I might take.  I've done a few back-to-back cruises but this will be the longest cruise by far, and I confess to being a bit apprehensive about being away from 'my life' for 5 weeks, but then again, it is January and I know we are lucky to be able to do it.  On my list are:

 

Wire coat hangers (I've never liked the fiddly steal-proof ones, but since I had a shoulder replacement last year, they are even more difficult to use)

Decent coffee

Squash

Mid-size towel for drying my hair

Magic leaves laundry sheets

Stugeron!

Considering taking a jar of quality jam for breakfast toast since P&O dispensed with pots of Bonne Maman

Packet (or 2) of favourite biscuits/chocolate

 

Anyone care to add anything that you would/do take on a long journey?  Thanks

[LondonLad60]

Not really of any help to you, but I'm reminded of a thread when this question was asked some years ago. One gentleman replied, "On any cruise of longer than 7 nights I always pack a spare pair of underpants, just in case of an accident". I assumed his tongue was firmly in his cheek...

 

On a more sensible note, I'm not sure how many electric sockets there are in Ventura's cabins, so a four socket extension lead could prove useful if you need to use multiple appliances at the same time.

[yorkshirephil]

43 minutes ago, mrsgoggins said:

We're shortly going on a P&O 35 night Caribbean cruise on Ventura and I'm busy making a list of extras I might take.  I've done a few back-to-back cruises but this will be the longest cruise by far, and I confess to being a bit apprehensive about being away from 'my life' for 5 weeks, but then again, it is January and I know we are lucky to be able to do it.  On my list are:

 

Wire coat hangers (I've never liked the fiddly steal-proof ones, but since I had a shoulder replacement last year, they are even more difficult to use)

Decent coffee

Squash

Mid-size towel for drying my hair

Magic leaves laundry sheets

Stugeron!

Considering taking a jar of quality jam for breakfast toast since P&O dispensed with pots of Bonne Maman

Packet (or 2) of favourite biscuits/chocolate

 

Anyone care to add anything that you would/do take on a long journey?  Thanks

We now seem to take less for the long cruises than we used to for 14 nights. Mrs YP now prefers to use the laundry than take lots of dirty washing home, especially in winter when it isn't easy to dry outside. We always take plenty of books when cruising from Southampton and there are no real weight issues with our tablets as back-up. We also have take magnetic hooks which we find helps keep the cabin a bit tidier. You seem to have most things covered.

[terrierjohn]

55 minutes ago, mrsgoggins said:

We're shortly going on a P&O 35 night Caribbean cruise on Ventura and I'm busy making a list of extras I might take.  I've done a few back-to-back cruises but this will be the longest cruise by far, and I confess to being a bit apprehensive about being away from 'my life' for 5 weeks, but then again, it is January and I know we are lucky to be able to do it.  On my list are:

 

Wire coat hangers (I've never liked the fiddly steal-proof ones, but since I had a shoulder replacement last year, they are even more difficult to use)

Decent coffee

Squash

Mid-size towel for drying my hair

Magic leaves laundry sheets

Stugeron!

Considering taking a jar of quality jam for breakfast toast since P&O dispensed with pots of Bonne Maman

Packet (or 2) of favourite biscuits/chocolate

 

Anyone care to add anything that you would/do take on a long journey?  Thanks

You dont need to take wire coat hangers, your cabin steward will be  able to provide as many of these as you want.

Edited December 26, 2023 by terrierjohn

[TigerB]

As terrierjohn writes, your cabin steward will supply you with wire coat hangers. We prefer to take the plastic ones you can't get from Ikea.

Squash - our lass gets the teeny concentrated concentrated bottles where you just need a few drops; they have them near the checkouts in Lidl.

If we are in a balcony cabin, I usually take a microphone cloth to clean the balcony doors and glass. I know you can ask your cabin steward to do it, but I always feel that they have so much on; it only takes five minutes anyway.

[galeforce9]

We take much of what youve said; also the magnetic hooks.  We also take squeeze sports type Britta filter bottles to get rid of the chlorine taste of water. Keep them in the fridge then dispense into chilly bottles for trips out. Also a trailing block for charging 

[mrsgoggins]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

You dont need to take wire coat hangers, your cabin steward will be  able to provide as many of these as you want.

That’s really good to know, thanks

[mrsgoggins]

44 minutes ago, TigerB said:

As terrierjohn writes, your cabin steward will supply you with wire coat hangers. We prefer to take the plastic ones you can't get from Ikea.

Squash - our lass gets the teeny concentrated concentrated bottles where you just need a few drops; they have them near the checkouts in Lidl.

If we are in a balcony cabin, I usually take a microphone cloth to clean the balcony doors and glass. I know you can ask your cabin steward to do it, but I always feel that they have so much on; it only takes five minutes anyway.

I love the idea of a microphone cloth 😄. I assume you mean microfibre before predictive text helped out!  That’s a good idea, and one I wouldn’t have thought of 👍.

 

Tesco apple and mango squash is the juice of choice so 2 bottles coming, but will check out the Lidl ones.

 

PS  Love the cat pic!

[Eglesbrech]

As you are a coffee drinker, we always take our

STARESSO Portable Espresso Maker which takes nespreso coffee pods so no mess and a decent cup of coffee. Other types are available that take fresh ground coffee but they make a bit of a mess in a cabin. The pods can just be popped into a plastic seal bag.

Cards / travel games, the daytime entertainment can get a bit same old same old.

 

This may be a bit too much information but every so often I have a cull on OHs undergarments and socks. So if we are going on a long cruise the ones that are in the target zone to be binned get packed and binned after one last use to save on laundry and luggage on the way back (I take opaque bin bags to get rid of them).

 

Dental cement / filling material. I have lots of crowns and though I have (thankfully) never needed it fellow guests have really appreciated it.

 

Blood donation card with my blood type. Useful should I need blood or someone onboard needs my type.

 

 

 

[Goosebear Mum]

Yes, we do NOT pack light, and the steward has always brought us loads of hangers (I hang everything I can/can fit on the rails. 

 

On our longer cruise I also found useful:

magnets for walls, to attach postcards/excursion tickets/horizon/etc/etc

 

All general over the counter meds we may need, to save going to dr. Inc antihistamine and insect bite cream (did need it after a Caribbean beach trip for sand fly bite)

 

We now also take medium laundry bags (the types clothes can go in, in the washing machine) and put all small items into it.  Saves looking for stray socks, etc at the bottom/back of washing/dryer machines!) 

 

Enjoy the cruise. 🙂 If you enjoy art, you’ll likely find watercolour classes (for complete beginners upwards, high quality art materials are available to buy for a small (actually good value) fee if you don’t have them) and a lot of other activities which are never on shorter cruises 🙂 

 

 

[TigerB]

5 hours ago, mrsgoggins said:

I love the idea of a microphone cloth 😄. I assume you mean microfibre before predictive text helped out!  That’s a good idea, and one I wouldn’t have thought of 👍.

 

Tesco apple and mango squash is the juice of choice so 2 bottles coming, but will check out the Lidl ones.

 

PS  Love the cat pic!

 

Yes, I did mean a microfibre cloth; blooming predictive text.🫣

 

 

That's CoCo, who reigns supreme in our household; we live to serve her! 😍

[daiB]

8 hours ago, mrsgoggins said:

We're shortly going on a P&O 35 night Caribbean cruise on Ventura and I'm busy making a list of extras I might take.  I've done a few back-to-back cruises but this will be the longest cruise by far, and I confess to being a bit apprehensive about being away from 'my life' for 5 weeks, but then again, it is January and I know we are lucky to be able to do it.  On my list are:

 

Wire coat hangers (I've never liked the fiddly steal-proof ones, but since I had a shoulder replacement last year, they are even more difficult to use)

Decent coffee

Squash

Mid-size towel for drying my hair

Magic leaves laundry sheets

Stugeron!

Considering taking a jar of quality jam for breakfast toast since P&O dispensed with pots of Bonne Maman

Packet (or 2) of favourite biscuits/chocolate

 

Anyone care to add anything that you would/do take on a long journey?  Thanks

Having been on 4/5 of these cruises i can say we take none of the above apart from the laundry sheets, for hand washing.

 

See you on board

 

Dai

[mrsgoggins]

Thanks for all of the responses; it's been very useful.

 

@Eglesbrech DH likes to make filter coffee and so a plastic cone and filter papers will be packed along with a small insulated coffee pot.  However, a dental repair kit is now on order and due tomorrow as we too have a good collection of crowns between us 👍.  I always carry a glasses repair kit, which we have used on past holidays.

 

@Goosebear Mum That was a good reminder about magnets, and I'll dig a couple out.  I hope there are art classes.

 

@TigerB I had 2 litter sister cats for 20 years and was running the best cat nursing home around by the end, but I do miss them.  It's just the 'travelling while we still can' mantra that stops me from getting another rescue cat (or two).

 

@daiB I'll look out for you, you never know 😉