Need Great Ideas of clever things to bring

[high seas gal]

Thanks all for the great tips on this thread.

[Nisky411]

I was on a month long cruise looked down from the balcony and saw a woven hammock hanging on the veranda!... How nice.:o

[Nisky411]

Sandy, have you looked in Ikea ? Or a camping / outdoor pursuits shop?

 

Most of the travel mugs you see are spill proof, rather than 100% leak proof. The only thing I can think of that would be insulated and 100% leak proof is what we call a thermos flask. I have a 500ml thermos which I bought in Tesco, but I'm sure Amazon would have them.

 

 

Tervis carries water bottles that hold hot and cold liquids

[mr green]

Tervis carries water bottles that hold hot and cold liquids

 

I take a vacuum flask for Alaska.

 

john

[balconyfortwo]

A tip I got from CC many years ago is to bring some refrigerator magnet clips. The walls in the cabins are metal, so you can use the magnet clips to post all the daily newsletters and flyers on the walls. This is a great way to keep track of upcoming events/invites/reservations, and frees up the counter space by eliminating clutter.

[mr green]

A tip I got from CC many years ago is to bring some refrigerator magnet clips. The walls in the cabins are metal, so you can use the magnet clips to post all the daily newsletters and flyers on the walls. This is a great way to keep track of upcoming events/invites/reservations, and frees up the counter space by eliminating clutter.

 

In this day and age I avoid magnets.

They can upset cards with magnetic strips in them.

 

john

[Cabogirl13]

Word of caution when traveling with duct tape...keep it in your checked bag if flying. Last summer hubby lost his roll that was in his backpack when going through airport security. I guess in this day and age TSA type agencies see that as a potential risk.

[SuperdudeAbides]

I found magnets to be essential. I brought several, both clips and just really strong magnets. I used them to run the extension cord along the wall to my side of the bed so I could use my fan at night (kept the cord off the floor and out of the way) we hung our lanyards from them, clipped the daily schedule up, held the curtain to both sides of the wall (the one between the main door and the bed and the one on the veranda) they were really indispensable. I packed them apart from my electronics and my magnetic strip cards, never had a problem. I highly recommend you take magnets. Too useful.

[erinmarie424]

I took magnetic hooks on my last cruise and they were awesome for holding my lightweight purse and wallet on a string. Also good for putting the ship card (on a lanyard or wrist thingy.)

[MollyFlyer]

One thing I'll add . . . these lists always include hand sanitizer, even though there's dispensers everywhere (though yeah, you'd need some for the ports) but a few days in I noticed the skin under my nails peeling after using it so much. So I'll add a heavy-duty hand moisturizer to minimize the effects of all the sanitizer.

[Gimmiethebeach]

We have packed the over the door shoe hanger and never used it, but found the pop up laundry bag invaluable with two teenage boys. It gives them a definite target to hit with those dirty clothes.

 

Post-it notes were great two years ago when the onboard communication devices we rented (Royal Connect phones on RCI) were so terrible that we had to resort to leaving notes for our kids so they knew where we were and vice-versa. On our upcoming cruise we are hopeful that iConcierge on NCL with work really well so we won't need post-its. Also, we like to talk face to face with our room steward instead of leaving a note.

 

I always bring a variety of OTC meds even though we usually only use the advil!

 

Lanyards are a must for us - especially with kids. If you don't bring your own you will pay $10 each on the ship. We have two to prove it!

 

Our little power strip was taken away on our cruise on the Oasis in 2014 so we won't be bringing one this time. Didn't need it anyway.

 

I bring a file folder in my carry on with all the necessary paperwork for our flight and getting on the ship. During the cruise the folder is perfect for storing the dailies and any other paper I want to keep so nothing gets crumpled up in my suitcase.

 

Biggest packing tip? Lay out everything you want to take and put half of it back. I'm a terrible overpacker so I start packing about a week early so I can keep looking at what I have and put stuff back as the excitement of packing dims a bit. I get more practical as I keep looking at everything!

 

I LOVE the ideas on here about giving tips wrapped around a little chocolate bar. I'll be doing something like that on our upcoming cruise. Nice to be able to add a little personal touch!

Edited March 22, 2016 by Gimmiethebeach
add

[veryseasonedtraveler]

We walk a lot while in port. Can't be without my Garmin fitness bracelet. Really fun knowing how much we walked each day. Record was over 8 miles.

[Moochieg]

I took a small flat bottomed bag that sat on our desk the entire week. Sunglasses, lip balm, sea pass card, etc all went in there when we entered the cabin. Made it easy to find when we were getting ready to leave.

[menea]

We now take a small scoop for the ice bucket. We have drinks on our veranda. The tongs are such a nusiance. I get two for $1 at the dollar store. A clear luggage tag for key card. Dental repair kit. Tablecloth clips so our veranda dinners don't get turned over by wind. This trip pencils and sharpeners for puzzles.

[ivyskar]

We are bringing our 2 - nine section wine tote, it handy for sunglasses, flip-flops, camera, suntan lotion, bug spray, document holder, etc...,plus later we use it for souvenirs

[terracool]

A bar of soap. I don't like the liquid soap in the dispensers in the showers. Just a personal preference.

 

Two or three carabiners. These are my indispensable go-to items. I can clip bags together to hang off my travel bag if I bought something in port. I've made clothesline with two carabiners and a camera strap (back when we took cameras on cruises), I can clip my travel bag containing money and passports to my luggage cart at the airport and to a chair in an outdoor cafe in Rome - not secure like a lock, but enough to prevent someone from grabbing a bag and sneaking or running off if I'm distracted for two seconds.

 

.

[terracool]

Depending on your ports and whether you're with a group, a mugger's wallet. I travel through ports on my own frequently, so I always save my last expired drivers license, expired or replaced credit cards, etc. I put them in a wallet with about ten $1 bills with a $20 on the outside and carry that in my bag or pocket and keep my real money, cc's and ID somewhere else like a money belt.

 

.

[Crew News]

Depending on your ports and whether you're with a group, a mugger's wallet. I travel through ports on my own frequently, so I always save my last expired drivers license, expired or replaced credit cards, etc. I put them in a wallet with about ten $1 bills with a $20 on the outside and carry that in my bag or pocket and keep my real money, cc's and ID somewhere else like a money belt.

 

.

 

A friend carries her purse under her zipped jacket when traveling in Italy and that adds quite a few inches to her waistline. Fortunately, Adobe Photoshop has a Liquify Tool to erase the bulge.

[mamkmm2]

My safepac purse that doubles as my carry-on and holds all of my important documents, electronics, $$$, and any other valuables that don't go in the checked luggage.

 

The safepac purse then doubles as my day-bag and/or purse when we are out on excursions.

 

I was actually told about safepac here on CC on a roll call. I've been testing it out and taking it on various trips and excursions in preparation for our BI cruise in July. It is great.

[Magnum60]

"We try to write at least one postcard and sometimes two or three for each day of the trip; we get them in port or sometimes on the ship or both, and mail them in the next port, if possible. If it's too much hassle to mail them ourselves we just post them from the ship, which may mean they don't go out until the cruise is over. We bring pre printed address labels with us".

 

 

Nice mention.

Sticky address labels are big time savers. We send a ton of post cards to our daughter and our grandsons from each place we visit when away from home. Our daughter still has every post card I ever sent her while traveling since she was 5 and that was 38 years ago.

If you want your cards to get posted from where you are visiting and haven't passed a post office while on shore the store where you bought your post cards quite often have stamps for sale. Quality stores will usually volunteer to mail them too. I've done this many, many times and have yet had a store not send the cards. Don't be clever and buy stamps at home for your cruise because US stamps only work in the US. That's a big newbie cruiser mistake.

Here's another suggestion. Get some business card sized address cards (nice ones) printed with your names, address and email printed on them before your cruise. Use them to hand out to new friends you might want to stay in touch after the cruise. There's a bonus doing this. How often have we all said [on a cruise], "darn, what were the names of those fun people we were speaking with last night?" Had they handed you such a card you'd know. The Japanese are masters of this art as hand shakes usually come with a card.

For you [digital] camera buffs out there. Do not use mega Gig photo cards. Use smaller capacity cards (6-8 gig storage max). If a large capacity card (128 gig or larger) 'poops the bed' - EVERY vacation picture you've taken dies with it. Don't take the chance of loosing everything you've photographed on what may be a once in a lifetime trip. Besides the extra memory cards you should now be carrying buy at least one extra battery, charge it and pop that in your pocket too. Don't forget to pack the battery charger. A digital camera with a dead battery and defective memory card is a paper weight.

Edited May 3, 2016 by Magnum60

[Magnum60]

We walk a lot while in port. Can't be without my Garmin fitness bracelet. Really fun knowing how much we walked each day. Record was over 8 miles.

 

Her's another Garmin plug. A hikers GPS (they're very small) can be activated when leaving your ship using its MOB function (Man Over Board). If you stray far from your ship on a long and winding walk and perhaps loose your way that little GPS will tell you how to get back to your ship.

[firstlady@22]

We take dry erase markers to leave each other notes on the mirrors. I also love having a small desktop size fan on the nightstand simply to circulate the air

[brianlojeck]

Flashlights. God forbid something happen onboard, you don't want to be stuck in the dark.

Their are many small 100-300 lumen led flashlights available for under $20. Some run on AA/AAA batteries, some run on little lithium cells that last longer and don't leak in storage but cost more.

 

An offline GPS app for your phone. You pre-download the maps, and it will work without data.

 

A pen with an all metal body. Zebra has a line of inexpensive pens. A pen is always a good thing to keep on hand, and it's better than harsh language if you find yourself in a rare bad situation overseas.

[Foxinspace]

My two cents... So much has been covered but I wanted to add something different. I wracked by brain thinking of something I bring that I don't think many others do... I came up with this little tip, geared towards women.

 

I bring a specific perfume when I cruise, and only when I cruise. That way, if I smell it somewhere the cruise feeling comes rushing back! It's really nice. Also it's one of those things that when I use it the first time on the ship I really know I'm there!

 

 

Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

 

Bump!

 

I did this accidentally. Our first cruise was for our honeymoon and a dear friend bought me Aloe sun relief cream as part of my shower gift. Took it along and of course being super pale I used it everyday. Now EVERYTIME I smell it I am back on that cruise!

 

I have packed a whole roll of duct tape before and felt silly. I love the idea of just taking along 5 ft on a straw!

 

Always pack Ziploc bags. I have used them for so many things. It's so nice to arrive home and know the wet swimsuit is safely tucked away in a Ziploc and hasn't soaked all the rest of the luggage!

[anewmac]

We use a over the door shoe holder for all the little things.

 

 

Then 3m hooks to hang lanyards and our meet and greet beads

 

Magnet clips to hold tix or excursion info

 

Also suction cups to go on the room mirror to hold sunglasses, hats and jewelry

 

XL magnet hooks to hang backpacks from

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app