Duct Tape, Collapsible Water Bottles, Hi-lite Pens, Anything Else?

[felngruv]

medalian1,

 

Where oh where did you get 'more cowbell' from? My DH would love to have this as well!!! That was on of the funnest things I have ever seen on SNL.

[mahreeya]

Hi! It is me, Mahreeya, the first one to start this thread! I am enjoying it all once again, in preparation for my dream cruise to Alaska at the end of August. Hope you all realize that no, you do not have to bring everything on the list! But I do have a good suggestion: I was looking for a travel document holder, and saw one sold by Travel Smith. But I made it myself. It's not very attractive, but it beats holding your birth certificate and i.d. in your teeth, while you drag your suitcases with you. It is like an envelope, held on a string around my neck with several pockets, for boarding passes, airline tickets, etc. and a small clear pocket in front to hold my driver's license and a credit card. I have loaned it to people who have raved about it!

 

So, no more suggestions from me. BUT does anybody know how to edit the countdown clock?????? I am not sure if I have it correct.

 

Mahreeya

[MrTallPaul]

What about shrink wrap? Good for almost anything...

[Cybele]

Thanks everyone for this thread! I read through it and jotted down a bunch of items for my packing list for our cruise last week.

 

Here are some things I found really useful on the cruise:

• LED keychain light--ours was red, so as not to screw up your night vision (for hunting for things in your cabin at night w/o having to turn on the main light; should be on a lanyard hung in a consistent location)
  
• pad of post-it notes
  
• highlighter
  
• pens and sharpies
  
• safety pins (my husband left his belt at secuirty in the terminal; my son's clip-on tie was broken)
  
• Our own first-aid kit (including imodium, aspirin, etc.)
  
• night light
  
• power strip or outlet increaser thingie is essential
  
• rechargeable AA and AAA batteries and battery charger
  
• alarm clock (natch)
  
• 99 cent inflatable swim ring for the pool (our kids loved it at sea in the "kiddie pool": 1.5 ft. deep pool with 1.5 ft. high waves)
  
• lanyards form home depot (altho I bought a cute cloth disco purse just big enough to hold a passport and a sail'n'sign card for a buck at the pier in Progreso)
  
• corkscrew and your own wine for dinner, if your cruise ship allows you to bring wine, as Carnival does (if you bring a bottle already opened, but corked, to dinner, and it's a common winery like Kendall Jackson or Mondavi, they might assume you bought it on the ship the previous night, or at one of the bars on board, and were just finishing the bottle and they probably won't charge the corkage fee)
  
• roll of quarters and concentrated clothes soap (Target sells Method brand, which is in a small bottle). You can always buy a roll of quarters in the casino; however, when I did laundry the casino was closed and I was glad I brought my own
  
• small stuffed animal for each child--our 5-year old loved having Alex from Madagascar sharing his experience, plus the cleaning staff posed him with towel creations at turn-down service. So sweet!
  
• thin sanitary pads (my 5-year old got, er, a touch of the runs, so we gave him an "underpants protector" to use; we also could have begged a disposable diaper off the infirmary staff, if the situation were worse)
  
• a packet of powdered gatorade *would have been* useful to have along
  

Follow-up items:

• Bungee cords not needed on Carnival's Elation. The beds have a clip to hold the beds together.
  
• Ship's water perfectly drinkable...just tastes distilled. Save bottled water for excursion, altho all of our excursions gave us water. In Belize, the dive boat had these cool little iced, bags of water...astronaut water! On ship, I often took a drink-of-the-day cup up to the buffet area and filled it up with cold water before heading back to the cabin.
  
• We took magnets, clips, and duct tape, but never used them. I think they're good to have "just in case."
  

[OC Mom]

thin sanitary pads (my 5-year old got, er, a touch of the runs, so we gave him an "underpants protector" to use; we also could have begged a disposable diaper off the infirmary staff, if the situation were worse)

Great idea! My boys have had times like that and I never thought of that solution :D.

[jjdmom8]

Don't forget the power strip..Only one outlet in the room and for me that just was not enough...also, I took clothes pins to hang up swimsuits on the pull cord in the shower. The Duct tape is a must have. Have fun!!!

[hockey072]

Can anyone please name some things that Duct Tape is usful for? I don't know why anyone would need it. All anyone ever says is that it's a must have. What do you guys use it for?

[getaway101]

Can anyone please name some things that Duct Tape is usful for? I don't know why anyone would need it. All anyone ever says is that it's a must have. What do you guys use it for?

 

Okay....perfect example. While on our cruise in December, the zipper on one of our pieces of luggage broke. Thus the duct tape held it together perfectly.

(That was the only time I had taken it with us, the last cruise, but you can bet your sweet bippy, I won't ever leave home without it now!)

[2martini]

Four young children? How about enough duck tape and bungie cords to keep them where you want them!

[jjdmom8]

I thought the same thing on our first cruise, but I dare not bring it. Turns out it totally saved the day. We did the self-assist getting off and carried our own luggage. We had purchased a hammock and a cane in one of the ports. We didn't have enough hand to carry them, so we wrapped them in the plastic from the tux's and used duct tape to tape them to the front of the largest suitcase... I am forever hooked and will never ever cruise again without it!

[csg99]

Can anyone please name some things that Duct Tape is usful for? I don't know why anyone would need it. All anyone ever says is that it's a must have. What do you guys use it for?

 

1) when we got to FLL we found that the airline had torn one of our bags--we used the clear duct tape inside before we packed to come home to keep the tear from getting worse

2) repairing a hem in an emergency

 

we never go anywhere without it! :D

[kenandlaura06]

Thanks everyone for all of the great tips! Now I know why everyone always says to pack light with regards to clothing---you need the room in the luggage to fit all of these other things! :p

[jewelea]

I was reading a message board that listed things to take, and now I can't find it. There were some good ideas: Zip lock bags, duct tape, hi-lighter pens (to hi-light activities on the ship in the newsletter), collapsible water bottles, hand sanitizer, lavender oil, room fresheners, insulated cup holders...Anything else?

 

Okay following the good advice here I packed the duct tape under the choras of 'Why are you bringing duct tape' to which I replyed 'wait & see' in a knowing tone. :p So the tape went on a lovely cruise around the med (I'm very happy for it - no really I am :D ) but it did not pay for its keep.

 

So why did I bring the duck tape:confused: the reasons never did become obvious when we were away :rolleyes:

[mahreeya]

I found uses for duct tape: Bought a bottle of bug spray, and it leaked. Wrapped it up in a zip lock bag, threw in a Wet Ones cloth, wrapped the whole darn thing in duct tape, but made a removable flap with duct tape to open and close. I just doubled the duct tape, but left some adhesive around the edges to seal and unseal the bag. I know this sounds stupid, and too much work, but it isn't really. Besides you don't have to take a whole humungous roll. You can actually wrap or fold a length of duct tape around itself for portability.

 

P.S. Hope you all realize that you don't HAVE to bring EVERYTHING on the list! It's just a compilation of the stuff that people have found useful. The most useful thing that I never would have thought of was the highlighter pens. Oh, and the document holder that you can wear on a cord around your nec, that has compartments for passport, tickets, photo id, boarding passes, etc.

[Leo Jay]

 

If my client becomes nauseous (or for us, motionsick) you can replace the lavender oil with a peppermint oil washcloth (keep it away form your eyes). Both oils can be purchased from health food stores etc. for about $5 each (for the cheaper brands). As much I love how well these oils work, I won't be using them. Just like how the other poster takes perfumes to remind her of her cruise (scents trigger memory very well), these oils remind me of work. :) I'll have to find a different room freshener.

 

Since this will be the first cruise for both me and my girlfriend, neither of us is sure whether we'd be susceptible to motion sickness. But I'm planning to carry along the Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap I use for bathing anyway -- any idea if that would be just as effective for motion sickness? It would be great to have one less thing to carry.

[mahreeya]

The large cruise ships have stabilizers that keep the ride pretty smooth. The only time I saw other people sea sick was when the seas were very rough, and I believe that the infirmary has sea sickness medications. I carry my little lavender pillow that goes over my forheard to help me sleep. Most health food stores have them. I also understand that ginger helps with seasickness.

 

P.S. Forget the collapsible water bottle. It was useless, even for shore excursions. You can buy cold bottled water on the way off the ship, or just about anyplace really. Coffee is available all the time too, so I don't know why anybody would pack stryofoam cups. AND you can always have room service deliver you coffee in you room early in the a.m. if you are like me and can't rise and shine without it.

[MrsBoo]

I just bought an insulated water bottle with a shoulder strap & pocket that's just the right size for $$ or S&S card. Should make it easy to take on shore excursions.

[CruiseQueen13]

I bring a mini first aid kit. Great for beach, excursions, etc! Comes in handy with kids except so far the adults are the only ones that have needed to use it. I bring duct tape, a collapsing shoe organizer (for handbags, belts, walkman, etc) Saves us tons of room!

[mahreeya]

I am traveling with my 8 year old niece. We went on a 3 day Disney Cruise together. But this time we flying NY to Vancouver and then taking a 7 day Alaskan Cruise. Since I have no kids of my own does anybody haver specific suggestions for the flight and cruise? I already told her to bring her mini DVD player. And I always pack a night light.

[mahreeya]

I bought some battery operated paper shade lanterns. They are not strung together. Do you think I can use them on my balcony?

[kenandlaura06]

I bring a mini first aid kit. Great for beach, excursions, etc! Comes in handy with kids except so far the adults are the only ones that have needed to use it. I bring duct tape, a collapsing shoe organizer (for handbags, belts, walkman, etc) Saves us tons of room!

 

Good idea for the first aid kit!

[BuddyCole]

More Cowbell !

 

Great avatar - you rock!

[WKM]

Pack toileties, make-up, medicines in clear bags for faster security examinations of your carry on at the airport and pier.

 

Leave your paperback novels you've finished for the crews library. They will love having new reading material and you will have more room for all that you have bought on your shopping tours.

 

Tuck fabric softener sheets between garments as you pack to keep clothes fresh during travel.

 

Take the clothes hangers you get from the cleaners. The ones that they hang slacks on. You can put a whole outfit on one hanger. Better organized in the closet.

[Reese1717]

Wow- a lot of useful info on this thread.

[kindacrazytwo]

Hi all. I know many people have been posting looking for alternatives to the lanyard for carrying room keys when you don't have pockets. I know that I personally don't love the look of a lanyard with my formal wear! ;)

 

What I have done in the past is gotten the pursers desk to punch a hole in it and then used a safety pin to pin it to a seam just under the hem on my dress. Okay, so you have to look both ways in the hallway when you go digging for your key but after a couple of drinks, who cares! =)

 

The other bonus of this method is it works to weigh down your dress/shirt when up on the deck in the wind! :eek:

 

Sarah